Orchestra-- earliest time you can board

[tofubeast]

Hello,

 

I am actually posting this question for my parents who are going on the Orchestra this coming weekend. Now I know for RCCL and Celebrity, you can usually board just before noon (even though the docs tell you later) and have lunch on board etc.. What time can you actually start boarding on this cruise ship?

 

Thanks so much!

[AmoMondo]

The official time is 3 hours before so if it is a 7pm sailing, then 4pm. I've noticed that sometimes they open earlier but I would not rely on them doing so as they may have a very long wait if they turn up at noon.

[tofubeast]

Thanks so much.

 

I know a lot of lines let you board earlier than what they put in writing. Just curious if anyone knows if the boarding situation was better this past weekend?

[noblepa]

This seems hard to believe. Not only do most other cruise lines let you begin boarding around 11:30 or noon, but TSA requires that the line provide a list of passengers no later than one hour before SCHEDULED SAILING TIME. Most cruise lines are requiring that passengers be onboard, no later than 90 minutes before sailing. That effectively leaves 90 minutes for embarkation.

 

IMHO, it not possible to load 2,600 passengers in 90 minutes.

 

TSA has begun enforcing this rule in the last couple of months. There have been reports of passengers showing up less than 90 minutes before sailing and being turned away, with no refund. As I understand it, once the list is given to TSA, the gates are closed; TSA will apparently not accept last minute updates to the list.

 

Even three hours seems awfully fast to me. Every other cruise I've ever been on has allowed almost six hours.

 

Paul Noble