Staggered Embark in New Orleans?

[IPlayWithString]

Or "N'awlins" as it sounds when it's coming out of my mouth.:D

 

Are they doing staggered embark in New Orleans or is that just a Galveston (which is where we usually sail from) thing for now? I haven't kept up with whether they've rolled it out fleetwide or not.

[cruiser fanatic]

Yes, it is New Orleans, Galveston, Miami, Honolulu, and Norfolk.

[ekajun1957]

So now can someone tell me exactly what this means? I have a cruise out of New Orleans in December and did notice that in my check in information had to choose a board time. So we chose 1030AM the first one listed. So it means only those who chose 1030 will be allowed to enter the hall at that time?

[IPlayWithString]

ekajun1957--what it means is that when you pick a boarding time (say 10:30 in your case), you WILL NOT be allowed to go into the port terminal UNTIL your boarding time.

 

They will ask for your boarding passes before you get into the terminal and if you don't have the right time (like, yours says 12:30 and it's only 10:30 or something) they won't let you in. If you arrive AFTER your boarding time (say you arrive at 11 but your boarding pass says 10:30), they will of course let you in.

 

And just because you get INTO the terminal at 10:30, doesn't mean you'll actually be BOARDING at 10:30. The way they did it in Galveston was you were assigned a boarding group when you got your S&S card and they called people to board by their boarding groups every half hour or so.

 

If you have Faster to the Fun..then ignore that. You can (from what I've seen/experienced..we did have FTTF for our Jan cruise but NOT our Spring Break cruise in March) you can just ignore aaaaallllll that.:)

[KimmieTN]

We just did this in January and it actually worked out great. The quickest boarding we have ever had.

[ekajun1957]

IPlayWithString - Thanks that clears it up greatly. Being you answered that so well mind giving me your perspective on FTTF and if worth it? If you have any experience with it.

[maldenmusic]

IPlayWithString - Thanks that clears it up greatly. Being you answered that so well mind giving me your perspective on FTTF and if worth it? If you have any experience with it.

We did FTTF from NOLA a few cruises ago and didn't really think it was worth it. We got to board right before those in Zone 1 which put us on about 5 minutes quicker. Since our 2 ports were not tenders it didn't seem to make much difference.

[rangerdog]

I've not cruised out of New Orleans with the staggered check in times. We are Platinum but we still had to choose a check in time. We chose 10:30am but since we're Platinum, can we still check in at anytime?

[TravelE]

I've not cruised out of New Orleans with the staggered check in times. We are Platinum but we still had to choose a check in time. We chose 10:30am but since we're Platinum, can we still check in at anytime?

 

Yes, you can still check in at anytime. Look for the priority line (which is Platinum, Diamond, Suite, FTTF).

[rangerdog]

Yes, you can still check in at anytime. Look for the priority line (which is Platinum, Diamond, Suite, FTTF).

 

Thank you! We leave this Sunday :)

[GulfCoaster]

We are going out in a couple of weeks as well. I just received an email regarding Important Information and stating that the ship (Triumph) will not start boarding until 12:30 the day of our cruise. I have chosen our staggered boarding time (earliest time) and have FTTF as well. Is this email standard or specific to our particular voyage?

 

Thanks!

Edited May 31, 2016 by GulfCoaster
mis-spelling

[supercanadian]

We were just on the 5/15 cruise and had selected 10:30 as our boarding time. We had *good* intentions on being there early, but by the time we walked the French Quarter, parked the car, and actually made it to the terminal, it was closer to Noon when we checked in.

 

Because we had 2 rooms, both parties checked in separately, but at desks right next to each other. My booking took a little more time to process, so our first party was issued Zone 11 or something like that, with mine issued as 14. I was getting flustered because that meant we'd have to wait to board together, and right then it was announced that they were only boarding zone 7 or something. To our surprise, within 5 minutes, they announced that all zones were boarding. We were on the ship by 12:15 or so.

[MandiJenks]

We are going out in a couple of weeks as well. I just received an email regarding Important Information and stating that the ship (Triumph) will not start boarding until 12:30 the day of our cruise. I have chosen our staggered boarding time (earliest time) and have FTTF as well. Is this email standard or specific to our particular voyage?

 

Thanks!

 

 

I received the same email and I'm curious about that too! We also have FTTF and chose the earliest check in time. So does that mean we will have to wait until 12:30 to actually board, or will they let us on earlier?

Sorry if this question seems dumb, I'm a first time cruiser. Thank you in advance for the clarification!!

 

 

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[isaiahsnana]

I received the same email and I'm curious about that too! We also have FTTF and chose the earliest check in time. So does that mean we will have to wait until 12:30 to actually board, or will they let us on earlier?

Sorry if this question seems dumb, I'm a first time cruiser. Thank you in advance for the clarification!!

 

 

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You chose a check in time not a boarding time - with FTTF you will be allowed to board after the platinum and diamond cruisers and wedding parties - that will happen after the boat is emptied of earlier guests and the port has agreed to begin boarding new guests, sometimes the crew has to go through additional procedures that can delay boarding - this, sometimes, prompts the email you received.

[MandiJenks]

You chose a check in time not a boarding time - with FTTF you will be allowed to board after the platinum and diamond cruisers and wedding parties - that will happen after the boat is emptied of earlier guests and the port has agreed to begin boarding new guests, sometimes the crew has to go through additional procedures that can delay boarding - this, sometimes, prompts the email you received.

 

 

Thank you. [emoji5]

 

 

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[poobears]

Yes you will have to wait even if you get there at 10-10:30. But it won't seem like that long. By the time you get through security and check in, do the photo etc it will be time to board before you know it. They probably have an inspection going on that day or something so they expect a bit of a delay in boarding.

 

I love boarding in NO they seem to have it together, although we haven't done the staggered boarding out of there before, Oct will be our first time doing staggered. We have ported out from there a few times. They have always been very efficient, one of our favorite ports to go out of.

 

I still plan to buy FTTF simply because I want my room ready when I board. I will have my meds in my carry on and I do not want to have to worry about keeping up my bag while I chill on deck during the rest of passenger boarding. I want to take my bags, lock them in my room and start having fun a soon as I set foot on the ship.

[mzloolue]

April 30 the platinum boarding was a mess.:rolleyes:

[crazyboutdisney]

I just posted a question about this. What happens if you have FTTF but your check in time is say 1230. It says times are limited to stagger the number of people. We are on the vista and they don't have times listed yet.