Embarkation day - best time to board?

[OzKiwiJJ]

3 hours ago, trbarton said:

Going to your stateroom right away can very. Since I mostly cruise on Princess, sometimes I can go to my stateroom right away, & at least drop off any carry on. I wouldn’t worry about it as I’m at the terminal well before the boarding time as I want to get on the ship ASAP. I’ve never waited until later as I would rather be relaxing on the ship.

 

Enjoy your cruise & please come back & let us know how it goes. 

 

Tom😀

Even on Princess it can vary. We've had at least one Princess cruise, maybe two or three (I've lost count), where the cabin decks were closed off at the lift foyers until at least 1pm. On all the rest of our Princess cruises we were able to drop our carry-ons in our cabin as soon as we boarded.

[charliedalrymple]

I'm with you, OzKiwi!  We love being in the first wave of people on board and enjoying a drink while we watch everyone else boarding. 

 

We boarded a NZ cruise in Sydney in December.  As you mentioned, we can't be "green" because they don't ship medallions down under, but no need to worry.  If you have done all of the other paperwork, not having a medallion won't slow you down at all.  You simply walk up to the check-in counter like everyone else and they will have your medallions right there.  You will need to show your passport as ID, but not for immigration purposes. 

 

We got to the terminal at about 11:30 and there was a line, but it moves very quickly; we were on board within about 15 minutes.  Bear in mind that you probably won't be able to get into your room at that point, nor will you luggage be there yet.  Just sit yourself down in your favourite bar with your hand luggage and relax!

 

 

[memoak]

12 hours ago, charliedalrymple said:

I'm with you, OzKiwi!  We love being in the first wave of people on board and enjoying a drink while we watch everyone else boarding. 

 

We boarded a NZ cruise in Sydney in December.  As you mentioned, we can't be "green" because they don't ship medallions down under, but no need to worry.  If you have done all of the other paperwork, not having a medallion won't slow you down at all.  You simply walk up to the check-in counter like everyone else and they will have your medallions right there.  You will need to show your passport as ID, but not for immigration purposes. 

 

We got to the terminal at about 11:30 and there was a line, but it moves very quickly; we were on board within about 15 minutes.  Bear in mind that you probably won't be able to get into your room at that point, nor will you luggage be there yet.  Just sit yourself down in your favourite bar with your hand luggage and relax!

 

 

When we got off the Crown at 8:30 in SF there were already people lined up. Could not believe it

[capriccio]

2 minutes ago, memoak said:

When we got off the Crown at 8:30 in SF there were already people lined up. Could not believe it

Want to bet that some of them complained about how long it took to board the ship?

[Goldenrosebags]

When we we're boarding in New York. We lined up at 2:00 and the line was so long that the ship had to leave late to get everyone on. We we're in line for over 2 hours. So you just never know.

[trbarton]

10 hours ago, memoak said:

When we got off the Crown at 8:30 in SF there were already people lined up. Could not believe it

I’m curious what time do you normally arrive for a cruise & what’s the line like? 
 

l live in San Francisco & yes I get there early, but enjoyed being the 1st group to get into the terminal, & since I’m Elite one of the first to board. I also know someone who works for the company at the terminal so it’s nice to say hello. 
 

I’m on a cruise in April from San Pedro & YES, I’ll also be at the terminal early. 
 

Tom😀

[trbarton]

10 hours ago, capriccio said:

Want to bet that some of them complained about how long it took to board the ship?

I’ve never had a long wait arriving early & no complaints when I can be one of the 1st persons to board. 

I’ve been at the terminal early & usually didn’t wait more the 30-40 minutes, sometimes less. The only issue I’ve had arriving early is are the porters ready, but when they see the $ in my hands they are suddenly available. 
 

Tom😀

Edited March 5 by trbarton

[OzKiwiJJ]

10 hours ago, memoak said:

When we got off the Crown at 8:30 in SF there were already people lined up. Could not believe it

I've never seen that in Australia, thank goodness. 

[Muffinz]

thanks for the replies

We'll be staying in a hotel in Sydney and will no doubt have to check out at 10am, so I said to wife we might as well get a taxi down to the cruise terminal and just wait

if the weather is fine outside, we can enjoy the sunshine 😀

[lx200gps]

On 3/4/2024 at 11:15 PM, trbarton said:

I’m curious what time do you normally arrive for a cruise & what’s the line like? 
 

l live in San Francisco & yes I get there early, but enjoyed being the 1st group to get into the terminal, & since I’m Elite one of the first to board. I also know someone who works for the company at the terminal so it’s nice to say hello. 
 

I’m on a cruise in April from San Pedro & YES, I’ll also be at the terminal early. 
 

Tom😀

We did exactly that a few weeks ago at SP. The Uber from our LAX hotel was a lot faster than I expected and we arrived at Pier 92 around 8:30 as well. We waited in a small "holding" tent with the 100 or so who had arrived even earlier than us until check-in started around 9:30AM and check-in was very fast. We sat in the Elite lounge until boarding started around 10:30 and for the first time ever, we were actually the very first to reach the Sanctuary. We, too, love to maximize our time on board.

[memoak]

On 3/4/2024 at 8:15 PM, trbarton said:

I’m curious what time do you normally arrive for a cruise & what’s the line like? 
 

l live in San Francisco & yes I get there early, but enjoyed being the 1st group to get into the terminal, & since I’m Elite one of the first to board. I also know someone who works for the company at the terminal so it’s nice to say hello. 
 

I’m on a cruise in April from San Pedro & YES, I’ll also be at the terminal early. 
 

Tom😀

It depends on the terminal. The last few times we left from SF we got there at 11 or 12 and saw that the line circled the building. We immediately go across the street to Fog City and have lunch. Then we went to the terminal around 1.30 and had no wait at all no one in line much more relaxing