Miracle actual boarding time out of SF?

[cruisingguy007]

Can't seem to find a definitive answer, according to a SF ship log, it mentions something about 7am and obviously that's not true, a cruise critic article says boarding starts at 1pm but that seems too late with as early as 10:00am check in times and a small terminal in SF. Does anyone know what time they actually start calling boarding zones out of SF for Miracle?  

[cruisingguy007]

Never mind, found the information. 

[Chief1369]

Care to share what you found? I'm curious

[cruisingguy007]

1 hour ago, Chief1369 said:

Care to share what you found? I'm curious

 

Says 1:00 on some carnival documents I've found but I suspect it may be earlier though. The check in times are too early and the terminal is small so I'm still not entirely sure. I did find one person who had a 11-11:30 check in time and said they didn't get on board until after 1:30. I'm not entirely sure what to make of that. Used to Long Beach, they have it down to a science and there is usually not much of a wait at all there. I just keep seeing complaints about SF and long lines but no one gives specifics, like their check in time vs their boarding time or even what time boarding begins. Checked video reviews and people only complain about the long lines and lots of walking to board but again, no time frames given. Quite frustrating.  

[Chief1369]

Thank you, I appreciate it. Will be going out of there for the first time in September

[hapytobehr]

We went out of SF for our Alaskan Cruise back in May.  I can tell you it was a cluster****.

 

The ship docked late for some reason and the debarkation process took until after 11 AM. But that was not the biggest issue. 

 

We had to stand outside with our luggage because the porters were still bringing out the debarking passengers luggage.  It was not easy especially for me since we had 3 bags and I use a walker.  They would not accommodate anyone with mobility issues either.

Once they began boarding, the porters started taking luggage from people that were just arriving in their cars/ubers in front of the entrance instead of taking the luggage from all the people that had been waiting online. 

 

Well since my name IS Karen, I became a Karen at that point and insisted that they take our luggage since we had been standing in line so long. 

 

They did finally have someone start organizing the groups based on their check in time and they DID check boarding passes.

 

Now this could have been a one off since the ship docked late, but I have heard that SF is never smooth embarkation.

 

Needless to say, we still had a wonderful cruise, but I doubt I would ever sail out of SF again.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

[txcruiser1234]

Last June, we had an 11-11:30a SF arrival appointment. We got to the terminal right at 11. There were three lines already formed in front (outside) of the terminal - a 10:30, 11 and 11:30 line. We had to ask around a bit to figure out which line was for what. After getting in the right line, we had to show our arriveCan code to someone from Carnival. The 10:30 line was already moving when we arrived at 11. We got into the terminal building at about 11:30. It was another 30 minutes to go through security and the check-in stations. And then another 30 minutes to wait for our B8 (I think... it was B something) boarding zone to be called. On board at 12:30p. Miracle sailed a bit late (about 6:45p).

[csm5986142]

We were on the Miracle out of San Francisco over the 4th of July.  We arrived at 10:05 for our 10 – 10:30 arrival appointment time.  The doors to the terminal were locked and there were lines outside separated by arrival appointment times.  The doors opened around 10:30.  We went through the typical check-in process, and boarding began at 11:30.

[zentraveler]

FWIW, I the boarding times for our 9/1 cruise on the Carnival website started at 10 am so  I have a 10-10:30 boarding time.

 

We took a Princess cruise 7/19 and were there at 1 pm and there was a LONG line out in the sun for embarkation. There was a luggage drop off that worked well, but it took about an hour to get into the building; from there it went quite smoothly. Not sure how much of the variability is cruise specific as opposed to the smallish lay-out of the SF cruise port.

[Jamman54]

3 minutes ago, zentraveler said:

FWIW, I the boarding times for our 9/1 cruise on the Carnival website started at 10 am so  I have a 10-10:30 boarding time.

 

We took a Princess cruise 7/19 and were there at 1 pm and there was a LONG line out in the sun for embarkation. There was a luggage drop off that worked well, but it took about an hour to get into the building; from there it went quite smoothly. Not sure how much of the variability is cruise specific as opposed to the smallish lay-out of the SF cruise port.

Just to clarify,  you have a 10-10:30am check in time, not boarding time.😎

[Calnev1]

So far, my wife and I have done the short Miracle cruises to Ensenada three times this year:  the May 12 weekend, Memorial Day Weekend, and July 4 weekend.  We thought the boarding process was OK, not the best we have experienced, but not the worst either.

 

We had a suite twice, and each of those times we were on board within about an hour of our arrival at the terminal.  The third time we had a balcony, and we were on board in about 90 minutes.  I should caveat this.  On all three cruises, we had a scheduled morning check-in between ten AM and eleven AM . . . but we actually arrived between noon and one PM.  Our “late” arrival enabled us to get inside the terminal almost immediately.   Not sure what might have happened if we had actually arrived sometime in the morning.

[cruisingguy007]

1 hour ago, zentraveler said:

FWIW, I the boarding times for our 9/1 cruise on the Carnival website started at 10 am so  I have a 10-10:30 boarding time.

 

Got the same in window also and thought we lucked out, the Mrs. checked bookface and everyone reported getting the same window also lol. Hopefully, it's not a free for all cluster. Some folks leaving today reported heading onboard around 11 or so. 

[zentraveler]

39 minutes ago, Calnev1 said:

So far, my wife and I have done the short Miracle cruises to Ensenada three times this year:  the May 12 weekend, Memorial Day Weekend, and July 4 weekend.  We thought the boarding process was OK, not the best we have experienced, but not the worst either.

 

We had a suite twice, and each of those times we were on board within about an hour of our arrival at the terminal.  The third time we had a balcony, and we were on board in about 90 minutes.  I should caveat this.  On all three cruises, we had a scheduled morning check-in between ten AM and eleven AM . . . but we actually arrived between noon and one PM.  Our “late” arrival enabled us to get inside the terminal almost immediately.   Not sure what might have happened if we had actually arrived sometime in the morning.

We picked a later boarding time on our July trip (12:30-1 pm) thinking that the early boarding "rush" would be over (and we had things to do in SF that morning) but it seemed to get worse as the day went on. By the time we got into the terminal building the line was really, really long. So apparently it varies!

 

I am in a suite for this cruise; did your suite get you a faster boarding?

[Calnev1]

4 hours ago, zentraveler said:

 

I am in a suite for this cruise; did your suite get you a faster boarding?

Yes, likely.  At one  point in the check-in process there is a special line for suite guests.

[zentraveler]

11 hours ago, Calnev1 said:

Yes, likely.  At one  point in the check-in process there is a special line for suite guests.

Answering my own question. Got this from Carnival today:

 

• ONLINE CHECK-IN – All guests will be required to complete Online Check-In, which will open 14 days prior to sailing. Suite guests will be given 48 hours advance access to select their preferred Arrival Appointment. Please visit My Cruise Manager on Carnival.com starting at 16 days prior to sailing to complete your Online Check-In and select the Arrival Appointment that works best for your plans.

• PRIORITY CHECK-IN – You will be given priority check-in at the cruise terminal.

• STATEROOM ACCESS – Staterooms will be ready when you board.

• WATER SHUTTLE PRIORITY – Priority water shuttle debark will be provided subject to local guidance at the destinations we visit, which may change without prior notice. Our team on board will keep you informed of the debarkation plans for each port.

• DEBARK – You will have the benefit of priority debark.