Are they sticklers about arrival time given?

[KKB]

Embarkation starts at 2PM. (SOOOO much later than other lines!!)

Our time when we checked in says 345.

If we come at 2 will we be asked to come back at 345?

Thanks!

[cantgetin]

No, you won't be asked to come back.  You will be standing in a line based on your scheduled arrival time and will be able to board when everyone with a time earlier than your's has been processed.  There is a very good chance that you will check in and board prior to your scheduled time, but not 2 hours earlier. They do ask you to arrive no more than 30 minutes before your scheduled time.....again, worst case, you stand in a line for your time slot.

On our cruises, the first scheduled terminal arrival time has been 1:30.  Most of the time, we have been in our stateroom by 2pm.  

VV does things differently, and there are good and bad aspects to those changes.  First, your cabin will be ready when you board.  You can go there immediately, drop your carry ons. freshen up, and go to lunch.  Secondly, you will not be kicked off the ship at 8am on your last day; the latest disembarkation time is typically 10:30.  This makes for a MUCH nicer morning for those with afternoon flights, and the ability to get off as early as 7:30 is still available to those who want it.

[CruisingWalter]

3 hours ago, KKB said:

Embarkation starts at 2PM. (SOOOO much later than other lines!!)

Our time when we checked in says 345.

If we come at 2 will we be asked to come back at 345?

Thanks!

 

No, you'll just be put into the 3:45 line.  VV lines up everyone into 'corrals' based on your embarkation time and you wait outside.  Embarkation starts later because VV doesn't clear their ship until 11am.  

 

I wouldn't show up much earlier than 3pm unless you're happy waiting outside in the heat for a couple of hours. 

[DCGuy64]

On 5/15/2024 at 9:49 PM, CruisingWalter said:

I wouldn't show up much earlier than 3pm unless you're happy waiting outside in the heat for a couple of hours.

And hopefully won't be like people on other places on CC who complain about having to wait around in the heat with no free water or shade provided by the cruise line, even though it was their early arrival that necessitated said waiting around. 🤣

[jcarter4551]

It does seem terrible to board at 3 pm or so but...

 

I think one of the best things about VV compared to other cruise lines is the trade off of embarking after 1 pm but not being rushed off the ship or out of your room at 8 am on disembarkation day. There is no anxiety about staying up late the last night of the cruise because you can sleep in and get off at a slower pace. I know on RC they bang on your doors at 745 am or so. It is annoying. 

[Essiesmom]

Yes, but I am never one to try to be the first onboard.  Especially when I traveled with my sister, I had to work to get her up in time to eat the free hotel breakfast.  Take the latest shuttle bus.  But I like to get onboard in time to get a nap before sail away.  Old lady here.  Now I will be sitting around in the hotel lobby, using their internet while I wait for a time to get a taxi to port.  I can live with it.  EM

[jon81uk]

1 hour ago, jcarter4551 said:

It does seem terrible to board at 3 pm or so but...

Given earliest non-rockstar boarding is 1.45pm, 3pm is only halfway, it’s not that late overall.

 

1 hour ago, Essiesmom said:

Yes, but I am never one to try to be the first onboard.  Especially when I traveled with my sister, I had to work to get her up in time to eat the free hotel breakfast.  Take the latest shuttle bus.  But I like to get onboard in time to get a nap before sail away.  Old lady here.  Now I will be sitting around in the hotel lobby, using their internet while I wait for a time to get a taxi to port.  I can live with it.  EM

 

we leave luggage with the hotel and use the morning to explore Miami or Barcelona, then collect bags from the hotel 12.30-1pm and get an Uber to the terminal depending when our arrival slot is.  

[KKB]

16 hours ago, jon81uk said:

Given earliest non-rockstar boarding is 1.45pm, 3pm is only halfway, it’s not that late overall.

 

LOL we are typically on ships by 11AM.

Sit around my hotel, or get onboard the shp??!! EASY choice.

My 1st day of vacation--let's get this party started!!!

Nothing around our hotel...we may need to consider another option...

 

18 hours ago, jcarter4551 said:

It does seem terrible to board at 3 pm or so but...

 

I think one of the best things about VV compared to other cruise lines is the trade off of embarking after 1 pm but not being rushed off the ship or out of your room at 8 am on disembarkation day. There is no anxiety about staying up late the last night of the cruise because you can sleep in and get off at a slower pace. I know on RC they bang on your doors at 745 am or so. It is annoying. 

I'm no morning owl...but it's usually just travel day, so other than sleeping in a bit, I don't get much benefit

 

[cantgetin]

Whether or not late embarkation is a benefit depends on your situation.  If you live in FL and are driving or taking Brightline to the port, it may mean that you don't need a hotel.  For us, it means that we can sleep late at the hotel after our travel day; we often request a late check out.  No need to get up early to get to port.

On the flip side, we enjoy a nice breakfast before heading to the airport.  We don't need to be up at 6 am to go to a slimmed down breakfast menu and be rushed out of the dining room.  Agreed that the benefits are much fewer if you have an earlier flight home.  Our return flights from MIA are generally 1-3pm departures, (the choice is 7am or afternoon usually!) so the late disembarkation works great.   We also like having cabins ready when we board--no need to pack a "day bag" or lug around your carry on.  Of course, the trade off for late disembarkation is a late embarkation.  It works well for us.

[rnicoll]

I'm a huge fan of how VV does it. They'll take your luggage I believe any time from 9am if your hotel can't store it, but my recommendation is stay as late in the hotel as you can, get a relaxed lunch, get luggage out of storage, rock up around 3pm, discover they're running about 45 minutes ahead and follow the rest of the 3:45 group on board.

 

Head to your cabin, get a nap then. Dream of how relaxed the last day will be now you don't have to be off by 8am.

 

 

[Alegeeter]

I'd also recommend to keep checking the app. I had a 4pm boarding time and after checking periodically saw 2:15pm pop up and grabbed it! I suppose if folks cancel or move their arrival around spots may open up.

[crui53l0v3r]

How does VV check your embarkation time, please? If I don't have a boarding pass, how do they know when I should board?

[rnicoll]

They'll need your name and ID for check-in, from which they look up the rest of your details. I assume at the time they'd send you away if you're too early.

 

[1025cruise]

You'll be asked to show your information in the app.

 

With VV, the app is really required versus being just a suggestion. 

 

 

[cantgetin]

1 hour ago, crui53l0v3r said:

How does VV check your embarkation time, please? If I don't have a boarding pass, how do they know when I should board?

Many of the terminal people have tablets and they can look you up by your name.  THey will ask you to show them the app because that 's easier....but if the app is being wonky or if you don't have your phone or whatever, they can look it up.  They can also do this to verify DBE or other priority boarding status.  When you are actually inside checking in, they need your passport.  They can see everything else on their screen based on the passport name.

FWIW, when the app is misbehaving, it becomes a lot better as soon as you log on thru the ship's wifi.

[madmedic]

We have a 4pm check in time because we booked late. Is it possible to get them to take our luggage off us if we arrive at the Barcelona port around 11 am then go and have lunch or will they expect us to wait till nearer our check in time? 

[jon81uk]

13 minutes ago, madmedic said:

We have a 4pm check in time because we booked late. Is it possible to get them to take our luggage off us if we arrive at the Barcelona port around 11 am then go and have lunch or will they expect us to wait till nearer our check in time? 

Yes you can drop luggage early, but you might find it easier to ask your hotel to hold it if the hotel is nearer sites you want to see. From what I’ve read they often run early for the later arrival times so you should be fine arriving to the port for around 3pm even with a 4pm slot. 

[madmedic]

Thanks Jon we're flying into Barcelona on the same morning so a hotel would not be an option. I have a health condition so anxious to avoid a lengthy queue and boarding process. We have asked Virgin for port assistance. 

[jon81uk]

13 minutes ago, madmedic said:

Thanks Jon we're flying into Barcelona on the same morning so a hotel would not be an option. I have a health condition so anxious to avoid a lengthy queue and boarding process. We have asked Virgin for port assistance. 

Hopefully you’ve considered where you are you flying from and what what happen if your flight is delayed or cancelled of course, flying in the same day even though I’m only in the UK is something I don’t want to risk.

[madmedic]

15 minutes ago, jon81uk said:

Hopefully you’ve considered where you are you flying from and what what happen if your flight is delayed or cancelled of course, flying in the same day even though I’m only in the UK is something I don’t want to risk.

We have an early flight from Heathrow so should be fine thanks.

[cantgetin]

1 hour ago, madmedic said:

We have a 4pm check in time because we booked late. Is it possible to get them to take our luggage off us if we arrive at the Barcelona port around 11 am then go and have lunch or will they expect us to wait till nearer our check in time? 

As Jon said you can drop luggage early...starting at 10 or 11 and then go to lunch or whatever.  Normally late boarding runs "early," so if you show up around 3, it is likely that you'll be able to board with little or no line.  Hopefully if there is a problem with your early flight, there are later ones that can get you to BCN on time.