Embarkation Day in miami..is 9 am

[csoud68]

A good time to arrive if you are in a suite with a 10:30 check in?

 

My last cruise in Norfolk we sat around alot until we boarded at 10:50..

[fozzy]

I usually get there between 9 and 10 and I'm platinum. So I'm in the same priority line checking in. 

[Elaine5715]

They usually open the terminal about 10 am.  Depends on the departing guests

[lazydayz]

How about 10:30?  I don’t get the appeal of sitting around for over hour when you could accomplish the same thing by arriving at your check in time.  

[Elaine5715]

If you arrive before the terminal opens, you will be standing outside in the weather without access to bathrooms or water.  

[mz-s]

11 hours ago, csoud68 said:

A good time to arrive if you are in a suite with a 10:30 check in?

 

My last cruise in Norfolk we sat around alot until we boarded at 10:50..

 

The ship will begin boarding when it is cleared by Customs, if you arrive too early you will be sitting around a lot it doesn't matter if you're in a suite or not. What's wrong with arriving at 10:30 like your arrival appointment says?

 

And once you get on the ship you'll be sitting around a lot because there really isn't anything happening on the ship until at least 1:30 when the cabins (yes including suites) are ready.

Edited January 10 by mz-s

[jsglow]

I'm reminded of first time 'all knowing' college Freshmen parents who have a 'better plan' for dorm move-in than the university that's been doing it every single August for well over 150 years. 🤔 

[Hoosierpop]

I’m going to pick a random time and say….10:30?

[Earthworm Jim]

12 hours ago, mz-s said:

And once you get on the ship you'll be sitting around a lot because there really isn't anything happening on the ship until at least 1:30 when the cabins (yes including suites) are ready.

 

Au contraire. That's the nicest time to be on the ship the whole week in my opinion. Explore the empty ship, have an uncrowded lunch, a relaxing first drink in the seat of your choice in an empty bar. I can enjoy myself before I get access to my cabin.

[mz-s]

9 hours ago, Earthworm Jim said:

 

Au contraire. That's the nicest time to be on the ship the whole week in my opinion. Explore the empty ship, have an uncrowded lunch, a relaxing first drink in the seat of your choice in an empty bar. I can enjoy myself before I get access to my cabin.

 

I get that but to me that all takes maybe an hour or two and if you embark at 11AM you've got probably 5 hours of not much going on before sail away. Each to their own!

[ProgRockCruiser]

On 1/10/2024 at 9:15 AM, mz-s said:

And once you get on the ship you'll be sitting around a lot because there really isn't anything happening on the ship until at least 1:30 when the cabins (yes including suites) are ready.

As @Earthworm Jim noted, there is plenty to do for self-starters, hungry people, and those that want to warm a bar stool.

 

If I could board at 8am and get a Bloody Mary and chill out in Serenity or the Red Frog Pub or in a hot tub, I would!

[dlphn501]

20 hours ago, Earthworm Jim said:

 

Au contraire. That's the nicest time to be on the ship the whole week in my opinion. Explore the empty ship, have an uncrowded lunch, a relaxing first drink in the seat of your choice in an empty bar. I can enjoy myself before I get access to my cabin.

This!!

[dlphn501]

10 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

I get that but to me that all takes maybe an hour or two and if you embark at 11AM you've got probably 5 hours of not much going on before sail away. Each to their own!

I have never been bored on a cruise, not even when embarking at 11am.  We eat, drink, and explore the ship.  Make a plan for the day once we are all connected to the app.  We swim and go to the waterpark.  We unpack.  Muster of course as well, but that's only 5 minutes now.  We get our ducks ready and start hiding them.  We get pictures.

It is to each their own though, because I know not everyone does anything in the water.  Some people can unpack in 30 seconds, and not everyone does the ducks.  But there are still def things to do.  

[Roscoe13]

On 1/9/2024 at 7:20 PM, Elaine5715 said:

They usually open the terminal about 10 am.  Depends on the departing guests

Not doubting you, but I have a 0930 to 1000 arrival time.  Now it seems like they wouldn't issue 0930 if they aren't even open yet?  However, I've seen stupider shite in my life

[Elaine5715]

35 minutes ago, Roscoe13 said:

Not doubting you, but I have a 0930 to 1000 arrival time.  Now it seems like they wouldn't issue 0930 if they aren't even open yet?  However, I've seen stupider shite in my life

Yes, they do.  They may use the same terminal to hold items that was confiscated from the returning sailing so that stuff needs to go first but every time I have arrived before 10 am, the terminal is closed.  You get in line but no one is being processed.

[Knights on the Beach]

3 hours ago, Roscoe13 said:

Not doubting you, but I have a 0930 to 1000 arrival time.  Now it seems like they wouldn't issue 0930 if they aren't even open yet?  However, I've seen stupider shite in my life

 

We were on Celebration last month and had a 10:00 - 10:30 arrival time. We got there a little earlier, as we drove up from Key West early that morning and weren't sure how the traffic would be. We parked and walked out of the garage at 9:30, walked right in the terminal and were checked in and sitting in the Captain's Club by 9:50. By the time we arrived, there weren't many seats left so I have no idea what time the other people got there. We walked onto the ship around 10:45, did our muster, dropped off a backpack in our room and were sitting on Lido with Shaq's Chicken by 11:02.

 

On the other hand, the people boarding Celebration the day we got off had completely the opposite experience. The Port of Miami was closed that morning due to high seas and high winds so we didn't dock until sometime after 1:00 pm that day. It was around 2:45 by the time we were in our car waiting to pay and exit the garage. I feel for the people waiting to board the ship - we could see the terminal was packed as we were leaving.

Edited January 12 by Knights on the Beach

[csoud68]

On 1/10/2024 at 9:15 AM, mz-s said:

 

The ship will begin boarding when it is cleared by Customs, if you arrive too early you will be sitting around a lot it doesn't matter if you're in a suite or not. What's wrong with arriving at 10:30 like your arrival appointment says?

 

And once you get on the ship you'll be sitting around a lot because there really isn't anything happening on the ship until at least 1:30 when the cabins (yes including suites) are ready.

Suites are ready when we get on. Always have been. That's a perk.

 

And I'll think about your other suggestion..

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, csoud68 said:

Suites are ready when we get on. Always have been. That's a perk.

 

And I'll think about your other suggestion..

Still not supposed to stay, drop and go.

[dandeck]

Been on a lot of cruises.  Most of them Carnival.  If the weather is not perfect, I'd suggest no earlier than 10am.  If the weather is nice, earlier is fine, but ya may be outside for a while.