9 Reasons Why You Should Get an Early Check In Time – (And 4 Reasons to Not To)

With most cruise lines, you can check in online prior to your cruise, and select a check in time.

How long before your cruise you can do this varies from one line to another, but how do you know which is a good check in time to choose?

Your check-in time is the time you can enter the cruise terminal on embarkation day.

The earliest check-in time is normally around 10:30am and the latest is usually around 3/4pm.

In this article, we look at reasons you might want to get on the ship as early as possible, and other reasons why a later check in time would suit you better.

Note: It isn’t always possible to choose your embarkation time, but many cruise lines do let you.

Reasons To Get An Early Check In

• You can start you cruise holiday/vacation earlier
  • You have paid a lot of money for your cruise, why not try and get as much onboard time as possible?
  • This might be particularly important if you have paid for a drinks package. If you are like me, you will want to get on and use the package to make sure you get your money’s worth!
• Less busy in the Terminal
  • Cruise terminals are often busiest around the middle of the day.
  • If you can avoid peak times with an earlier check-in, you are more likely to avoid delays.
• You won’t need to carry your suitcases around all day
  • If you have stayed in the cruise port the night before, you won’t want to be wandering about, with all your luggage.
  • If you have an earlier check-in, you can hand your cases to the porters outside and forget about them until they turn up again in your cabin
• You can register your Children for Kid’s Clubs early
  • Kid’s clubs places, particularly in school holidays, are very sort after.
  • The sooner you can get to the Kid’s Clubs and register them, the better.
• The Buffet will be quieter
  • Everyone seems to head for the buffet once they get on board.
  • Often, people have had long, tiring journeys and are understandably keen to have some food and drink
  • The buffet is usually the busiest place onboard on embarkation day. If you are on board early, it is less busy. Why not look to see if any of the main restaurants are open for lunch? This, in my opinion, is a much more relaxing option.
• You can explore the ship easily when it’s empty
  • It is far easier to wander around the ship and see what is where when fewer people are onboard.
• It’s quieter at the Muster Stations
  • You will need to watch the safety video on the App or on the cabin TV on embarkation day.
  • You then need to check in at your allocated Muster Station. This is far easier to do when the ship is less busy.
• If you want to use the swimming pool, or book a Spa treatment, you will find both areas quiet
  • Many people with children take their swimming things in their hand luggage, so they can use the pools. Everyone else will be waiting for their suitcases to arrive before they can swim.
  • People don’t tend to think about going to the Spa on embarkation day, they are too busy exploring the ship. It will likely be quite empty.
• You can book theatre shows, speciality meals and other entertainment via the App before everyone else does!
  • Sometimes, you can book things before you board, but usually, you have to wait until you are actually on the ship
  • I tend to make sure i book all the shows ( if booking is necessary) and any speciality restaurants I would like to try.
  • You can always cancel at a later date if you have a change of plans, but if shows are booked up, you might miss out.

Reasons To Get A Late Check In

• Less stressful if you have a long journey to make on embarkation day
  • Many people travel to the port on embarkation day. Knowing you don’t have to check in until two or three o’clock makes the whole thing less stressful.
• No hanging about, waiting for sail away
  • You might want to get onboard, and just sail away as soon as possible.
• More time to check out the port city you are sailing from
  • If you are staying at a port city the night before you sail, you might want to spend more time exploring on land.
  • Ports like Barcelona in Spain or Valetta in Malta are lovely. Such a shame to just pass through and not explore them at all.
• Your cabin is sure to be ready for you
  • Many is the time I have embarked at 11am and found that the cabins aren’t ready until 1pm or later.
  • That is quite understandable. Turnover day is very busy for the crew, as they have to clean and make up all the cabins, which are ready for new guests coming in.

Find out more about the hard job of the housekeeping team here:

Cruise Ship Housekeeping: Responsibilities, Salaries and Benefits

Who Gets Priority Check In Times?

Most cruise lines give earlier, priority check in times to guests staying in suites. Many mainstream cruise lines have “ship within a ship” exclusive areas, that cost more to book.

These areas come with a host of extras and perks – like a Butler or Concierge services and exclusive dining rooms.

Norwegian have The Haven, MSC have Yacht Club, Cunard have Queens Grill and Princess Grill areas, Celebrity offer a “Suite Class” and Virgin Voyages offer an “Rockstar Suite Experience”.

An example of extra services afforded to suite guests in the MSC “Yacht Club” areas is shown below:

Upon arrival, as an MSC Yacht Club guest, you shall proceed to the MSC Yacht Club luggage drop off area (where available) identified with the MSC Yacht Club branded gazebo. While your luggage is processed, refreshments and snacks are available for you to enjoy in the designated MSC Yacht Club lounge. Following swift check-in procedures, our attentive butler team will ensure your seamless passage through security to the ship, where you will be escorted directly to the Top Sail Lounge. Your embarkation check-in time can be found on your cruise ticket. However, as an MSC Yacht Club guest, you have the flexibility to check in at your convenience, aligned with the ship’s operational schedule and at least 2 hours prior to the ship’s departure.

MSC Cruises

See the sort of queues you might be faced with at peak check-in times in the video below. I was sailing on the Mega ship Arvia from Southampton to the Mediterranean.

Arvia can hold over 6250 guests, so they don’t want everyone turning up to check in at once! P&O are quite strict with boarding times for that reason.

What If You Miss Your Check In Time?

Normally, its isn’t a problem if you are slightly late for your check in time. Cruise lines know that delays are sometimes inevitable when guests travel to a cruise port.

When I arrived at Southampton to board P&O’s Mega ship Arvia last year, I was slightly late for my allotted check in time. When I arrived at the terminal, there were queues of people waiting outside.

I was able to go straight into the terminal, as my check in time had already passed. The ones waiting outside were the ones who had arrived before their check in time, hoping to board early.

Cruise lines seem to have more of a problem with people turning up before their check in time and trying to board early than they do with late arrivals. Everyone is keen to board!

How Late Can I Be?

All cruise lines have different terms and conditions, but on average, you are expected to be at check in at least an hour – sometimes two hours – before the ships scheduled departure time.

Due to increased security requirements, many cruise lines require you to fill out the required information and do an “online check-in” before arriving at the cruise terminal.

This step helps to speed things up in the terminal.

Check-in closes one (1) hour prior to your cruise’s scheduled departure time as displayed on your e-ticket. Checking in after this time will cause you to miss your cruise and no refunds will be given.

Carnival Cruises

Whether you prefer to check in early or late is down to personal preference – just make sure you don’t miss the boat all together!

Before You Go

Find out the secrets to planning your perfect cruise here:

Ready to Set Sail? Discover the Secrets to Planning the Perfect Cruise

Find out what cruisers wish they had known before taking their first cruise below:

15 Common Mistakes – Things Cruisers Wish They Knew About Before Their First Cruise