New to this.

Hi all. Obviously we are new to this.... We are setting sail on June 4 the 2017, out of New York on the Norwegian Breakaway heading to Bermuda. We are traveling with our 2 boys. 6 & 11. So my wife got a email yesterday from the the cruise line wanting us to pick a time to check into the boat on the day of departure. She picked 915-1000. From what I am reading, we are unable to board until 1200pm. Anyone know if that is true and what do we do after checking in?

Thanks

That's when you check in, and they havent enforced it yet. We like to get there at that time to avoid lines, get an early boarding number, and get a seat. We live 1/2 hour away, and my kids are always antsy to get there.

No matter what cruise line we are sailing on, we always like to get to the pier early so as to get an early number and be among the first on the ship.

The check-in process can take quite a while. There are lines for inspecting your carry-ons, lines for confirming your I.D. & passport with customs, lines for getting your picture taken for your cruise I.D. etc. And all of the lines are long and tend to move slowly. But if you do finish all of that before boarding time there will be a waiting area with comfortable seats and restrooms nearby so it isn't so bad. But from my personal experience if all previous passengers have left and the ships gets the "all clear" then they go ahead and start the boarding process early. This happens frequently for us. :)

The check-in process can take quite a while. There are lines for inspecting your carry-ons, lines for confirming your I.D. & passport with customs, lines for getting your picture taken for your cruise I.D. etc. And all of the lines are long and tend to move slowly. But if you do finish all of that before boarding time there will be a waiting area with comfortable seats and restrooms nearby so it isn't so bad. But from my personal experience if all previous passengers have left and the ships gets the "all clear" then they go ahead and start the boarding process early. This happens frequently for us. :)

Can someone explain how this happens? In all my cruises (non-Norwegian) we walked into the terminal got checked in, checked id's & passports, pictures taken, baggage scanned and walked on to the ship in under 30 mins. In under 15 minutes for our last cruise with Celebrity. We have been on board before 11- 11:30 a.m. I am not comprehending all the line problems........

Can someone explain how this happens? In all my cruises (non-Norwegian) we walked into the terminal got checked in, checked id's & passports, pictures taken, baggage scanned and walked on to the ship in under 30 mins. In under 15 minutes for our last cruise with Celebrity. We have been on board before 11- 11:30 a.m. I am not comprehending all the line problems........

The lines start at about 9am and it take about 2 hours to get onboard. Show up at 11am and you walk right on with no lines. We usually show up at noon and have never had a line of more than a few people. The only exception was last year on Oasis. We had a very early flight and arrived at the pier at 8 am, waited about 90 minutes to check in and then went upstairs to wait another hour to start boarding. The waiting are upstairs holds 3000 people and it was full. Thank God we were Diamond level and were almost first to board. happy lineless cruising

The lines start at about 9am and it take about 2 hours to get onboard. Show up at 11am and you walk right on with no lines. We usually show up at noon and have never had a line of more than a few people. The only exception was last year on Oasis. We had a very early flight and arrived at the pier at 8 am, waited about 90 minutes to check in and then went upstairs to wait another hour to start boarding. The waiting are upstairs holds 3000 people and it was full. Thank God we were Diamond level and were almost first to board. happy lineless cruising

Thank you for the tips.

I'm confused. How do you get in any line to get on board at 9AM when passengers aren't off til 10am? On most of our cruises (have 100+) no one can get on until 11:30. The earlier you get there, the earlier you can usually get on board.

We have been on 6 different current lines (and 5 lines that no longer exist!), We are Diamond on Carnival so never have to wait and Platinum on Princess, don't know what we are on NCL, Costa or Celebrity though. But never have had to wait long on any cruise.

When we get on board we head to the buffet for lunch!

If you arrive before boarding starts, it can take quite a long time. If you wait to arrive around 11-11:30 am, the ship should be open for boarding, and it does NOT take 2 hours!!!

It's basically like checking into a hotel...they check your ID's, get your form of payment, give you your keys and off you go! They will need to photograph you to attach to your key.

On our last BA cruise, they didn't start boarding until noon. There were long lines, and no available seats in the terminal. We went immediately to the MDR (avoid the buffet), and we only had time to drop our carry one in the cabin before muster. I think boarding is usually closer to 11:30, it's a huge ship, they have a lot of people to let off, and there can be customs shortages in NYC on sundays.

I'm confused. How do you get in any line to get on board at 9AM when passengers aren't off til 10am?

When we get on board we head to the buffet for lunch!

You must be asking me. We arrived at FLL airport at 6:45 am , went to breakfast to kill time and were still at the terminal before 8:30 am. At the terminal for Oasis the doors to the check in area were closed and about 25 people were already lined up to get in. They opened the doors around 9 and let people in but not allowed to go through the carry on scanner and check in until around 9:30, there were around 150 or so lined up when the check in counter opened. We checked in and went upstairs to wait. By 10:30 to 11 the upstairs was standing room only. If you have been to the holding area you could see it holds many thousands As soon as boarding starts they let pinnacle and diamond go first with 3000 to follow. don't be confused and don't show up early. happy cruising