Boarding times vs Sailing time?

[Ellajoan]

Newbie here. If we set sail at 3:30, what time does boarding start? How does the boarding process work? We sailed w/ HAL and it took us about 30 mins to get on the ship, but we sailed maybe an hour after embarkation.

 

[greensombrero]

Currently you do online check in 30 days before your cruise and at that time you’ll select a port arrival time and be given a boarding group. The port arrival time is when you can show up at the port. This is to help space out crowds and was really key when they had to test everyone so they were being really strict about them. I’m not sure as things are changing if they will continue to be as strict about not showing up before your time.

Regardless your boarding group indicates when you board and is based on your port arrival time. Boarding usually starts around 11:30 AM in my experience but can vary based on lots of factors. They will call boarding groups and everyone in that group or earlier can board. Eventually they go to open boarding when anyone can board.

In terms of sail away they are back to doing the sail away party at 4:30 iirc though that may vary based on the itinerary. However you often don’t sail away right after. It depends some on the port/itinerary. For our cruises usually we’ve sailed away not too long after the sail away party but I’ve heard of people having a longer wait for whatever reason.

 

[Geomom]

You should be setting sail by 5pm. All aboard is 3:30/3:45 most sailings and everyone needs to complete muster drill before setting sail. (So much easier post Covid!)

 

[lanejudy]

Most guests board the ship a few hours before the ship actually sails out of port. Embarkation usually begins around 11:30am, but you should arrive based on your PAT (Port Arrival Time) that you'll select during online check-in. "All Aboard" time is around 3:45pm, that's the latest passengers can board (barring any unexpected delays with DCL Transfers). Sail away is typically around 4:30/5:00pm but can be delayed later, though they will do the sail away deck party around that time regardless of whether the ship actually pulls out then.