Worried About Latest Check-In

[brendrek]

Obviously, I'm a cruise newbie. When I booked our airfare I didn't realize just how close I was cutting things. We are scheduled to land in Miami airport at 12:59 PM. We purchased the Carnival transfers from MIA to the Port of Miami (a 15 minutes drive from what I've read). Ideally, if the plane lands on time I'm thinking it will take an hour to; get our luggage, wait for a transfer bus, and get to the port. That only leaves an extra half hour for "what if's", hence my concern.

 

From reading the boards, I've learned it's best to fly the night before your cruise (although this wasn't possible in my case for work reasons). I'm just wondering since the ship doesn't leave port until 4pm, is last call really 2:30PM? If a plane full of passengers gets delayed will they wait?

 

I'm not worried about missing lunch on the Lido, or getting on the ship before anyone else. I just don't want to miss embarkation.

[GoinCruisin]

Well, the "plane full of passengers" won't all be on your cruise ;) Chances are, you'll be fine... did Carnival book your air or did you? if you did, I doubt they would wait for you... but don't stress out too much about it... think positive... if you can't change your flight, that's really all you can do is think positive. Are you cruising in the winter? from the north? that would be my only big concern. Have a backup plan in case your flight is delayed. Do you have a connection? Just know about all the flight options, etc. Oh, and make sure you have travel insurance. Good luck and try not to stress!!

[brendrek]

Non-stop flight from the Philadelphia in January :eek:. We the booked airfare ourselves, not through Carnival. DeIcing and or bad winter weather are a definate concern. I'll try to think positive and hope that global warming will for once do some good. Still wondering if 2:30PM is the end all for boarding the ship??? I know they let on before the published start time. Does anyone have experience with getting on a little late. Thanks

[GoinCruisin]

Non-stop flight from the Philadelphia in January :eek:. We the booked airfare ourselves, not through Carnival. DeIcing and or bad winter weather are a definate concern. I'll try to think positive and hope that global warming will for once do some good. Still wondering if 2:30PM is the end all for boarding??? I know they let on before the published start time. Does anyone have experience with getting on a little late. Thanks

 

As long as you complete your funpass, it sounds like you will need to be there an hour before departure, 90 minutes if you don't fill it out.

 

 

Government regulations for U.S. departure ports require that a final departure manifest is submitted 60 minutes prior to departure. Guests must provide us with the required information prior to embarkation. The easiest and most convenient way is to complete our FunPass on line registration process (www.carnival.com/mycruise) at least (3) three days prior to departure. Guests that do not complete the registration process prior to embarkation are required to check-in at least 90 minutes prior to the published sailing time.

[Slimpickins]

Obviously, I'm a cruise newbie. When I booked our airfare I didn't realize just how close I was cutting things. We are scheduled to land in Miami airport at 12:59 PM. We purchased the Carnival transfers from MIA to the Port of Miami (a 15 minutes drive from what I've read). Ideally, if the plane lands on time I'm thinking it will take an hour to; get our luggage, wait for a transfer bus, and get to the port. That only leaves an extra half hour for "what if's", hence my concern.

 

From reading the boards, I've learned it's best to fly the night before your cruise (although this wasn't possible in my case for work reasons). I'm just wondering since the ship doesn't leave port until 4pm, is last call really 2:30PM? If a plane full of passengers gets delayed will they wait?

 

I'm not worried about missing lunch on the Lido, or getting on the ship before anyone else. I just don't want to miss embarkation.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Quote:

 

Important Embarkation Arrival Advisory and Embarkation Process

 

Government regulations for U.S. departure ports require that a final departure manifest is submitted 60 minutes prior to departure. Guests must provide us with the required information prior to embarkation. The easiest and most convenient way is to complete our FunPass on line registration process (http://www.carnival.com/mycruise) at least (3) three days prior to departure. Guests that do not complete the registration process prior to embarkation are required to check-in at least 90 minutes prior to the published sailing time

 

Here is the link:http://www.carnival.com/CMS/FAQs/Embarkation_Arrival.aspx

 

So if you complete your funpass online it looks like you have up till 3pm.

[deepnite10]

if things get dicey...and you think the transfer is going to be

too close for comfort..have a back up plan..

 

there will be alot of cab s available if you feel rushed..

[kujobie]

Like others have said, I wouldn't stress over it. As long as you're in the building and checking in before they sail, they're not gonna leave without you.

[brendrek]

With completed Funpasses in hand, a 45 minute DeIcing Delay on the runway in Philadelphia. We haul it through the Miami airport and hop in the first cab we see rather than waiting for the Carnival Transfer. Yeah, we'd probably still make it. It's amazing how the planes seem to make up time in the air too. I can't tell you how many flights I've been on that left late, and still landed on time. Got to think positive :o

[zqvol]

With completed Funpasses in hand, a 45 minute DeIcing Delay on the runway in Philadelphia. We haul it through the Miami airport and hop in the first cab we see rather than waiting for the Carnival Transfer. Yeah, we'd probably still make it. It's amazing how the planes seem to make up time in the air too. I can't tell you how many flights I've been on that left late, and still landed on time. Got to think positive :o

 

Arrival in Miami is a much easier experience than departing from Miami, and least in my opinion.

 

Getting luggage and being ready to leave the airport is about 30 minutes from arrival at the gate.

 

I would cancel the Carnival transfers. The cab fare is a flat $24 plus any desired tip, and no waiting. If you are on time you will be to the port by 2:00.

 

The good thing you have going is that you have a non stop. Unless there is weather you should be fine. Weather is another issue.

 

There is really not much you can do about it with one exception. Contact your air carrier and see what ti would cost to switch to an earlier flight. There have to be numerous flights from PHI to MIA.

 

Other than that no point in stressing, relax and have a good vacation.

[Ken076]

Last call is really closer to 3:00PM. Best to try to re-schedule an earlier, non-stop flight even if a little more costly. You may want to do ALL carry-on luggage on the airline so no baggage wait, you might want to get seats on the airline as far to the front as possible and you may want to grab a cab instead of that transfer. This IS going to be a stressful day. ken

[D4]

Even if you booked your air through Carnival, they wouldn't have to wait for you so don't stress out that you bought air on your own.

 

Do you have trip insurance? If you miss the ship, it will help cover costs to get you to the first port and other related expenses. Each trip insurance policy has different terms and coverages, so I recommend reading the fine print before buying a policy. Of course, the most important coverage in trip insurance IMHO is emergency medical evacuation which could easily cost more than $50,000.

 

I agree with the recommendation that said to try to carryon all of your luggage. That means packing very light, but it can save a lot of precious minutes in the airport.

[cobraman99]

If you are on the carnival transfer hopefully they would get you there on time. I know its a homeland security issue and not carnival when it comes to the times you have to be on, but hopefully carnivals has the wherewithall to know all of this and gets you to the port in time.

 

 

Also what day is your cruise???