My family has run into a weird issue regarding boarding for our upcoming RCI cruise. Wondering if anyone else here has had a similar problem and/or has any suggestions on how to attempt resolving it.
I'm sailing next week with my spouse, sister-in-law (13), and father-in-law. Myself, spouse, and SIL are sharing a cabin. FIL has his own cabin. We were assigned a 2:30 pm boarding time for our cabin. FIL was assigned a 1:00 pm boarding time for his cabin.
The issue is spouse and I are traveling separately from my in-laws. We'll be arriving day of the cruise and still be at the airport when FIL is scheduled to board. As a result, we cannot supervise 13 year old SIL until her scheduled boarding time. And, obviously no one is comfortable with the 13 year old waiting outside the terminal by herself until we arrive (hopefully on time without any travel delays.)
Called RCI to try to resolve the issue. Spoke with an absolutely awesome customer service rep who tried super hard, talked to her supervisor, et cetera, but ultimately was informed that nobody at the call center can touch the assigned boarding times, they can't guarantee FIL and SIL would be able to board outside their scheduled time if they tried, and they can't direct me to anyone else who might be able to resolve the issue.
While I find it highly unlikely that the terminal would actually turn FIL away if he showed up after his scheduled time with SIL, we're definitely not a fan of the "it's up to the terminal day of if you get to board or not" plan, so still trying to get it sorted now. I've emailed RCI, but am not certain what else to try.
Does anyone have suggestions? I can't imagine we're the only people ever to have an issue like this? It's certainly not unheard of for kids to stay in cabins with other family members separate from their parents.
For what it's worth, we have absolutely no issue with the assigned boarding times otherwise. Totally get why they do them. We know it's a necessary covid protocol and there's only so much they can do. FIL and SIL would be willing to accept any boarding time at all they can get together. We're just trying to avoid the 13 year old being stuck by herself.