7 pm departure on the Glory. what time does boarding start?

[kathrynb0626]

Good morning!  This is our first cruise out of Barcelona.  We are doing the transatlantic on the Carnival Glory on April 18, 2024.  We lived in Florida for years, so we are used to 3 or 4 pm departures. This cruise has a departure time of 7 pm. 

 

What is the earliest time we will be able to board (knowing that this is not guaranteed).  Just looking for an estimate.

 

Thanks,
Kathryn

[mapleleaves]

typically you must board 2 hrs prior.

Our NCL cruise departed at 6pm and we had to board by 4pm.  We LOVED Barcelona and wanted to explore for as long as possible, so we didn't leave our hotel until 2pm.  Bonus ... no line at checkin! 

[mapleleaves]

ooops, my bad.  You want the EARLIEST boarding time.   I would ask the Carnival forum.

On NCL we could choose boarding times, and depending on the ship/itinerary it could be as early at 10am.  But geez, you'll be on the ship for a long time so no need to rush on board. Barcelona is beautiful; savor every moment !

[alserrod]

Hi

 

I will arrive Barcelona by 10:45, hope to be by taxi by 11:00 in the pier and I would try to be the first one to board.

 

I will be travelling in a family group. I know other relatives want to book at noon.

[ollienbertsmum]

On 1/24/2024 at 10:01 PM, alserrod said:

Hi

 

I would try to be the first one to board.

 

Me too - but there still is time to do something in the morning.  My best embarkation day activities have been climbing Montjuic and seeing my ship waiting for me, being first in the queue to see casa batllo and visiting la Sagrada Famila.  

[JimmyTheSaint]

We did the Freedom Transatlantic in October last year and the embarkation process in Barcelona was an utterly shambolic mess that lead to some people standing in the car park for up to 4 hours exposed to the sun. The problems were down to two issues, first being a lack of organisation on behalf of Carnival and the port authorities. The second and bigger issue that just exacerbated the first issue is that most of the passengers onboard completely disregarded their pre-booked slot for embarkation and turned up at the port hours in advance of when they were due completely overwhelming the ground staff and just adding to the chaos.

[alserrod]

Keep in mind it is not the same situation for a cruise where everybody embarks at the same time than for a cruise where people embarks in different ports.

 

I will be in Seaview and I bet most of passengers will come from Barcelona, Genova or Civitavecchia, but surely also from Cannes. So it is one third of people only

[edinburgher]

On 1/24/2024 at 1:33 PM, kathrynb0626 said:

What is the earliest time we will be able to board (knowing that this is not guaranteed).  Just looking for an estimate.

As cruiselines have different routines and timings for embarking passengers, maybe think about cross posting on th Carnival board where pax who have experienced this with Carnival would be more likely to see it and reply.

[onyx007]

Will have the same problem with my NCL from Southampton, but as I like to experience as much of the starting city as well; I wait at least till check-out time of my hotel or even later, maybe not really for the last minute but also not as early as possible. Barcelona has so much to offer and see...