Boarding time frustrations

[skyking]

Hello All,

 

I have a friend that is boarding the Liberty today. Well she just sent me a message that she is still at home in Orlando, I said why are you not half way to Lauderdale, her response was "the ship doesn't leave until 4:30" My blood pressure instantly started to rise and I wanted to throw my phone across the room. This is her second cruise and all the advice I gave has been ignored, am I the only one who would feel this way?? Thanks for letting me vent!!

[Clarea]

I hope they realize they must be checked-in by 3pm or they might be denied boarding.

Edited April 25, 2015 by clarea

[skyking]

I hope they realize they must be checked-in by 3pm or they might be denied boarding.

 

I did advise that to them Bob, I just don't get it, it's the first day of your vacation GET THERE......uhhhhhhgh!!!!

[whitecap]

Hello All,

 

I have a friend that is boarding the Liberty today. Well she just sent me a message that she is still at home in Orlando, I said why are you not half way to Lauderdale, her response was "the ship doesn't leave until 4:30" My blood pressure instantly started to rise and I wanted to throw my phone across the room. This is her second cruise and all the advice I gave has been ignored, am I the only one who would feel this way?? Thanks for letting me vent!!

 

Let's see: three hours from Lauderdale, having to travel down I95 where we know there is never any traffic, 5 ships in port, fewer staff and Customs agents; umm no worries!!! Yea right! :eek: Like you, I say, first day of vacation lets get there already. :D

[jd10367]

I know.. Id be so worried about traffic accidents etc etc in Florida. Is she driving herself or taking Royal transport from Orlando? Royal transport not as big of a deal they'll get you there. That being said I'd rather be one of the first on then the last on. They are probably starting to board now if not in the next half hour. she'll learn once she needs to book a flight to the next port of call.

[EagleAction]

This post stresses me out & I don't you or them! We are driving 265 miles from Massachusetts to Bayonne NJ the morning of our Liberty of the Seas cruise this summer & we already have departure time & bathroom stops planned. It's a route we know like the back of our hand because we used to live in NY & NJ but I'm still nervous about it!!! I also know all the alternate routes in case of bad traffic which fortunately is unlikely very early on Saturday morning. Your friend needed to be on the road 2.5 hours ago! I've done that Orlando to FLL drive & it's not easy!!!

 

 

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[amarantha7]

Also, isn't there often a mad rush to board at the end? Why not get on early, have some lunch and get to walk around the ship before it's completely full? And as you say, it's vacation! Most people want to start as soon as humanly possible!

[skyking]

I am glad I am not the only who gets agita over this stuff. Thanks to you all for making me feel normal, I had a friend board the Allure a few weeks ago at 11:15am based on my advice and he still thanks me to this day, hey this is NOT my first rodeo I tell people.

[nolesrule]

So, have they left Orlando yet?

[Clarea]

So, have they left Orlando yet?

Boy, I hope so. If they haven't, they are really close to not making it by 3pm.

[Desert Cruizers]

Not living in FL how long a drive do they have and is she thinking she can board by 4 PM:eek: We are 2.5 hrs from San Diego and we left early afternoon of the day before didn't want to be caught up in an accident. Wow. By my watch 3 hrs ahead of us that puts you at 11:41.

Edited April 25, 2015 by Desert Cruizers

[Clarea]

Not living in FL how long a drive do they have and is she thinking she can board by 4 PM:eek: We are 2.5 hrs from San Diego and we left early afternoon of the day before didn't want to be caught up in an accident. Wow. By my watch 3 hrs ahead of us that puts you at 11:41.

I think it's typically around 3 - 3.5 hours. We just did the drive last month, and there were a few construction areas that slowed things down.

[Trekker954]

Yes, I would throw the phone as well. You are paying for the first day, you may as well get on board and start enjoying it, especially if she hasn't been on the Liberty. Get onboard and explore.

 

Whitecap: no worries regarding your Customs remark. You do not clear Customs (face2face) on the outbound. Security yes, Customs no. Security is the same few lines.

[Desert Cruizers]

Bob, we would have left yesterday and grabbed a hotel. Our state of Ca is so wide in So Calif that it takes us an easy 2 hrs to go anywhere West of us to the major Cities. Los Angelas is a good 2.5 hrs so wouldn't dare drive the day of a cruise out of San Pedro.

 

Gay

[cruisegirl1]

Hello All,

 

I have a friend that is boarding the Liberty today. Well she just sent me a message that she is still at home in Orlando, I said why are you not half way to Lauderdale, her response was "the ship doesn't leave until 4:30" My blood pressure instantly started to rise and I wanted to throw my phone across the room. This is her second cruise and all the advice I gave has been ignored, am I the only one who would feel this way?? Thanks for letting me vent!!

 

I understand. I recently spoke to some friends on their boarding day and learned they had stopped on the road (about 1PM) to have lunch before arriving to the port. Actually I had called them to see how they liked the ship - assuming they were already on board.

 

I used to give advise, but now I only offer info if asked a specific question. I've learned that many don't want advise from others, they think they know it all. The most dangerous are those who have one or two cruises, as they consider themselves experts.

 

M

[Dinkachu]

We learned years ago that you must plan for the unexpected. We travel from just south of Tampa. A brush fire closed part of the interstate between here and Port Canaveral one year and we nearly missed the boat.

 

Now, we travel to port the night before and stay in a close motel with free breakfast (and in the case of Ft Lauderdale) parking for our car while we travel and a shuttle to the boat.

 

We find it makes the entire vacation more relaxed and we don't have to panic if we have flat tire, get into heavy traffic, etc.

 

Yes, it costs us an extra night in a motel. If you are spending thousands for a vacation, an extra hundred to buy peace of mind is money well spent.

 

Hoping your friend makes the cruise! Let us know.

Edited April 25, 2015 by Dinkachu

[Mooguy]

We sale Liberty this coming Thursday 4/30 and plan on leaving Sebring around 9:30 which pretty much means it will be closer to 10. It's a good 2 and a half hour drive but hopefully can be on just before 1.

[Enforcer]

Hi,

 

One of the reasons that I love cruising so much is that there isn't any stress involved. I find airports very stressful.

 

When we cruise we mostly board at Southampton which is about 200 miles from where we live. We always travel down the day before just in case there are road delays or some other problem, I see this as part of my holiday. The drive is so much more relaxed when you don't have to rush, we have a nice lunch somewhere then dinner in the hotel where we stay.

 

I would either kill my wife or she would kill me if we drove the same day we cruised :D

 

Pete

[xxoocruiser]

Though the OP was very helpful in providing the friends will very good advance information ,at this point the OP really shouldn't waste time or energy worrying as to whether or not the friends will make it onboard the ship in time. The friends made the choice to leave late than they have to live with the consequences despite all the good intentions of the OP

Edited April 25, 2015 by xxoocruiser

[meripour]

we are now all in this drama with you. what is the latest?

[critterchick]

Wait a minute. She's making a 3-4 hour drive from Orlando to FLL and OP posted at 7:30am that she hasn't left the house yet. Assuming that she left by 9:00 or 10:00, what's the big deal? Now, if she wasn't planning to leave until noon, I could see a problem. Huge. But the odds are overwhelming that driving down at 10:00 on a Saturday will be fine.

 

I don't think it was worthy of head banging at that early hour.:)

[skyking]

I posted it at 9:23 eastern time, but the last I heard they were passing Hollywood. I know I know I just love living through other people on cruise day, I'm like Clark Griswold on sailing day. Out the door at 7:45 am if we sail out of Lauderdale. I'm a NUT

[Clarea]

Wait a minute. She's making a 3-4 hour drive from Orlando to FLL and OP posted at 7:30am that she hasn't left the house yet. Assuming that she left by 9:00 or 10:00, what's the big deal? Now, if she wasn't planning to leave until noon, I could see a problem. Huge. But the odds are overwhelming that driving down at 10:00 on a Saturday will be fine.

 

I don't think it was worthy of head banging at that early hour.:)

According to my clock, the OP's post was at 9:23am Central, which made it 10:23am Florida time.

[juiceman]

Wait a minute. She's making a 3-4 hour drive from Orlando to FLL and OP posted at 7:30am that she hasn't left the house yet. Assuming that she left by 9:00 or 10:00, what's the big deal? Now, if she wasn't planning to leave until noon, I could see a problem. Huge. But the odds are overwhelming that driving down at 10:00 on a Saturday will be fine.

 

I don't think it was worthy of head banging at that early hour.:)

 

OP actually posted at around 10:30 am.

[Desert Cruizers]

I see 7:23, that would be 10:23 Calif time. hope they make it.