Celebrity earliest port arrival time for check in (Port Everglades)

[Cruise till you drop]

So we can start our check in today for a Jan 2024 cruise and noticed the earliest arrival time we can select is 11:30am (last year it was 11am and we actually arrived at the port at 10:45).

 

Anyone know why this might have happened and what time can we show up to try to be one of the first ones on the ship?

Edited November 24, 2023 by Cruise till you drop

[bikerunner]

Seems to have changed.  My guess is to give shipboard more time to get set up on the turnover.  Could be taking more time to clear ships etc.  we can speculate many different things but not to worried about.  

[alexandria]

Why?  Who knows.  I don't think the reason matters...it isn't as though your cruise is being delayed or cancelled.  Since your signature indicates you have over twenty cruises under your belt dating all the way back to the "Big Red Boat", surely you know what is involved on a cruise turnaround day and since most mainstream line ships are now sailing at full capacity, opening boarding at 11:30am is very reasonable. 

 

While I've never understood the desire to be one of the first on the ship, if that is important to you then just show up really early and be prepared to wait.

[Cruise till you drop]

57 minutes ago, alexandria said:

Why?  Who knows.  I don't think the reason matters...it isn't as though your cruise is being delayed or cancelled.  Since your signature indicates you have over twenty cruises under your belt dating all the way back to the "Big Red Boat", surely you know what is involved on a cruise turnaround day and since most mainstream line ships are now sailing at full capacity, opening boarding at 11:30am is very reasonable. 

 

While I've never understood the desire to be one of the first on the ship, if that is important to you then just show up really early and be prepared to wait.

A little condescending but thank you.

 

We like to board early as that just extends the time on the ship on the first day so it feels like we have an extra day, as opposed to being a throw away day to board the ship and get settled

[upwarduk]

2 minutes ago, Cruise till you drop said:

We like to board early as that just extends the time on the ship on the first day

I think it’s important if you have to get out of your hotel room by 10 am.
 If it’s noon, just have a little patience.😱

[cruisestitch]

1 hour ago, Cruise till you drop said:

So we can start our check in today for a Jan 2024 cruise and noticed the earliest arrival time we can select is 11:30am (last year it was 11am and we actually arrived at the port at 10:45).

 

Anyone know why this might have happened and what time can we show up to try to be one of the first ones on the ship?

You can show up early as long as you realize that you might be standing outside (there is very little seating outside of the entrances).  

[helen haywood]

In the past few months if I set a reminder to do checkin at a minute after midnight on the morning checkin starts I have been able to select the 11:30-12 time slot.  That appears to be the earliest available (for me) these days.  Forgot to set the timer for a January cruise and by 9 am the day it opened up 12:00-12:30 was the earliest I could select.  

[keesar]

2 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

So we can start our check in today for a Jan 2024 cruise and noticed the earliest arrival time we can select is 11:30am (last year it was 11am and we actually arrived at the port at 10:45).

 

Anyone know why this might have happened and what time can we show up to try to be one of the first ones on the ship?

 

If you get there early, pray for good weather.  No fun standing out in the rain from experience. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, upwarduk said:

I think it’s important if you have to get out of your hotel room by 10 am.
 If it’s noon, just have a little patience.😱

 

To piggyback off of this, there are some valid reasons but at the end of the day, for reasons we might not understand, some would rather be on the ship than to be somewhere else.  Yet by doing so you potentially miss out on a great local land lunch.  Additionally, you miss out on making more memories as you'll hardly remember the first few hours after boarding but will probably remember going on a tour like an airboat ride and/or having a great land lunch and/or have a little adventure even if that's just relaxing on the beach

[mrgabriel]

29 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

To piggyback off of this, there are some valid reasons but at the end of the day, for reasons we might not understand, some would rather be on the ship than to be somewhere else.  Yet by doing so you potentially miss out on a great local land lunch.  Additionally, you miss out on making more memories as you'll hardly remember the first few hours after boarding but will probably remember going on a tour like an airboat ride and/or having a great land lunch and/or have a little adventure even if that's just relaxing on the beach

We have never done this but I think it’s a good idea, especially if your departure port is somewhere new or unique. 
 

I think a lot of us have in our minds that we’ve paid for the lunch on the ship so we want to get that value. Although if there is one meal that is usually forgettable, it’s boarding day in the OVC. 
 

Thanks for this suggestion. You’ve given me an idea for future plans. 

[hcat]

1 hour ago, keesar said:

 

If you get there early, pray for good weather.  No fun standing out in the rain from experience. 

or hot sun bearing down..no seats, no shade!  Poor design!

 

For the usual E Class Terminal,   we drop off our luggage to porters    then my husband  drops me off at the entrance  with our carry ons..He then makes the wrap around back to the parking garage and walks back...long process.  As stated, poor design!

[alexandria]

19 minutes ago, mrgabriel said:

I think a lot of us have in our minds that we’ve paid for the lunch on the ship so we want to get that value. Although if there is one meal that is usually forgettable, it’s boarding day in the OVC.

Makes perfect sense and since the OP can select the earliest boarding time available (11:30 am) there shouldn't be any worries about missing lunch or otherwise maximizing their enjoyment of the ship on embarkation day!  😃

 

[bEwAbG]

Check-in time is not the same as boarding time.  You can check in at 10:30a (if available) but not be on the ship until they clear it for boarding, which is usually sometime after 11a.  The people who check in early often have to wait to board and then are behind those who have priority access.  Some who check in later are boarding at the same time as the early arrivals.

 

You're usually talking about half hour increments here, so the obsession on being "first" to extend your day really is a bit silly, especially in Florida ports.  We're ultimately talking the difference between being on board at 11:30 vs noon (as an example), hardly worth the extra effort to show up way earlier to stand around.

[Lastdance]

Why does it matter when someone wants to check in for their cruise?  Life is short and it is your cruise, so do it your way.  Of course there are pros and cons depending on if you have seen everything there is to see in Ft. Lauderdale, not to mention Florida.  You paid your own money for this cruise, unless you got lucky and someone bought it for you.  That’s my two cents!

[CruiseMrB]

Also have a cruise in Jan. Happened to be awake and at computer at midnight of check-in available day (23 Nov), so was able to get the earliest 11:30 am check-in. 

 

I can see wanting early, early boarding if I were staying in one of the port / FLL hotels the night before. Breakfast, check-out, go to the ship with little delay. 

 

Even if earlier would have been available, we would have chosen this time, as we are driving intrastate that morning. Any earlier and it would mean rushing or getting up too early and who wants to do that on vacation if one can avoid it? We'll get in the car about 8:00 or so, pit stop for gas and bagels, hit I-95, and be on our way on a straight shot south.

 

Our only time limitation is Concierge Lunch ends at 1400. There have been times that boarding the ship later rather than earlier has worked out much better, especially when leaving from our closer-to-home port of Port Canaveral. Possibly easier transit through the terminal, rooms are ready, the hordes have left the buffet (depends on ship size), and we would only need a light snack before dinner. Something to consider if you have the flexibility to do so.

 

I do get the "we paid for this day" aspect, for sure. 

 

 

Edited November 24, 2023 by CruiseMrB

[Cruise till you drop]

I checked in at 5am, and 2 other couples checked in at 5:30am and 7am and all got 11:30 arrival

 

But our 4th couple waited until 9:14am and got noon 🙄 

[Baynanno1]

Please everyone who reads this - select your boarding time from those available and show up at that time.

There have been comments in so many threads suggesting people just rock on up whenever they want to.

 

Boarding times are staggered for a very good reason - to avoid the absolute chaos at the Sydney Overseas Passenger Terminal in October. We arrived at our boarding time 1130, and were amazed to see a massive crowd - about half the passengers had arrived there before us! 

When we eventually made it on to the ship after several mis-directions, we were able to drop our carry on and pick up keycards, but rooms were not finished. Ours was finished in the evening after dinner.

 

At the other end of the cruise we had to vacate our rooms by 7.30am, not as in the past 8am.

That allows 4 hours for a stateroom attendant to turn over between 15 and 19 rooms single handed.

[KKB]

On 11/24/2023 at 5:49 AM, Cruise till you drop said:

A little condescending but thank you.

 

We like to board early as that just extends the time on the ship on the first day so it feels like we have an extra day, as opposed to being a throw away day to board the ship and get settled

Us as well!

We usually get to the port about 10 (I can wait at the hotel or wait at the port, TRULY no difference). 

Goodness knows when boarding starts can vary due to circumstances, but are typically on by 11.

Let's get that vacation started!

Edited November 25, 2023 by KKB

[Loracpin2]

On 11/24/2023 at 4:08 PM, Cruise till you drop said:

I checked in at 5am, and 2 other couples checked in at 5:30am and 7am and all got 11:30 arrival

 

But our 4th couple waited until 9:14am and got noon 🙄 

I signed in today because I forgot to check in on the 22nd for our Jan, Apex sailing cruise and got noon.  I was surprised and happy noon was still available!!!!

[rj59]

I understand the urge to be first on the ship, especially on lines like HAL and Princess that give MDR lunches starting at noon, so you can avoid the buffet and the impulse to overeat because it's free food. That said, it's really depressing to sit in some holding pen inside a terminal, waiting for boarding to start, especially in a place like Vancouver, where you force you to sit packed in tight rows with no open spaces, so stress outweighs any benefits. I've been guilty of barging past slower people and getting testy with photographers trying to stop me. So now I try to show up around noon, when the early crowd have mostly boarded, and so I can just go on once I get through the usually quick Celebrity check-in. The "I want to get on right away to start my vacation earlier" approach doesn't make much sense, since it implies being in lovely port cities with beaches and culture and more young people isn't worth experiencing, especially if you're going to be on the same ship for a week or so and can't wait to rush off it at the first port to shop in some scummy Caribbean tourist shopping mall or join the mobs in souvenir shops at Alaskan ports. 

[gold1953]

7 hours ago, rj59 said:

I understand the urge to be first on the ship, especially on lines like HAL and Princess that give MDR lunches starting at noon, so you can avoid the buffet and the impulse to overeat because it's free food. That said, it's really depressing to sit in some holding pen inside a terminal, waiting for boarding to start, especially in a place like Vancouver, where you force you to sit packed in tight rows with no open spaces, so stress outweighs any benefits. I've been guilty of barging past slower people and getting testy with photographers trying to stop me. So now I try to show up around noon, when the early crowd have mostly boarded, and so I can just go on once I get through the usually quick Celebrity check-in. The "I want to get on right away to start my vacation earlier" approach doesn't make much sense, since it implies being in lovely port cities with beaches and culture and more young people isn't worth experiencing, especially if you're going to be on the same ship for a week or so and can't wait to rush off it at the first port to shop in some scummy Caribbean tourist shopping mall or join the mobs in souvenir shops at Alaskan ports. 

No culture around Florida ports ..just traffic..so I have my luggage and no hotel room so let's go to the beach.. very funny!!  and you are assuming that the same people like those horrid Caribbean tourist traps and guess what , not everyone shops or gets off the ship in those places.  Your comment is your personal view and makes sense to you

[UndcvrNana]

What time must you be checked in to do the Concierge lunch?

[cruisestitch]

On 11/26/2023 at 4:16 AM, gold1953 said:

No culture around Florida ports ..just traffic..so I have my luggage and no hotel room so let's go to the beach.. very funny!!  and you are assuming that the same people like those horrid Caribbean tourist traps and guess what , not everyone shops or gets off the ship in those places.  Your comment is your personal view and makes sense to you

Museum? Historic houses? IMAX? Galleries? There’s more in Fort Lauderdale than meets the eye 

[gold1953]

7 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

Museum? Historic houses? IMAX? Galleries? There’s more in Fort Lauderdale than meets the eye 

no thanks ,nothing is fun with luggage and traffic. Also I am not American so have no interest in local museums unless something truly old  as in Europe

[CardowMD]

We just got off the Ascent. Our official check in was 11:30. Left our hotel at 10:30,  Embassy Suites at 10:30, Ubered to port in 10 minutes. Then thru security and check in.  Waited about  10-15 minutes and we were on the ship at 11:03. Very easy process.