Why You Usually Can’t Go Straight to Your Cruise Cabin After Boarding

When you first board the ship, it is unlikely that you will be able to go straight to your cabin.

Cabins are often ready between 1 pm and 2 pm, although this varies by cruise line and sailing.

This can surprise first-time cruisers, especially if they board in the morning carrying lots of hand luggage.

This is completely normal. In fact, it is far more unusual to find that cabins are ready as soon as you board. It certainly doesn’t mean anything has gone wrong.

#1. Thousands of Guests May Have Left That Morning

Cruise ships usually operate back-to-back sailings.

The previous passengers will have only left their cabins between 7 am and 9 am.

The crew then has just a few hours to prepare every single cabin for the new arrivals.

Unlike a hotel, the ship usually needs to clean and prepare almost every room on the same day.

2. Cabins Need More Than a Quick Clean

There is so much that the cabin stewards need to do before they are ready for new guests:

• They must strip and replace all bedding.
• They will clean and disinfect the bathroom.
• The main cabin needs to be vacuumed.
• They will replace towels, toiletries, and drinking glasses.
• Bins/trash cans are emptied, and drawers and wardrobes are checked to make sure they are empty.
• Beds are prepared, either as twins or a double, depending on what the new guest has requested.
• They might have to set up sofa beds, bunk beds or cots where requested.
• They will check that everything is working and report any maintenance problems.
• They may have to deliver loyalty gifts, excursion tickets, or other documents to the cabin.
• On some cruise lines, they will lay out luggage mats (a plastic or rubber mat) on the bed, so you can unpack your case without worrying about the bedding getting dirty.

3. Why Cruise Lines Let You Board Before Cabins Are Ready

Allowing everybody to board the ship at once later in the afternoon would create huge queues.

Staggering the boarding spreads passengers out across several hours.

Guests can begin using many of the ship’s facilities while cabins are being prepared. I usually try to go to the main restaurant or pool grill for lunch.

Most people seem to head for the buffet, but I wouldn’t recommend that. Here’s why:

How I Avoid The Huge Buffet Queues On Embarkation Day

Restaurants, bars, pools, and open decks are usually available for use.

Cruise lines usually set up Muster Stations so guests can complete safety and security procedures gradually, rather than everyone arriving at the same time and large queues forming.

Find out everything you need to know about Muster Stations and Muster Drills here:

What is a Muster Drill on a Cruise? Everything You Need to Know (REVIEW of Traditional and Virtual Muster Drills)

4. What Happens to Your Checked Luggage?

Suitcases are normally handed over to the porters on the dockside before boarding.

They are screened and delivered to cabins separately.

Bags may already be at your cabin when you are able to get to it. But it could be that they will arrive long after the cabin has become available.

Delivery of suitcases to cabins can take several hours, and sometimes luggage does not arrive until close to dinner.

Don’t panic if other bags appear outside cabins before yours – it is highly unlikely that they will have got lost!

5. Pack a Small Boarding-Day Bag

I would suggest keeping with you:

• Passport and travel documents.
• Medication.
• Phone charger or power bank.
• Swimming costume and sun cream – if you want to get in the pool before everyone else has their swimming things!
• Anything needed for children.
• Valuables or fragile items.
• Basic medications you could need, painkillers, etc
• Anything else you consider essential.

I always take my backpack/handbag with me when I board a ship. This is the bag I generally carry with me when I go anywhere, so it has painkillers, seasickness tablets, tissues, etc in it.

There are certain things I would definitely recommend you keep in your hand luggage when you board.

Things you don’t want to be without, like any essential medication or important paperwork. Prescribed medication can be hard to replace if it gets lost.

Find out more about that here:

Never Put Essential Medication in Your Cruise Suitcase: Here’s Why

6. What Can You Do While You Wait?

There are plenty of things to do while you wait for your cabin to be ready. These include:

• Have lunch, but remember that the buffet may be the busiest place immediately after boarding.
• I like to explore the ship and have a look at all the interesting bars and restaurants.
• I book dining, shows, or activities on the cruise line’s app as soon as I can.
• I might go for a swim (weather permitting!) if my swimwear is in my hand luggage.
• I complete the muster drill as soon as possible, to get it out of the way.
• I connect to the ship’s app or Wi-Fi (if I have bought a WiFi package).
• Have a drink, often on the top deck, and relax after the journey.

Many people seem to think they can’t use the cruise line’s app without buying a WiFi package. This isn’t correct – there is no need to buy one.

Find out more here:

You Don’t Need to Pay For Wi-Fi To Use a Cruise Line App – Here’s Why

7. How Will You Know When Cabins Are Ready?

There is usually an announcement over the ship’s tannoy system/speaker system.

Often, the fire doors or corridor doors stay closed until cabins are released, so you couldn’t go to your cabin even if you wanted to!

Don’t open closed doors or walk through crew barriers to check.

Some cruise lines send a notification through their app. It may be announced, or crew members may tell guests that cabins on certain decks are ready.

8. Why You Shouldn’t Sneak Into the Cabin Early

I wouldn’t recommend trying to get into your cabin before you are told it is ready.

• The cabin may not have been cleaned or inspected – you don’t want a dirty cabin!
• Cabin stewards may be moving cleaning trolleys or large bags through the corridors.
• Guests can slow the turnaround process by getting in the crew’s way.
• Fire doors are often closed for operational reasons.
• Even if the cabin looks finished, it may still need a final check – paperwork left, or loyalty perks like bottles of wine, chocolates or canapés delivered.

9. Can Some Passengers Access Their Cabins Earlier?

Suite guests or passengers with priority packages or certain loyalty status may receive earlier access.

Some cruise lines offer paid priority boarding or early cabin access.

Guests with accessibility needs could get early access – but it is not guaranteed.

I booked a guaranteed balcony cabin, but was upgraded to a controversial “conservatory mini suite” cabin on P&O’s Iona.

Because it was technically a suite, I then got priority embarkation!

Have a look at that very unusual cabin here:

10. What If Your Cabin Still Isn’t Ready After the Announced Time?

Allow a little extra time, particularly if boarding was delayed.

Speak politely to guest services or the cabin steward.

There could be a maintenance issue or an additional deep clean taking place for some reason.

When I sailed on P&O’s Aurora, our embarkation time was delayed, and we weren’t able to access our cabins until late in the afternoon.

That was a bit of a shame, as we were on a short four-day cruise, so we wanted to make the most of the time we had onboard.

There had been an outbreak of a “gastrointestinal illness” on the previous cruise, so extra deep cleaning was clearly necessary – and I was glad P&O made the decision to take extra time to get everything ready for the new passengers.

Have a look at that short cruise and the extra measures they put in place to avoid people becoming ill below:

Before You Go

Have a look at things to avoid on embarkation day here:

7 Embarkation Day Mistakes That Catch Out Unsuspecting Cruisers

Both MSC and P&O offer great value cruises, but which would suit you best? Find out here:

MSC Cruises or P&O Cruises Which is Better? (Tried and Tested)