What time should I board?

[Darlene.Gina]

Hey everyone,

this is my first time cruising without mom, and I am alittle confused. i received an e-mail from carnival telling me to board the ship between 2:00pm - 3:30pm. I feel as if that is alittle too late? I remember when I went with my mom, we would board the ship like 12pm. Someone who recently sailed please help!

Thank You:D

[flounder315]

arrive at the port around 11, every cruise. never to long of a line and 1 of the first people on board, love it. Don't wait til 2, you will be standing in long lines, just because you waited.

[Lucille Bluth]

The earlier the better! We plan on getting to the terminal a little before 11am so we can miss all the lines. Have fun!

[bumorgan]

arrive at the port around 11, every cruise. never to long of a line and 1 of the first people on board, love it. Don't wait til 2, you will be standing in long lines, just because you waited.

 

 

Actually Carnival is trying to get you to come on when it's the slowest. No lines at all.If you get there between 11:00am and 12:30 you usually will wait 45 minutes to an hour to board as everyone wants to be first to the buffet.:D

[cruisenanny]

The earlier the better! We plan on getting to the terminal a little before 11am so we can miss all the lines. Have fun!

 

I agree, we always aim for 10:30 - 11:00am arrival at the pier if its a 4pm sailing & usually have minimal wait:)

[matj2000]

If they say between 2 & 3 than why does everyone think they should come at 11?

[cruisenanny]

If they say between 2 & 3 than why does everyone think they should come at 11?

 

I personally go at that time because barring any unusual circumstances, we walk right on with little to no wait.. I prefer that to sitting at home all morning waiting to go:D Most of my experience is with NYC & bayonne, maybe other ports are different?

[Gig103]

I plan on getting to the terminal bright and early so I get an early boarding zone. I want to do the "Behind the Fun" tour which is very limited capacity and can't make reservations ahead of time for it.

[LBumb]

we shoot for 12-1. my family are not early risers

[makeda]

we aim for 10:30-11:00 arrival, not so much interested in the buffet as being able to tour the ship before it gets too full

[Cristallo]

We got to the terminal between 10:30-11am. We did it because we were already up and ready to go. That and we wanted to take pictures w/o people being in them and book our cabana.

[elcuchio24]

If they say between 2 & 3 than why does everyone think they should come at 11?

 

Because there are less lines, you get right onboard, have lunch, and have extra time on the ship.

[Darlene.Gina]

thank you everyone for answering so quickly!

[redlef]

If they say between 2 & 3 than why does everyone think they should come at 11?

 

Are you serious? The sooner you get aboard, the sooner your vacation begins.

[huxlemo]

We get to the port around 10:30. Never wait too long after that to get on the ship.

[RWolver672]

If they say between 2 & 3 than why does everyone think they should come at 11?

 

Simply put, they normally start boarding at 11. It's Carnival's way of telling people to come later so that there isn't a huge rush to board at 11. From our own experiences, if we board at 11, there is a wait. If we board between 2 & 3, we normally walk right through.

[fkfad]

The earlier we board, the happier I am! :-) The more time I can spend on a ship, the better! We usually get to the part around 11AM, and usually get on board shortly after that... There is no better feeling than sitting on the deck of a ship, enjoying the sunshine and getting mentally prepared for an awesome voyage!

[Lacaena]

Well I guess I don't have a lot of experience with this (only one cruise) but I was lucky enough to go with a very experienced cruiser and she told me to aim for 10:30 to 11:00 to get an early zone. We did this and there were no lines and we breezed right through. Her opinion on the matter was "it's your vacation you're paying for every hour may as well start it early."

 

At the end of the cruise when we were disembarking if someone had walked up to me and said "excuse me ma'am would you like to stay an extra four hours" I would have said "um...YES" so why not just tack those hours on to the beginning of your trip :)

[bunchesofun]

We got there around 11 because the shuttle from the hotel left around 10:30. We were in the first bunch to arrive and were allowed on the ship at noon. No lines for food or table and just didn't have the crowds to deal with at all.

[gregg204]

If they say between 2 & 3 than why does everyone think they should come at 11?

 

I know they say that, but Carnival likes getting you on as early as possible. The earlier they get people on the earlier people start spending money.

[TheCalicoCat]

Since we have been able to drive to the port from our house, we leave when we are ready to leave... I prefer to get on early & take some photos of the ship without people (I get peopled shot too - later) & I like to look around the decks so I have a "lay of the land."

 

(I also cruise with a toddler & I like to have him seated with his father on the ship, rather than in a line in the terminal.)

[sunlover2]

We usually arrive 11 ourselves and seem to get on within an hour or so. Don't mind waiting there. Question...this will be our first Carnival cruise, Dream, what are these "boarding zones" people are talking about upon getting to the port? Can someone explain to me how the boarding all works with Carnival....thanks!!!!

[sail-a-bration]

The majority of people stay in a hotel the night before their cruise and check out is at 11:00. That means the ports starts getting crowded around 11:15-12:30pm. I think Carnival is trying to assign times to help alleviate the waiting problem. The question is, what to do between check-out at the hotel and check-in at the ship. Most people are so excited about starting their cruise they are willing to wait in a line to get on board early. I guess it is how one waits, either with excitement or irritation. Either way you wait the same amount of time, so do yourself a favor and don't let irritation win, it steals joy.:)

[quickrate]

We always get to port by 10:30. Since we are platinum, we get checked in quickly and usually on the ship by 11:30. As others have said, this is the first day of your cruise, why not enjoy the whole day! We have a tradition of going to atrium bar, getting a bloody Mary and watching all our fellow cruisers get on the ship. We love the excitement!

Pat

[momof4boys]

We have always arrived between 10:30 and 10:45. We have always been one of the very first people (after wedding parties) to get on the ship. We always book a suite so we get VIP boarding. We have always been on the ship by 11:30 heading for the lido for lunch and then looking around the ship. Vacation for us starts the minute we're on the ship.