Celebration Boarding Zones

[CathyK2]

We will be in Celebration next month with other family.  We are in the C boarding zone and they are in D.  I understand that we can lag behind to D and board with them but I'm trying to understand the boarding zones.  Are C and D in totally different locations ir is that just the time they let you enter in the same area?  Any help in trying to understand the lay out would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.

[cruisinqt]

You’re all in the same area waiting as they call out the different zones to board. There’s no separate waiting area for anyone except the Diamond Platinum lounge. So unless you’re Diamond or Platinum then you can all sit and wait and board together for zone D if you want to. Now getting into the building where you wait is a different story. It’s all based on the check in time slot you chose. You can’t go in and wait for your zone to be called until your check in time. If your check in time is 11 and you try to enter at 10 they will turn you away. 

[CathyK2]

5 hours ago, cruisinqt said:

You’re all in the same area waiting as they call out the different zones to board. There’s no separate waiting area for anyone except the Diamond Platinum lounge. So unless you’re Diamond or Platinum then you can all sit and wait and board together for zone D if you want to. Now getting into the building where you wait is a different story. It’s all based on the check in time slot you chose. You can’t go in and wait for your zone to be called until your check in time. If your check in time is 11 and you try to enter at 10 they will turn you away. 

Thank you.  Exactly what I wanted to know.  So in reality, since I'm C, is there any reason that I couldn't go in and get a seat and then wait until they let D in?  

[CathyK2]

5 hours ago, cruisinqt said:

You’re all in the same area waiting as they call out the different zones to board. There’s no separate waiting area for anyone except the Diamond Platinum lounge. So unless you’re Diamond or Platinum then you can all sit and wait and board together for zone D if you want to. Now getting into the building where you wait is a different story. It’s all based on the check in time slot you chose. You can’t go in and wait for your zone to be called until your check in time. If your check in time is 11 and you try to enter at 10 they will turn you away. 

AND if your group is split up as D 4 and D 6, do they all go in at once or is that called individually?

[Saint Greg]

7 hours ago, CathyK2 said:

Thank you.  Exactly what I wanted to know.  So in reality, since I'm C, is there any reason that I couldn't go in and get a seat and then wait until they let D in?  

 

Going inside the building is going to be based on arrival times. If you all have the same arrival time you can all go in at the same time. When I was there they had a line for on-time arrivals and a different one for early/late arrivals. When I got there they were only letting diamond, platinum, and suites in the building so I don't know how the other lines worked. You really want to try to get the same arrival time. That will get you in the building at the same time. Boarding zone is different. That's for boarding.

 

Edited December 27, 2022 by Saint Greg

[CathyK2]

1 hour ago, Saint Greg said:

 

Going inside the building is going to be based on arrival times. If you all have the same arrival time you can all go in at the same time. When I was there they had a line for on-time arrivals and a different one for early/late arrivals. When I got there they were only letting diamond, platinum, and suites in the building so I don't know how the other lines worked. You really want to try to get the same arrival time. That will get you in the building at the same time. Boarding zone is different. That's for boarding.

 

Thank you.  Sadly, our arrival time is 1/2 hour earlier than the rest of the group.  So wouldn't we be able to just delay by a 1/2 hour and go in with them?  And is boarding zones taking you in to the ship at different locations?  I suppose all of this will make more sense when we get there.  Thanks for helping.

[May1cruiser]

In the past, we had different boarding times with family. We just went aboard and had a designated meeting point once all onboard. This includes one member that forgot their passport and had to drive back home (1 hour round trip). Needless to say, we may have started to enjoy adult beverages slightly earlier, but we all sailed away at the same time. 

 

Might be more of a strain to fight the crowds in the terminal vs. just meeting on board.

 

[cruisinqt]

9 hours ago, CathyK2 said:

Thank you.  Exactly what I wanted to know.  So in reality, since I'm C, is there any reason that I couldn't go in and get a seat and then wait until they let D in?  

Yeah I would go in and get some seats altogether for your group as soon as you can. It gets crowded very quickly. 

[cruisinqt]

9 hours ago, CathyK2 said:

AND if your group is split up as D 4 and D 6, do they all go in at once or is that called individually?

They call it individually. D1 then D2 then D3 etc. But by the time you all get in and situated they may have already called it. I’d confirm with an employee what they’ve already called out. They are standing around everywhere. 

[Saint Greg]

5 hours ago, CathyK2 said:

Thank you.  Sadly, our arrival time is 1/2 hour earlier than the rest of the group.  So wouldn't we be able to just delay by a 1/2 hour and go in with them?  And is boarding zones taking you in to the ship at different locations?  I suppose all of this will make more sense when we get there.  Thanks for helping.

The only thing that would concern me is the early/late line. They may stick you in that line for being late. What I would do is just if you have 12-12:30 and they have 12:30-1, show up close to the end of yours/beginning of theirs. Worst case they’ll be right behind you.

[CathyK2]

7 hours ago, May1cruiser said:

In the past, we had different boarding times with family. We just went aboard and had a designated meeting point once all onboard. This includes one member that forgot their passport and had to drive back home (1 hour round trip). Needless to say, we may have started to enjoy adult beverages slightly earlier, but we all sailed away at the same time. 

 

Might be more of a strain to fight the crowds in the terminal vs. just meeting on board.

 

Yes, that would be easiest but our problem is that our daughter gave us their wine since they are flying down and we are snow birds so drive the wine down with us to give it to them.   We are taking two of their bottles and we need to get their two back to them since we can't bring all four bottles on ourselves.  So is everyone waiting around outside, waiting to be called inside?  If so, yes that will be zooey.  But I think I understand the process, so thanking all of you for helping me understand.  

[CathyK2]

2 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

The only thing that would concern me is the early/late line. They may stick you in that line for being late. What I would do is just if you have 12-12:30 and they have 12:30-1, show up close to the end of yours/beginning of theirs. Worst case they’ll be right behind you.

Ahhhh, good to know about the early late line.  Guess we really don't want to get stuck in any late line.  Is the early line for those hoping to get on earlier than their time?  All is good.  I certainly have no problem getting on at our assigned time but need to track them down so we can hand their wine bottles over to them.  Ugh.

[Saint Greg]

36 minutes ago, CathyK2 said:

Ahhhh, good to know about the early late line.  Guess we really don't want to get stuck in any late line.  Is the early line for those hoping to get on earlier than their time?  All is good.  I certainly have no problem getting on at our assigned time but need to track them down so we can hand their wine bottles over to them.  Ugh.

Yeah the early line is fairly common but I haven’t seen a late line before. My experience has always been if you’re late, you just get in line. But this is what they had at celebration.

 

Edited December 28, 2022 by Saint Greg

[DramaQueen22]

On 12/27/2022 at 3:32 PM, CathyK2 said:

Thank you.  Sadly, our arrival time is 1/2 hour earlier than the rest of the group.  So wouldn't we be able to just delay by a 1/2 hour and go in with them?  And is boarding zones taking you in to the ship at different locations?  I suppose all of this will make more sense when we get there.  Thanks for helping.

You could wait until near the end of your arrival window, then your friends could go in near the start of theirs.  It won't be exact, but you should end up within 5-10 minutes of one another.  Then simply board with the D group all at the same time.