How do I find latest check in time?

[DebJ14]

It is not really going to be an "aftermath" as the parades will follow each other one after the other.  They each take hours to traverse the route.  And Barkus will have its parade in the French Quarter at 2pm, so there will be lots people with their  dogs.  These Sunday parades are the more family friendly ones, unlike the parades the night before.  

Check to see if you can switch your hotel from an airport hotel to one in the Quarter or along St. Charles Ave. for Saturday night.  The parades Saturday night will be a sight to behold.  It will definitely cost more, but if you are not staying on afterward it might be worth it.  I am seeing availability at the Marriott and Sheraton on Canal Street.  

[bbtbear]

1 minute ago, DebJ14 said:

It is not really going to be an "aftermath" as the parades will follow each other one after the other.  They each take hours to traverse the route.  And Barkus will have its parade in the French Quarter at 2pm, so there will be lots people with their  dogs.  These Sunday parades are the more family friendly ones, unlike the parades the night before.  

Check to see if you can switch your hotel from an airport hotel to one in the Quarter or along St. Charles Ave. for Saturday night.  The parades Saturday night will be a sight to behold.  It will definitely cost more, but if you are not staying on afterward it might be worth it.  I am seeing availability at the Marriott and Sheraton on Canal Street.  

Yes, we've switched to the Loews on Poydras and St. Peters. I just am not sure whether my sister will be able to get to the hotel and drop off her luggage in time to catch the parades that night. Her flight gets in at about 4:00 and I know it will be crazy for her to get through traffic to where we are staying. Krewe of Sparta rolls at 5:30 and Krewe of Pygmalion follows, but I just wasn't sure whether we'd be in time to catch them. It would be my own preference to see parades that night and them maybe do a little walkabout in the French Quarter in the morning and head to the pier. But I'm not sure if that will work out and she definitely wants to see at least one parade, so I was trying to make a plan in case we ended up having to see parades in the morning instead of at night. I'm deferring to her almost completely for these 2 days because I am staying on in NOLA from March 3- March 8 but she is not. These hours are the only ones she'll have in NOLA, so what she wants is what we will do.

[pacruise804]

bbtbear - you are a good sister ❤️ 

 

I would also strive to arrive around 1-1:30, and would be nervous pushing much past 2 for a 3:00 final boarding.  My understanding is final boarding is boarding time, not check-in time so you also need to allow 10-15 minutes for check-in.  I stayed at a conference in Philadelphia a few years ago and a large race (1/2 or full marathon) course went right past our hotel.  Even as pedestrians we were stuck there for 20-30 minutes until there was a safe break to cross.  I don't know if you would encounter any similar delays with the parades.

 

For FTTF, it's money already spent so whatever you decide is fine.  If you cancel you would get the amount refunded and those funds could be used elsewhere (drinks, spa, specialty restaurant, etc).  You won't need the priority boarding or immediate cabin access which are two of the big selling points.  You would still have the dedicated guest services line (which for me could make a difference in stress level), priority tendering (if you have a tender port without excursion), and priority disembarking (which might matter for your sister).  Either option is good 🙂 

 

Have a great cruise!

[bbtbear]

On 12/11/2018 at 1:39 PM, pacruise804 said:

bbtbear - you are a good sister ❤️ 

 

I would also strive to arrive around 1-1:30, and would be nervous pushing much past 2 for a 3:00 final boarding.  My understanding is final boarding is boarding time, not check-in time so you also need to allow 10-15 minutes for check-in.  I stayed at a conference in Philadelphia a few years ago and a large race (1/2 or full marathon) course went right past our hotel.  Even as pedestrians we were stuck there for 20-30 minutes until there was a safe break to cross.  I don't know if you would encounter any similar delays with the parades.

 

For FTTF, it's money already spent so whatever you decide is fine.  If you cancel you would get the amount refunded and those funds could be used elsewhere (drinks, spa, specialty restaurant, etc).  You won't need the priority boarding or immediate cabin access which are two of the big selling points.  You would still have the dedicated guest services line (which for me could make a difference in stress level), priority tendering (if you have a tender port without excursion), and priority disembarking (which might matter for your sister).  Either option is good 🙂 

 

Have a great cruise!

Thanks so much for the solid advice! Very much appreciated. 

[Kaszdad]

I think the wording on the boarding pass is misleading! It should say you must be on board by X:XX time.

For our cruise last September Carnival moved departure earlier by one hour and sent out emails to tell us. In that email it said that all guests must be checked in and on board by 3:00 pm, the boarding pass said Final Boarding 3:00 PM.

If you get there a couple minutes before the time on the boarding pass you could be pressing your luck.

Question is, what parade is worth missing the cruise for?

Happy sailing, we were on Dream last January and loved it except for the unseasonably cold weather in NOLA, low 30's.

Ken

[bbtbear]

18 hours ago, Kaszdad said:

I think the wording on the boarding pass is misleading! It should say you must be on board by X:XX time.

For our cruise last September Carnival moved departure earlier by one hour and sent out emails to tell us. In that email it said that all guests must be checked in and on board by 3:00 pm, the boarding pass said Final Boarding 3:00 PM.

If you get there a couple minutes before the time on the boarding pass you could be pressing your luck.

Question is, what parade is worth missing the cruise for?

Happy sailing, we were on Dream last January and loved it except for the unseasonably cold weather in NOLA, low 30's.

Ken

Thanks so much, Ken! I have definitely been convinced that the latest we should show up to check in is 2pm and I'll push my sister for earlier than that if I can. I sympathize with her not getting to explore NOLA the way we had planned, but am certainly not willing to miss the cruise over it. 🙂