Platinum traveling with first timers

[sherbear850]

We are going to Alaska with my sister and her husband Sept 10. Is it possible to get on board at the same time? Will we be required to wait till they have been cleared. Or should we just say “see you later on the lido sister. Any chance we’re going to get on together or will they be held back?

[staceyglow]

If they are in the same cabin, they can board with you.

 

If not, no.

[mz-s]

If you all want to board at the same time, you can board when their zone is called. Likewise with water shuttles, if there are any in your itinerary.

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, sherbear850 said:

We are going to Alaska with my sister and her husband Sept 10. Is it possible to get on board at the same time? Will we be required to wait till they have been cleared. Or should we just say “see you later on the lido sister. Any chance we’re going to get on together or will they be held back?

You will need to either wait in the terminal for them or arrive with them at their later arrival appointment.

[Purvis1231]

Just say, "See you later on the lido sister." It will probably be less than an hour, they will be fine.

[BlerkOne]

It's possible nobody is checking, or only loosely checking. Many people don't seem to follow instructions embarking or debarking. YMMV.

[jsglow]

6 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

It's possible nobody is checking, or only loosely checking. Many people don't seem to follow instructions embarking or debarking. YMMV.

Possible? Yes. But unlikely. My experience is that they look at the boarding pass pretty closely looking for that C04 (or whatever) designation as each guest enters. Let's not encourage blatant rule breaking Blerk. The OP asked an honest question and got an honest and pretty hard and fast correct procedural answer. All good. 

[staceyglow]

6 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

It's possible nobody is checking, or only loosely checking. Many people don't seem to follow instructions embarking or debarking. YMMV.

Isn't there enough rule-breaking on Carnival without encouraging additional folks to try it? 🙂

 

People who aren't platinum or diamond pay money for the privilege of boarding early. If someone tries to sneak on early without buying FTTF, why wouldn't that be considered stealing? 

[Number12]

We had the same situation.  Chose a 12:30 boarding time and everyone boarded at the same time.  Pretty much a walk through.

[nc762shooter]

Either wait and board with them or tell them you'll meet up later. If I was in their position I would understand if you wanted to board early and meet up later, especially if you bought me my first drink LOL. Conversely if you waited and boarded with me, I might just buy you a drink.😉

[dallasdan]

We have this same situation coming up.  We will just board with our friends at a later time.  At this point I don't feel the need to rush on board anymore. 

[CruisinArn]

Our last cruise out of Charleston, our adult sons went with us and had their own cabin. They are Gold we are Platinum, we just decided to go in line with them. But what was funny was the people standing in front of us had an arrival time of 2:30pm yet it was 11am and there they were. So guess it depends on the port as well, not sure how strictly 'rules' are enforced.

 

The one thing I was told at guest services was concerning the tenders(water shuttle) they were able to go with us to the meeting point and get on with us, same with debarkation. They also told me that we 'should' have been able to board at the same time, considering we traveled together and were family. But where do they draw the line then, a bus load of people could be family and they traveled together, one persons status gets everyone the status ? 

[RoperDK]

We usually go ahead and board unless they are total cruise newbies.  It gives us a chance to put our carry-ons in the cabin and scope out a good place for us all to sit for drinks and/or food.  We then text them our location and they are usually onboard quickly after that.  If they have a much later boarding time, then you might not want to take up valuable seating space and have them just see you later.    

[BlerkOne]

2 hours ago, nc762shooter said:

Either wait and board with them or tell them you'll meet up later. If I was in their position I would understand if you wanted to board early and meet up later, especially if you bought me my first drink LOL. Conversely if you waited and boarded with me, I might just buy you a drink.😉

First drink is free for many now, but not first timers.

[Elaine5715]

48 minutes ago, CruisinArn said:

Our last cruise out of Charleston, our adult sons went with us and had their own cabin. They are Gold we are Platinum, we just decided to go in line with them. But what was funny was the people standing in front of us had an arrival time of 2:30pm yet it was 11am and there they were. So guess it depends on the port as well, not sure how strictly 'rules' are enforced.

 

The one thing I was told at guest services was concerning the tenders(water shuttle) they were able to go with us to the meeting point and get on with us, same with debarkation. They also told me that we 'should' have been able to board at the same time, considering we traveled together and were family. But where do they draw the line then, a bus load of people could be family and they traveled together, one persons status gets everyone the status ? 

Terminal people are not Carnival employees and shouldn't be telling anyone a "should" be able to board before their boarding group.  

[sherbear850]

Thanks for all your replies we might enjoy a few hours without big sister and I think they will enjoy the excitement of exploring the ship on their first cruise. So decisions made.

[May1cruiser]

If it is port of Seattle, it was the easiest boarding we have ever experienced. We chose a later time so we could all head in together. About 8 minutes from entering terminal to Muster drill.

[tonit964]

3 hours ago, sherbear850 said:

Thanks for all your replies we might enjoy a few hours without big sister and I think they will enjoy the excitement of exploring the ship on their first cruise. So decisions made.

A little different take on it is, if this is their first ever cruise, I would absolutely wait and board with them. Just to see their reaction to everything. 
Have a great time. 

[Mike45LC]

We are in this exact situation in September.  We will board as a group so we can escort our newbie relatives to their cabin to drop off their carry -ons (if permitted).  I’ll give up our priority in order to escort the newbies and see their excitement ignite as we board!

[vwrestler171]

23 hours ago, Mike45LC said:

We are in this exact situation in September.  We will board as a group so we can escort our newbie relatives to their cabin to drop off their carry -ons (if permitted).  I’ll give up our priority in order to escort the newbies and see their excitement ignite as we board!

Newbies cannot drop their stuff in the cabins.  You can, but they cannot go to their cabin until 1:30.

[jsglow]

On 8/5/2024 at 10:41 PM, Mike45LC said:

We are in this exact situation in September.  We will board as a group so we can escort our newbie relatives to their cabin to drop off their carry -ons (if permitted).  I’ll give up our priority in order to escort the newbies and see their excitement ignite as we board!

As indicated, they're not allowed to their cabin until 1:30p. But it's a very nice gesture of offer to take their backpack to your cabin (assuming you're Plat) so they don't have to lug it.

[nc762shooter]

14 minutes ago, jsglow said:

As indicated, they're not allowed to their cabin until 1:30p. But it's a very nice gesture of offer to take their backpack to your cabin (assuming you're Plat) so they don't have to lug it.

Yep, as priority no reason you couldn't stash their carry-ons in your cabin if you didn't mind.