If cruise sails at 3pm, boarding starts at.....?

[kangforpres]

I'm guessing 11am, but let me know if I'm wrong. 

 

-Paul

[REOVA]

Depends on if the ship is already in the day before, or if not, how quickly turnaround can be done. Also which port as some are more efficient and some may have delays with customs, depending on prior itinerary, etc etc etc. 

 

In any event, whatever is on your boarding pass is the correct answer. Trying to board earlier (as many do) just clogs the system and waiting area so the bottleneck doesn't save time and energy. 

[CruiserBruce]

HAL always shoots for boarding to start around 11:30. Every cruise.

[RedmondCruiser]

3 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

HAL always shoots for boarding to start around 11:30. Every cruise.

My boarding time was 11:20 and people were ahead of me

[CruiserBruce]

9 minutes ago, RedmondCruiser said:

My boarding time was 11:20 and people were ahead of me

No, that was actually your check in time...if you are talking about the "assigned time" on your boarding pass.

 

And you will notice I said "shoots". Its not an exact time etched in cement.

[kazu]

15 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

HAL always shoots for boarding to start around 11:30. Every cruise.

 

Not every cruise.  Boarding times in Barcelona started at 1 pm on our November cruise and one San Diego embarkation was later than 11:30 AM a few weeks after.

 

Boarding times for the cruise I was supposed to be on in May out of Barcelona was also 1 pm although the Amsterdam check in time seemed to be normal at around 11:39.

 

So no, boarding doesn’t always start around 11:30.  

[CruiserBruce]

10 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Not every cruise.  Boarding times in Barcelona started at 1 pm on our November cruise and one San Diego embarkation was later than 11:30 AM a few weeks after.

 

Boarding times for the cruise I was supposed to be on in May out of Barcelona was also 1 pm although the Amsterdam check in time seemed to be normal at around 11:39.

 

So no, boarding doesn’t always start around 11:30.  

Notice I said "shoots for".

[kangforpres]

It's the Eurodam in Seattle on Saturday, June 24.

[Crew News]

It is my experience with post-COVID cruises, that boarding passes, although titled as such, no longer show "boarding time" rather only the "check-in" time.  The HAL standard for North America initial boarding times used to be 11:30 AM but with the new earlier-scheduled port departures, boarding times begin as soon as ships are ready to receive passengers.  In Vancouver last month, that time was around noon and in December, Fort Lauderdale boarding was a bit after 11:00 AM.

[REOVA]

1 hour ago, kangforpres said:

It's the Eurodam in Seattle on Saturday, June 24.

What time does your boarding pass have on it? 

[IUBryan]

I just got my boarding pass for Eurodam on June 24th and we are in Boarding Group A, which has a time of 11:00 listed.

[CruiserBruce]

7 minutes ago, IUBryan said:

I just got my boarding pass for Eurodam on June 24th and we are in Boarding Group A, which has a time of 11:00 listed.

Again,  it's a check in time, not boarding. 

[REOVA]

1 hour ago, IUBryan said:

I just got my boarding pass for Eurodam on June 24th and we are in Boarding Group A, which has a time of 11:00 listed.

So after you check in (and depending on Mariner level) you will be seated until the ship is ready to embark passengers, which could be immediately or an hour later. With a 3 pm sail time, they will try to get everyone on asap but it will still depend on the day at the port. 

[Haljo1935]

@kangforpres are you asking about check in time or boarding time?

[IUBryan]

Yes, sorry I wasn't clear. The boarding pass clearly says 11:00 AM is my check in time. It says nothing about boarding time.

[Haljo1935]

6 minutes ago, IUBryan said:

Yes, sorry I wasn't clear. The boarding pass clearly says 11:00 AM is my check in time. It says nothing about boarding time.

Gotcha - yes, that is your check in time; boarding time isn't listed. What time boarding begins will depend on how quickly disembarkation is complete and the ship cleared. You could expect to be on fairly early with a check-in time of 11.

Edited June 11, 2023 by Haljo1935
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[oaktreerb]

In my experience HAL’s goal is to have the staterooms ready before bringing passengers onboard.  That way you can take your carry-on’s to your stateroom before you go to the Lido/MDR for lunch.  In Vancouver we had a 10:30 boarding/check in time but we had to sit with our group until rooms were ready and boarding began at 11:30.  

[onedaysevening]

Pre-Covid going to Alaska on the Eurodam we were pulling up to check-in at 11, and were in group A and were boarding at about 11:40 and started taking pictures on-board at 11:47. We will actually be on the same sailing as you, hopefully it's about the same!

[Haljo1935]

9 minutes ago, onedaysevening said:

Pre-Covid going to Alaska on the Eurodam we were pulling up to check-in at 11, and were in group A and were boarding at about 11:40 and started taking pictures on-board at 11:47. We will actually be on the same sailing as you, hopefully it's about the same!

It was for us April 29 on Eurodam.

We had dropped bags in cabin, eaten lunch in MDR and enjoying wine on our balcony before 1pm!

Edited June 11, 2023 by Haljo1935
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