Getting on board the Magica?

[CruiseforFun2006]

Ok I have heard everything from people waiting in line for only 5 mins. and getting onboard in 5 mins. with no probs. to people waiting in lines for an hour or two before getting on. So do they keep things moving fairly well getting on board the ship? What time frame should we expect? Our flight gets in at FLL airport at 12:05pm. We have paid transfers but know I have heard your better off throwing those away and just taking a cab from the airport for about $15 because you will save an hour waiting for the bus and your luggage! So if we get our luggage from the airport and "CAB" it to the port and were there around 1:00pm how long should we expect to wait. Any good tips????????? Thanks!!

[joetrizeo]

cruiseforfun, nice to meetcha.

 

we took a continental flight from cleveland that also got in to FLL at 12:05.

we got our luggage and found our costa group about 12:30.

at 1 our luggage was on the bus and we were leaving for the port

we got to the port and got off about 1:30.

we waited in 3 lines, first to check your carry on luggage, second to do the actual paperwork and embarkation and third to get your picture taken on the walkway to get to the boat. also, after your paperwork is stamped 'complete' there are 2 places where they will check your ID's with your paper work to make sure you are who you are. we were on the boat shortly after 2pm.

 

the length of time you wait really depends on if you arrive during busy hours, i'm not sure but assume busy hours are between 1 and 3.

All in all its nothing that should really bother anyone. yes waiting in line is the MOST boring thing to do, however you wont mind becaue all you can think of is 'this is it! i'm here! my vacation has started!'

 

Every costa person at embarkation is very firm and straight with thier orders in order to keep everybody moving. they know people are excited and also know some first timer's might not know where to go or what to do.

 

if you already paid for your transfer vouchers you might just want to use them or try to get them refunded. if loosing the money is no biggie for you, defenetly take a cab.

 

my tip for you is you can try to cut time in some areas (cab vs busses) but in other areas its just going to have to take plain old fashioned waiting. if you are on a super packed cruise and everyone shows up when you do you will wait. but it is really not that big of a deal.

 

my last tip for you. after you walk up the walk-way (ramp) and are finally IN the ship, go! thats it, no more lines or anything, your vacation has begun! go to your room! eat something at the buffet! explore!

 

have fun!

 

-Jim

[packercruising]

Hey Jim, I am sure glad you didn't abandon the boards post cruise like I have heard most people do. Have really enjoyed your posts!

 

I figure I am not post cruise anymore but very early pre-cruise. :)

 

How long did it take you to get on the ship from the time you got in line? We got on in about 10-15 minutes because my wife has a handicap (besides me :)) and we got moved to the head of the line. But we saw people that were with us about 45 minutes later on the ship so it must have gone pretty quick.

[mondello]

Hey C4Fun'06, We were on the Magica 3/5-3/12 with a full ship of about 2,700+ and I guess everybody arrives at the Port mostly between Noon-1:30PM. Those of us that had hotel rooms Sat. night were checking out by noon and heading to the Port. The rest were flying or driving in from everywhere and at peak times the line stretched outside the port terminal onto the sidewalk. This was my first cruise and I think it takes 45-60 minutes to get through the line and aboard the ship. It's really no different than the wait for any other big undertaking. I was excited to be going, didn't mind the wait to get there, and had a hell of a week aboard the Magica!

[shortytv]

Just a heads up... when you get on the boat you go straight to your room and your keys are there waiting for you. One in the door to get in and then ones in the room with your names on it to use for purchases onboard. Me being a first time cruiser was confused about how we get our keys and to get started... You do not need to register your credit card right away either.. we used ours for three days before registering and we had no problems.

 

Happy cruising... we had an amazing time 3/5-3/12 magica