Why NOT to arrive on-time for your next cruise…
Don’t get on your cruise too early you might run into this…
When it comes to traveling we try our best to get to the airport, the port of embarkation, or the car rental place before our scheduled time. Now when it comes to your flights I always suggest you be there on-time. In fact, most airlines require that you must be checked in 90 minutes prior to the flight.
Cruising is a whole other ball game. If you get to the port of embarkation at the time the cruise line suggests (usually 1 pm), you end up getting there when everybody else does. The lines to check-in can become horrendous! This is especially true of those very large ships that can accommodate up to 3,500 passengers. Nobody wants to be in line with 3,500 other people for check-in and then upon embarking waiting in the “let’s start your cruise off with a picture” line.
Some of these ocean mega-liners seem to take days to explore so you could get a head start on finding all of the amazing features of your ship.
There is one caveat about embarking early, you won’t be able to access your room until a certain time. This is to ensure that the crew has had plenty of time to change out everything from the previous cruise.
If you miss this time frame you will be unable to board your cruise. The are some perks if you check-in later. You will most likely be able to access your room immediately, still enjoy the welcome buffet, and have only little time in port so you can start winning your millions at the casino as soon as you hit the open water. Well, I am not quite sure if anybody won a million dollars at sea, but whose to say that it couldn’t happen.
Just remember that you don’t want to be too late that you miss your cruise all together, and you don’t want to arrive on-time to stand with the masses at check-in. Try to time it right because if you start off your vacation on the right foot it makes Life Better Traveling.
