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Will someone explain how arriving at port works these days?

mama_2_boys

By mama_2_boys,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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elcuchio24

elcuchio24

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, mama_2_boys said:

I think I've read that you get assigned a time and have to be there then? What happens if you get there early? We like to arrive early and be on the ship as early as possible. Is this still possible? We just booked last night for October 2019.

 

You MAY be able to sneak on early, but oftentimes they will not let you check in until your assigned time. So, you risk a very real possibility of getting there early and then waiting around for hours in the terminal. If you want to get there early and hop right on, I would suggest FTTF, if its available. 

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rolloman

rolloman

Posted
Posted (edited)

Its possible if you do one of the following

Are platinum and above.

Pay for Faster to the Fun

Complete online check in as  soon as it opens and grab one of the early check in slots.

 

Edited by rolloman
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riffatsea

riffatsea

Posted
Posted

Your experience may also depend on which embarkation port you are using.

Some seem to be stricter than others in preventing people from entering the building before their check in time. Be aware that this is just a "check in " time. It is not a boarding time.

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mama_2_boys

mama_2_boys

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1 minute ago, riffatsea said:

Your experience may also depend on which embarkation port you are using.

Some seem to be stricter than others in preventing people from entering the building before their check in time. Be aware that this is just a "check in " time. It is not a boarding time.

We are cruising out of NOLA.

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riffatsea

riffatsea

Posted
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The porters outside will still take your checked luggage if you are before your time.

The times are not "assigned" to you. Go to your account and see if you can pick one now.

If it is too early to pick one then be on your computer the day that check in picking is allowed.

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ctsharpie05

ctsharpie05

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22 minutes ago, riffatsea said:

Your experience may also depend on which embarkation port you are using.

Some seem to be stricter than others in preventing people from entering the building before their check in time. Be aware that this is just a "check in " time. It is not a boarding time.

So could we be waiting hours to board? With RC we checked in and immediately got on the ship. This will be my first Carnival Cruise.

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Mommawo

Mommawo

Posted
Posted
16 minutes ago, bury me at sea said:

Check in Cruise Manager.  It will show the date check-in will open online for your cruise.

Yep it has a date for you to check in I’m not FTTF or anything but was online at midnight the date I could check in and set the time.  It was 90 days out.  I got 11:30 check in time and was happy with  that 

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riffatsea

riffatsea

Posted
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We haven't sailed RC for many years. Whether you are allowed right onto the ship will depend on when you arrive at the ship.

Many people like to come early. They check in and then they wait until the ship is cleared for people to board. Boarding is done in groups. Weddings, people with frequent cruising status, suites, and people who buy Faster to the Fun will board before others.

You will be given a group number when you check in. You will wait until your group number is called to actually board the ship.

IF you arrive at 11AM you will be waiting a while.

If you arrive at 2PM you will walk onto the ship more quickly.

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bury me at sea

bury me at sea

Posted
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4 minutes ago, ctsharpie05 said:

So could we be waiting hours to board? With RC we checked in and immediately got on the ship. This will be my first Carnival Cruise.

 

If you arrive during your 30 minute check-in time frame you should have very little wait.

 

Welcome to Carnival.  I hope you have a great cruise.

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919Florida

919Florida

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So here is my experience. On my last cruise we had a 1230 - 1:00 check in time. Thats really late from what I normally do. I like you enjoy being on the ship as early as possible. So we still arrived at the port at our normal which is about 11. You will see two lines. One line says on time which is the check in time you selected. There was another line then for early or late arrivals. So I went in the early arrivals line.  It was much longer than the on time line but I still got through that longer line and on the ship by noon and I was happy. Good luck and i hope you can get an early check in time. Like another person said it opens up 90 days in advance in your cruise manager. 

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ricew001

ricew001

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15 minutes ago, emoorehead said:

Online check in opens 90 days before your sail date. It opens at midnight. I just stayed up until it dropped and then grabbed the earliest check in time that I could. Good luck!

Thank you for this advice. I just put a reminder on my calendar for midnight on my day in August. But since I already purchased FTTF I don't have to do this though, right? Thanks all! Sure appreciate the help!

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elcuchio24

elcuchio24

Posted
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27 minutes ago, ctsharpie05 said:

So could we be waiting hours to board? With RC we checked in and immediately got on the ship. This will be my first Carnival Cruise.

 

if your assigned time is 1pm and you show up at 1pm there will be no wait. If you show up at 11am, then there will likely be a wait.

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elcuchio24

elcuchio24

Posted
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2 minutes ago, ricew001 said:

Thank you for this advice. I just put a reminder on my calendar for midnight on my day in August. But since I already purchased FTTF I don't have to do this though, right? Thanks all! Sure appreciate the help!

 

You still need to select a time, but it doesnt matter what it is. Select 1:30 for instance, but with FTTF show up at 11 and roll right on.

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K&RCurt

K&RCurt

Posted
Posted
On 2/13/2019 at 10:27 AM, elcuchio24 said:

 

You still need to select a time, but it doesnt matter what it is. Select 1:30 for instance, but with FTTF show up at 11 and roll right on.

I agree, with FTTF it doesn't matter what your assigned time is, you can check in any time after checkin begins.  When we have FTTF we typically select a boarding time around 12:30 - 1:00, so as to leave the earlier time slots to folks who do not have FTTF and want to check in earlier.

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LuckyStar

LuckyStar

Posted
Posted
On 2/13/2019 at 7:57 AM, ctsharpie05 said:

So could we be waiting hours to board? With RC we checked in and immediately got on the ship. This will be my first Carnival Cruise.

Not necessarily.  We waited a few days to pick our time and we got 11:30 am, which I consider early enough.  

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