New Procedure for Carnival Cruise Lines - Staggered Check- In Times at Embarkation

It sounds like a great plan until human nature takes hold. I like to check in early as I can to have lunch on ship and have the first day of the cruise be relaxing on deck with a drink. Being only a gold VIFP with Carnival I know I'm low in priority.

Oh.... this is one of those things I wish could be mandated but too many people don't read their cruise contract, let alone boarding instructions.

I work at one of the ports that has the staggered check in. When the ship is on time and embark/debark goes smoothly, it helps with avoiding lines and having everyone move smoothly through.

When the ship is late, and backs everything up, there have been times when check in had to stop because we did not have enough seats and people were angry.

What I find is people mistake the check in time for the time to get onto the ship, which it is not... There is some clarification from carnival and cruisers need to just read and be more diligent with paperwork and instructions.

LOL... I see angry people.
Seriously, this process is so flawed, it will only be a matter of time before people start to become unglued with the additional and unnecessary pressure this creates.

We had chaotic boarding experiences at Galveston and Miami. Galveston didn't have enough seating in the terminal, and people lined the walls with luggage blocking the aisles. Announcements were impossible to hear and rudeness was the order of the day, as was line cutting. The employees did make those without the proper zone numbers get out of line. We were told to leave our baggage at the wrong place, and if DH had not questioned the porters TWICE, our bags would have ended up on the wrong ship. Miami was not as bad as Galveston, but there was rudeness and line cutting there as well. On our first cruise from there, the employee just stepped back and let everyone board whether they had the correct zone pass or not. I think the staggered check-in can only be an improvement.

Port Canaveral and Jaxport were, in our experience, smooth and pretty much hassle-free. Employees were friendly and helpful, and I think that helped set the tone for passengers. I am interested to see how staggered check-in affects these two ports when it is implemented. They will be among the last ports to make the change.

Wow they are certainly making a lot of assumptions about travel schedules running on time..Great if it flows but a nightmare if it doesn't. My experience on Princess is that they seem to adapt to the crowd in spite of their "check-in" time ...I've been early, I've been late and I have never had to wait more than 10 or 15 minutes to check in either way.

My next cruise is priority check-in because I guess I've moved up the "food chain" so will be curious to see if it's different...Can't get much faster than it's been on my past cruises with them.