Junior Suite Boarding Times (Explorer)

[stevea36]

Hi,  Just a quick question to make sure that I am understanding it correctly:

 

Do Junior suite occupants have express boarding at Miami for Explorer of the Seas?  Do they need to make early reservations to board early  or are they, like other suite occupants, allowed to board at any time, regardless of what time they are assigned.

 

Thanks

Steve

[sergeant655]

Junior suites board  with the suites or can arrive anytime 

[rockmom]

15 minutes ago, sergeant655 said:

Junior suites board  with the suites or can arrive anytime 

even with suites, you are still supposed to choose a boarding time but doing the online check in when that opens up (45 days out).  But suites can arrive at the terminal an hour earlier than the time they chose--unless the chose the very first time slot of the day, getting their earlier than that will just mean a wait. 

Edited January 26, 2023 by rockmom

[Luckynana]

2 hours ago, sergeant655 said:

Junior suites board  with the suites or can arrive anytime 

 

My boarding time on Monday is 12:30-1:00.  Since I'm in a JS I can just arrive any time??

[rockmom]

17 minutes ago, Luckynana said:

 

My boarding time on Monday is 12:30-1:00.  Since I'm in a JS I can just arrive any time??

you can arrive up to one hour earlier or later and still be considered to be within your assigned time.  

[Luckynana]

1 hour ago, rockmom said:

you can arrive up to one hour earlier or later and still be considered to be within your assigned time.  

Thank you!

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, Luckynana said:

 

My boarding time on Monday is 12:30-1:00.  Since I'm in a JS I can just arrive any time??

Yes. arrive at any time. No one checks. No one cares. 

Edited January 27, 2023 by BirdTravels

[DaKahuna]

 It's not BOARDING TIME.  It is a check-in time.  

 

 

[Tin can]

On 1/27/2023 at 3:55 AM, BirdTravels said:

Yes. arrive at any time. No one checks. No one cares. 

 

They cared in Southampton over the summer and we saw people asked to wait outside if they were early. I guess we shall see what Cape Liberty is like in April.

[smokeybandit]

On 1/27/2023 at 12:42 AM, DaKahuna said:

 It's not BOARDING TIME.  It is a check-in time.  

 

 

Actually it's an arrival time since there are no guarantees you'll check in as soon as you arrive 

[twinmommy08]

Check in time is different than boarding time. You may check in early but may need to wait to board. Only full suites/Pins board the ship first once boarding opens (actually walking on the ship). Depends on the port, but you may be in a junior suite but gold level and be one of the last to board. Recently I’ve seen boarding by status after full suites board first. 
 

It doesn’t really matter if you check in later. Most just check in and board the ship right away since the early birds have already boarded. 

[Ourusualbeach]

36 minutes ago, twinmommy08 said:

Check in time is different than boarding time. You may check in early but may need to wait to board. Only full suites/Pins board the ship first once boarding opens (actually walking on the ship). Depends on the port, but you may be in a junior suite but gold level and be one of the last to board. Recently I’ve seen boarding by status after full suites board first. 
 

It doesn’t really matter if you check in later. Most just check in and board the ship right away since the early birds have already boarded. 

Junior suites say suites on their boarding pass and board with the rest of the suites.

[rockmom]

49 minutes ago, twinmommy08 said:

Check in time is different than boarding time. You may check in early but may need to wait to board. Only full suites/Pins board the ship first once boarding opens (actually walking on the ship). Depends on the port, but you may be in a junior suite but gold level and be one of the last to board. Recently I’ve seen boarding by status after full suites board first. 
 

It doesn’t really matter if you check in later. Most just check in and board the ship right away since the early birds have already boarded. 

Not true about Junior Suites.   As Ourusualbeach pointed out, it says 'suite' on your set sail pass.  It's also listed on the benefits list on Royal's site.   I have sailed quite a few times in a Jr. Suite and that has always been the case.  Here is the set sail pass for my son's upcoming sailing.  He's in a Jr Suite--they don't flag what type of suite you're in, and they board with all the other suites.  

 

[eem0924]

Yes,  we recently sailed on explorer in a junior suite and we were able to board early with other suites and pinnacles.

[colmenares3]

OK, reading this as a suite newbie, looks like we check in 45 days before our cruise and get a check-in time, but are eligible to board as soon as boarding starts because of our suite status? 

We're sailing Mariner of the Seas from Port Canaveral, and trying to figure out when/if to book a breakfast at Disney LOL. One of our group wants to board as early as possible, and I'm trying to avoid getting there too too early. 

 

[ShillyShally]

12 minutes ago, colmenares3 said:

OK, reading this as a suite newbie, looks like we check in 45 days before our cruise and get a check-in time, but are eligible to board as soon as boarding starts because of our suite status? 

We're sailing Mariner of the Seas from Port Canaveral, and trying to figure out when/if to book a breakfast at Disney LOL. One of our group wants to board as early as possible, and I'm trying to avoid getting there too too early. 

 

I'm not sure I'd recommend trying to do breakfast at Disney the day you are boarding!  Just getting out of Disney and then to the port could be problematic.

[colmenares3]

3 minutes ago, ShillyShally said:

I'm not sure I'd recommend trying to do breakfast at Disney the day you are boarding!  Just getting out of Disney and then to the port could be problematic.

That makes sense.

Do you have any thoughts on when we should get to port? I was thinking by 11, but now I'm seeing people getting onto the ship earlier, and like I mentioned, one of my cruisemates wants to optimize our ship time! Who doesn't, right? 😊

[ShillyShally]

5 minutes ago, colmenares3 said:

That makes sense.

Do you have any thoughts on when we should get to port? I was thinking by 11, but now I'm seeing people getting onto the ship earlier, and like I mentioned, one of my cruisemates wants to optimize our ship time! Who doesn't, right? 😊

When is your cruise?  If within 45 days, your time options may be limited.  If beyond 45 days, make sure to check in as soon as you can on the first day you can check-in.  We do like to get on early, since that is day 1 of the cruise to maximize the time we have on board - check out the ship, grab a drink/snacks, etc.  The earliest slot is typically 10:30 a.m. but you usually have to check-in just after midnight on the day check-in opens to grab that.  

[colmenares3]

Just now, ShillyShally said:

The earliest slot is typically 10:30 a.m. but you usually have to check-in just after midnight on the day check-in opens to grab that.  

Not until November, our check-in date is Sept 22. Good to know that you can do that at midnight, I'm assuming eastern time? 

[ShillyShally]

Just now, colmenares3 said:

Not until November, our check-in date is Sept 22. Good to know that you can do that at midnight, I'm assuming eastern time? 

Yep, and the app makes it easiest - if you click the person icon in your app for your sailing it should give the option to start check-in and you can simply choose your time and save and come back later to add ID data, etc.  Though it's also super easy to scan passports if you're using those.

 

It's always the time zone for the port where the ship is leaving from, so yes, for PC it's EST!

[The Scurvy Pirate]

My 10/15 cruise opened last night at 12:05 a.m.  On the app I skipped to the check in time (which was 11:30) then went back and scanned the passport, picked country of origin, typed in emergency contact and credit card info for on-board expenses (my previous card had expired so had to put in the new info), next section still showed the earliest check-in time was 11:30.  By 12:10 a.m. I was completely checked in.  I will keep checking the app as I am hopeful that they will release/open the 10:30 and 11:00 check-in times as we get closer to the sail date.

[Jetdriver787]

On 1/29/2023 at 3:52 PM, Ourusualbeach said:

Junior suites say suites on their boarding pass and board with the rest of the suites.

They used to, but not any more. We boarded Anthem 3 weeks ago and no “suite” on set sail pass or luggage tags. Boarding again in 3 days and exactly the same.

[RFerrington]

We are boarding Grandeur (Tampa) on Saturday, are staying in a JS and our set sail passes have "Suite" printed on them.  I think there was a glitch a couple of weeks ago where the set sail passes were FUBAR but I think they've got it fixed now,  @The Scurvy Pirate if your SSP has "Suite" printed on it you will be able to board with the Suites/Pinnacles and should be allowed to enter the terminal at any time after they open the doors.

[Ourusualbeach]

4 minutes ago, Jetdriver787 said:

They used to, but not any more. We boarded Anthem 3 weeks ago and no “suite” on set sail pass or luggage tags. Boarding again in 3 days and exactly the same.

Is that fleet wide or just something special for you folks over in the UK

[Jetdriver787]

1 minute ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Is that fleet wide or just something special for you folks over in the UK

🤷‍♂️