Question on Miami Terminal

[Lexster]

So, back in May of last year, we went on Harmony of the Seas. The Miami terminal was utter chaos. We had a check-in of 10:30, but there were a ton of people there. We drove and waited for probably 30 minutes to even get to the porter and then we had to wait in a long line to get to check-in. Once actually in the terminal, we were on the ship within like ten minutes.

I recently saw a video of some vloggers going on the Icon in Miami and they took an Uber, drove right to the porter and got checked-in within ten minutes for the entire process. Were we just unlucky the one time we went or were these vloggers lucky? I think they had a later check-in, but still, it was like no one was outside whatsoever.

[Cory]

I think the check in times are bs and people show up when they want.   I have never seen anyone be told they arrived too early or to have to wait.  If you have preferred check in or in a suite or at least platinum (i think) you can miss some of the longer lines.  

[Ampurp85]

Miami has new express pass they are giving people who complete the entire process beforehand.

[JasonOasis]

2 hours ago, Lexster said:

So, back in May of last year, we went on Harmony of the Seas. The Miami terminal was utter chaos. We had a check-in of 10:30, but there were a ton of people there. We drove and waited for probably 30 minutes to even get to the porter and then we had to wait in a long line to get to check-in. Once actually in the terminal, we were on the ship within like ten minutes.

I recently saw a video of some vloggers going on the Icon in Miami and they took an Uber, drove right to the porter and got checked-in within ten minutes for the entire process. Were we just unlucky the one time we went or were these vloggers lucky? I think they had a later check-in, but still, it was like no one was outside whatsoever.

Check-in times no longer matter that was really something that came about when cruising resumed after the shutdown.  Even though Royal still "uses" check-in times people show up when they want now days they don't make people wait and most people understand embarkation day is day 1 of their cruise to waiting to board until 2 or 3 pm is a nonstarter for a lot of people with those check-in times. 

PortMiami's Terminal A has always been a hurry up and wait type of port especially when an Oasis class ship is in port but generally once you check your bags with a porter its smooth sailing right onto the ship.

[barjpoe]

12 hours ago, Lexster said:

I recently saw a video of some vloggers going on the Icon in Miami and they took an Uber, drove right to the porter and got checked-in within ten minutes for the entire process. Were we just unlucky the one time we went or were these vloggers lucky? I think they had a later check-in, but still, it was like no one was outside whatsoever.

Remember Icon is not sailing a full capacity yet.

[ScottD]

12 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

Miami has new express pass they are giving people who complete the entire process beforehand.

but does that help with traffic? this seems to be a traffic issue more than a check in or terminal issue

[JasonOasis]

26 minutes ago, ScottD said:

but does that help with traffic? this seems to be a traffic issue more than a check in or terminal issue

No it doesn't help with traffic, and that traffic is caused by the bottleneck U-turn and reduction in lanes all vehicles have to make to enter Terminal A. 

The OP stated they had to wait 30 minutes to even get a porter, that is extremely unfortunate and for sure not the norm at Terminal A even with an Oasis Class ship in port. There have been several cruises where my husband and I showed up at 10:30 if not a few minutes before and not all the porters were out front.  But what people have to remember is those same porters are also helping passengers who are getting off the ship.  Showing up early does allow people the opportunity to board early but you still need to pack patience because although the ship might be empty people are still leaving the port and not all the porters are in position to assist the now arriving passengers. 

[Hoppy2BHere]

On Feb 10 for Icon, we had an early check in time and were in a suite. We were there around 9:30 - 10 and it was crazy. 6 lanes of cars backed up trying to pickup people and drop off people/luggage. We took an immediate left and up the ramp (just before the backup) into the parking garage and parked. Waited just a bit to finish our morning coffee and rolled our luggage down to the drop off (to the right when you get off elevators). Second in line to check in and second to board the ship. Worked well for us. There was a bit of a delay to start check in, but once open went very quickly.. YMMV.

J&S

[Cruising Granny]

Sailing on Grandeur Sunday, Feb 25, Terminal G. Is it as bad as A?  
Any suggestions? Driving in with 11:00 check in.

[TappsMom]

Just went through the check-in process today. We took a Lyft from the hotel - traffic was heavy, but was continuously moving. It took MAYBE 10 minutes to get around the corner at Terminal A. We were dropped off right at a porter who helped us with our luggage. We were dropped off around noon and eating in the Windjammer by 12:30. 

[Lexster]

7 hours ago, Hoppy2BHere said:

On Feb 10 for Icon, we had an early check in time and were in a suite. We were there around 9:30 - 10 and it was crazy. 6 lanes of cars backed up trying to pickup people and drop off people/luggage. We took an immediate left and up the ramp (just before the backup) into the parking garage and parked. Waited just a bit to finish our morning coffee and rolled our luggage down to the drop off (to the right when you get off elevators). Second in line to check in and second to board the ship. Worked well for us. There was a bit of a delay to start check in, but once open went very quickly.. YMMV.

J&S

It wasn't until we got through the porters and I went to park in the garage that I realized I could have just turned left to go up there instead of doing the U around to the porter area. I was sooo mad, but will probably do that next time.

[MR_Soccer]

My experience for Icon at Terminal A was arrival at 12:30 by uber, no backup at the U-turn.  Had some people directing traffic and let us out at post 4. Gave our bags to a porter and went to entry for the Terminal. We had Express and even with getting a photo before the escalator, we were on deck 5 in 14 minutes.

[Cactus527]

So...I'd love to have an opinion here. I've never done Port Miami before. My sailing is in a few weeks out of Terminal A. I have a 11:00 boarding time. I'm going to be Lyft-ing in from an airport hotel. What time should I aim to be at the port to avoid the most congestion?

[tonyfsu21]

The check in times are total BS. If they can snag a few suckers that actually follow the rules then maybe it’s more controlled chaos on boarding day. This is literally day 1 of a vacation and to arrive anytime after 11am is throwing away your money. 

[Bazza]

I am no expert but having gone from Terminal A last month for Oasis and Terminal G last year for Grandeur I did not have any issues at either with porters, lines etc.

The issue for us this year was the Miami Marathon which kept the tunnel closed until about 11.00AM!

@Cactus527 we had a 10.30-11.00 boarding time booked and had a Lfyt pre-booked from our MIA hotel at 09.45 as we knew the marathon was on. Took us an hour and 15 mins to get to the tunnel (instead of what I think is usually 20 mins), but only about 5-10 minutes to get to the drop off as soon as it opened. I think we were about 40-50 cars back from the barriers but there was the constant last minute lane jumpers causing issues! Must be a global thing not just in the UK!

I think there were about 6 ships in port so if same for your date, I would suggest booking your Uber/Lyft for about 10.15-10.25ish, but others may have a more experienced/educated suggestion! 

Enjoy.

[tonyfsu21]

13 hours ago, Lexster said:

It wasn't until we got through the porters and I went to park in the garage that I realized I could have just turned left to go up there instead of doing the U around to the porter area. I was sooo mad, but will probably do that next time.

Shhhh. This is still a dirty little secret. 

[asquared17]

12 hours ago, Cactus527 said:

So...I'd love to have an opinion here. I've never done Port Miami before. My sailing is in a few weeks out of Terminal A. I have a 11:00 boarding time. I'm going to be Lyft-ing in from an airport hotel. What time should I aim to be at the port to avoid the most congestion?

we usually aim for an arrival about 45 mins before boarding just to avoid traffic and such. the past few times, we’ve left FLL between 8:30-8:50, which puts there around 9:30/9:45 for our 10:30 boarding. 

i recognize this is earlier than most, but i’d rather wait sitting down in the terminal, than queued up outside or in a traffic jam. 

depending on how fast they keep things moving, you can typically expect to be there ahead of the initial rush. 

[dmattinson]

Any terminal will be busy up to the 10:30 check-in arrival time.  There are still many departing passengers waiting for pick-ups or Uber/Lyft rides up until 10:15-10:30 making the amount of cars coming in to the drop-off area significant as many are loading people up instead of dropping off.  

We did Miami last April for Oasis and took the tunnel in - it was backed up in the tunnel and down to the U-turn around 10:15-10:20 - once we dropped the bags off and made it back around for the garage, things had noticeably calmed as many of the pick-ups were done and the trucks that were bringing in re-supply items were in the load/unload areas and not backed up on the road. 

If I were leaving out of Miami, I wouldn't pick the 1st time slot now, I would pick 11:30 or so and have less traffic getting in to the terminal. 

Port Everglades was slightly less busy (and a little confusing on where they wanted us to park after the luggage drop off as we were there early), Port Canaveral seems to get people out quicker for some reason and Tampa seemed pretty well organized as well when we went out on Serenade.

 

[ScottD]

8 hours ago, tonyfsu21 said:

The check in times are total BS. If they can snag a few suckers that actually follow the rules then maybe it’s more controlled chaos on boarding day. This is literally day 1 of a vacation and to arrive anytime after 11am is throwing away your money. 

we usually aim for an 11:00 check in, but rarely get there before noon. We usually walk right on, no wait by then, and by the time we get some pizza and do a loop around the promenade we can go right to the room

[tonyfsu21]

15 minutes ago, ScottD said:

we usually aim for an 11:00 check in, but rarely get there before noon. We usually walk right on, no wait by then, and by the time we get some pizza and do a loop around the promenade we can go right to the room

We need to reserve 2 kids at adventure ocean for the week and fit lunch in there so noon would be too late. I’m usually ready to leave my house in Fort Lauderdale at 8am but I need plenty of buffer to get the rest of my family moving. 

[ScottD]

10 hours ago, tonyfsu21 said:

We need to reserve 2 kids at adventure ocean for the week and fit lunch in there so noon would be too late. I’m usually ready to leave my house in Fort Lauderdale at 8am but I need plenty of buffer to get the rest of my family moving. 

Yeah, we only have the one kid and he was 11 the last two times we sailed, so getting him registered to AO was no biggie, did it every time after we got to the room since the older kids stuff doesn't seem to run out of room anymore.  Plus the fact that he never stayed more than 10 minutes either time seems to make it less of a priority for the next time, lol.  I was thinking of booking a lunch for day 1 next time, still haven't pulled the trigger because the boy likes to make Sorrentos our first stop, and that usually does the job until dinner..but a nice steak to start off the week might be nice! 

[tonyfsu21]

1 hour ago, ScottD said:

Yeah, we only have the one kid and he was 11 the last two times we sailed, so getting him registered to AO was no biggie, did it every time after we got to the room since the older kids stuff doesn't seem to run out of room anymore.  Plus the fact that he never stayed more than 10 minutes either time seems to make it less of a priority for the next time, lol.  I was thinking of booking a lunch for day 1 next time, still haven't pulled the trigger because the boy likes to make Sorrentos our first stop, and that usually does the job until dinner..but a nice steak to start off the week might be nice! 

Haha, I have to bribe my kids to go to AO! They have recently discovered roaming the ship on their own and there’s no going back. I can normally find them in Sorrentos, Starbucks or the arcade. 

[jeffmw]

Never had an issue at Miami. Always has been really quick and efficient, although we typically have an earlier boarding time. Not sure if it gets more crowded later on.

[usmcddv]

Do you guys know if Icon has later check-in times? Without suite/key, have folks gotten 10:30? I've heard 11:00 or 11:30 is the new earliest? Any ideas?

[tonyfsu21]

8 hours ago, usmcddv said:

Do you guys know if Icon has later check-in times? Without suite/key, have folks gotten 10:30? I've heard 11:00 or 11:30 is the new earliest? Any ideas?

I will be there at 10am regardless. 

[Lexster]

2 hours ago, tonyfsu21 said:

I will be there at 10am regardless. 

The mindset that causes the back-ups to begin with

[tonyfsu21]

34 minutes ago, Lexster said:

The mindset that causes the back-ups to begin with

If you can’t beat them then join them. The new mindset. I will cheers to the backup from the Hideaway pool with a Kraken Pina Colada at 11:15am. 

[Reigert2008]

5 hours ago, Lexster said:

The mindset that causes the back-ups to begin with

Exactly. Everyone has the opportunity to get an early time and I really wish Royal would enforce times at all ports and be consistent.  If more people had to queue outside and wait for their time, maybe people would start showing up at the assigned time and the whole process could be smooth for everyone all the time.

Of course, I’m a rule follower and will arrive during my window, but  I’ve also been able to get early times by being online when they open the check in window.

 

Happy Cruising!

[tonyfsu21]

4 hours ago, Reigert2008 said:

Exactly. Everyone has the opportunity to get an early time and I really wish Royal would enforce times at all ports and be consistent.  If more people had to queue outside and wait for their time, maybe people would start showing up at the assigned time and the whole process could be smooth for everyone all the time.

Of course, I’m a rule follower and will arrive during my window, but  I’ve also been able to get early times by being online when they open the check in window.

 

Happy Cruising!

That’s just not going to happen. Do you think turning people away and displacing them temporarily would not become a safety hazard? They absolutely do not want masses of people standing around the active exterior of the terminal as it’s already crowded enough. The process of enforcing boarding times would require resources they don’t have and it would also likely cause more chaos at the gate. The company relies on the low percentage of people who actually follow the rules to give them some element of control in the process. The last minute emails mentioning the strict adherence to scheduled boarding times have proved to be nothing more than an empty threat in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Canaveral. 

[Cruising Granny]

So I am sailing out of Miami Sunday, had 11:00 - 11:30 check in and got an email and text today saying if I had that time to please wait and arrive at 12:00. Thoughts on what you would do. I to am a rule follower but want to make sure I get a parking place too.

[Lexster]

5 hours ago, Cruising Granny said:

So I am sailing out of Miami Sunday, had 11:00 - 11:30 check in and got an email and text today saying if I had that time to please wait and arrive at 12:00. Thoughts on what you would do. I to am a rule follower but want to make sure I get a parking place too.

I've gotten those emails the past two cruises and showed up at the normal time and got on just fine. The second time I didn't even see the email until I was on the ship. I would just go by your original check-in time.

[Lexster]

14 hours ago, tonyfsu21 said:

That’s just not going to happen. Do you think turning people away and displacing them temporarily would not become a safety hazard? They absolutely do not want masses of people standing around the active exterior of the terminal as it’s already crowded enough. The process of enforcing boarding times would require resources they don’t have and it would also likely cause more chaos at the gate. The company relies on the low percentage of people who actually follow the rules to give them some element of control in the process. The last minute emails mentioning the strict adherence to scheduled boarding times have proved to be nothing more than an empty threat in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Canaveral. 

They already have masses of people standing around. And the "last minute emails" don't work because they DON'T have strict adherence to the boarding times and everyone knows it. It would only take a month of them turning away people until it's their boarding time for people to get the message. Otherwise, don't bother having check-in times because it just means people who actually show up at the right time get pissed off because certain people think they're more important than everyone else.

[Lexster]

19 hours ago, Reigert2008 said:

Exactly. Everyone has the opportunity to get an early time and I really wish Royal would enforce times at all ports and be consistent.  If more people had to queue outside and wait for their time, maybe people would start showing up at the assigned time and the whole process could be smooth for everyone all the time.

Of course, I’m a rule follower and will arrive during my window, but  I’ve also been able to get early times by being online when they open the check in window.

 

Happy Cruising!

Yep, I always get an early check-in time since I check-in at midnight the night it opens. It's not that hard. If you want to show up early, get an early time. Otherwise, follow the damn check-in times.

[Last2Know]

I appreciate the discussion from everyone since we've only sailed out of Miami a few times (pre-COVID).  We're now planning to Uber/Lyft to the port and have a later check-in for Explorer's transatlantic in April.

[tonyfsu21]

52 minutes ago, Lexster said:

They already have masses of people standing around. And the "last minute emails" don't work because they DON'T have strict adherence to the boarding times and everyone knows it. It would only take a month of them turning away people until it's their boarding time for people to get the message. Otherwise, don't bother having check-in times because it just means people who actually show up at the right time get pissed off because certain people think they're more important than everyone else.

To each his own. We will be at the terminal ready to board the ship by 10am and ready for vacation! 

[Lexster]

On 2/22/2024 at 8:58 PM, tonyfsu21 said:

To each his own. We will be at the terminal ready to board the ship by 10am and ready for vacation! 

Hopefully you'll have an early check-in then. Not hard to get!

[TheMaxRebo]

We just got off Icon, boarded in Miami on Sat, Feb 17th.

 

We had an 11:30am boarding and we allowed some extra time for traffic so got picked up at 10:25am at a hotel near the airport. We were in the ship at 10:52. Process was Soooo smooth and next to no traffic 

[CanHardlyWait]

15 minutes ago, TheMaxRebo said:

We just got off Icon, boarded in Miami on Sat, Feb 17th.

 

We had an 11:30am boarding and we allowed some extra time for traffic so got picked up at 10:25am at a hotel near the airport. We were in the ship at 10:52. Process was Soooo smooth and next to no traffic 

Good to hear. I haven’t gone out of Miami in 18 years. (To expensive, crowded, etc) Hoping Icon in May won't be a crazy port experience. Fingers

[ScottD]

On 2/22/2024 at 5:40 AM, tonyfsu21 said:

That’s just not going to happen. Do you think turning people away and displacing them temporarily would not become a safety hazard? They absolutely do not want masses of people standing around the active exterior of the terminal as it’s already crowded enough. The process of enforcing boarding times would require resources they don’t have and it would also likely cause more chaos at the gate. The company relies on the low percentage of people who actually follow the rules to give them some element of control in the process. The last minute emails mentioning the strict adherence to scheduled boarding times have proved to be nothing more than an empty threat in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Canaveral. 

They have a huge terminal... people don't need to stand around outside. They can easily have people sit and wait for designated times to be called, just like boarding a plane- they'll call you up as it is your turn to board. I don't think its a "low percentage" of people that follow the rules, in fact I think it's the other way around. AND I bet a lot of people pick the earliest possible check in time and don't actually get there until later, which helps.  I feel like if everyone starts showing up as soon as boarding opens, it will be a mess because you'll have the clash of people getting off and new people trying to get on, which is exactly why they stagger the times.  I wouldn't be surprised if they do start enforcing it a little more if too many people show up early.  I don't see the purpose of getting on the ship right as it opens, but to each their own- I get you wanna start vacation, but maybe try to get that check in time, then. 

[tonyfsu21]

3 hours ago, ScottD said:

They have a huge terminal... people don't need to stand around outside. They can easily have people sit and wait for designated times to be called, just like boarding a plane- they'll call you up as it is your turn to board. I don't think it’s a "low percentage" of people that follow the rules, in fact I think it's the other way around. AND I bet a lot of people pick the earliest possible check in time and don't actually get there until later, which helps.  I feel like if everyone starts showing up as soon as boarding opens, it will be a mess because you'll have the clash of people getting off and new people trying to get on, which is exactly why they stagger the times.  I wouldn't be surprised if they do start enforcing it a little more if too many people show up early.  I don't see the purpose of getting on the ship right as it opens, but to each their own- I get you wanna start vacation, but maybe try to get that check in time, then. 

Like I said before, to each his/her own. I will be on the ship as soon as the doors open regardless of check in time.