Arrival Time Choices

[thundercrack]

Sailing out of Baltimore May 28th.  Checking in was first available today at midnight.  Got in right at midnight and had check-in info completed by 12:15am.  The earliest arrival time choice I was given was 1:30 - 2:00, code D01.   Did that many people check in between 12:00am and 12:15am when it was first available and obtain ALL the earliest check in times?  I thought the earliest times started at 11:30, am I mistaken and they don't start boarding until 1:00 or so these days?

[Illbcruzn4life]

50 minutes ago, thundercrack said:

Sailing out of Baltimore May 28th.  Checking in was first available today at midnight.  Got in right at midnight and had check-in info completed by 12:15am.  The earliest arrival time choice I was given was 1:30 - 2:00, code D01.   Did that many people check in between 12:00am and 12:15am when it was first available and obtain ALL the earliest check in times?  I thought the earliest times started at 11:30, am I mistaken and they don't start boarding until 1:00 or so these days?

They started check in times at 10am on the Horizon but the ships out of Baltimore aren't scheduled to leave til 5pm so aybe that's wh?. We had friends on this weeks cruise from Baltimore and they were told not to come to the terminal til about 3pm a the ship got back late.

Edited May 14, 2022 by Illbcruzn4life

[mondello]

5 hours ago, thundercrack said:

Sailing out of Baltimore May 28th.  Checking in was first available today at midnight.  Got in right at midnight and had check-in info completed by 12:15am.  The earliest arrival time choice I was given was 1:30 - 2:00, code D01.   Did that many people check in between 12:00am and 12:15am when it was first available and obtain ALL the earliest check in times?  I thought the earliest times started at 11:30, am I mistaken and they don't start boarding until 1:00 or so these days?

You spent 15 minutes completing all the info. All you needed to do was choose your arrival time first and go back to complete the other info later at your convenience. Platinum, Diamond, and Suites get a 2 day head start.  Your cabin will probably be ready when you board and embarkation lunch is still being served, you'll be fine.

Edited May 14, 2022 by mondello
Correction

[thundercrack]

8 minutes ago, mondello said:

You spent 15 minutes completing all the info. All you needed to do was choose your arrival time first and go back to complete the other info later at your convenience. Platinum, Diamond, and Suites get a 2 day head start.  Your cabin will probably be ready when you board and embarkation lunch is still being served, you'll be fine.

I was checking in 3 cabins, didn't think of choosing time first, still odd that after 15 minutes earliest time was 1:30.  Not really too concerned about it, except for reserving my Cabana at Half Moon Cay and getting a good choice 😀.  I guess this cruise is mostly Platinum, Diamond or Suites that were able to reserve 2 days earlier.

[arizdback]

As others have said, 15 minutes is way too late for first few groups. There are actual YouTube videos showing you how to get early slots. I was reserved in under a minute on last cruise. There are a surprising number of people like me who want to get right on the ship to wander around aimlessly with no cabin for no apparent reason. 🙂

[2Shoes2Go]

Just did our check in time for Sunshine, May 28. Earliest was 9:30 am! Earliest we’ve ever seen. 

[Knights on the Beach]

11 minutes ago, 2Shoes2Go said:

Just did our check in time for Sunshine, May 28. Earliest was 9:30 am! Earliest we’ve ever seen. 

Our son & DIL had a 9:30 check in for Liberty last weekend - I'd never seen it that early before either. We dropped them off at the port and they breezed through the check in process then sat and waited an hour and a half before boarding started. But then walked right on after suites and were soon eating Funfetti cheesecake. 🙂

 

[pcvtmom]

Baltimore tends to start boarding later than most ports. They don't usually have pre-11 o'clock times.  Pre-Covid, we were told not to arrive at port before 11:00, because they needed to clear the parking lots first.  

[ldubs]

For our SF sailing we had options starting at 10:30 I think.   We opted for 11:00.  I actually didn't know we would have an option to select arrival time.  It kind of came as a surprise when Mrs Ldubs did the check in.  

 

As another poster said, one of the benefits of a later check in is the cabin will likely be ready.  We normally like boarding later.   For this trip we are traveling with a group and going with the consensus.    

 

 

[bar1068]

Check-in times for Baltimore are "off" when comparing to other ports. Overall checkin times in B'more start later than most other ports. We sailed out of Miami last week had a 10am checkin time, which was the earliest for that cruise. On Pride out of B'more last September has a 12noon checkin time also the earliest for that cruise. Ships arrive later to Port of Baltimore overall,  have for as long as we've sailed from that port.

[trbarton]

Is Carnival checking your arrival times or does it not matter when you arrive?

 

Tom😀

[smwg]

What if I'm late for my check in time?  I'm flying into Seattle and will have to transport to the cruise port.  If I'm running late due to flight delays or transport can I just get in line when I get there?

[Wanna_Cruize]

Yes, you can

[bingo3]

1 hour ago, smwg said:

What if I'm late for my check in time?  I'm flying into Seattle and will have to transport to the cruise port.  If I'm running late due to flight delays or transport can I just get in line when I get there?

I don't think it matters if you're late, you just can't get on earlier.

 

[Thenagers]

Probably better.  In Charleston, the earliest is 9:30am.  I have read on threads that people were waiting in thier cars until almost 10 to enter the parking lot.  I think the non- permanant ports like Port Canaveral and Miami have a different process.   I would not worry. 

[UpstateCruizer]

10 hours ago, arizdback said:

As others have said, 15 minutes is way too late for first few groups. There are actual YouTube videos showing you how to get early slots. I was reserved in under a minute on last cruise. There are a surprising number of people like me who want to get right on the ship to wander around aimlessly with no cabin for no apparent reason. 🙂

From our very first cruise to 30 cruises later our goal is always to get on as early as possible. We’ve never wandered aimlessly. In fact our vacation fun started the minute we got on the ship. Some people aren’t in a hurry to get on the ship which is their preference while others like us want to get on as soon as possible. We also do self assist and get off the ship as soon as possible. 

[UpstateCruizer]

1 hour ago, smwg said:

What if I'm late for my check in time?  I'm flying into Seattle and will have to transport to the cruise port.  If I'm running late due to flight delays or transport can I just get in line when I get there?

I would highly suggest not flying in the day of the cruise! Flights are so iffy these days with delays and cancellations. 

[Knights on the Beach]

36 minutes ago, Thenagers said:

Probably better.  In Charleston, the earliest is 9:30am.  I have read on threads that people were waiting in thier cars until almost 10 to enter the parking lot.  I think the non- permanant ports like Port Canaveral and Miami have a different process.   I would not worry. 

 

What do you mean by "non-permanent" ports?

 

[smwg]

1 hour ago, UpstateCruizer said:

I would highly suggest not flying in the day of the cruise! Flights are so iffy these days with delays and cancellations. 

I agree and ordinarily wouldn't, but due to work conflicts we have no choice.  There are two flights after mine that would arrive in time, so if ours gets delayed maybe we will be able to get one of those. Fingers crossed we won't have any trouble.  If we miss the ship, I'll just go with "It wasn't meant to be" and hopefully insurance will reimburse us.

[tytanbri]

When I went from Baltimore in March, the earliest check in time was 12pm. They do have to clear the parking lot. The ship came in late on our boarding day and it really messed up everything. They held everyone except 12pm and 12:30pm boarders outside. They were told to go back to their cars and wait. It was about 1:30pm by the time we actually got on the ship. Definitely a different experience then other ports we have debarked from.