Text message: Stick to your scheduled check-in window for your Royal Caribbean cruise today!

[Amyshubby]

2 hours ago, PhoenixCruiser said:

Because we like to dress nice and not wear the same items over and over.  But, you do you.

I'm confused.  What does this have to do with what time you show up to board the ship? 

[allie3490]

13 hours ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

This is one area where I do like how Disney does it. Your boarding group is tied to your selected/assigned Port Arrival Time - so it doesn't matter if you arrive at 10:00 with a selected PAT of 12:30; your Boarding Group is tied to that 12:30 so you're just going to be sitting in the terminal even longer until that boarding group is called. So you know going in if you insist on getting there early, you're going to be sitting for a while.

Cool for Disney. Thankfully Royal is different

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

51 minutes ago, allie3490 said:

Cool for Disney. Thankfully Royal is different

I'd rather know that my boarding time is linked to my assigned arrival time so I'm not wasting time in the terminal for no reason. And it's fair. You want an early Boarding Group, you stay up to do check-in - or you use Disney's transportation from the WDW resort (the first groups behind Concierge and Pearl Castaway Club members) or from MCO. There's no jumping the line by getting there early - you choose to get there early, you're choosing to wait.

 

With Royal, you could show up at your time but be stuck waiting to board behind people who couldn't stick to their time. I'd rather know how things are going to go down than feel like I have to be super early just to get ahead of other people who aren't going to show up at their time. It is just this self-replicating loop of earlier and earlier arrivals.

[Amyshubby]

I just want to point out that this isn't necessarily an issue of people not caring about the rules. Sometimes people are driving from far away.

 

For example, I'm going on my first Royal Caribbean Cruise in February. I live about 2 hours away from the port in New Jersey. If it calls for snow that morning I'm going to get a hotel the night before and will show up around my designated time. However, if it doesn't call for snow and I'm driving from my house I'm still going to leave plenty of time for trouble because I would rather show up an hour early then 5 minutes after the ship leaves.  

 

I understand that this means I might need to wait at the terminal. I'm okay with that. However, if they offer to let me on the ship an hour early, I'm certainly not going to refuse.

[Morecruisesplz]

16 hours ago, PhoenixCruiser said:

Because we like to dress nice and not wear the same items over and over.  But, you do you.

Oh yes, we've seen you onboard! 

[Saab4444]

17 hours ago, Morecruisesplz said:

No. Roll your luggage off at 7:30 am and Ubers are plentiful. Why wait?

If 5.000 people decide to roll off at 7.30 this will not work. Same chaos as if 5.000 decide to ignore boarding time and arrive early....

[HappyTexan44]

The lines by boarding times sound ideal.  You want to arrive early, you get in your line and probably get on much earlier.   No one with an early time is stuck waiting behind someone that arrived very early.  

On the other hand, you can't blame people for ignoring their assigned time when Royal also ignores it.  Maybe Royal is happy that enough people pay attention that it spreads out the crowds to a tolerable level.  I say this as someone that plans on using my Disney World acquired skills to get an early time.  

 

[Morecruisesplz]

1 hour ago, Saab4444 said:

If 5.000 people decide to roll off at 7.30 this will not work. Same chaos as if 5.000 decide to ignore boarding time and arrive early....

Some departure days it seems like 5,000 at 7.30. The process is fast and efficient until someone pulling wardrobe sized suitcases tries to go down the escalator. 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

1 hour ago, Morecruisesplz said:

Some departure days it seems like 5,000 at 7.30. The process is fast and efficient until someone pulling wardrobe sized suitcases tries to go down the escalator. 

Or you've got a family of 5 - 3 of which are under 5 - and dad is trying to wrangle all of their large suitcases (the one I saw he was trying to wrangle 4 LARGE suitcases that could not have been carried on board as they would not have fit through the scanner - they had to have been checked) since there is no assist while mom is in charge of the 3 kids and maybe a small backpack. THAT was a hot mess, and extremely frustrating for everyone behind them. (And probably nerve-wracking for those in front praying that he didn't lose a suitcase down the escalator.)

[Another_Critic]

7 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Or you've got a family of 5 - 3 of which are under 5 - and dad is trying to wrangle all of their large suitcases (the one I saw he was trying to wrangle 4 LARGE suitcases that could not have been carried on board as they would not have fit through the scanner - they had to have been checked) since there is no assist while mom is in charge of the 3 kids and maybe a small backpack. THAT was a hot mess, and extremely frustrating for everyone behind them. (And probably nerve-wracking for those in front praying that he didn't lose a suitcase down the escalator.)

I put a large 28" suitcase through the security scanner and there was still plenty of room. 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

2 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

I put a large 28" suitcase through the security scanner and there was still plenty of room. 

 

These were larger than that.

 

But even if they weren't, one person handling 4 of them is NOT what was intended for self-disembarkation.

Edited December 27, 2023 by WrittenOnYourHeart

[Amyshubby]

3 hours ago, HappyTexan44 said:

I say this as someone that plans on using my Disney World acquired skills to get an early time.  

 

I'm hoping for a fast pass! 😂

[BoozeCruise2]

Curious, what time does boarding begin on Wonder of the Seas from Orlando?  We aren't scheduled till 11:30 AM but wanted to know when the first slot it!