Mary Gilson Posted January 17, 2023 Report Share Posted January 17, 2023 Hi all! My family and I are heading on our first Royal Caribbean cruise in February. We got a check in time for 11:30 but I’m wondering if we are able to go earlier. We have a 2 year old toddler who isn’t the most patient, so we’re hoping to beat the crowds as much as possible. Are the ports strict on check in times? Or can we go earlier? And if so, what would be the earliest time to show up? Thanks so much for your help with this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted January 17, 2023 Report Share Posted January 17, 2023 I don't know what port you are sailing from but here's what I have encountered. Port Miami is strict, we just boarded this past Sunday and they enforced the check in times. Did port Everglades in Nov and they enforced the check in times. Did port LAX and they didn't but tried to if the lines got out of hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted January 17, 2023 Report Share Posted January 17, 2023 Concur that Miami enforced check-in times last Saturday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PPPJJ-GCVAB Posted January 17, 2023 Report Share Posted January 17, 2023 Just a thought…what’s the purpose of having a specific check in time if passengers are just going to show up whenever they want to? This is meant especially for the ones who think showing up early is ok. It really is not okay. I have seen many comments about this quite frequently on this blog and it’s always kind of bugged me…so I just wanted to state my own opinion: Show up when you are supposed to. Period. Thank you. Sunny_D, TJP, Xaa and 1 other 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheeler825 Posted January 17, 2023 Report Share Posted January 17, 2023 17 minutes ago, PPPJJ-GCVAB said: Just a thought…what’s the purpose of having a specific check in time if passengers are just going to show up whenever they want to? This is meant especially for the ones who think showing up early is ok. It really is not okay. I have seen many comments about this quite frequently on this blog and it’s always kind of bugged me…so I just wanted to state my own opinion: Show up when you are supposed to. Period. Thank you. The problem is that so much is check-in time dependent. Namely for unlimited dining. The earliest check in time available to me was 1:00. Are all the good dining reservations going to be gone by then? What about my ability to have lunch on the dining plan on my day of sailing? I don't wanna have lunch at 2 or 2:30. Let me reserve my dining earlier(before boarding) if I can't check in until 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PPPJJ-GCVAB Posted January 17, 2023 Report Share Posted January 17, 2023 17 minutes ago, Wheeler825 said: The problem is that so much is check-in time dependent. Namely for unlimited dining. The earliest check in time available to me was 1:00. Are all the good dining reservations going to be gone by then? What about my ability to have lunch on the dining plan on my day of sailing? I don't wanna have lunch at 2 or 2:30. Let me reserve my dining earlier(before boarding) if I can't check in until 1 If you want an early time to board then do your checkin right after midnight on the date it becomes available. I do this all the time and have never gotten a time later than 11. Sure I lose a little sleep but I get the time I want to board the proper way… and I board by following the rules. Sunny_D 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheeler825 Posted January 17, 2023 Report Share Posted January 17, 2023 13 minutes ago, PPPJJ-GCVAB said: If you want an early time to board then do your checkin right after midnight on the date it becomes available. I do this all the time and have never gotten a time later than 11. Sure I lose a little sleep but I get the time I want to board the proper way… and I board by following the rules. Thats great for people who plan their cruise months or years in advance. We booked 50 days out. My understanding is it becomes available 60 days out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike2608 Posted January 17, 2023 Report Share Posted January 17, 2023 actually your check-in is 45 days out PPPJJ-GCVAB and SimGuy 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maggie M Posted January 17, 2023 Report Share Posted January 17, 2023 Yes, this topic does come up often. I'm pretty sure there's a 30 minute grace period on either side of your check-in. So if you have an 11am check-in, you could potentially show up at 10:30am or 11:30am and be OK to board but that all depends on the port and those officers; they may not let you. I would try to arrive as close as possible to your scheduled check-in time. Good luck! I'm sure you'll have a blast and so will your toddler! We're hoping to bring ours along next year once he's out of diapers. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheeler825 Posted January 17, 2023 Report Share Posted January 17, 2023 18 minutes ago, mike2608 said: actually your check-in is 45 days out That would have been great information - a week ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted January 17, 2023 Report Share Posted January 17, 2023 I can chime in on Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale) and Port Canaveral, but we had the Key on both occasions which may have impacted our experience. As they say YMMV... I have not sailed out of Miami recently. No one checked our SetSail pass in Ft. Lauderdale (FEB 2022) until we cleared security and checked in with the Royal terminal folks. Once we mentioned we had the Key when we arrived outside the terminal, they just pointed out the separate lines for suite and Key guests. We had the 11:00-11:30 boarding window, but was allowed to enter the terminal earlier. Last week in Port Canaveral (1/7/23) we had the first boarding window (10:30-11:00). We followed the Key signage outside the terminal and we were all (6) onboard sitting in the promenade by the Bionic Bar by 10:20 discussing where we wanted to go next. They started boarding the suite and Key guests around 10:15 that morning and we never had to sit in the waiting area. I would stick close to your boarding window as intended, but you may be pleasantly surprised and allowed to enter a little bit earlier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xaa Posted January 17, 2023 Report Share Posted January 17, 2023 1 hour ago, Wheeler825 said: The problem is that so much is check-in time dependent. Namely for unlimited dining. The earliest check in time available to me was 1:00. Are all the good dining reservations going to be gone by then? What about my ability to have lunch on the dining plan on my day of sailing? I don't wanna have lunch at 2 or 2:30. Let me reserve my dining earlier(before boarding) if I can't check in until 1 That's the tradeoff with UDP. Comes with a discount but you have to get in line to book. You can choose your times beforehand but then you need to pay full cost for the meals. That's how UDP can exist. Filling in the un-reserved slots after the full cost reservations are made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzy85 Posted January 18, 2023 Report Share Posted January 18, 2023 For those checking in at midnight on the day check in opens, do time zones matter? I'd rather not stay up late to get an early time slot if it it's midnight Pacific time (I'd just get up early instead). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted January 18, 2023 Report Share Posted January 18, 2023 3 hours ago, Suzy85 said: For those checking in at midnight on the day check in opens, do time zones matter? I'd rather not stay up late to get an early time slot if it it's midnight Pacific time (I'd just get up early instead). It's midnight in the time zone that the sailing leaves from. stevendom57 and PPPJJ-GCVAB 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rfk Posted January 19, 2023 Report Share Posted January 19, 2023 So at midnight - better to check in using laptop or phone app? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted January 19, 2023 Report Share Posted January 19, 2023 1 hour ago, Rfk said: So at midnight - better to check in using laptop or phone app? Hop on the app and click on arrival time and save it. Then go to bed and do the rest later. PPPJJ-GCVAB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pattycruise Posted January 19, 2023 Report Share Posted January 19, 2023 3 hours ago, Rfk said: So at midnight - better to check in using laptop or phone app? At times I’ve had problems checking in on the app and wind up using the website. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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