How do you know when you can get on?

Our April cruise says we depart at 4 p.m., but i don't understand how early we need to be there, or how early we want to be there? Clueless!

You MUST be onboard at LEAST 90 mins. prior to sailaway. Most folks will start arriving around 11:30 am.....boarding day IS day 1 of the cruise, so get on that ship and start using it!!!! By arriving early, you tend to miss the bulk of the crowds! Lunch will be served starting around noon.

Boarding usually starts about 11:30 or noon. Cabins are ready when you board, so you can drop off the handluggage.

"Cabins are ready when you board" - this depends on the ship. We had cabins opened as late as 3 pm once, but mostly ready by 1 pm.

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Usually all ships / cruise lines try to start embarking by 11:30.

Many people try to get to the pier by 11.

A lot depends if you can go directly to your cabin unpon boarding the ship to drop of your carryons.

We just had a situation on HAL where the cabins were not ready until nearly 1 PM because the ship had to go through a CDC inspection and the cabin stewards weren't able to complete their jobs in a timely manner.

Another thing that could prevent you from going to your cabin right away -- if the ship has been in Code Red and needs to get a thorough cleaning -- this also affects the boarding process which begins later than normal.

Yes, it has been my experience on all ships that cabins are not ready to be occupied until 1:00 PM :)

This makes me think of our very first cruise. I had read the cruise documents over and over stating that we were to arrive between 1 and 4 p.m. or something like that. Our plane arrived early that morning and we just hung around the Fort Lauderdale airport for hours. And hours. Couldn't believe when we got there that all these other people had beaten us there! Guarantee there will be some people still leaving the ship as others are arriving.

Yes, getting on the ship is earlier than they say. And NO your stateroom will not necessarily be ready to stop in and drop off your carry-on luggage.

We usually try to arrive at the port around 11 or 11:30am, and there's almost always already a decently long line ahead of us. The cabins in my experience are generally ready by around 1:30, but not always.

We usually try to get there as early as possible (11am to noon, unless we have traffic).

We have never had to wait for our cabin to become available, but then our last four cruises were on Princess, which usually doesn't start boarding until cabins are ready. And before that on Carnival, which back then, was similar.

This makes me think of our very first cruise. I had read the cruise documents over and over stating that we were to arrive between 1 and 4 p.m. or something like that. Our plane arrived early that morning and we just hung around the Fort Lauderdale airport for hours. And hours. Couldn't believe when we got there that all these other people had beaten us there! Guarantee there will be some people still leaving the ship as others are arriving.

So this makes me realize that we don't have to get off right at 8 when the boat docks? haha, i feel like such a dummie!

We got to the port around 11. Quite the crowd already but, it moved pretty fast to board. Rooms weren't ready until 1:30 so we had our carry-ons with us part of the day. Getting off the ship was easier. We waited on the Lido Deck, over coffee, for the crowd to get off. My 78 yr old dad, on crutches, was worried about being in the crush of people. We left about 9 or so and it was quick and easy, there were others but not crowded. We got a porter to help us with our luggage and we breezed right through customs. The ones that did their own luggage had a very long line to wait in for customs.

So this makes me realize that we don't have to get off right at 8 when the boat docks? haha, i feel like such a dummie!

You'll be getting off not too long after.

Remember, the stewards need to get the ship cleaned and ready for the next group. You should plan to be off the ship by about 9:45 or so. It can be a bit later but they need for you to leave as no one can board until the last group is off.

Get up, get ready, get off....... :)

Our April cruise says we depart at 4 p.m., but i don't understand how early we need to be there, or how early we want to be there?

Noon.

We always try to get on ASAP, usually around 11ish. This counts as one of your days so you might as well enjoy it. You won't be able to get into your cabin that early but you can enjoy the Lido buffet or sit out on one of the decks and soak up the sun. We always make sure that we take swimsuits, sunscreen, etc in our carry on bag so that we can be ready for sunbathing, etc before our luggage arrives.