What to do when boarding early

[TerpAlum]

I will be on the Carnival Fantasy in late May. Leaves at 4:00 PM. We have check-in time at 10:30. What should we expect in food and drink before departure? I'm trying to figure out what is open and what is not. Pool?

[lizardhowson]

Lunch on Lido.

Pool should be open.

[almitra]

I will be on the Carnival Fantasy in late May. Leaves at 4:00 PM. We have check-in time at 10:30. What should we expect in food and drink before departure? I'm trying to figure out what is open and what is not. Pool?

 

There is a guided ship tour led by a staff member who will take everyone attending around to the public areas and helping you to get acquainted with where everything important is. There is also a spa tour with giveaways......the mini golf is open.....if you have kids you can take them to the camp carnival area to get a schedule for the week....you can make ressies for the steak house (if you wanna avail yourself of that option) too.

[cb at sea]

I would eat breakfast right before leaving for the ship...then you can skip the "feeding frenzy"! Lunch won't be until a bit later, anyway!

Edited May 3, 2016 by cb at sea

[dolphin2012]

Its a great time to enjoy the pool . If the ship has a serenity area its great to go relax and people watch from the ship. We also do the free lunch at the Italian restaurant which is great food and not crowded. ITs nice time when the ship is not crowded. Just walk around all the floors and check out the bars, etc. Its one of my favorite time just to sit and watch people and relax.

[Quilcruisers]

We always arrive early, eat a nice lunch on the ship then sit and visit until our rooms are ready. We will watch activity from the top decks and take lots of pictures. It's our first day of vacation and we don't want to miss a minute. We try to carry as little as possible since our rooms are not ready, we want to be able to walk around without too much stuff.

[poolreader]

You probably will not be on board until 11 - 11:30 at best. By the time you look around, find the Lido, have some lunch, listen to music while you have a drink or two, tour the ship, find your room, read the info in your room, tour the spa and have a free mini massage, it will be time for muster stations.

[DallasGuy75219]

I will be on the Carnival Fantasy in late May. Leaves at 4:00 PM. We have check-in time at 10:30. What should we expect in food and drink before departure? I'm trying to figure out what is open and what is not. Pool?

 

You should be aware that check-in time is not the same as boarding time. If you're in one of the first check-in groups, you will very likely still have to wait in the terminal after checking in, until the ship is cleared for boarding and wedding parties, diamonds, platinums, and FTTF board before you.

 

Lunch food service (which on a Fantasy class ship includes all food venues except the dining room and Taste Bar) generally opens at 11:30, which is usually about the time the first passengers are boarding, through approximately 3:15, as muster drill would usually be about 3:30 for a 4:00 departure.

 

Other posters mentioned making steakhouse reservations or eating lunch at the pasta restaurant. These are not available on Fantasy class ships.

[terri-eddie]

It's nice to be aboard early....you can explore the ship and take pictures of public spaces without crowds of people in your photos. My husband and I like to start on the lowest deck and walk from one end to the other, then go up one deck and repeat, until we reach the top deck, taking pictures of interesting spots and features as we go.

[summersigh]

After boarding we normally have a leisurely lunch then, using the deck plans I print out at home, we walk around getting our bearings and locating venues we're interested in visiting during the cruise. We also go to the MDR to locate our table for dinner (we prefer late fixed seating)

 

When the cabins are available we head there unpacking our carry-on bags which contain all our toiletries and misc. items. Normally the luggage appears early enough to be unpacked before muster drill.

 

To us it's a real pleasure to be all settled in before we go off to muster ... we can totally relax and begin our vacation. :)

[A&Jfamily]

Find a spot outside on the Lido (the way back is GREAT especially on Fantasy class ships) and sit and relax. Sample from the buffet. Have some drinks. Then, about 1, walk off that lunch doing a deck by deck tour of the common areas of the ship, sneaking in photos. At 130, head to your cabin...we always have a balcony so have a nice drink in our hands. If our luggage is there, like another poster said, we like to unpack. Afterwards, we sit on our balcony and send texts and make our farewell aren't you jealous phone calls! We never sprint out the door for muster - we are never late because it would be rude to hold it up - but I also don't wish to be one of those people smushed against the wall with 4 rows of people in front of me. Before you know it, the horn sounds and we are underway. We return to our balcony and relax , just watching the world sail away. Great days!

[workerbee01]

Great question!

 

I also will be on The Fantasy in July and appreciate the tips.

 

Would guys burgers be open? (I hope. ..I hope! )

[supercanadian]

I set an early check in time of 10-10:30 as well for my cruise out of NOLA in 2 weeks. Are we allowed to leave the terminal after check in (to do some other touristy stuff within walking distance) or do you have to wait until for possibly hours until you are called to board?

[okgirl]

I set an early check in time of 10-10:30 as well for my cruise out of NOLA in 2 weeks. Are we allowed to leave the terminal after check in (to do some other touristy stuff within walking distance) or do you have to wait until for possibly hours until you are called to board?

 

Once you get your S&S card you can choose to leave the terminal building right then or board the ship and drop off your luggage then leave the ship.

 

In NOLA you can walk over to the Riverwalk area but it's a bit of a hike.

 

You'll only have about 3ish hours from when boarding begins and needing to be back on the ship to prepare for muster. When I sail out of NOLA I always arrive a day early so I have a long afternoon and evening to explore.

[Homosassa]

Once you get your S&S card you can choose to leave the terminal building right then or board the ship and drop off your luggage then leave the ship.

 

 

If your check in time is 10-10:30 AM , that does not mean you can board the ship. You might be able to board at 11-11:30 AM if all goes well.

 

Unless you have FTTF or have loyalty program status that gives you immediate access to your cabin, you will not be able drop your carry on luggage in the room and will need to carry it with you around the ship.

 

If you leave the pier area to take a walk before boarding, have a plan for your carry on luggage. There are no lockers or any other provisions for stashing your carry on luggage at the pier if you leave.

[kelkel2]

We have always boarded the ships as early as possible. Since coming from a hotel, we would rather be getting on the ship than waiting at the hotel.

Every cruise we have been on with Carnival has had lunch available as well as the pool open. This past cruise on the Breeze pretty much everything was open except for the dining rooms and the steak house.

Of course, the bars will be open too, so you can get yourself a welcome aboard drink of your choice!

[carnivalgirl51]

Along with all of the above ideas, I like to go to my assigned dinning room (I book early seating) and find my table so I know where it is for dinner.

[maldenmusic]

We always enjoy boarding early and sitting on the promenade deck and people watching.

[BrotherCraig]

We go see our dining room seating. If we don't like it, we get it changed. We like to sit in the corners away from folks -- because we have small kids. lol

 

We go check in the kids camp.

 

We go check out the spa specials.

 

We walk around to get the feel of the ship and take pictures.

 

We check out our room and get to know the attendant.

 

Oh yea... we get a drink and some food as well.