Why do people want to get on ship early?

[KayKay18]

I saw it too and thought why on earth would you bother him with this when we have more than sufficiently answered it out here......but whatever......:rolleyes:

That was not me.I was surprised when I read that. I never asked him anything. I understand now why people get on board early.

[KayKay18]

I can’t help but wonder why anyone would obsess over this. You don’t want to board early? Fine - pick a later time that suits you. What do you care when the rest of us board? It’s not like we’re dragging you onto the ship with us?

 

Couldn’t believe when I saw this on John Heald’s page earlier. Have we heard from KayKay18 since the first post?

 

 

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I did not obsess about it. It was a honest question. This is new to me and I was curious. I got some good answers. Also I am not the one who asked John Heald anything !

[KayKay18]

For the record that was not me asking John H about early boarding.

[Anthomaniac]

Keep in mind, people getting on early/mid/late keeps the boarding moving. if everyone wanted to get on late, lines would be awful. same with getting on early.

[KayKay18]

Keep in mind, people getting on early/mid/late keeps the boarding moving. if everyone wanted to get on late, lines would be awful. same with getting on early.

So true... I totally understand the reasons now ! Will some people be able to get on before 12:30 ? I saw on my email from Carnival yesterday that no boarding until then. I hope thats not true the sooner the better it what I believe now :)

[dmdiver]

We've been on board eating a Guy's burger at 11:30 before, so it probably just depends on how quickly they get all the passengers off from the previous cruise & get everything set up for the next group.

[jakeT]

To me my Vacation does not start until I am on the ship.

No worries of missing flight, taxi getting a flat etc

[Schoifmom]

So true... I totally understand the reasons now ! Will some people be able to get on before 12:30 ? I saw on my email from Carnival yesterday that no boarding until then. I hope thats not true the sooner the better it what I believe now :)

 

Check in at most ports begins around 11:00 (some earlier, some later). Boarding begins as soon as the ship is cleared of passengers from the previous cruise and cleared for boarding by the Coast Guard. I have seen this happen soon after 11:00. On our last cruise, it was closer to 12:30 - 1:00 because of a delay. Carnival always sends out those emails with that 12:30 time, but it really doesn't have any meaning. They will board as soon as allowed to do so. The faster they get people on, the faster they can start spending money ;p

[JMAE]

To start vacation, it starts once i'm on board!!!!

[GetMeOnThatShip]

To unpack yesterday! I totally get why people get antsy. I usually check in during the second half of the bracket to avoid the lines. Then I speed-unpack, throw down at the buffet, & get the muster drill over with!

 

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[Oshawapilot]

We will be packing about 2/3 less than usual on our next cruise simply due to the fact Carnival has laundry machines onboard. Never had this option with RCI, but one quick wash/dry on or about day 4 will allow us to completely recycle our clothing (including warmer stuff for the drive home) without the need to pack anywhere near what we normally bring.

 

Accordingly I anticipate unpacking will take us about 15 minutes. ;)

[JayDeeJay]

First of all, try to limit your carry-on to as little as possible; I've never understood why people are loaded down with enough luggage to warrant renting a mule. At worst, you'll be in your cabin with luggage delivered a few hours. We bring prescriptions, iPad, and boarding papers. And go straight to the burger bar, snag a drink if the day, breathe a great sigh of contentment, and switch to cruise mode. Boarding as early as possible let's you switch gears and enjoy the boat.

[gtalum]

First of all, try to limit your carry-on to as little as possible; I've never understood why people are loaded down with enough luggage to warrant renting a mule. At worst, you'll be in your cabin with luggage delivered a few hours. We bring prescriptions, iPad, and boarding papers. And go straight to the burger bar, snag a drink if the day, breathe a great sigh of contentment, and switch to cruise mode. Boarding as early as possible let's you switch gears and enjoy the boat.

 

In addition to electronics, it's good to bring swimsuits and our bottles of wine. We always each (me, my wife, and our 2 kids) carry a backpack aboard.

 

Actually the last two cruises we just carried everything aboard, since our cabins are available at boarding. We pack light (a carry-on-sized rollaboard and a backpack each) so it's not that big of a deal.

[ScottsSweetie]

I like to board early for all of the above mentioned reasons, + 1 that no one has mentioned.

 

After boarding, I like to call all my kids and make them jealous that we are sailing! :D

[fair-winds39]

My checking in time is 12:30-1:00 and that seems fine to me. But I would like to know why anyone would want to check in early. If your room will not be ready until 1 or later. Why get on early.

 

I always wonder about that too. We've been cruising since the 80's, and my vacation starts as soon as I'm seated at the Port. We usually choose the same check-in time that you use. I'm officially on vacation after check-in, and I don't care what time I get to my cabin. There's a few things you have to do before you can relax on the ship anyway that first day; unpacking, muster drill, maybe have a bite to eat, etc. Sometimes the ship buffet is crowded early-on, so the later we board, the less crowded it is. Bottom line...we don't mind waiting to board.

[Cinders411]

To me my Vacation does not start until I am on the ship.

No worries of missing flight, taxi getting a flat etc

 

Agree! ;)

[IPlayWithString]

My checking in time is 12:30-1:00 and that seems fine to me. But I would like to know why anyone would want to check in early. If your room will not be ready until 1 or later. Why get on early.

 

For us, it's imperative that we get on as soon as humanly possible to help get our son settled. Even though we've been on 11 cruises now, getting him fed and settled is our first priority. He gets so excited to be going on vacation that it usually leads to a meltdown from a combination of excitement, anxiety (because he knows his normal schedule/routine is going to be thrown out the window) and flat out sensory overload.

 

When his anxiety is on overload and he's getting too much sensory information (loud noises, lots of people crowding around, etc), he can have a meltdown because his brain and body just cannot handle that much input at once. Boarding first helps us to get him out of the terminal as quickly as humanly possible and into a quiet space (usually our room or we go to the ship's library and play a game or something) where he can calm down without having to be embarrassed by a public meltdown.

[aheverly]

To start enjoying vacation???

 

 

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[ButterflyGirly]

I prefer to get on board as early as I can simply so i can start relaxing sooner. I try to get FTTF so that I can drop off my carry-on in my cabin. I travel with a lymphatic pump that is heavy so I do NOT want to lug that all around the ship (even though it is in a wheeled bag). I can also go ahead and do my daily treatment with the pump in my cabin so that I don't have to do it later that night, thus freeing up about an hour when more fun things are available to do or see.