Arriving before check in time

[gmkgks]

Do to our travel schedules and adding this cruise at the last minute, we will be arriving  at the port early. Since this is a last minute cruise we aren’t scheduled to check in until 3pm. It doesn’t make sense for us to add an extra stop rather than going straight to the doc. Will they really make us wait for 4 hours at boarding?  If so, I probably won’t be doing last minute cruises again. We are emerald if that matters.  

[ONECRUISER]

16 minutes ago, gmkgks said:

Do to our travel schedules and adding this cruise at the last minute, we will be arriving  at the port early. Since this is a last minute cruise we aren’t scheduled to check in until 3pm. It doesn’t make sense for us to add an extra stop rather than going straight to the doc. Will they really make us wait for 4 hours at boarding?  If so, I probably won’t be doing last minute cruises again. We are emerald if that matters.  

C&A Status doesnt matter. But even 3pm, not likely need wait until then. Where you going out of? Keep check app though, might offer earlier time to pick at some point. Few months ago at my Port they were checking making some wait but that was first 2 hours, after it thinned out I looked down and were not holding anyone.

Edited August 23, 2022 by ONECRUISER

[karena1]

If going on Freedom, they never even look at your boarding time.  You just go to the waiting lounge and as soon as boarding starts, they let you board by row until everyone is boarded.

 

[HicksRA]

They’ll probably just let you get in line. 

[Another_Critic]

11 minutes ago, gmkgks said:

Do to our travel schedules and adding this cruise at the last minute, we will be arriving  at the port early. Since this is a last minute cruise we aren’t scheduled to check in until 3pm. It doesn’t make sense for us to add an extra stop rather than going straight to the doc. Will they really make us wait for 4 hours at boarding?  If so, I probably won’t be doing last minute cruises again. We are emerald if that matters.  

Check the app periodically to see if an earlier time is available.

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, gmkgks said:

Do to our travel schedules and adding this cruise at the last minute, we will be arriving  at the port early. Since this is a last minute cruise we aren’t scheduled to check in until 3pm. It doesn’t make sense for us to add an extra stop rather than going straight to the doc. Will they really make us wait for 4 hours at boarding?  If so, I probably won’t be doing last minute cruises again. We are emerald if that matters.  

No. Just go to the dock. I have been on 5 post-restart cruises and have never had my time checked. A couple of times, there were "sorting lines" with times at the entrance, but we have never been turned away. 

[shipgeeks]

What port?  I know that at Baltimore, they are strict.  We were in our 12:30 line when a 2:30 person arrived.  She was told to wait elsewhere and come back at her time.

[lenquixote66]

3 hours ago, gmkgks said:

Do to our travel schedules and adding this cruise at the last minute, we will be arriving  at the port early. Since this is a last minute cruise we aren’t scheduled to check in until 3pm. It doesn’t make sense for us to add an extra stop rather than going straight to the doc. Will they really make us wait for 4 hours at boarding?  If so, I probably won’t be doing last minute cruises again. We are emerald if that matters.  

In nearly 50 years of cruising we have always arrived way before a check in time and have never had to wait for the designated boarding time.

[MommaBear55]

29 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

In nearly 50 years of cruising we have always arrived way before a check in time and have never had to wait for the designated boarding time.

How much have you cruises since Covid? We've done 6 post Covid. We have been asked to show our time, and after they have checked in our time group, they then have let those waiting come in if the earlier line has cleared out. OP, you may be able to check in early, I echo the others who say keep checking the times to see if you can change to an earlier time. 

[lenquixote66]

2 minutes ago, MommaBear55 said:

How much have you cruises since Covid? We've done 6 post Covid. We have been asked to show our time, and after they have checked in our time group, they then have let those waiting come in if the earlier line has cleared out. OP, you may be able to check in early, I echo the others who say keep checking the times to see if you can change to an earlier time. 

Zero cruises since Covid.

[MommaBear55]

Just now, lenquixote66 said:

Zero cruises since Covid.

Sadly, the way we check in now is one of the many things that have changed. Luckily, it's a small problem in the big scheme of life. 

[lenquixote66]

1 minute ago, MommaBear55 said:

Sadly, the way we check in now is one of the many things that have changed. Luckily, it's a small problem in the big scheme of life. 

I was not aware that changes existed due to Covid .Sorry for my post.

[dabucs]

Definitely depends on port.  Some are strict, some aren't.

[Stealthdog]

1 hour ago, shipgeeks said:

What port?  I know that at Baltimore, they are strict.  We were in our 12:30 line when a 2:30 person arrived.  She was told to wait elsewhere and come back at her time.

 

Baltimore was very strict, but I think it has to do with it being the tiniest port I've been to.  I was a last minute booking and got a very late boarding time.  I ubered there a little early and they checked my boarding time.  The Florida ports are generally more fluid - much larger and easier to process people.  Even Port Canaveral (which is smaller than Miami and Fort Lauderdale) - we showed up early last December for a Celebrity cruise and they just moved us through.

[PhillyFan33579]

I have been on 9 RCI cruises this year, all from Florida ports. I have seen everything from check-in times being strictly enforced to cruise staff not even checking your check-in time.

 

If you show up early, don’t be like this guy on Freedom. He showed up two hours prior to his check-in time and they made him wait the entire two hours according to him. He then spent at least an hour in the Schooner Bar complaining to everyone about what happened. He wasn’t too happy when no one agreed with him that he should have been alllowed to check-in early. Hopefully he enjoyed the rest of his cruise. We never saw him again during the cruise. 
 

 

 

 

[slyster]

On 8/23/2022 at 7:47 PM, shipgeeks said:

What port?  I know that at Baltimore, they are strict.  We were in our 12:30 line when a 2:30 person arrived.  She was told to wait elsewhere and come back at her time.

Same here in Baltimore a couple of weeks ago.  We arrived at 10:15 for our 10-10:30 boarding time and someone with a boarding time of 12 was told they had to wait.  They seemed surprised and they were definitely not happy.