online check in

I booked a cruise for October 14th. When I went in to choose my check in time it's not available and says it's available after July 16th. Is this a new thing? I always choose my time as soon as I book and haven't had to wait before.

I booked a cruise for October 14th. When I went in to choose my check in time it's not available and says it's available after July 16th. Is this a new thing? I always choose my time as soon as I book and haven't had to wait before.

Apparently so. I can't check in for my January cruise until October 14th, 90 days from the cruise date.

The 90 day out policy was implemented earlier this year.

It is new this year. I am one of the curiosity will kill the cat type of people and ask the weird questions like this one. I was told my a guest services rep on our last sailing that it was simply to ensure a smoother boarding process as they try to even out the numbers at embarkation throughout the morning and afternoon--good luck with that though as even people who check 1pm will be there at 10:30, but kuddos to them for trying something new to take care of the problem. She said it also gives them a much clearer idea of how many priority guests (Diamond, Platinum, FTTF, Suites, Weddings) they will have and realizing most of those guests will be there right away, not having so many 11-11:30 openings for check ins and so on. But like I said she even agreed- most people ignore their check in time and show up anyways- that's why you see so many people crowding the curbs in front of the terminals- most are hrs early.

It is new this year. I am one of the curiosity will kill the cat type of people and ask the weird questions like this one. I was told my a guest services rep on our last sailing that it was simply to ensure a smoother boarding process as they try to even out the numbers at embarkation throughout the morning and afternoon--good luck with that though as even people who check 1pm will be there at 10:30, but kuddos to them for trying something new to take care of the problem. She said it also gives them a much clearer idea of how many priority guests (Diamond, Platinum, FTTF, Suites, Weddings) they will have and realizing most of those guests will be there right away, not having so many 11-11:30 openings for check ins and so on. But like I said she even agreed- most people ignore their check in time and show up anyways- that's why you see so many people crowding the curbs in front of the terminals- most are hrs early.

The staggered check in started about 2 yrs ago but you used to be able to select your arrival time at booking. Now, the window to select your arrival times doesn't become available until 90 days out from your cruise.

The staggered check in started about 2 yrs ago but you used to be able to select your arrival time at booking. Now, the window to select your arrival times doesn't become available until 90 days out from your cruise.

Yes it did- but the reason for the check in not being available until 3 months out is so they know how many priorities they will have before opening up the check in times to everyone. Yes it is still staggered but they set aside so many check in availability for each hr block. And now instead of allowing all of the 11-11:30 blocks to fill up a yr before the sailing, they now wait to know how many priorities are booked for the sailing so they have a good estimate on how many priorites, ect will be there. ie: 1 yr out 300 non-priority guests choose 11am check in, then between that time and sailing 200 priority guests book, now you'll most likely have 500 guests ready for check in at 11 instead of 300. -----I made those numbers up just to paint the picture the guest services rep gave me.

Now by 3 months out- they have nearly all the bookings they will have with the exception of a few so they have a much better idea of how many 11a-11:30 check ins they should allow, ect

It's the same reason they started to delay the FTTF sales. That use to be the first thing available for booking from the shore excursions, but they found themselves with ### of VIP/Priority guests after having sold a ton of FTTF and overwhelming the system. We dealt with this before a couple yrs back where the VIP check in line was longer than general line was. Now you'll notice even if the FTTF for a sailing is posted, it shows "sold out" immediately, than once its so close to sailing and they have a solid number of VIP./Priority numbers booked, they open the FTTF up.

I can't open it, goes to a "bad" page statement.

I can't open it, goes to a "bad" page statement.

Try a different browser or clear your history and cookies from your usual browser.

It is new this year. I am one of the curiosity will kill the cat type of people and ask the weird questions like this one. I was told my a guest services rep on our last sailing that it was simply to ensure a smoother boarding process as they try to even out the numbers at embarkation throughout the morning and afternoon--good luck with that though as even people who check 1pm will be there at 10:30, but kuddos to them for trying something new to take care of the problem. She said it also gives them a much clearer idea of how many priority guests (Diamond, Platinum, FTTF, Suites, Weddings) they will have and realizing most of those guests will be there right away, not having so many 11-11:30 openings for check ins and so on. But like I said she even agreed- most people ignore their check in time and show up anyways- that's why you see so many people crowding the curbs in front of the terminals- most are hrs early.

Actually, it is working quite well. You seemed to have missed the fact that this is a check in time and Carnival will not let you into the terminal before your time block has arrived. If you end up with a 1 pm check in time (unless you are a priority guest) you aren't getting in before then.

Actually, it is working quite well. You seemed to have missed the fact that this is a check in time and Carnival will not let you into the terminal before your time block has arrived. If you end up with a 1 pm check in time (unless you are a priority guest) you aren't getting in before then.

???????

Missed the fact its a check in time? I believe the whole thread was questioning why they no longer allow guests to check in more than 3 months ahead of time, I simply stated what I was told when I asked myself and that is to better help the check in process by not giving out too many slots for each block. I'm quite aware of the check in process, the check in times, and how they work, I'm not new to cruising Carnival--been on a few sailings. I also agree that the staggered check in is working out well- not arguing that or anything.

I booked a cruise for October 14th. When I went in to choose my check in time it's not available and says it's available after July 16th. Is this a new thing? I always choose my time as soon as I book and haven't had to wait before.

Yes it is.

???????

Missed the fact its a check in time? I believe the whole thread was questioning why they no longer allow guests to check in more than 3 months ahead of time, I simply stated what I was told when I asked myself and that is to better help the check in process by not giving out too many slots for each block. I'm quite aware of the check in process, the check in times, and how they work, I'm not new to cruising Carnival--been on a few sailings. I also agree that the staggered check in is working out well- not arguing that or anything.

Your post said,"good luck with that though as even people who check 1pm will be there at 10:30, but kuddos to them for trying something new to take care of the problem." You also stated that it was new this year, and as another poster pointed out, that isn't accurate - unless you are talking about the 90 day window. Those combined facts suggested to me you didn't understand how things work. For example, the quote implied to me that people with 1 pm time slots just check that and show up whenever and I was responded that it wouldn't work that way. Sorry if I misunderstood what you were trying to communicate.

We're sailing on the October 6, 2018 Horizon cruise. I did our online check-in some time ago but yesterday my mother-in-law forgot which credit card she had used for the Sail & Sign and tried to go in and check it. It stated that she would have to check back on July 8th to be able to view this even though we have everything filled out and our check-in time set. No big deal. She can wait until July 8th.