Check In Times

We haven't cruised yet with the staggered check-in times. We've purchased Faster To The Fun for each cruise, so I don't think it would affect us anyway. We really enjoy getting to the pier as early as we can and people watch as we wait to board the ship, and then people watch some more while the ship fills up with other excited cruisers like us.

This is good to know as they have implemented in New Orleans and my first cruise. Thanks!

We haven't yet been to a port with staggered check-in. When we do, if it is Carnival, we are will not worry because we have priority check-in. I do like to know about this because we have so many new cruisers sailing with us in January. Looking forward to more comments.

IMHO, Port Canaveral and Jacksonville have the process down to a science. Our experience in Galveston was awful, and Miami wasn't that great either of the two times we have cruised from there. I can see where staggered checkin would benefit some ports, but I hate to see them mess with Port Canaveral and Jax.

I cruise mostly out of Port Canaveral. Never had a problem. I have arrived early and end up waiting for hours. My last trip I waited till 1pm for the last shuttle. Walked right in, checked right in and on the boat.

That is true! Have everything ready when you get to the counter,and don't forget your paperwork... But not everyone follows that...

My most frustrating thing about check in is the people who wait till they get to the counter to begin digging for their passport in a bottomless pit bag. Be ready people!

I've arrived way too early and way too late ...early is better. Princess seems to let you go regardless of your designated check-in time ... I have priority boarding on my next cruise so will see how that goes.

We have priority boarding currently on 2 of the 3 lines we usually use, so we have not seen some of the problems experienced by the current check-in suggestions or windows given by the staggered boarding trend that most cruise lines seem to be going with. But I have noticed online in several forums and social media sites that people are confusing the check-in time w/ their boarding time and complain when they arrive earlier & the port authorities bar their entry to the terminal erroneously blaming the cruise line or on board crew for their confusion. I've even seen veteran cruisers counseling these posters to arrive at port an hour or 90 minutes prior to that window that they can park or get off the hotel shuttle (cruise line direct shuttles are usually immune to specified times) with enough time to do the security and physical check-in with enough time to still make their boarding window.

Most admit further in the posting they booked themselves without the benefit of a Personal Vacation Planner or Travel Agent and it is their first time with that line, then turned to social media for answers instead of consulting the cruise line's FAQs. Maybe certain FAQs should be part of the online check-in process as pop-ups or an acknowledgment box that needs to be checked off, that the cruise line directly explains what their check-in time is in relation to the actual boarding process. Because from the chatter I'm hearing all this does is frustrates passengers that do know that the check-in times represents when you should arrive at a port.

Galveston and NOLA are strictly enforcing. That's how Carnival shoots itself in the foot with a lot of their policies--inconsistency. I am not a fan of the staggered check-in, since we like to get to port early. We don't mind waiting to board--the people-watching is entertaining :)

I know when it rolled out in Baltimore, the first few weeks it was not so enforced and people are still thinking the time is to get on the ship not to check in