Early Boarding Fee

[bearhall]

It is my understanding that SS charges 200.00 per couple for early boarding , such as 12:00 vs 3:00 pm. Is that true and is it worth the money?

[SonomaWine]

That is correct, $100pp. We like to board early, as you can get settled in have lunch, unpack and be ready for 'sail-away'. Sometimes the cabin is not ready, but they do make an effort to have it ready for those embarking early.

[cechase]

We think that it is certainly worth the money. In December, we elected to board early and made our election on the SS website. We arrived a little before 11:00 a.m., after being given a ride in a shuttle, boarded, received a glass of champagne and were escorted to Guest Relations for our room key [we returned later to have our pictures taken]. We were then escorted to our Silver Suite, dropped off our carry-on bags, and went exploring and wound up at the pool bar.

 

Incidently, our bags were delivered to our suite by 1:00 p.m., and we were totally unpacked, fully organized, and sipping champagne in our suite when the normal embarkation time of 3:00 p.m. arrived.

 

Yes, it is certainly worth it.

[DebbieH103]

We have done it on both of our cruises. We boarded at 11:30 the first time and noon the 2nd. Both times, we had a relaxing check-in, were escorted to the Panorama lounge and served nuts and drinks and then invited to dine a la carte. Both times, we had a 5 course lunch and delicious wine and then got our suite early and were in full relaxation long before the regular boarding. It is very nice.

[scandun]

Whether or not it is worth to pay $100 pp for early embarkation, I think it depends on what date/time you arrive at the embarkation port. For our Wind cruise which starts in Barcelona, we arrived one day earlier, went around the city we had been before, did a bit shopping and had a nice lunch in a good restaurant on embarkation day, and arrived at the pier 5:20 pm ( embarkation time 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm as said in the ticket brochure ), only to find we were almost the last ones to embark on the ship. We were escorted to the reception for registration, given a glass of champagne and then escorted to our suite. There was not a second waiting, as we were the only passengers doing the formalities. And we did not know the ship had over 300 passengers for this cruise, which was more than full.

[cruisinsince75]

Same here. Last year we were in Lisbon and overnighted. We were just about the last to board, arriving sometime after 5:00pm. We walked right on and our luggage was brought to our rooms within minutes. Other times, such as in Rome when we got there at the designated 3:00 pm check-in time, we wish we would have had early embarkation. It would have been nice to arrive and get settled in without the wait. Besides, we could have gotten a headstart on the champagne! ;)

[DebbieH103]

These guys brought up good points, and this time with these thoughts mentioned, we are not going to board early. We want to enjoy our hotel in Dubai since it is over 800 a night US, and we are going to overnight on the ship vs. sail anyway. However, when we return to the Caribbean in 08, I imagine we will do the early boarding again.