What's your opinion on the optimal time to arrive at the disembarkation port

[jasmith52]

Do you have an opinion as to the best time to arrive at the departure port ?

[Sprocket]

We usually arrive by 11am and are on the ship in time for lunch. On our Ryndam cruise we needed the hotel to send someone with the luggage trolley:o, which took a considerable amount of time. The good news was when we made it across the street it was about 12:15pm and we were just about the only ones checking in.

Be very aware of the cutoff time for boarding, have all your documentation printed off and in order, and I would probably not plan to arrive before 11:00. Have a great cruise!

 

Sorry I just reread your question, and I am a little confused. Did you mean the embarkation port?

[jasmith52]

Did you mean the embarkation port?

 

I did, and I am sorry for the confusion. It is now too late to edit the original title and thread.

 

Thanks for your thoughts.

[kakalina]

Well the optimum time to arrive and the time we actually do arrive are vastly different. It is best to arrive in the early afternoon. The early boarding rush is over and one can just about walk right on the ship. We however, no matter how many times I swear it won't happen again, are always just about the first ones at the terminal. I actually like waiting in the terminal because I start making new friends right away.

[jhannah]

We're 11:00 people. Like to get onboard as soon as they let us so we can enjoy lunch in the Lido and start exploring the ship.

[cccole]

Our preference is to leave our hotel about 1:30, and be on the ship and in our room by 2:00. This allows for a leisurely morning at the hotel and around the pool, a non-crowded check-in, and we are able to drop everything off in our cabin before having lunch. (This is for cruises leaving from Ft. Lauderdale.)

 

This is just our preference and I always try to reserve a nice hotel for the night before. Cherie

[matondo]

We like to arrive around one or later. No crowds and you can go directly to your cabin. The Lido was not full as everyone was checking out their cabins so we had no issue getting our food or finding a table.:):)

[KSCnCA]

I wish I could keep myself from getting there early, but by the day of the cruise I am too excited to wait! We arrive around 11 and deal with the people and the lines. I would like to board and take our carry-ons directly to the cabin - maybe next cruise I can control my excitement and stay home till we can do that!

[ldog]

We like to get there around 1 or 1:30. I have a huge aversion to lineups. Since we have to fly into our embarkation ports it gives us some time to see the sights and get acclimatized.

[kalliekae]

We always arrive after 1:30pm and we have never waited in line. We just walk right onto the ship plus our room is always ready. We explore the ship and head to the lifeboat drill. Awww.....it sounds so good! Wish we had a cruise this winter.

[PathfinderEss]

I'm a 10:30 kind of gal, by the time we get the baggage to the porters, park the car if its a drive to port for us, it will be about 11 when we get checked in. Could never be early enough for me. If we are taking a taxi into the cruise port, I still make it around 10:30.

[dchip]

If we are leaving from our home port (San Francisco) we are there at 11 am because we are way too excited to leave home and get on the ship.

 

If we are leaving from Ft Lauderdale, we arrive around 1pm. Because we have already been on vacation for a couple of days...we are in a more leisurely frame of mind :D

 

We stay at the Hyatt Place in Ft Lauderdale and there is a wonderful shopping center right next to the hotel. I go and get a mani/pedicure in the morning, gather our luggage at the hotel and then off to the ship.

 

No lines at all when you get there after 1pm, rooms are usually ready and the Lido is much, much less crowded.

 

Whatever your preference, enjoy.

 

Cheers, Denise

[cruizn2escape]

On Carnival we arrived around 11 a.m. and were able to get to our cabin and drop off our carry on luggage and then explore the ship. However for our upcoming HAL cruise, we plan to get their around 1 p.m. since cabins aren't available until after 1 p.m. We don't want to drag our carry on luggage to the Lido deck, fight the crowds,etc.

[our turn]

I have good intentions to be patient, but I am always way too excited to start my cruise. In Ft Lauderdale, we stay at the Hyatt Pier 66 and always get up early to watch the ships come in. Then a leisurely breakfast and head to the port. If you are in a suite, you can leave your bags in the Neptune and explore the ship.

[Willsot]

We are usually at a hotel the night before, then have a leisurely next morning and check-out at the designated time, usually 11:00 a.m. and, depending on the port, arrive at the dock around noon.

[Ando]

We are usually one of the last to board. We always stay in a hotel the night before and have a leisurely breakfast, do some sightseeing or shopping and have a nice lunch (often overlooking the ship if possible). Usually arrive about 90 minutes prior to departure time. There is abosultely no queue (and usually no one else even in the terminal...other than the cleaners :D ) and you walk straight on and into your cabin with no fuss or delays. All the check-in staff, security staff and, importantly, the gangway photographers, are exhausted by this stage and just want you out of their face asap:)

OK, we miss a "free lunch" onboard but hearing others complain about how long they stood in the queue for when they turned up at midday somehow makes it all worthwhile :eek:

[kyriecat]

We usually like to arrive 2-3 hours before sailaway if we can. Sometimes that is outside of our control due to hotel check out times. If we fly to a port, we'll take a taxi to the hotel then another taxi to the pier. If check out time is 11 AM, we don't want to keep a taxi tied up that long or go through the hassel of renting a car for a few hours.

[allentownahoy]

Arriving at 1 or later makes sense crowd-wise but with an 11 AM checkout time from the hotel I would till have to hang out somewhere with my luggage. I can't see "touring" and won't need to eat lunch after a late full breakfast at the hotel.

Your thoughts and ideas?

[mountainmare]

We usually like to get to the ship later in the afternoon so that we can go right to the cabin. Most hotels will keep your luggage for you so that you don't have to babysit your luggage. Often we have been allowed to keep our luggage in the room until early afternoon or in a secure luggage office in the hotel. Enjoy a slow morning and breakfast, walk a bit, sightsee if it a new place and head to the ship when we feel like it.

I just don't like having to lug around the carry-on stuff, which always includes meds and valuables we didn't trust to check , so we're not going to leave them unattended on the floor by the Lido.

I've never really understood the push to be the first on the ship when all the public areas will be crowded with passengers who cannot get into their cabins.

[Randyk47]

We usually stay at the hotel until their check-out time which is typically 11 AM. Wife considers herself on vacation the moment we step on the airplane to fly to the port city and vacation means no early wake-ups. Checking out around 11 AM means we get to the port terminal, depending on where we're staying, by 12:30 - 1 PM which seems to work for us. If the ship has cleared and people allowed on the ship we're usually able to pretty much walk right on after the check-in process. If the ship hasn't cleared then it's not a very pleasant time all crowded in or around the terminal so being there any longer than necessary isn't getting us off to a good start.

[fireman845]

The sooner I am onboard the sooner MY vacations starts!! I also don't mind a short wait either...

[cccole]

Arriving at 1 or later makes sense crowd-wise but with an 11 AM checkout time from the hotel I would till have to hang out somewhere with my luggage. I can't see "touring" and won't need to eat lunch after a late full breakfast at the hotel.

Your thoughts and ideas?

 

Many hotels allow for a late check-out upon request. If late check-out is not available you can do as others have suggested and give your bags to the bell desk, with clothes to change into before leaving for the port easily accessible, enjoy the pool, a walk or whatever, and then leave for the port when you want to.

[Hutch&Pat]

We were unable to start the boarding process until 2 PM because the ship was supposedly scheduled to arrive in port late. 1200 of us never got the word. Check all of your boarding documents very carefully, and from now on I plan to check on the scheduled 'arrival time' for my ship to arrive for disembarkation in my port. It was a very frustrating experience with 1200 people trying to board a ship that was just finishing up disembarking at 2..... and I felt really badly for the poor crew on the short turnaround.

Another clue might be as to whether a life boat drill is scheduled for the first day or the second.

Pat

[Hlitner]

We prefer to arrive early and deal with the rush. Why? Because we view the disembarkation day like a day at sea and want to enjoy a leisure afternoon on-board. On most cruise lines we can usually be onboard by 12:30 and go enjoy a relaxing lunch. We than find ourselves a nice deck chair and relax with a good book. If the weather is warm, we bring a swim suit in our carry-on bags so we can quickly change out of street clothes. Than, while most are running around like crazy people, in panic mode waiting for luggage, etc, we are treating it like a day at sea in our comfy lounge chair. Than, later in the afternoon (usually an hour before the life boat drills) we go to our cabin, unpack and than go off to the drill. We also like to follow a similar procedure on the last morning of a cruise. We try to book a later flight *usually in early afternoon) and while most are waiting in lines to exit the ship, packed in overcrowded lounges, lobby, etc, we are again relaxing on-deck in a comfy lounge chair with a book (the pool decks are always empty on disembarkation day except for a few souls who are like us). We just relax while others are fighting to get off the ship, stuggling to find their luggage, etc. Than, around 10 am (or later) once the ship is pretty much empty, we simply walk off the ship, quickly find our luggage among the few remaining pieces, and grab a taxi to the airport, hotel, etc. Cruising is supposed to be a vacation and a relaxing experience, so why spoil the first and last days.

 

Hank