Check-in Time - Mess

[gonole1972]

Friends recently cruised on Royal Caribbean and they tell me that they are not adhering to the check in time reservations. Nobody was checking passengers to see if they were in their check-in window. They had to wait one hour outside before they even got through security.

 

Anyone else know of this problem?

[rdtpm64]

It was pretty chaotic at Port Everglades in April.  There were no designated lines for timeframes. We were 30 minutes early and got in line anyway.  No one checked to see if we were within our window, and I never heard any port employee call out times to line up.  Once inside, it went smoothly.

[OCSC Mike]

Unfortunately, many ports don't seem to be checking/enforcing the arrival times and cruisers are choosing to arrive well before their assigned times as well.

[Ocean Boy]

20 minutes ago, rdtpm64 said:

It was pretty chaotic at Port Everglades in April.  There were no designated lines for timeframes. We were 30 minutes early and got in line anyway.  No one checked to see if we were within our window, and I never heard any port employee call out times to line up.  Once inside, it went smoothly.

That is interesting as for both my cruises out of Port Everglades, January and April, they were being quite the sticklers about boarding times. Maybe it depends on the time of day?

[cruisin from florida]

Same in Port Miami in late May (terminal G) worst boarding process I've seen in many years.

Port Canaveral was as smooth as butter.

[island lady]

Pre-Covid....there were no assigned check in times.  Only "suggested" times which came out a few years before shut down.   Of course no enforcement on the suggested time.  

 

With ships back to just about 100%....and no Covid health protocols in place any longer (masks, limited pax on elevator, spaced tables..etc.).  

 

I would say...yeah, the assigned check in times are probably about to discontinue as well.  

[Ocean Boy]

17 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

 

With ships back to just about 100%....and no Covid health protocols in place any longer (masks, limited pax on elevator, spaced tables..etc.).  

 

I would say...yeah, the assigned check in times are probably about to discontinue as well.  

Fine with me.

[mcatmcat]

check in time make no sense

 

remember years ago when ( I don't remember who said it) the CEO of RCL said that he wanted no check in time and it was going to take u 1o minutes from the port to get onboard?

 

bring that back again please.

[SUSIEK]

Sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale aboard Allure the end of May.  They were checking your check-in times.  People should adhere to the time and don't arrive earlier.  This makes check-in faster for everyone. They assign times for a reason. 

 

We had the same when we sailed out of Port Canaveral in November on Indy.  There were so many people waiting outside and complaining because they arrived hours before they were requested to.  

 

When you need to get thousands of people on a ship in a timely manner, they have to stagger.  Years ago this wasn't a problem because the ships carried fewer passengers. 

 

We sailed on MSC in March.....they did not check times.  We waited for over 2 hours standing in line.  It was a horrible beginning. 

[slyster]

my brother reported it was disorganized in Baltimore in April.  There were no signs telling folks where to go.  He got in one really long line and couldn't believe all those people were checking in. His check in time was 11:30.   It took him an hour just to get to the door.  As he got closer, the worker at front of the line said, for those checking in at 12 or 12:30, you can line up over here (really no line at all and next to the really long line).  He watched folks just arriving, walk right into the very, very short 12 or 12:30 line.  He was irritated for standing in the line for so long and seeing new arrivals, walk right to the front.  It also made him wonder if everyone in the line with him had check in times much later, but still got in line early.

 

He did say when he first arrived and walked up to where the doors are, there was only one line so he walked to the end of it.  I told him next time ask the worker before he goes all the way back.  

[island lady]

18 minutes ago, SUSIEK said:

Sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale aboard Allure the end of May.  They were checking your check-in times.  People should adhere to the time and don't arrive earlier.  This makes check-in faster for everyone. They assign times for a reason. 

 

We had the same when we sailed out of Port Canaveral in November on Indy.  There were so many people waiting outside and complaining because they arrived hours before they were requested to.  

 

When you need to get thousands of people on a ship in a timely manner, they have to stagger.  Years ago this wasn't a problem because the ships carried fewer passengers. 

 

We sailed on MSC in March.....they did not check times.  We waited for over 2 hours standing in line.  It was a horrible beginning. 

 

Now that the ships are sailing almost 100%...each ship still carries the same amount of pax...from Vision class to Oasis class....as had been from years before.  Pre-Covid...basically all ships sailed full.  

 

Now don't get me wrong...I think the assigned times for boarding is a good idea to try to level out the inbound flow.   But this was not enforced years ago...with the same amount of pax boarding years ago as they are today as with all of these classes.  

 

 

[Biker19]

2 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Maybe it depends on the time of day?

and ship, and date, and staff manning the initial line and......

[shipgeeks]

1 hour ago, slyster said:

my brother reported it was disorganized in Baltimore in April.  There were no signs telling folks where to go.  He got in one really long line and couldn't believe all those people were checking in. His check in time was 11:30.   It took him an hour just to get to the door.  As he got closer, the worker at front of the line said, for those checking in at 12 or 12:30, you can line up over here (really no line at all and next to the really long line).  He watched folks just arriving, walk right into the very, very short 12 or 12:30 line.  He was irritated for standing in the line for so long and seeing new arrivals, walk right to the front.  It also made him wonder if everyone in the line with him had check in times much later, but still got in line early.

 

He did say when he first arrived and walked up to where the doors are, there was only one line so he walked to the end of it.  I told him next time ask the worker before he goes all the way back.  

We've sailed out of Baltimore twice this year.  Boarding times were strongly enforced; there were workers outside to direct each person to the correct line (there were two; current window and next window).  We always check with the uniformed staff person to make sure.  Even inside the terminal the lines were separated.

[slyster]

3 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

We've sailed out of Baltimore twice this year.  Boarding times were strongly enforced; there were workers outside to direct each person to the correct line (there were two; current window and next window).  We always check with the uniformed staff person to make sure.  Even inside the terminal the lines were separated.

 

That is really good to know.  He went in February.  He said there were just one person at front of the line so they were probably short staffed.

[BirdTravels]

8 hours ago, gonole1972 said:

Friends recently cruised on Royal Caribbean and they tell me that they are not adhering to the check in time reservations. Nobody was checking passengers to see if they were in their check-in window. They had to wait one hour outside before they even got through security.

 

Anyone else know of this problem?

I don't see this as a problem. Life has returned to pre-pandemic normal. 

[MightyMike]

6 hours ago, slyster said:

my brother reported it was disorganized in Baltimore in April.  There were no signs telling folks where to go.  He got in one really long line and couldn't believe all those people were checking in. His check in time was 11:30.   It took him an hour just to get to the door.  As he got closer, the worker at front of the line said, for those checking in at 12 or 12:30, you can line up over here (really no line at all and next to the really long line).  He watched folks just arriving, walk right into the very, very short 12 or 12:30 line.  He was irritated for standing in the line for so long and seeing new arrivals, walk right to the front.  It also made him wonder if everyone in the line with him had check in times much later, but still got in line early.

 

He did say when he first arrived and walked up to where the doors are, there was only one line so he walked to the end of it.  I told him next time ask the worker before he goes all the way back.  

 

We had a similar issue in Miami. There were no signs. The only way people could figure out the system they had was for each and every one of them to individually go to the front and ask. A couple of signs--or even an agent with a loud voice--would have improved our first impressions of the cruise.

[OCVTSGIRL]

In April a friend & I were sailing out of Port Liberty, NJ.  Our time was 11:30.  We have an almost 2 hour drive and got there around 11:00.  We didn't see a sign for our time only one for 11:00 so I got at the end of the line and my friend went up front to ask where we needed to go.  Then she waved me up there and we were both told to go in.  I thought that was strange that we weren't told to go to the end of the line.  

[jalves]

As is obvious from the above responses, the answer depends on what port you are sailing from.  We've done 2 RCL cruises out of Port Canaveral so far this year and their operation was very smooth.  

[BND]

Baltimore is a port that enforces times.  They make people leave the line if they're early.  We're always in a JS and our boarding pass says "suite" so we use the suite/pinnacle/key line and walk right in but we do stick to our check in time (or close to it). 

 

Edited June 18, 2022 by BND

[pcur]

Yes, it happens a lot. 

 

The only point I want to make here is that people with walkers, wheelchairs, canes, crutches, walking casts, etc., need to find out where the handicap entrance is located.  I was in a loooooooooooooooooong line at POM, and the luggage porter told me where the handicap door was (which I didn't need).  But, later I saw a guy walking by with a cane to get in the end of the line, and I told him about the entrance.  That man would not have made it in that line:  there was no place to even sit down while letting your companion get in line.

 

My deceased husband had a severe back problem with standing stationary for any time.  He would get in line, I would scout/get permission for him to go inside and wait in a chair until I got inside. Then, I'd go back and tell him so he could go in.

 

That has always irritated me with embarkation docks:  they need handicap waiting areas.

[wdwkings]

We have done three recently, and all were different.

- Miami - November on Navigator, it was stated  that times would be enforced.  We checked in at our assigned time, not sure if anyone really checked and things were pretty smooth.

- Port Everglades- March on Wonder, we expected the same but we arrived after our assigned time.  Pretty sure that no one checked PAT but only found a minimal line and quick boarding process once in the terminal.

- Port Canaveral (we are in Orlando area) - May on Harmony, had a suite so we had 10:30 and were early.  They called and lined people up and no issues for us.  Friends had 11:30 parked at 11:20 and still almost missed our 12:45 lunch.  It appeared that everyone just showed up and tried to get on the ship.  Someone posted a video of the long lines to get into the terminal.  
 

Starting to feel a little concerned that there will be a lot of people trying to get in and not paying attention to PAT for our September in Port Everglades.

[BND]

6 minutes ago, wdwkings said:

We have done three recently, and all were different.

- Miami - November on Navigator, it was stated  that times would be enforced.  We checked in at our assigned time, not sure if anyone really checked and things were pretty smooth.

- Port Everglades- March on Wonder, we expected the same but we arrived after our assigned time.  Pretty sure that no one checked PAT but only found a minimal line and quick boarding process once in the terminal.

- Port Canaveral (we are in Orlando area) - May on Harmony, had a suite so we had 10:30 and were early.  They called and lined people up and no issues for us.  Friends had 11:30 parked at 11:20 and still almost missed our 12:45 lunch.  It appeared that everyone just showed up and tried to get on the ship.  Someone posted a video of the long lines to get into the terminal.  
 

Starting to feel a little concerned that there will be a lot of people trying to get in and not paying attention to PAT for our September in Port Everglades.

Well, some have posted that PC doesn't enforce times.  We were on Harmony on Nov 28 and we basically walked in but capacity was about 40%.  We're on Jewel this Nov so interested to see what they do.

[slyster]

3 hours ago, BND said:

Baltimore is a port that enforces times.  They make people leave the line if they're early.  We're always in a JS and our boarding pass says "suite" so we use the suite/pinnacle/key line and walk right in but we do stick to our check in time (or close to it). 

 

 

So is there is one line for “everyone else” and one line for check in times?  My brother arrived for his 11:30 check in time shortly before 11:30 and he only saw the one really long line.  As he got closer, he saw a very short time where they were calling 12pm and 12:30m reservations.  He said when he arrived there was no other line, just the really long one.  The one with the 12pm and 12:30pm only had a few people.  He must have arrived when there was no line for the 11/11:30 folks.

[BND]

39 minutes ago, slyster said:

 

So is there is one line for “everyone else” and one line for check in times?  My brother arrived for his 11:30 check in time shortly before 11:30 and he only saw the one really long line.  As he got closer, he saw a very short time where they were calling 12pm and 12:30m reservations.  He said when he arrived there was no other line, just the really long one.  The one with the 12pm and 12:30pm only had a few people.  He must have arrived when there was no line for the 11/11:30 folks.

There are two doors.  One for suites/pinns and key which is clearly marked and one for regular check ins.  They enforce the times.  If you arrive at your scheduled time, go up and ask the person manning the door.  It's pretty simple to say "hey, I've got x check in time, where do I go?"

[slyster]

4 minutes ago, BND said:

There are two doors.  One for suites/pinns and key which is clearly marked and one for regular check ins.  They enforce the times.  If you arrive at your scheduled time, go up and ask the person manning the door.  It's pretty simple to say "hey, I've got x check in time, where do I go?"

It’s usually my duty to overcomplicate things LOL.  Yours sounds like an easy plan. 😉. Thanks!