Embarkation at Cape Liberty

[WanderingTheWorld]

My husband and I are taking a RCCL cruise out of Cape Liberty. It has been 10+ years since either of us has sailed with RCCL, and we are wondering how the embarkation process works. We are very familiar with NCL, HAL, and Carnival. How does RCCL compare? We've heard rumors about representatives just standing about with tablets without any set lines. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[VTSKIandCRUISEGUY]

Yes, there are people who are standing around with tablets to check you in. However, you don't need to go to one of them. If they all seem to be busy, you can just go inside and check in a the usual check-in area.

 

How well it all works is really dependent on when you get there. We like to get to the pier by 10:30, so there are no lines.

[robtulipe]

Yes, for 5 out of the 6 Anthem cruises we've done out of Cape Liberty there were 6 to 8 representatives with tablets just inside the terminal, before the security check, to do the passenger check in. For this ship the RF onboard cards are at the cabin so one doesn't get these at check in. The rep will take the security photo if you haven't already uploaded one when doing your online check in. There are informal lines for each rep when it's busy so no priority line for C&A status or suites but check in is typically quick as stated above the rep doesn't need to search out the onboard cards.

For one of our Anthem cruise, this pass January I believe, all check in was only done at the counters after the security check but for our last April cruise it was back to also having the reps with tablet near the entrance. I believe this was due to a Wi-Fi problem that prevented access to the system by the tablets.

In the past it was regular counter check in when we sailed out of Cape Liberty on ships using non-RF onboard cards like Vision (last October), Voyager and X Silhouette..