Is late check-in possible?

[nw2this]

Has anyone ever checked-in after the latest check-in time?  Like 2:30 for a 4 pm sail time. 

 

Their website says:

Final Boarding Time:
In order to facilitate the embarkation process, the processing of your eDocs, and to comply with new government regulations governing departure manifest, all guests are required to complete check-in at the cruise terminal and be onboard the ship no later than one hour prior to the departure time noted on their cruise documents or they will not be permitted to sail

 

This leads me to think that I should be able to board up to a few minutes before 3 and that they will pull the bridge at 3, but the last check-in time is 1:30 to 2.

 

I didn't get all the warnings about a booking a flight the day before and they don't tell you your check-in time when you book.  So, I booked a dangerously close flight time.  

 

Has anyone had success checking-in a bit after the last check-in time?

[DominicAUS]

I always thought that check in and all aboard was 2hrs before sail away. This could have changed from what you’ve shown. 
 

with flight delays/cancellations these days, I would see if you can change your flight for peace of mind, it’s not worth the stress of anything happens you’re delayed. 

[Asawi]

I know there people arriving to the Vancouver terminal not much over an hour (definitily less than 90 minutes) before departure last year. I THINK they were on NCL booked flights and transfers though, which may make a difference. 

[Asawi]

4 minutes ago, DominicAUS said:

I always thought that check in and all aboard was 2hrs before sail away. This could have changed from what you’ve shown. 
 

with flight delays/cancellations these days, I would see if you can change your flight for peace of mind, it’s not worth the stress of anything happens you’re delayed. 

I was thinking 2 hours as well! But here's what's in the FAQ (I think link should work even if itorigin ally is for EU site) https://www.ncl.com/fr/en/cruise-faq/boarding-times

 

And I totally agree about stress! I get a knot in my stomch just reading OP's post! 

Edited February 16 by Asawi

[DominicAUS]

7 minutes ago, Asawi said:

I was thinking 2 hours as well! But here's what's in the FAQ (I think link should work even if itorigin ally is for EU site) https://www.ncl.com/fr/en/cruise-faq/boarding-times

 

And I totally agree about stress! I get a knot in my stomch just reading OP's post! 

Yep I check the same and saw it’s one hour, in all the info I’ve had on my bookings say 2hrs. 
 

I agree travelling can be long and stressful and no need to add any more stress to the mix. I’d pay as much as it costs to change the flights. 

[Coastalbreezes]

Are you really willing to risk not being able to sail if your flight is late or delayed or there is traffic getting to the port? If it were me, I'd change the flight.

[rodndonna]

We are typically "risk-takers" who book day-of flights for cruises, but that would be waaay too close for me, and i would change unless this is not a cruise you are willing to risk a higher risk of missing.

 

[wcook]

One problem is you aren’t just hopping out of a cab and running up the gangplank. You have to go through the whole security and check-in process in the cruise terminal first. Which can take a while assuming the staff is even still there to check you in that late. 

[SoloAlaska]

What if your waiting for luggage or your taxi gets stuck in traffic or there a construction detour…. This timing is waaaay too tight. You’re not a first time cruiser. I’ve boarded other cruises on the last group but never past. Also I had flown in the day before but was on an excursion which could be cut short if necessary. Flights are not flexible like that and the only reasonable choice is to change to an earlier flight.

[JGander]

Call NCL directly to discuss this.

 

The latest check in time is your arrival time, this gives them plenty of time to process everyone and get them on board. If you are arriving a few minutes before they pull the gangway you may not have time to actually get processed and checked in.

[LloydJr]

11 hours ago, nw2this said:

Has anyone ever checked-in after the latest check-in time? 

There is no such thing as a "check-in time."

[cincicruisers]

11 hours ago, nw2this said:

Has anyone ever checked-in after the latest check-in time?  Like 2:30 for a 4 pm sail time. 

 

Their website says:

Final Boarding Time:
In order to facilitate the embarkation process, the processing of your eDocs, and to comply with new government regulations governing departure manifest, all guests are required to complete check-in at the cruise terminal and be onboard the ship no later than one hour prior to the departure time noted on their cruise documents or they will not be permitted to sail

 

This leads me to think that I should be able to board up to a few minutes before 3 and that they will pull the bridge at 3, but the last check-in time is 1:30 to 2.

 

I didn't get all the warnings about a booking a flight the day before and they don't tell you your check-in time when you book.  So, I booked a dangerously close flight time.  

 

Has anyone had success checking-in a bit after the last check-in time?

I would not be able to handle the stress of this situation.  Can you adjust your flight?  Preferably the day before the cruise leaves?

[IAcruising]

 

My brain experienced a nasty twitch when I read this OP. I hope this ends well, but I'm not going to make any bets on it.

 

[MCMC100]

Oh dear…….

[broberts]

15 hours ago, nw2this said:

Has anyone ever checked-in after the latest check-in time?  Like 2:30 for a 4 pm sail time. 

 

Their website says:

Final Boarding Time:
In order to facilitate the embarkation process, the processing of your eDocs, and to comply with new government regulations governing departure manifest, all guests are required to complete check-in at the cruise terminal and be onboard the ship no later than one hour prior to the departure time noted on their cruise documents or they will not be permitted to sail

 

This leads me to think that I should be able to board up to a few minutes before 3 and that they will pull the bridge at 3, but the last check-in time is 1:30 to 2.

 

I didn't get all the warnings about a booking a flight the day before and they don't tell you your check-in time when you book.  So, I booked a dangerously close flight time.  

 

Has anyone had success checking-in a bit after the last check-in time?

 

An important omission from the quoted text:

"Please note that guests who have not filled out their Online Check-In must arrive at the port two (2) hours prior to sailing."

 

[JGander]

6 hours ago, LloydJr said:

There is no such thing as a "check-in time."

You can not check in before they open the offices and start processing people.

 

And you can not check in after the ship has departed.

[BirdTravels]

17 hours ago, Asawi said:

I know there people arriving to the Vancouver terminal not much over an hour (definitily less than 90 minutes) before departure last year. I THINK they were on NCL booked flights and transfers though, which may make a difference. 

The obvious difference is the ship needing to clear with Canadian immigrations versus US Customs and Border Patrol. It is not the physical process of checking in, it is the process of taking the data and clearing the departure of everyone on board with the local authorities. On our must recent cruise, there were passenger passports from over 48 different counties. 
 

Most places, including the edocs says 2 hours. I would go with what is in your printed boarding pass versus some random information from a web site. 

 

If you are late and denied boarding, you can point at the website all you want as you watch the ship leave without you. 

Edited February 17 by BirdTravels

[LloydJr]

39 minutes ago, JGander said:

You can not check in before they open the offices and start processing people.

 

And you can not check in after the ship has departed.

Okay, I'll grant you that there is a check-in time range with an infinite number of eligible check-in times.  So, I was totally wrong.  As far as East is from the West.  I said "no check-in time," when in fact there are infinite check-in times.  That is likely the most wrong that anybody will ever be. 🤣  There simply can't be a larger gap than zero to infinity.  Did I win the internet today? 😎

[nw2this]

Thanks for the input, but I was hoping to hear from someone who may have arrived later.  I understand most try to arrive as early as possible.  It was a 'free' cruise and I would pay more to change my flight than the cruise cost.  So, if I miss it, I miss it.  I hope I don't, but changing my flight doesn't work for me. I did complete online check-in and I purchased NCL cancel for any reason insurance.  If the flight is delayed, I will call and cancel immediately, although I have been tracking the flight and it arrives early more often than it arrives on-time or late, so probability is on my side.  Thanks all.  

[graphicguy]

I think this kind of breaks down to how badly the OP wants to take this cruise.  Way....way....way too many ways for things to go sideways here.  Delays in luggage, traffic from the airport to the pier, getting through the terminal,  etc.  I'm not even certain there will be any agents to check you in that late at the pier.

 

So, either pay for the earlier flight, or just chalk it up as a cruise you can't make (be sure to check the cancel for any reason terms....many times those even won't cover being late).

 

To me, the probability of this going well are near nil.

[bfahs]

Whether you can get on just 1 hour before is kinda irrelevant because of the risk you are taking to miss your cruise. 

[goldmom]

Well, I don't understand why the OP has "cancel for any reason" insurance for a free cruise.  I understand having lost luggage or health coverage insurance but the "cancel for any reason" insurance is usually very expensive.  How much would you actually get back if you cancel if the cruise was free?

[nw2this]

I took the insurance when they offered it when I booked. It wasn't expensive since the cruise was free.    I didn't really understand it.  I paid only paid for taxes and fees and FAS gratuities.  Will I get those back with or without the insurance if I miss it? If not, I'd hope to get back %75 of that with the insurance if I call and cancel before they sail. 

 

The one hour before gives me a whole extra hour and I'm gonna need it.  I just hope they honor their policy. Everyone says check-in time is when you arrive not when you board, right? So, if check-in time ends at 2, they must expect a few people to board a bit after that. 

 

I'm not checking luggage.  I understand I might miss it and I don't want to take it bad enough to purchase an earlier flight. 

 

Anyway, I will report back on what happens.  

[WorldTourPrincess]

On a Princess cruise to Alaska in 2006 my family flew from Boston to Vancouver the day our ship sailed.  First our flight got delayed leaving Boston.  Then my mom’s bag got lost and she had to fill out paperwork and we missed our connecting flight and had to be rebooked. Luckily we arranged our flights and transfers through Princess.  Shuttle busses long gone, we were met by representatives at the airport in Vancouver.  They ushered us into a taxi who FLEW across town to the pier. When we arrived we were met by more workers who ran us through the cruise terminal telling us what to say on the health forms. We walked up the gangway and they shut the door behind us. We were literally the last people to board.  By the time we got to our room the ship was already pulling out.  And there was my moms suitcase who managed to take an earlier flight.😂 Great story now, but I would never cut it so close again!

[debenson0723]

7 hours ago, nw2this said:

I took the insurance when they offered it when I booked. It wasn't expensive since the cruise was free.    I didn't really understand it.  I paid only paid for taxes and fees and FAS gratuities.  Will I get those back with or without the insurance if I miss it? If not, I'd hope to get back %75 of that with the insurance if I call and cancel before they sail. 

 

The one hour before gives me a whole extra hour and I'm gonna need it.  I just hope they honor their policy. Everyone says check-in time is when you arrive not when you board, right? So, if check-in time ends at 2, they must expect a few people to board a bit after that. 

 

I'm not checking luggage.  I understand I might miss it and I don't want to take it bad enough to purchase an earlier flight. 

 

Anyway, I will report back on what happens.  

If you miss the ship you will get back the port fees, taxes and FAS gratuities (basically the things you didn't use because you weren't on board). So I don't see much of a need for the insurance but you already paid for it. Good luck and I hope you make the ship.