How early should I get to cruise port?

Finding your boarding documents, which were either shipped to you or printed out at home, as well as your identification - a passport, a driver's license, and a birth certificate - and keeping them close by should be your first priority when you arrive at the cruise terminal. You'll need to provide your cruise documents and walk through security to enter the terminal. There will be an x-ray machine you must go through, and your carry-on will need to be scanned, but this is a less stringent process than at the airport. (For instance, you probably won't need to take off your shoes.) After that, a sizable open area with roped-off lines and check-in counters will be yours to enter. Suite customers and former passengers with high status will often enter a shortened line or separate waiting area, while other passengers join the main line. Cruise lines officials will be on hand to advise you to the proper line.

Generally speaking, if lines are short (which they are when boarding later), anticipate spending approximately 15 minutes on the boarding process, or at most about 45 to 60 minutes if lines are long (usually when boarding earlier). How long you have to wait to board a ship depends greatly on when you arrive at the cruise port.

Nowadays, cruise lines such as MSC Cruises and Royal Caribbean Cruises, among others, board passengers using one of two methods, and the type you experience will be determined by your particular cruise line . Your particular cruise line will determine the type you see.

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The first form is General Boarding when any passenger is welcome to arrive at any time and board during the ship's wide-open boarding window (often 3-4 hours). To make the most of your time on the ship, you are therefore welcome to arrive as soon as boarding begins. You have a large window to board with general boarding. An example would be a cruise ship with a 5:30 pm departure time and a boarding window of 12 pm to 4 pm. Visitors may arrive at any time during that window in order to board the cruise.

Staggered Check-in is the alternate boarding method that many cruise lines are presently utilizing. Each traveler has a specific window of time to arrive at this location. So, while boarding may take place from 12 pm to 4 pm on the ship, a passenger's boarding window may be from 1:30 pm to 2 pm. Things are significantly easier if your cruise line uses staggered check-in. You will choose (or be offered) a 30-minute boarding window if check-in is staggered. The only thing you have to do is show up at the appointed hour.