Vista boarding time

[Harters]

Just printed off the boarding pass for our forthcoming Vista cruise from Miami . It's given us an earliest boarding time of 1.30 - 2.00, which was a bit of a surprise as O's website gives 12.00 as the usual boarding time for Concierge Verandas (webpage may be outdated as it only mentions the older ships and nothing for Vista). Check out time from our hotel is 11.00 so my question is two-fold.

 

Firstly, is O flexible about boarding if we were to arrive early (say, coming straight from the hotel and arriving about 11.30)? And, secondly, if no flexibility about boarding, is there anywhere to get a coffee, snack and sit down at Terminal J while we wait till 1.30.

[pinotlover]

Which boarding time did you request? Just a guess. If Oceania gave you a later boarding time, as a Concierge, perhaps that means they know the ship is arriving at port later than normal, thus….

 

 

[Harters]

1 minute ago, pinotlover said:

Which boarding time did you request

The 1.30 - 2.00 was the earliest that was on the drop-down menu. 

[pinotlover]

25 minutes ago, Harters said:

The 1.30 - 2.00 was the earliest that was on the drop-down menu. 

My guess is Oceania knows the ship is arriving at port later than normal and it needs the extra turnaround time.

 

Most hotels will hold your bags while you explore the town. I’d do so in lieu of possibly just sitting in a crowded cruise terminal.

[chloemonkey]

I recall reading that they were having some sort of inspection and that embarkation was delayed……but of course now cannot find that e mail!  
 

I chose the earliest time as we had a horrible time in Amsterdam a few months ago as they would not let us board earlier than our boarding Passes indicated……and I had to argue that we were in a category that allows you to arrive at any time. So I might try to arrive early?  But don’t be surprised if you are not allowed toward earlier than your paperwork indicates.

[golfguyhhi]

That drop-down arrival time menu is a holdover from Covid days when online check-in and temperature/nose swab testing was installed.  O wanted small numbers of people to arrive at spaced-apart times.  O hasn't bothered to have it removed.

There are only a fixed number of slots for passengers per 1/2 hour time slice.  The first online check-in folks to log in got the 1 am to 11;30 slot,  When that bucket was filled, 11:30 to noon opened up, and so  on until quite late in the afternoon.

Now that the Covid testing regime is no longer being enforced, you can arrive around 10:45, show your passport and boarding pass, go through security (x-ray machine) and then find a seat to wait until the boarding process begins - usually at 11 AM. Plenty of seats - no food or drink.

 

At 11 AM, the named suites (Owner, Vista, and Oceania) will be invited to step up to the counter to begin the boarding process, followed almost immediately (there are only a small number of the OVO suites, and very few of those passengers will be there at 11) by an open invitation to the remaining waiting passengers to get into the lines set up for them: 1 for penthouses, 1 (I think) for Concierge, and 1 for balcony, oceanview, and inside cabins.  While the lines are dedicated to those cabin groupings, the boarding check-in agents are first come, first served, and there are personnel at the head of each line directing the next in line to the next available agent.

 

You can board immediately, report to your muster station, visit the Terrace or Waves for lunch and a beverage, and then await the announcement that your class of cabin is available for you.  This is a good time to roam the public areas and get your bearings, or see if you can nab an additional specialty restaurant reservation or upgrade your beverage package.

 

This has been my experience in Miami, Barcelona, and Athens.  That means others may have had a different experience.

 

[Snaefell3]

2 hours ago, Harters said:

Just printed off the boarding pass for our forthcoming Vista cruise from Miami . It's given us an earliest boarding time of 1.30 - 2.00, which was a bit of a surprise as O's website gives 12.00 as the usual boarding time for Concierge Verandas (webpage may be outdated as it only mentions the older ships and nothing for Vista). Check out time from our hotel is 11.00 so my question is two-fold.

 

Firstly, is O flexible about boarding if we were to arrive early (say, coming straight from the hotel and arriving about 11.30)? And, secondly, if no flexibility about boarding, is there anywhere to get a coffee, snack and sit down at Terminal J while we wait till 1.30.

Several points, but the most important is that while O is (generally? invariably?) laid-back about boarding times, some *ports* are not -- and Miami is infamous:  You could get onto the ship if you could only get into the terminal.

 

• ICE takes longer with a ship when it arrives to the US on a repositioning.

• Miami's Terminal 'J' apparently has a downstairs you can get into early.

• O doesn't always get to use 'J', and Terminals 'A' – 'G' won't do that.

• 'J' ships are sometimes rerouted even as late as when the pilot boards.

[Woodrowst]

2 hours ago, Harters said:

Just printed off the boarding pass for our forthcoming Vista cruise from Miami . It's given us an earliest boarding time of 1.30 - 2.00, which was a bit of a surprise as O's website gives 12.00 as the usual boarding time for Concierge Verandas (webpage may be outdated as it only mentions the older ships and nothing for Vista). Check out time from our hotel is 11.00 so my question is two-fold.

 

Firstly, is O flexible about boarding if we were to arrive early (say, coming straight from the hotel and arriving about 11.30)? And, secondly, if no flexibility about boarding, is there anywhere to get a coffee, snack and sit down at Terminal J while we wait till 1.30.

Consider doing what many experienced cruisers do - have a nice leisurely lunch on shore (perhaps authentic Cuban in Little Cuba near the ship) and then a nice leisurely boarding between 1:00pm and 2:00pm.  It sure beats waiting in a cruise terminal and then trying to get lunch at the same time everyone else is.  Just a thought.

 

David