Email from Carnival - don't arrive until 1pm!

[boowaaccaa]

I got an email from Carnival for our cruise this weekend. It said only arrive between 1-3. Not before.

Anyone else getting this?

Ignore?

We have always arrived around 11 without issue.

[CoconutJD]

If it gives a specific reason, like a Customs inspection, or maintenance, you might heed the advice. Many people on these boards ignore them.

[timbom]

These are real warning. Got one two weeks ago did not get on till three even thought we showed up at one. Save yourself some grief and follow their instructions.

[mhetrick]

I got one of these (don't show up until 1pm) and a call on the day before my Carnival Triumph cruise last Saturday. i ignored it and showed up at the Galveston terminal shortly after 11AM. I was FTTF, checked in and was on the ship by 12:15pm. We were able to board starting at 12pm.

 

If there is a specific reason mentioned, I'd do it...otherwise still get there prior to your original embarkation time.

[GTO-Girl]

I have gotten e-mails and phone messages from both Carnival and Royal and ignored them. Every time I was at the terminal by 10:30 and onboard by 11:30.

 

I'm sure there are times when the reasons are legit, but I have yet to experience one of those "times"......:rolleyes:

 

 

Happy Sailing!!!

[3ricT]

do they refund FFTF in that case??

[GTO-Girl]

do they refund FFTF in that case??

 

I don't think they do because your cabin is still ready when you board and you will still get priority embark/debark and priority tendering......

[beachbum53]

I got an email from Carnival for our cruise this weekend. It said only arrive between 1-3. Not before.

Anyone else getting this?

Ignore?

We have always arrived around 11 without issue.

 

This is a standard e-mail that Carnival sends to many of its' passengers with an upcoming cruise. It's done in an attempt to keep everyone from arriving at the cruise terminal at the same time. I'm sure you can imagine what it would be like, especially if there were 3,000, 4,000 or more people all wanting to board at the same time.:eek: We purchased the FTTF for our last cruise, and we also got the e-mail asking us not to arrive before 1:00 p.m. If we didn't want to board until afer 1:00 p.m., I wouldn't have purchased the FTTF to begin with. With or without FTTF, we still want to get to the terminal as early as possible (usually between 10:00 & 10:30 a.m.) and board as soon as possible. No one is going to ask if you got an e-mail asking you to wait until a certain time to arrive. The earlier you get there, the lower your boarding zone number is going to be. The early bird gets the worm, and the early passenger gets on board sooner.;)

[boowaaccaa]

Well, what is funny is that this is our first time in a suite. So we already get priority boarding. Never before have we got this email.

Like others have stated they bought FTTF for the perks of getting things earlier. Part of the reason why we booked the suite is because we'd rather not to stand in line with our 10 month old.

[boowaaccaa]

Just checked my email and I got another one from Carnival. In it has lots of packing tips, guidelines etc. Also says:

"If you want to beat the rush and have flexible travel plans, please arrive at the port to check-in between 10:30am and 2:30pm."

 

 

This is a direct quote from the first email regarding this:

 

 

"January 21, 2014

Hi there:

Betcha can't wait for your cruise aboard the beautiful Carnival Legend. So, we'd like to take a moment to provide you with some important information.

To ensure a smooth embarkation experience, check-in for your cruise is scheduled from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM. For your comfort and convenience, and since seating is limited in the cruise terminal, we ask that you please not arrive before 1:00 PM.

We thank you for your cooperation and understanding. Most importantly, we can't wait to welcome you aboard for a fun and memorable cruise vacation..."

[riffatsea]

When there is a real delay and a reason for arriving late Carnival will tell you that specifically! IF they don't give you a specific reason and just make a blanket statement that you should arrive around 1PM then you can just ignore it and arrive when you like!!

We got that same notice on our boarding passes when we printed them for our April cruise.

We also have FTTF and are ignoring the suggestion to arrive at 1PM.

[GTO-Girl]

Well, what is funny is that this is our first time in a suite. So we already get priority boarding. Never before have we got this email.

Like others have stated they bought FTTF for the perks of getting things earlier. Part of the reason why we booked the suite is because we'd rather not to stand in line with our 10 month old.

 

Because of the suite you will get priority boarding, but I don't believe (unless you are platinum or FTTF) your room will be ready until 1:30......

[glrounds]

This is a standard e-mail that Carnival sends to many of its' passengers with an upcoming cruise. It's done in an attempt to keep everyone from arriving at the cruise terminal at the same time. I'm sure you can imagine what it would be like, especially if there were 3,000, 4,000 or more people all wanting to board at the same time.:eek:

 

This is exactly the explanation that I've come up with. I get these e-mails for about half of my cruises. As beachbum says, they're just trying to spread out the boarding process so there is less aggravation for everyone. Come to the port whenever you want to. I'm told that if you do wait until 2:00-3:00 that you will just practically walk onboard with no waiting.

[Elaine5715]

People do show up at 8 am...and then complain about having to wait...

[clearwatergirl]

Well, what is funny is that this is our first time in a suite. So we already get priority boarding. Never before have we got this email.

Like others have stated they bought FTTF for the perks of getting things earlier. Part of the reason why we booked the suite is because we'd rather not to stand in line with our 10 month old.

 

 

 

We're on the same cruise and did not receive an email as to when to arrive at the port.

 

We're Platinum so, like you, would have priority boarding.

 

we'll be arriving at 10 am, a little early, but we're being dropped off. I'm sure we'll be able to board around 11:00 or so. Only thing I can think of as to delaying this would be if the port is closed due to fog. However, the last few mornings, it's been OK. Keep your fingers crossed.

 

Hope to me you!

[PC Cruisin]

When I was boarding the Conquest on January 12th 2014 I did get an email plus a phone call on my cell telling me not to board until after 1pm. I ignored both email and phone message and boarded early.

[Rosefloater]

I am going on the Imagination on Sunday.

 

I received an email that states "will be arriving from an open loop cruise (meaning the voyage started and will end in different ports) additional screening measures will be implemented by Customs and Border Protection for our debarking guests.

 

Consequently, the debarkation process will last longer than usual and boarding for your cruise will run a little behind schedule. To ensure a smooth embarkation experience, check-in for your cruise is now scheduled from 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM, and we will set sail at 5:30 PM. If you have flexible travel plans, for your comfort and convenience, please do not arrive before 1:30 PM."

 

In the past I have received the standard "do not arrive before 1pm" scare letter and ignored it. But will there really be a delay in boarding because the previous cruise was an open loop cruise or is this just another scare letter?

[glrounds]

I am going on the Imagination on Sunday.

 

I received an email that states "will be arriving from an open loop cruise (meaning the voyage started and will end in different ports) additional screening measures will be implemented by Customs and Border Protection for our debarking guests.

 

Consequently, the debarkation process will last longer than usual and boarding for your cruise will run a little behind schedule. To ensure a smooth embarkation experience, check-in for your cruise is now scheduled from 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM, and we will set sail at 5:30 PM. If you have flexible travel plans, for your comfort and convenience, please do not arrive before 1:30 PM."

 

In the past I have received the standard "do not arrive before 1pm" scare letter and ignored it. But will there really be a delay in boarding because the previous cruise was an open loop cruise or is this just another scare letter?

 

I'm on that cruise also, Rosefloater. Yes, I think the IMAGINATION is coming from Florida (Panama Canal cruise). Good information to know. I wasn't aware that they would be taking extra immigration precautions. Did you post this to our ROLL CALL ?

 

It makes sense to me, so I don't think it's a "scare letter". :)

[SadieN]

I am going on the Imagination on Sunday.

 

 

 

I received an email that states "will be arriving from an open loop cruise (meaning the voyage started and will end in different ports) additional screening measures will be implemented by Customs and Border Protection for our debarking guests.

 

 

 

Consequently, the debarkation process will last longer than usual and boarding for your cruise will run a little behind schedule. To ensure a smooth embarkation experience, check-in for your cruise is now scheduled from 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM, and we will set sail at 5:30 PM. If you have flexible travel plans, for your comfort and convenience, please do not arrive before 1:30 PM."

 

 

 

In the past I have received the standard "do not arrive before 1pm" scare letter and ignored it. But will there really be a delay in boarding because the previous cruise was an open loop cruise or is this just another scare letter?

 

 

 

I'm on the same cruise and received the same email. Even with a full crew check we've never debarked later than 11:30 So I see embark starting around noon.

Still planning on arriving around 12:30. At least we won't have to worry about parking since we are taking public transportation in.

[Ruggled]

I skimmed all the answers and didn't see the one I'm going to give as a possibility but want to chime in based on recent experience.

 

We are Platinum cruisers and I have always ignored those emails...just like I did when we boarded the Liberty in December. HOWEVER....check to see if the ship that you are coming back in on went to Belize. Per the folks at the port and on the ship, they have to do a full customs inspection with interviews and fingerprints of non-US visitors if the ship goes to Belize.

 

Now, I don't know if that is fact, I'm just repeating what the port workers and Carnival staff told me. If this IS the case, you may find showing up at 10:45 like we did means you are sitting around until they started boarding the ship well after 12:00.

 

Like I said I usually ignore the warning, but you might want to check and see if the ship you are boarding did the Western with a Belize stop.

Edited January 25, 2014 by Ruggled

[Luke gs Daddy]

Do you consider this a rule or ?

Just asking.

[PAPERBKWRITER]

This issue has been talked to death.

[Smiling Cruiser]

Our last cruise involved a coast guard inspection and the crew were doing life boat drills and going through other inspections well past our departure time. We left port almost 2 hours late.

 

Because we had gotten that e-mail, we took our time in the morning and had a leisurely breakfast with the family member who was driving us to the pier. We arrived at the pier around 12:30 and walked right on the ship and straight to our room.

 

The waiting room in the pier appeared empty, as was the VIP lounge. There were people on the ship already but it was not crowded.

 

Listening to various conversations later that evening it seemed that arriving earlier or later did not matter. Most stated they had little to no wait time in the arrival area. Not the usual experience.

Edited January 25, 2014 by Smiling Cruiser

[glrounds]

I'm on the same cruise and received the same email. Even with a full crew check we've never debarked later than 11:30 So I see embark starting around noon.

Still planning on arriving around 12:30. At least we won't have to worry about parking since we are taking public transportation in.

 

I don't think ANYONE will have to worry about parking at Long Beach, as the majority of the passengers will be going straight to the airports to either fly back to Florida where their car is OR pickup their car at the airport HERE where they left it when they flew to Florida for this cruise. Just sayin' :D

 

On a cruise of this length (16 days), I would have someone drop me off at the airport to fly to Florida and pick me up at the cruise port here afterwards. Probably even cheaper to just take a cab. :rolleyes:

[ManyMore]

Unless they give a specific reason, ship is going to arrive late etc... ignore it. They do in fact try and just spread out the people but this causes a great headache for the check-in agents. Rather then getting a good number of people early and then get a rush they have this huge amount of people they now have to try and process in less time. Take it from one who knows... the agents dislike when the cruiseline does this lol :rolleyes: