How long does boarding take?

[michellecruise123]

Hello,

 

We will be in the Island Princess. What is the best arrival group to choose?

 

How long does boarding typically take?

Edited November 21, 2022 by michellecruise123

[leck57]

Impossible to say and it depends on many factors. Recently I boarded in about 30 minutes in Sydney, other times it has been over an hour. Depends on staff competence, Government regulations etc etc which are different at every port. I always take the first boarding group as I always arrive at the departure port the day before (as I have to fly in) and don't want to hang around waiting to board.

 

[lx200gps]

19 minutes ago, michellecruise123 said:

Hello,

 

We will be in the Island Princess. What is the best arrival group to choose?

 

How long does boarding typically take?

Your choice of Arrival Group depends on how quickly you want to board and start your vacation. We always board first thing and don't mind waiting for boarding to start, others hate waiting for boarding to start, so arrive later. 

 

FWIW, we boarded the Sky Princess last week. We ignored the Arrival Group (we had Group B, 1:30PM), as it generally means nothing, arrived at the Terminal around 10AM, pretty much walked straight through the check-in process in 2 minutes, and waited in the lounge until boarding started around 11:30. We always want to board among the very first to have any chance of booking Sanctuary seats. Check-in would have been even faster if we had obtained our Medallions beforehand, but Princess refuses to mail the Medallions pre-cruise to anyone outside the US. 

[john watson]

Which port are you boarding at?

 

Regards John

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, michellecruise123 said:

Hello,

 

We will be in the Island Princess. What is the best arrival group to choose?

 

How long does boarding typically take?

In reality, the answer to your question is it takes from when the first passenger is allowed on board until the last passenger shows up at the check-in counter.

 

More to the point, a number of guests - from a few to significant - will arrive and be checked in prior to commencement of boarding.  Once boarding begins, that large group gets onto the ship in a sequence of priority and arrival to check-in.  I have never been at the tail end of that (always at the beginning), so not sure how long it takes, but maybe half an hour tops???

 

After that, guests arriving at check-in are handled as they come and immediately board the ship.  No waiting for check-in to open and no waiting for boarding.

 

It depends on your preferences and how soon/late you can arrive at the check-in terminal.

 

Boarding can begin anytime between 11am and 11:30 am in typical situations.  Check-in opens up normally by about 10am.  YMMV.

 

[michellecruise123]

1 hour ago, john watson said:

Which port are you boarding at?

 

Regards John

Fort Lauderdale