Embarkation Day: Board Early or Later?

[DC225]

Hello, all.  My partner and I are less than a week away from our first cruise together (and my first in about 25 years).  I'd love some recommendations on how to approach embarkation day.  Our sailing time is 6:00PM and I think we can board as early as 11:00AM.  Is there any reason to board early versus later?  I'd love to get a sense as to what day one before departure looks like.  Many thanks in advance.

[1985rz1]

33 minutes ago, DC225 said:

Hello, all.  My partner and I are less than a week away from our first cruise together (and my first in about 25 years).  I'd love some recommendations on how to approach embarkation day.  Our sailing time is 6:00PM and I think we can board as early as 11:00AM.  Is there any reason to board early versus later?  I'd love to get a sense as to what day one before departure looks like.  Many thanks in advance.

Some folks like to board early so they can have lunch onboard in the Terrace. Others prefer to have lunch on shore before boarding.  I'm not sure if O is still assigning boarding times to space out the crowds and avoid bottlenecks that come from the dock side testing.  Your TA should know if you have an assigned boarding time.

[LuAnn]

We always board early as DH likes to have lunch on board. The only disadvantage to that is cabins that are cleaned and ready for passengers are released based on the type of cabin you have. So if you are in a standard balcony/window/inside you're the last to have access. At least that's they way it's been in the past...but everything has been changing so who knows? 

[LHT28]

3 hours ago, DC225 said:

Hello, all.  My partner and I are less than a week away from our first cruise together (and my first in about 25 years).  I'd love some recommendations on how to approach embarkation day.  Our sailing time is 6:00PM and I think we can board as early as 11:00AM.  Is there any reason to board early versus later?  I'd love to get a sense as to what day one before departure looks like.  Many thanks in advance.

besides the covid  test  you MUST be onboard 90 minute prior to sailing time  or you will not  be on the cruise

That said some people like to go early  & explore the ship  have lunch or snacks 

unpack if their bags are at their cabin

We go  between 1-2 pm less busy to board  but that was pre covid

 

[KirkNC]

Does O not have assigned boarding times now?

[Queen of DaNile]

Check your documents. You should have been given a boarding time.

 

"CHECK-IN AND CRUISE TERMINAL ARRIVAL

All guests are reminded to arrive at the cruise terminal within a 30-minute window of their reserved embarkation time."

[pinotlover]

13 hours ago, LuAnn said:

We always board early as DH likes to have lunch on board. The only disadvantage to that is cabins that are cleaned and ready for passengers are released based on the type of cabin you have. So if you are in a standard balcony/window/inside you're the last to have access. At least that's they way it's been in the past...but everything has been changing so who knows? 

Oceania doesn’t assign you a check in time. Starting at 21 days, a portion of the online check in process is to personally select a check in time from those available. The sooner one chooses, the more options they have.

 

We don’t enjoy lugging our carry on around with us. It’s a must in the airport, but something we would rather avoid. We chose the latest possible check in time available. We’ll sight see around town, have a lovely lunch, go back to the hotel and retrieve our luggage, and off to the ship. Upon boarding, our cabin will be available and we can go immediately there and drop our carry on, then proceed as we desire.

 

This process, especially on full ships, means we aren’t lugging stuff to the Terrace, then to X, then to Y, waiting for the announcement of our cabins being ready. To us, on a full capacity ship, the Terrace from 11:00-2:00 is a crowded hectic place to avoid, with all the people and all their stuff. On the current near empty ships the situation may be somewhat different, but the ships won’t/can’t stay at low capacity much longer.

 

A peaceful lunch, eating fresh local produce of the country we’re visiting, always trumps early arrival and the Terrace or Waves for us. There will be plenty of time later for those venues.

[Roccaforte]

We always opt to board as early as permitted.  I know the  Terrace  can be crowded but there are lots of other quiet comfortable spots to sit, relax and unwind.  After the hassle of TSA, crowded planes and Covid checks it’s a relief to finally be on board.  Lunch is always great and a celebratory glass of bubbly help us feel like we’re finally on vacation. It also feels like one additional day on the ship.  In warm weather ports we’ve seen folks already in the pool by noon.  They must have packed smart!

Enjoy your cruise!

[LHT28]

12 minutes ago, Roccaforte said:

  In warm weather ports we’ve seen folks already in the pool by noon.  They must have packed smart!

Enjoy your cruise!

or maybe  on a B2B 😉

 

[lel5344]

On embarkation for the Riviera, can we get lunch any place besides the Terrace Cafe? Is Waves Grill open?

[HiFi43]

Waves grill is open and we always eat there when we board early because we like it and there is plenty of room for carry on luggage…

[ToxM]

Waves is great and usually less busy, plus you can wander to the Terrace and add items 😉 

 

Looking forward to trying the new embarkation process, we will be embarking in Barbados, so fully plan on getting there as early as possibly just in case it;s not as seamless as it could be. 

[LHT28]

50 minutes ago, lel5344 said:

On embarkation for the Riviera, can we get lunch any place besides the Terrace Cafe? Is Waves Grill open?

Barristas is usually available also

[crooz4fun]

On 2/14/2022 at 8:28 PM, LuAnn said:

We always board early as DH likes to have lunch on board. The only disadvantage to that is cabins that are cleaned and ready for passengers are released based on the type of cabin you have. So if you are in a standard balcony/window/inside you're the last to have access. At least that's they way it's been in the past...but everything has been changing so who knows? 

 We boarded on February 7th At 1 PM in embarkation time.  I don't know when your cruise is scheduled,  But we only had 591 passengers on board. Check in was the fastest ever. Including the covid testing we were on board In about 45 minutes. We had a window cabin and it was ready when we boarded.. Luggage arrived a few minutes later.

[mexicobob]

12 hours ago, pinotlover said:

Oceania doesn’t assign you a check in time. Starting at 21 days, a portion of the online check in process is to personally select a check in time from those available. The sooner one chooses, the more options they have.

 

We don’t enjoy lugging our carry on around with us. It’s a must in the airport, but something we would rather avoid. We chose the latest possible check in time available. We’ll sight see around town, have a lovely lunch, go back to the hotel and retrieve our luggage, and off to the ship. Upon boarding, our cabin will be available and we can go immediately there and drop our carry on, then proceed as we desire.

 

This process, especially on full ships, means we aren’t lugging stuff to the Terrace, then to X, then to Y, waiting for the announcement of our cabins being ready. To us, on a full capacity ship, the Terrace from 11:00-2:00 is a crowded hectic place to avoid, with all the people and all their stuff. On the current near empty ships the situation may be somewhat different, but the ships won’t/can’t stay at low capacity much longer.

 

A peaceful lunch, eating fresh local produce of the country we’re visiting, always trumps early arrival and the Terrace or Waves for us. There will be plenty of time later for those venues.

We also attempt to be one of the last ones on the ship no matter what cruise line or port. No lines in the terminal and lunch on shore can be outstanding, or at least different from the ship. We really do not enjoy lugging our carry on luggage around a crowded eating venue trying to find a table. 
Either be one of the first on the ship or one of the last is my recommendation.  

[Host Jazzbeau]

We showed up at the Miami cruise port for our Jan. 14 Riviera cruise at 11:30, went through a well-managed Covid testing process, and within minutes of boarding they announced that PH cabins were ready – so no need to drag our carry-ons anywhere.  And still time for a nice lunch in the Terrace Cafe, which was not crowded.

[Cliff-FLL]

On 2/14/2022 at 6:46 PM, DC225 said:

Is there any reason to board early versus later?  

We always board at about 11:00, as it gives us plenty of time to deal with administrative items.  We head directly to our suite and the butler is normally there shortly thereafter.  We review with him our dining reservations, including Privée & La Réserve, and request that he make certain changes for us.  After that, it's off to Waves for a bite to eat and some wine (although you can also ask the butler to deliver lunch to your suite, if you prefer). We use the time after lunch to go to the spa to confirm our schedules and, maybe, add a few more services.  Early check-in allows us to do everything we want/need to, but at a nice, leisurely pace.  If you have other priorities or things you'd like to do, a later check-in might be better for you.

[travelbug2225]

Is the afternoon tea available on embarkation day?  Our cruise is port intensive. I do not have any sea day. I want to do the afternoon tea. 

[alaskaca]

13 minutes ago, travelbug2225 said:

Is the afternoon tea available on embarkation day?  Our cruise is port intensive. I do not have any sea day. I want to do the afternoon tea. 

My only reference is pre-Covid and at that time afternoon tea was not available on embarkation day.

[basor]

20 minutes ago, travelbug2225 said:

Is the afternoon tea available on embarkation day?  Our cruise is port intensive. I do not have any sea day. I want to do the afternoon tea. 

I have never seen afternoon tea offered on embarkation day - I think the crew is too busy getting ready for new passengers.  Luckily, you will have the opportunity to enjoy afternoon tea every other day.  Even on a port intensive cruise, we found that we were back onboard in time to enjoy afternoon tea 4-5PM on some days.

[pinotlover]

14 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

We showed up at the Miami cruise port for our Jan. 14 Riviera cruise at 11:30, went through a well-managed Covid testing process, and within minutes of boarding they announced that PH cabins were ready – so no need to drag our carry-ons anywhere.  And still time for a nice lunch in the Terrace Cafe, which was not crowded.

You do of course grasp that you sailed on a ship with a capacity of near 1200 that was barely over a third full?? You do of course realize you sailed on a ship where the crew outnumbered the passengers nearly 2:1??? Do you believe your experiences were normal to what passengers will see in the future or experienced in the past??? PH cabins are rarely available much before 1:00. Lower cabins are often not ready until after 2:30 or so. Yes, in normal times,  lots of people that show up early have to lug around their carry on around for hours, just like they have to do in airports. I suppose they don’t mind do so to get the “ free” lunch. Others have different opinions on the matter an leisurely show up later.

[Tranquility Base]

On 2/15/2022 at 12:46 PM, DC225 said:

Hello, all.  My partner and I are less than a week away from our first cruise together (and my first in about 25 years).  I'd love some recommendations on how to approach embarkation day.  Our sailing time is 6:00PM and I think we can board as early as 11:00AM.  Is there any reason to board early versus later?  I'd love to get a sense as to what day one before departure looks like.  Many thanks in advance.

 

16 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

We showed up at the Miami cruise port for our Jan. 14 Riviera cruise at 11:30, went through a well-managed Covid testing process, and within minutes of boarding they announced that PH cabins were ready – so no need to drag our carry-ons anywhere.  And still time for a nice lunch in the Terrace Cafe, which was not crowded.

 

1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

You do of course grasp that you sailed on a ship with a capacity of near 1200 that was barely over a third full?? You do of course realize you sailed on a ship where the crew outnumbered the passengers nearly 2:1??? Do you believe your experiences were normal to what passengers will see in the future or experienced in the past??? 

As you can see, the OP's cruise is less than a week away.

I think Host Jazzbeau's post is VERY relevant in answering the OP's query.

[Host Jazzbeau]

2 hours ago, pinotlover said:

You do of course grasp that you sailed on a ship with a capacity of near 1200 that was barely over a third full?? You do of course realize you sailed on a ship where the crew outnumbered the passengers nearly 2:1??? Do you believe your experiences were normal to what passengers will see in the future or experienced in the past??? PH cabins are rarely available much before 1:00. Lower cabins are often not ready until after 2:30 or so. Yes, in normal times,  lots of people that show up early have to lug around their carry on around for hours, just like they have to do in airports. I suppose they don’t mind do so to get the “ free” lunch. Others have different opinions on the matter an leisurely show up later.

I didn't realize I was subject to a 'third degree' cross-examination!  "You do... You do..."  Please move the light out of my eyes!  Please, no more rubber hose!

 

Actually the ship was 1/2 full, so the passenger/crew ratio was approx. 1:1.  Get your facts straight, counselor.

[basor]

7 hours ago, pinotlover said:

You do of course grasp that you sailed on a ship with a capacity of near 1200 that was barely over a third full?? You do of course realize you sailed on a ship where the crew outnumbered the passengers nearly 2:1??? Do you believe your experiences were normal to what passengers will see in the future or experienced in the past??? PH cabins are rarely available much before 1:00. Lower cabins are often not ready until after 2:30 or so. Yes, in normal times,  lots of people that show up early have to lug around their carry on around for hours, just like they have to do in airports. I suppose they don’t mind do so to get the “ free” lunch. Others have different opinions on the matter an leisurely show up later.

Even when the cruise was near full capacity, we have never had to "LUG' our carry-ons for hours....we head up to WAVES or Terrace, put our carry-ons in a spot out of everyone's way and enjoy a nice leisurely lunch and when our cabin is ready we head down,....

[ToxM]

8 hours ago, basor said:

Even when the cruise was near full capacity, we have never had to "LUG' our carry-ons for hours....we head up to WAVES or Terrace, put our carry-ons in a spot out of everyone's way and enjoy a nice leisurely lunch and when our cabin is ready we head down,....

 

There’s plenty of space in Waves to not get under anyone’s feet with luggage.