New boarding time?

[orangeglitter]

I just received an email telling me to select a check in time during checkin. I am on the Celebration on April 30th. I was on the Celebration on January 3rd and as a Platinum guest I was able to select 10:30 as my check in time.?

Anyone on the Celebration more recently? Is 1230 really the earliest?

 

 

[mz-s]

You can't select a check-in time until 16 days before the cruise.

 

Someone on here reported they were able to select a 9:30 port arrival appointment in Miami. Previously I thought they didn't start until 10.

[csm5986142]

We were on Celebration in January also and our arrive appointment was 10:00 - 10:30 (sorry, I know you were hoping for someone more recently, but since I save all my boarding passes, I thought I'd mention it).  I agree 12:30 seems kind of late.

[BoozinCroozin]

Can't Platinums arrive when they want and go to the Priority Check-in line? I have been told that is what FTTF can do if they get a late arrival time, just show up and go to the Priority Line because they don't check the arrival times for those guests.

 

[shof515]

1 hour ago, BoozinCroozin said:

Can't Platinums arrive when they want and go to the Priority Check-in line?

 

yes. for platnium the arrival time is useless

[orangeglitter]

I dont think I made my question clear. I know how check in is

assigned. My concern is that I got an email from Carnival that says boarding starts at 12:30. We got on in January at 11. Has something changed or is that just the standard time they say boarding starts?

[mz-s]

4 minutes ago, orangeglitter said:

I dont think I made my question clear. I know how check in is

assigned. My concern is that I got an email from Carnival that says boarding starts at 12:30. We got on in January at 11. Has something changed or is that just the standard time they say boarding starts?

 

Check in is not the same as boarding.

 

It is normal for them to check in passengers before boarding begins. They have a waiting area in the terminal.

 

Boarding typically begins around 11:00 with wedding parties then VIFP preferred/FTTF/suite guests. They probably say 12:30 in their email to give some margin in case of a delayed arrival, delayed customs clearance, etc.

Edited March 18, 2023 by mz-s

[JT1962]

Looks like the cruise prior to your(April 23) is either a charter or at least has a large group of singles. It is not available for booking on the Carnival website. They may be expecting delays on getting everyone off the ship timely. 

 

https://singlescruise.com/group-details/123293/

[staceyglow]

7 hours ago, shof515 said:

yes. for platnium the arrival time is useless

Actually, I am sitting in the priority lounge at Long Beach right now, and you are incorrect. 

 

They had separate lines for 10-10:30, 10:30-11, etc, and they are making everyone stand in the appropriate line whether your boarding pass says "priority" or not. They let all the 10 o'clock people in first. I was in that group, and I don't think they got to the next one until the time on the sign. 

 

Actually getting on ship might be a different story. Once boarding has started, I am assuming they will still let Priority people on first. 

[nwcruiselover]

25 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

Actually, I am sitting in the priority lounge at Long Beach right now, and you are incorrect. 

 

They had separate lines for 10-10:30, 10:30-11, etc, and they are making everyone stand in the appropriate line whether your boarding pass says "priority" or not. They let all the 10 o'clock people in first. I was in that group, and I don't think they got to the next one until the time on the sign. 

 

Actually getting on ship might be a different story. Once boarding has started, I am assuming they will still let Priority people on first. 

I had exactly the same experience boarding Panorama in January.  They had time-specific lines for entering the terminal, and they were adhered to without regard to FTTF status.  Once inside, there were priority lines, then after check-in Diamond and Platinum went into the Captain’s Lounge to wait for boarding.  FTTF area was right outside the Captain’s Lounge.  They called Diamond first.  Since I’m Diamond I didn’t hear the order of boarding past Diamond.  So it’s not everywhere that Diamonds/Platinums can ignore their arrival time and arrive anytime they want.

Edited March 18, 2023 by nwcruiselover

[Elaine5715]

7 hours ago, orangeglitter said:

I dont think I made my question clear. I know how check in is

assigned. My concern is that I got an email from Carnival that says boarding starts at 12:30. We got on in January at 11. Has something changed or is that just the standard time they say boarding starts?

 

5 hours ago, JT1962 said:

Looks like the cruise prior to your(April 23) is either a charter or at least has a large group of singles. It is not available for booking on the Carnival website. They may be expecting delays on getting everyone off the ship timely. 

 

https://singlescruise.com/group-details/123293/

@JT is correct.  The full ship charters bring more equipment and need more time to disembark.  Occasionally there is a full Customs document crew check and that delays boarding

[staceyglow]

Update :  They called people for boarding in this order - Diamond, Suites, Platinum, FTTF, and then zones. It didn't matter what time you got into the building. And starting with allowing us into the terminal, they checked our boarding passes every step of the way to ensure we had the proper priority.

 

And as Platinums, we went straight to our rooms, dropped our luggage, and got out. We passed an officer in the hallway to our cabin, and he greeted us warmly and seemed to have no problem with us being there. 

 

In summary regarding the Panorama and Priority:

 

Adherence to arrival time: Yes

Boarding in Priority Type order: Yes

Priority bag drop-off before 1:30: Yes 

 

[Illbcruzn4life]

On 3/17/2023 at 6:22 PM, orangeglitter said:

I just received an email telling me to select a check in time during checkin. I am on the Celebration on April 30th. I was on the Celebration on January 3rd and as a Platinum guest I was able to select 10:30 as my check in time.?

Anyone on the Celebration more recently? Is 1230 really the earliest?

 

 

I am on this cruise as well but received no email.

 

I didn't think you picked your check in time until 16 days prior?

 

I just checked the Carnival website and I can't check in until April 14th?

 

Was the email legit?

[opensaysme]

I know exactly what you are trying to say OP. I am on that cruise as well and received the same email and have the same question about boarding time at 12:30 seems late. I was wondering why I hadn't heard boarding that late was a thing. I just opened up a topic regarding this question before finding this thread. I see where someone mentioned a charter cruise debarking Celebration that day. I don't know how charter cruises work but I question why they need extra time to debark and will cabins still be ready at 1:30.

[orangeglitter]

Thank you for replying. No one seemed to understand my question before. I wonder if I should still request the earliest checkin. I don’t need to wait for hours to board. 
if I ask  for a later checkin and the boarding starts at 10:45 as it did for my February cruise I would be disappointed.

[asalligo]

On 3/18/2023 at 7:18 AM, orangeglitter said:

I dont think I made my question clear. I know how check in is

assigned. My concern is that I got an email from Carnival that says boarding starts at 12:30. We got on in January at 11. Has something changed or is that just the standard time they say boarding starts?

No Boarding has been starting lately between 10:30 and 11. I suspect that something specific is occurring for your cruise. I have a 10am check in time for my April 9th Celebration cruise. 

[orangeglitter]

Thanks. I was planning a 10 am check in also. It will be interesting to see if that time is available.

 

[ProgRockCruiser]

On 3/18/2023 at 2:03 PM, staceyglow said:

Actually, I am sitting in the priority lounge at Long Beach right now, and you are incorrect. 

 

They had separate lines for 10-10:30, 10:30-11, etc, and they are making everyone stand in the appropriate line whether your boarding pass says "priority" or not. They let all the 10 o'clock people in first. I was in that group, and I don't think they got to the next one until the time on the sign. 

 

Actually getting on ship might be a different story. Once boarding has started, I am assuming they will still let Priority people on first. 

Was there a separate "Priority" line for entering the terminal?  Because that's what the FTTF perk describes (and P&Ds get the same perks):

 

"Upon arrival to the terminal, look for the Priority line to check-in. "

 

Others have described walking up the terminal and proceeding directly in using the Priority line (assuming the lines were moving - yeah if you show up at 8am, you line up too.)

 

Maybe Long Beach, or that particular sailing, didn't have a Priority line for some reason?

 

On 3/18/2023 at 3:22 PM, staceyglow said:

Update :  They called people for boarding in this order - Diamond, Suites, Platinum, FTTF, and then zones. It didn't matter what time you got into the building. And starting with allowing us into the terminal, they checked our boarding passes every step of the way to ensure we had the proper priority.

That is what I observed for our boarding in December 2022, except Suites were called before Diamonds.

[opensaysme]

9 hours ago, orangeglitter said:

Thank you for replying. No one seemed to understand my question before. I wonder if I should still request the earliest checkin. I don’t need to wait for hours to board. 
if I ask  for a later checkin and the boarding starts at 10:45 as it did for my February cruise I would be disappointed.

I’m wondering the same. I don’t want to be there waiting for 2 hours before they let us board. I’m going to call and attempt to get an answer. I’ll report back. 

[opensaysme]

22 minutes ago, opensaysme said:

I’m wondering the same. I don’t want to be there waiting for 2 hours before they let us board. I’m going to call and attempt to get an answer. I’ll report back. 

So I called Carnival to inquire. The answer I got was she was able to check boarding times for this ship starting the beginning of April and onward and she was able to confirm that the boarding time is actually 1:00pm, boarding stops at 3pm and the ship leaves at 4pm. Priority boarding guests are given a boarding time of 12:30pm which explains why only diamond and platinum guests are reporting to have received the email and no one else has yet. I have fttf. She also assured me that there would be no way we’d board earlier than that. Idk if that part is true or not but I’m wondering if as of April they have started a new thing.