How is boarding time determined?

[Joe817]

13 minutes ago, TheSeagoer said:

If there are assigned check in times, there should never be a rush. 

In theory this is true. But experience has proven this is not the case. MANY people do not adhere to their assigned check in times and get there plenty early, hoping one of the first bunch to board. Some are turned away, to await their true check in times. But time and time again, the 'gate crashers' are let on through. If people would stick to the rules then there would be no problem. 

[TheSeagoer]

1 hour ago, Joe817 said:

In theory this is true. But experience has proven this is not the case. MANY people do not adhere to their assigned check in times and get there plenty early, hoping one of the first bunch to board. Some are turned away, to await their true check in times. But time and time again, the 'gate crashers' are let on through. If people would stick to the rules then there would be no problem. 

Regardless of when you check in, you are assigned a boarding time. You cannot board before they call you.  

[TxShipShape]

If you look on your boarding pass

Arrival Appointment is the time slot you chose during the online check in.  That is when you can enter the terminal

The Boarding Zone on your boarding pass determines the order they call when actually boarding the ship.

Also note the Transportation [Not] Purchased.  If you use Carnival Transporation from the airport, you are not held to that Arrival Appointment as are Suite guests.

 

Even if you get a 10:00 arrival you will have to set and wait until your group is called to get on the ship.

 

In Galveston they have two lines, at least when you get up close to the checkers. One for on time guests and another for those outside their time slots.  They are SUPPOSE to hold out those outside their time slots until the on time line goes down and then let the second group on in just to keep the flow of traffic going at a steady pace.

[Eli_6]

In the ports I have cruised out, they do check times and you have to stand in a longer line if you are not within your time. Sometimes this matters, sometimes it does not.  The only people who should have to stay up until midnight are people on the East Coast.  Otherwise, you can check in at 11 pm, 10 pm, 9 pm the night before.  

[K_e_short]

20 hours ago, TheSeagoer said:

Wrong.  I just sailed.  Walked into the terminal 2 hours early. Welcomed by carnival staff. No problem. 

 

How am i wrong?

 

I said "whether they enforce that or not is not relevant."

 

You just proved that they do not enforce the rules.

 

And btw, bragging about breaking the rules isn't something to be proud of. 

[K_e_short]

20 hours ago, smarks said:

Diamond and Platinum are not given any special treatment.  Suite guest board first, then they call by group 1 through 7.  It's a mad dash to the line.  So just take your time in arriving.  My friend is on the ship now and she said nobody knew what they were doing.  I was on the Mardi Gras in Oct. but it was very easy but it was also late since there was an accident at the port where someone died because of a car accident.  So when the gates did open we breezed onto the ship.  My friend had quiet a different experience.  Just a heads up.

 

I apologize. But you are given an extra 2 days to check in, meaning you are more likely to get an earlier check in time, if you want.

[TheSeagoer]

2 hours ago, K_e_short said:

 

How am i wrong?

 

I said "whether they enforce that or not is not relevant."

 

You just proved that they do not enforce the rules.

 

And btw, bragging about breaking the rules isn't something to be proud of. 

Oh no a cruise lines rule breaker. 20 lashed🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[hurricane0226]

3 minutes ago, TheSeagoer said:

Oh no a cruise lines rule breaker. 20 lashed🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

and bread and water

[Saint Greg]

As for enforcement they definitely enforced arrival times at Port Canaveral. Galveston has separate lines for Diamond, Platinum, and on-time. Early arrivals had a separate entrance and I assume were allowed in as the line allowed. 

[smarks]

4 hours ago, K_e_short said:

 

I apologize. But you are given an extra 2 days to check in, meaning you are more likely to get an earlier check in time, if you want.

Yes, Diamond and Platinum do get a 2 day head start on reserving their time, but that just gets you to a lounge.  You still have to wait.  Suite guest go on first and it is a mad dash after that.  My friend is Diamond and she said they called 7 groups and it was a mad rush.  I will be waiting till after 12:00 to board.  I have 52 cruises and 7 more booked and status means nothing. That check in time is just that, it's check in time not boarding time.  Good luck and enjoy your cruise.  Everybody will get on.  Just maybe not be the 1st one.

 

[Pellaz]

On 12/17/2021 at 4:03 AM, tallnthensome said:

Wrong, it even states that it isn't for boarding time and it wasn't enforced on my Panorama cruise in August. I held 11:30 check in time passes and the couple in front of me and many others held 1:30 check in time passes and they were let in at 11:30. It was awful so your statement is fake news,  not mine. 

 

YOU posted an absolute statement:  "It's not a boarding time ...... and nobody pays attention to their assigned arrival time anyhow nor does Carnival enforce it."

 

I posted my own first-person observation that, for our embark at Port Canaveral, at least some people were paying attention to their assigned arrival time, and Carnival was indeed enforcing arrival times; we had to wait until close to our scheduled time to enter the terminal building.  

 

Others here have reported similar experiences to mine, while some, like you, have stated that arrival times were not being enforced.   So, it varies based on the port, passenger load, efficiency of the personnel inside the building, etc.  

 

Based on the first-person reports in this topic, your blanket, absolute statement that  "nobody pays attention to their assigned arrival time anyhow nor does Carnival enforce it" is clearly false.  

[jsglow]

9 hours ago, smarks said:

Yes, Diamond and Platinum do get a 2 day head start on reserving their time, but that just gets you to a lounge.  You still have to wait.  Suite guest go on first and it is a mad dash after that.  My friend is Diamond and she said they called 7 groups and it was a mad rush.  I will be waiting till after 12:00 to board.  I have 52 cruises and 7 more booked and status means nothing. That check in time is just that, it's check in time not boarding time.  Good luck and enjoy your cruise.  Everybody will get on.  Just maybe not be the 1st one.

 

No, your statement is misleading at best.  While they may be lax in their control outside the terminal to get into the lounge and complete the check in process, they are quite diligent in their actual boarding of the ship....

 

Suites, AO1, 2, 3, etc. IN ORDER.  Each and every boarding pass is looked at in the queue that forms. Are there a couple dozen people in that queue line when their BOARDING slot is called? Absolutely.  But it is no way some kind of free for all.

[Ilovesailaway]

20 hours ago, TxShipShape said:

Also note the Transportation [Not] Purchased.  If you use Carnival Transporation from the airport, you are not held to that Arrival Appointment as are Suite guests.

 

So is that a perk of purchasing transportation through Carnival? Are you ushered past any potential crowd when you arriving at the pier?

I only ask because I have never used the transportation from the cruise line. It is listed for purchase in my cruise planner. I am a solo and my hotel has a free airport shuttle. It would be cheaper for me to use Carnival transportation than an Uber or taxi.

[TxShipShape]

Yes, its buried in the website but here is the text. 

You just get in line with everybody else who is in the current time slot.

 

AIRPORT TRANSPORTATION

There's no need to start your vacation with stress. Get your airport-to-ship transportation taken care of with worry-free shuttle service from Carnival. You'll also gain access to the cruise terminal as soon as the shuttle gets you there, regardless of your arrival appointment time — a small thing that's surprisingly nice on embarkation day!

Edited December 18, 2021 by TxShipShape

[TheSeagoer]

24 minutes ago, TxShipShape said:

Yes, its buried in the website but here is the text. 

You just get in line with everybody else who is in the current time slot.

 

AIRPORT TRANSPORTATION

There's no need to start your vacation with stress. Get your airport-to-ship transportation taken care of with worry-free shuttle service from Carnival. You'll also gain access to the cruise terminal as soon as the shuttle gets you there, regardless of your arrival appointment time — a small thing that's surprisingly nice on embarkation day!

e9am. exactly . im amazed how people to get on and off these cruises. Its like boarding a southwest flight.