What time does T25 open in Fort Lauderdale?

[White Rodent]

We are sailing on the Celebrity Apex November 4, 2024. We are going to have to wait somewhere, either the hotel, coffee shop, or terminal lounge.  We have the first boarding time of noon that was available to us. Check in opened this morning and I checked our group in just after midnight. 
 

How early do the doors open? Are their coffee shops inside of this terminal? 
 

Do they ever start boarding before noon or is that a hard and fast time? 
 

We have 3 people in their 80’s that need mobility assistance.  I am trying to hatch a plan to keep everyone in our party comfortable and to give the port staff plenty of time to process our group and not make things hard on them. 
 

Thoughts?

[Jeremiah1212]

That's the first cruise after the transatlantic. Not uncommon for there to be delays boarding since the ship has to be cleared differently. The terminal itself may open at 10/10:30 but that's not a given since this is a somewhat unique situation. Unless you are in Retreat there is nothing inside the terminal. I would stay at a hotel as late as possible and wait for the crowd to clear at the terminal. 

[White Rodent]

1 minute ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

That's the first cruise after the transatlantic. Not uncommon for there to be delays boarding since the ship has to be cleared differently. The terminal itself may open at 10/10:30 but that's not a given since this is a somewhat unique situation. Unless you are in Retreat there is nothing inside the terminal. I would stay at a hotel as late as possible and wait for the crowd to clear at the terminal. 

Thank you for taking time to give a helpful reply.  Based on your info, we will delay at the hotel at along as we can. 

[cruisestitch]

Ask your hotel for late check out!

[leaveitallbehind]

The terminal will start accepting the next cruise passengers around 10:00 AM and will typically commence boarding around 11:00 AM. Boarding times have not been strictly enforced in the recent couple of years in our experience.

 

Regarding repositioning cruises entering the first US port, the ship undergoes USCG inspection for operational clearance in the US. In our experience, the ship was delayed in its' departure due to the inspection taking longer due to a couple of things needing addressed, which of course is not predictable.

 

But this did not impact the disembarkation of previous passengers nor our boarding timing as these inspections address the ship, not the passengers. We were on board as normally expected and just had to wait for our delayed departure.  Again, this was just our experience.

Edited 9 hours ago by leaveitallbehind

[justcrusn]

It’s costly for a large group, BUT, premium access pass lets you be first on the ship with a special lunch. Also wifi, free room service, and reserved seating at shows.

Edited 8 hours ago by justcrusn

[Alakegirl]

The terminal is not a particularly comfortable place to sit and wait for a couple of hours. I think you would be much better off just hanging around your hotel. Even if you can’t get a late check out, you might be able to sit in the lobby or around the pool, if they have .  

[gold1953]

the early check ins when they open are for suites 

[leaveitallbehind]

1 hour ago, gold1953 said:

the early check ins when they open are for suites 

It is true that the earliest check in is for suites, however we have had 10:30 and 11:00 several times in non-suites.  Boarding typically starts at 11:00 (and perhaps a little earlier) for suites, but all others follow sequentially from there.  We were on board Eclipse and not in a suite at 11:20 in June.

Edited 6 hours ago by leaveitallbehind

[gold1953]

53 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

It is true that the earliest check in is for suites, however we have had 10:30 and 11:00 several times in non-suites.  Boarding typically starts at 11:00 (and perhaps a little earlier) for suites, but all others follow sequentially from there.  We were on board Eclipse and not in a suite at 11:20 in June.

we had the earliest time of 11:30 last cruise and were on board at 11:10

[LMHSRN]

3 hours ago, gold1953 said:

the early check ins when they open are for suites 

NOPE - Suites don't need check-in times.  We board when we want

[White Rodent]

34 minutes ago, LMHSRN said:

NOPE - Suites don't need check-in times.  We board when we want

What is the earliest time suites can board? 

[cruisestitch]

It depends on the cruise port, how quickly the previous cruise disembarked, how long it takes for authorities to allow new boardings, whether or not the previous cruise’s arrival was delayed,even the tides and the weather

[cruisestitch]

Just now, cruisestitch said:

It depends on the cruise port, how quickly the previous cruise disembarked, how long it takes for authorities to allow new boardings, whether or not the previous cruise’s arrival was delayed,even the tides and the weather.  The terminal may open but when the actual boarding takes place is anyone’s guess.

 

[White Rodent]

12 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

It depends on the cruise port, how quickly the previous cruise disembarked, how long it takes for authorities to allow new boardings, whether or not the previous cruise’s arrival was delayed,even the tides and the weather

So how do the suite people figure out when they can start boarding? Or maybe a better question, when is it likely that the suite folks would begin boarding on this cruise?

Edited 2 hours ago by White Rodent

[cruisestitch]

Differentiate between when they can arrive and when they will board. The building opens around 10 and they will be allowed in to wait in the lounge. Boarding will take place when the ship is ready and you really can’t predict when that might be.

[WestLakeGirl]

8 hours ago, White Rodent said:

We are sailing on the Celebrity Apex November 4, 2024. We are going to have to wait somewhere, either the hotel, coffee shop, or terminal lounge.  We have the first boarding time of noon that was available to us. Check in opened this morning and I checked our group in just after midnight. 

that’s your suggested arrival time, not your boarding time

 

 

 

 

8 hours ago, White Rodent said:

How early do the doors open? Are their coffee shops inside of this terminal? 

 

 

the doors open between 10 and 11.  There are no coffee shops in the terminal

8 hours ago, White Rodent said:

Do they ever start boarding before noon or is that a hard and fast time? 

 

they may start boarding before noon.  They will board more or less in the order you arrived.  You might find yourselves sitting in a large waiting area and they will board in an orderly fashion.

8 hours ago, White Rodent said:

We have 3 people in their 80’s that need mobility assistance.  I am trying to hatch a plan to keep everyone in our party comfortable and to give the port staff plenty of time to process our group and not make things hard on them. 
 

Thoughts?

The most comfortable place to wait is probably your hotel.  What you don’t want to do is come early and risk standing outside in the sun because the building is an open yet or they haven’t started allowing people in

Edited 2 hours ago by WestLakeGirl

[Alakegirl]

1 hour ago, LMHSRN said:

NOPE - Suites don't need check-in times.  We board when we want

Not quite.  You can arrive and check in when you want but you don’t get to board the ship until told that boarding can commence.  Meanwhile, you wait in the special suite area.

[LMHSRN]

2 hours ago, White Rodent said:

What is the earliest time suites can board? 

Board around 11:00 = Get in terminal around 10:00 Suites