Arriving at the port - 11am or 1pm??

[wannuhcruise]

Our travel documents said to arrive at the ship anytime after 1pm (ship leaves Miami at 5pm). Is this something new or have they always said this and people tend to check in at 11am anyway?

[ellbon]

I noww peopel race to the ship but your cabin is not ready until 1 so why rush to wander the ship forever. I go as clsoe to one as i can.

[The_Big_M]

Yeah, our docs for Millennium said boarding starts from 3 p.m., and that you have to be on the ship by 4 p. An odd way to do things - if everyone followed the instructions there'd be a huge crowd.

[Moeve]

Our docs have always said that - it is simply done to discourage poeple arriving early and causing a congestion at the port.

[dkjretired]

Our travel documents said to arrive at the ship anytime after 1pm (ship leaves Miami at 5pm). Is this something new or have they always said this and people tend to check in at 11am anyway?

 

As one poster suggested, do not arrive at the port 1hr. before sailing. New regulations require two hours and it is posted on the web site...Sorry, that post was removed so I'm not referring to any post currently on the board...

[lynelleeagle]

Our cruise is oversold. Therefore, I am going to arrive as early as possible.

[Lsimon]

We generally arrive around noon or earlier. At 11 you might have to wait a bit, but boarding is usually underway not much later.

 

Do be aware that not everything is as organized at the dock when you arrive early as when you arrive at the later time. Line queues might not be set up, the porters might not be organized yet, they might not be passing out the welcome aboard champagne, etc. Also in all likelihood you won't be able to go to your stateroom until 1PM. You'll be directed to wait in the buffet area, which will be serving lunch, but you can wonder through any of the public areas of the ship with your carry-on luggage. Sometimes you can drop your carry-on in your stateroom but you will likely need to leave the stateroom door open and unlocked until the stewards and crew have the rooms finished (by 1PM). And do check with your steward first - if they haven't cleared the room for items left behind by the prior occupants before you drop it off, and they don't know you did, then you might find it taken to that black hole known as lost and found.

[crazy-dog-lady]

original poster- how long did it take you to receive your cruise documents after you reserved?? we reserved the cruise last saturday, 1/17 and have yet to receive anything in the mail from celebrity.

[Barry S]

Hi.

We have sailed on many Celebrity cruises. And, we always get on the ship at 11:30. This way you can go to the spa and set up your appointments before it gets totally crazy there. Do this first and then go to lunch. You'll find your room will be ready around 1:00.

If you have any questions please let me know.

Barry

[windynme]

We have always gotten to the port around 11-11:30 and gotten right on the ship. We don't mind waiting for our rooms. In the meantime we get to explore the ship, have a great lunch and just hang out and listen to music by the pool. The way we look at it, once we cross the gang plank our cruise has begun and we just enjoy being on the ship.

[wannuhcruise]

original poster- how long did it take you to receive your cruise documents after you reserved?? we reserved the cruise last saturday, 1/17 and have yet to receive anything in the mail from celebrity.

 

We just got our documents last Thursday. We booked back in May and upgraded a couple of weeks ago since they had a huge price drop for our sailing. The documents did include our new cabin assignments and correct luggage tags. I would think you should be getting your documents any day now.

[wannuhcruise]

Hi.

 

We have sailed on many Celebrity cruises. And, we always get on the ship at 11:30. This way you can go to the spa and set up your appointments before it gets totally crazy there. Do this first and then go to lunch. You'll find your room will be ready around 1:00.

 

If you have any questions please let me know.

 

Barry

 

Thanks, Barry!

[Longboysfan]

Usually arrive about 11AM. Right on to ship after paperwork is all done.

This past Solstice cruise we arrived at 10AM but I had to pick up friend at hotel nearby.

Came back at 11AM and we went right through.

[wannuhcruise]

We have always gotten to the port around 11-11:30 and gotten right on the ship. We don't mind waiting for our rooms. In the meantime we get to explore the ship, have a great lunch and just hang out and listen to music by the pool. The way we look at it, once we cross the gang plank our cruise has begun and we just enjoy being on the ship.

 

I like your thinking! That's exactly what I plan on doing.

[niborHS]

I just came back from the Century. We ended up arriving at the pier around 11:30 after taking a shuttle from the hotel we stayed in by the airport. We boarded immediately, and our room was ready when we arrived. We were told that we could go up to our room, so it was not like we were doing anything we weren't supposed to. Our friends arrived from the Ft Lauderdale airport a little later, around noon, and it took them much longer to board because the lines were longer by then.