RCIfan1912 Posted July 6, 2019 Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 What is the real deal with arrival times or boarding times. We usually get to the port to board at noon but this time, in Sept on Anthem at Cape Liberty I want to get there at 10 AM exactly or right about. That is the beginning of boarding time right? Will we be able to board fairly quickly or early or will it just be chaos? Anybody else do this cause its something I would like to try? Are there usually a ton of people waiting or is it a less crowded time? Thanks for any help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted July 6, 2019 Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 Of course, it depends on the ship and the terminal, but in general, boarding usually starts around 10:30. It can be a bit earlier or it can be a bit later. A 10AM arrival might mean a short stay in a holding room but it won't be long. If you arrive any earlier you might get stuck waiting outside for a while, which would not be fun. RCIfan1912 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2mybugs Posted July 6, 2019 Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 58 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Of course, it depends on the ship and the terminal, but in general, boarding usually starts around 10:30. It can be a bit earlier or it can be a bit later. A 10AM arrival might mean a short stay in a holding room but it won't be long. If you arrive any earlier you might get stuck waiting outside for a while, which would not be fun. I have had to wait out side a couple times... Most memorably in San Juan. It gets a little chaotic with people coming out but not horrible. By 10 the doors are open and you never have to wait in a security line... No one is there! Them you have time to check in, shop for another lanyard (I have quite the collection lol) and enjoy knowing you will be on the ship in under an hour and your vacation has begun! Jane Mr. Candyman and RCIfan1912 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hagar Posted July 6, 2019 Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 The terminal at Cape Liberty is a good one for early arrival. AN usually does a quick turnaround even though there will still be some people out front leaving if you do arrive at 1000. Terminal does run out of chairs sometimes but they do a pretty good job overall. Once onboard it's amazing to see how jacked up the traffic gets because of the poor planning on ingress/egress (maybe Royal IT helped plan this too ;>) RCIfan1912 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCIfan1912 Posted July 6, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Of course, it depends on the ship and the terminal, but in general, boarding usually starts around 10:30. It can be a bit earlier or it can be a bit later. A 10AM arrival might mean a short stay in a holding room but it won't be long. If you arrive any earlier you might get stuck waiting outside for a while, which would not be fun. 23 minutes ago, mom2mybugs said: I have had to wait out side a couple times... Most memorably in San Juan. It gets a little chaotic with people coming out but not horrible. By 10 the doors are open and you never have to wait in a security line... No one is there! Them you have time to check in, shop for another lanyard (I have quite the collection lol) and enjoy knowing you will be on the ship in under an hour and your vacation has begun! Jane Thanks guys, We'll shoot for 10:15 or 10:30 right on the money. I'd like to be on the ship very early this time around just to see how it goes. We will be sailing Anthem from NJ if that makes any difference. In May 2020 we will be on Oasis from NJ. WAAAYTOOO and mom2mybugs 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChessE4 Posted July 6, 2019 Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 Sailing Oasis-class ships, remember the WJ can get crowded for lunch, so consider other venues on Day 1. Everyone has their carry-on, so the aisles between tables get awfully crowded. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCIfan1912 Posted July 6, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Hagar said: The terminal at Cape Liberty is a good one for early arrival. AN usually does a quick turnaround even though there will still be some people out front leaving if you do arrive at 1000. Terminal does run out of chairs sometimes but they do a pretty good job overall. Once onboard it's amazing to see how jacked up the traffic gets because of the poor planning on ingress/egress (maybe Royal IT helped plan this too ;>) Awesome, thanks for the post. We have sailed here a bunch of times just never got their super early like we plan to this time and hopefully May also. I know the new terminal is quite efficient so that's good. First time we sailed Anthem we on the ship in about 20 minutes. Hey maybe for Oasis May 2020 we'll get "The key" if they offer it of course. If they offer that and the price is right I would get "the key". Edited July 6, 2019 by RCIfan1912 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fonemanbob Posted July 7, 2019 Report Share Posted July 7, 2019 We will be there in Sept. as well and plan on arriving at the terminal by 10 a.m. Wherever we sail from we always arrive at the port at around 10 a.m. Those who wait to arrive late will usually be stressed out by the crowds and lines. So not the way to start a cruise. Been there done that. Not any more. And carrying off your luggage on disembarking is so great. Either in our personal vehicle or in a taxi and on the road in under an hour is the only way to travel. Enough of that waiting for numbers to be called. RCIfan1912 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhageerah Posted July 7, 2019 Report Share Posted July 7, 2019 11 hours ago, RCIfan1912 said: What is the real deal with arrival times or boarding times. We usually get to the port to board at noon but this time, in Sept on Anthem at Cape Liberty I want to get there at 10 AM exactly or right about. That is the beginning of boarding time right? Will we be able to board fairly quickly or early or will it just be chaos? Anybody else do this cause its something I would like to try? Are there usually a ton of people waiting or is it a less crowded time? Thanks for any help. We were at the terminal right around 11 to board Anthem on March 30 of this year, we had to wait about 15 minutes to be able to give our luggage to the porter and then head off to the garage. From that point it took us less than 15 minutes from the time I pulled the luggage out of the back of the car until the car was parked and we were inside and boarding the ship. There was no chaos whatsoever, it was actually one of the fastest times that we have made it onboard to date! That 15 minutes included parking the car and walking to the terminal, I could not believe it! RCIfan1912 and ChessE4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCIfan1912 Posted July 7, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2019 2 hours ago, fonemanbob said: We will be there in Sept. as well and plan on arriving at the terminal by 10 a.m. Wherever we sail from we always arrive at the port at around 10 a.m. Those who wait to arrive late will usually be stressed out by the crowds and lines. So not the way to start a cruise. Been there done that. Not any more. And carrying off your luggage on disembarking is so great. Either in our personal vehicle or in a taxi and on the road in under an hour is the only way to travel. Enough of that waiting for numbers to be called. Sept. 21? Can't wait, we are all looking forward to Anthem. Then Oasis in May. We are gonna shoot for 10:00-10:15 and see what happens. If we gotta wait a bit, we'll wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPWH Posted July 7, 2019 Report Share Posted July 7, 2019 I rcvd my set sail pass with a 1pm embarkation time... I've never had to board that late but I've also never been on an oasis class ship we will be on the Allure of the Seas September 29th/Ft Lauderdale...should I just go ahead and be at the port at 10:30 and see if they'll let me on??? RCIfan1912 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCIfan1912 Posted July 7, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2019 22 minutes ago, JPWH said: I rcvd my set sail pass with a 1pm embarkation time... I've never had to board that late but I've also never been on an oasis class ship we will be on the Allure of the Seas September 29th/Ft Lauderdale...should I just go ahead and be at the port at 10:30 and see if they'll let me on??? From what I understand RCI doesn't enforce arrival times or boarding times. You can show up any time you like, at least that's what I was told. You should be just fine like we will be just fine doing the same thing. I want on that ship early this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPWH Posted July 7, 2019 Report Share Posted July 7, 2019 Exactly. being a Floridian, i drive to the port the day of. I'll be ready to get on by 11:30 if at all possible. I'm platinum level as well.. and I didn't know if that made a difference. thx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhageerah Posted July 7, 2019 Report Share Posted July 7, 2019 5 hours ago, JPWH said: Exactly. being a Floridian, i drive to the port the day of. I'll be ready to get on by 11:30 if at all possible. I'm platinum level as well.. and I didn't know if that made a difference. thx How I WISH! Living up here in Virginia, it is quite a drive down to Florida, and since we have family that lives down the coast it turns a simple 12-14 hour drive into a three-four day drive since we have to stop and see everyone on the way down. Not a bad day to spend pre cruise but living in Florida would be absolutely AMAZING! They would have a hard time keeping me away from the cruise terminal!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fonemanbob Posted July 7, 2019 Report Share Posted July 7, 2019 We are moving back to Florida in the fall. We can`t wait. Not as much flying now that a lot of the ports can be driven to. Thank goodness that there are no time keepers checking your boarding times. They can punish me with a time out at the bar of their choosing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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