Allure of the Seas Check in Time

[Raven]

Hi!  So we are very excited to go on the Allure out of Galveston on 8/13/23.  I carefully marked my calendar for the check in date which was 6/29.  After listening to Matt, I knew that I could check in at 10pm on the 28th which I did so I could get the earliest time.   Technically it was 10:05pm, but the earliest check in  time available was 11:00 am.  What happened to 10:30? Did I miss it?  I want to be one of the first on board.  

 

Also when does scheduling for the entertainment open up on the planner?  I want to be fully prepared, booked and ready for our vacation! 

Thank you

[OCSC Mike]

1 minute ago, Raven said:

Also when does scheduling for the entertainment open up on the planner? 

30-60 days out. Often on the 1st of the month prior to your sailing month (so possibly tomorrow for you).

[ChessE4]

2 minutes ago, Raven said:

Hi!  So we are very excited to go on the Allure out of Galveston on 8/13/23.  I carefully marked my calendar for the check in date which was 6/29.  After listening to Matt, I knew that I could check in at 10pm on the 28th which I did so I could get the earliest time.   Technically it was 10:05pm, but the earliest check in  time available was 11:00 am.  What happened to 10:30? Did I miss it?  I want to be one of the first on board.  

 

Also when does scheduling for the entertainment open up on the planner?  I want to be fully prepared, booked and ready for our vacation! 

Thank you

Galveston ran late when we sailed in December.  I wouldn't worry too much; 11 AM is good....

[Pooch]

Arrival time NOT boarding time.

[Raven]

I don't know what you're talking about.   All I know is that when you check in you're given a time that you are allowed to enter the building so that you can check in at the port, go through security and then you walk on the ship.  Usually the earliest time is 10:30.  I don't understand why that was not an option for me.  I checked in 5 minutes after the check in opened. I just want to know if there are a bunch of people who got 1030, or was 11 the earliest possibility. 

[Jacklynn]

We sail Allure this Sunday and when we checked in at midnight 11 was the earliest time as well. 

[Jacklynn]

Oh and entertainment bookings didn't open until somewhere around 25 days out. 

[smokeybandit]

Earliest arrival time varies by ship and by port. 10:30 to 11:30

[Ryan79]

Not every cruise offers 10:30 boarding. Just because many to most do, doesn’t mean yours did.

[Atlantix2000]

2 hours ago, Pooch said:

Arrival time NOT boarding time.

1 hour ago, Raven said:

I don't know what you're talking about.   All I know is that when you check in you're given a time that you are allowed to enter the building so that you can check in at the port, go through security and then you walk on the ship.  Usually the earliest time is 10:30.  I don't understand why that was not an option for me.  I checked in 5 minutes after the check in opened. I just want to know if there are a bunch of people who got 1030, or was 11 the earliest possibility. 

Sometimes they will let you in and do all the check in stuff but then you will sit and wait because they aren't ready to let people actually board.  Hence why you get an Arrival Time not a Boarding Time.

[Raven]

Yes, I wasn't asking about that.

[Pooch]

Sure you were.  You questioned the 11am ARRIVAL time you got at check in.  You do not select a boarding time. There is no guarantee that you immediately board at that time.  And there is no way to tell if an earlier arrival time was available.  Maybe check the roll call for your sailing & ask if anybody is gonna be in line ahead of you.

FWIW a half hour will make no difference unless you have a thing about being first on board.

[Raven]

I want to get on the ship as soon as possible and I don't want to get on after a ton of people.  Is there something different about Galveston from Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Port Canaveral, and Los Angeles?  I'm familiar with boarding at those ports ...you go through security and then get on the ship.  

[drjohn4]

When we went on Allure in July, 11 AM was the earliest check in available.  From what I understand, boarding is the same at all ports.  If you show up after all the guests from the prior sailing are off and boarding has started... you go through security and check in and then get on the ship.  If you arrive early, before boarding has started - you go through security and check in then to the waiting area.  When boarding starts they call boarding groups - suites, Pinnacle, the Key, various other crown and anchor levels, then people board as they arrive.  They try to start boarding as soon as they can get everyone from the prior sailing off, this varies from week to week.

[Ampurp85]

@Raven the clarification of boarding/arrival is because there are some factors involved.........meaning just because your arrival time is 10:30/11 doesn't mean that is when you will board. Not all ports and itineraries will have a10:30 check-in time. If the pax before you don't all exit before 10am, then boarding will likely be delayed. If customs have something to do boarding will be delayed. Idk when you last sailed but it's been rare for me to have a 10:30 check-in and board the ship at that time since the restart. This past Jan I had 10:30 for 2 sailings out of Miami and boarding didn't begin until after 11 for one and almost 11:30 for another. 

[Pooch]

2 hours ago, Raven said:

I want to get on the ship as soon as possible and I don't want to get on after a ton of people.  Is there something different about Galveston from Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Port Canaveral, and Los Angeles?  I'm familiar with boarding at those ports ...you go through security and then get on the ship.  

Yes, in the best of circumstances, that is how it works.  But not always.  In May on Harmony, boarding was delayed due to a Coast Guard inspection.  We had a 10:30 arrival time but boarding didn’t start til almost 11:30.  Same ship last March, waited in the suite lounge for over half an hour even though we arrived at the correct time.

[Cactus527]

We're sailing Allure mid July and the earliest arrival time (which I got at 12:03am on 45 days out) was 11:00am. Based on everything I've read, 11:00 seems to be the earliest for Allure - I imagine due to her size, it just takes longer for people to disembark and for them to get ready to welcome new guests. Enjoy your cruise!

[AshleyDillo]

5 hours ago, Raven said:

I want to get on the ship as soon as possible and I don't want to get on after a ton of people.  Is there something different about Galveston from Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Port Canaveral, and Los Angeles?  I'm familiar with boarding at those ports ...you go through security and then get on the ship.  

From what I've seen and read the earliest time right now is 11am for Galveston. The process is still the same but they pushed back the arrival times. It is a newly built terminal in Galveston and a much larger ship than they were used to so they're probably still working through the process of finding out the operational areas they can improve. 

[smokeybandit]

4 hours ago, drjohn4 said:

From what I understand, boarding is the same at all ports. 

There might be a target boarding time across the fleet.  But RC doesn't decide on a cruise by cruise basis when boarding can begin.

[jbrinkm]

21 hours ago, drjohn4 said:

When we went on Allure in July, 11 AM was the earliest check in available.  

18 hours ago, Cactus527 said:

We're sailing Allure mid July and the earliest arrival time (which I got at 12:03am on 45 days out) was 11:00am. Based on everything I've read, 11:00 seems to be the earliest for Allure - I imagine due to her size, it just takes longer for people to disembark and for them to get ready to welcome new guests. Enjoy your cruise!

16 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

From what I've seen and read the earliest time right now is 11am for Galveston. 

I concur! I waited up to get earliest check in time for Allure at Galveston in April, which was 11am.

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

When I checked in for my Oasis end of July cruise out of Bayonne…11am was the earliest time to choose.  I keep checking the times and right now there are still 1:30/2:00/2:30 choices left.  Sometimes the 10:30 timeframe will pop up closer to cruise date so I keep looking.  Not that a half hour makes much difference because it does not.  
I think @Cactus527is right as far as larger ships take longer to empty and clean!  
As long as we all get on…we are good…

[CrznTxn]

We got off of Allure last Sunday and our (mine since the wife was already onboard) boarding started early and when I arrived at the terminal at 10:30 (the earliest time you could select was 11:00) they were already letting people onboard. The first several months of Allure have been especially rough with boarding and disembarkation but they have made progress and hopefully they have it under control now. Getting off was really easy and we were on the road by 8:00 (self-assist).

[Keanoknick]

When we were on Allure 3 weeks ago, earliest time was 11:00,   we showed up to drop off our luggage at 10:15 expecting a wait,  we went right through security and were on the ship before 10:30.  Smoothest embarkation of any cruise we've been on.   Also,  we were not in a suite, and did not have The Key.

[Yo2slick]

1 minute ago, Keanoknick said:

When we were on Allure 3 weeks ago, earliest time was 11:00,   we showed up to drop off our luggage at 10:15 expecting a wait,  we went right through security and were on the ship before 10:30.  Smoothest embarkation of any cruise we've been on.   Also,  we were not in a suite, and did not have The Key.

When we were on Allure in February embarkation was an absolute  show.  Glad to see they have it sorted.