How early can we board?

[lonestars]

Hello all!

 

We're first time cruisers... taking our honeymoon on RCCL's Rhapsody of the Seas. It's departing from Galveston at 5:00 p.m. The documents they sent to us say that our boarding time is 2:00 p.m. Is this the earliest we can board? Thanks in advance for your help!

[wrp96]

They usually start boarding around 11 or 11:30 but it depends on how quickly the previous cruise gets off. I know we arrived at 11:30 in December and basically walked straight onto the ship.

[wendyc78]

I hear 11-11:30 is standard and you don't have the line to fight with. On our last cruise we got there at 11:30 and we literally walked straight up to the counter! It was great! We'll always go early from now on. Getting there early also gives you a bit to get settled in your room, freshen up, and then roam through the ship before muster! (I hate muster!! BTW!)

[mii]

We sail Princess and Celebrity and are usually on board around 11:30a.m. depending when the previous passengers have gotten off. Now I have talked to people who said they got on at 2:00 like the cruise company said and they had lines you would not believe.

 

Marilyn

[lonestars]

Thank you so much for your replies! We are planning on getting there at 11:30. So excited I can hardly stand it! :D

[shockey80]

you can get on a little earlier depending on how fast it takes to get through the boarding procedure