Royal’s boarding process...I wish Disney would

[Weedy]

Boarded Adventures of Seas today in Bayonne NJ.
So simple and organized. The chairs are in rows and numerical order. They board one row at a time no fuss.

 

[bumbershoot]

Fwiw I’ve been on more Royal cruises than Disney cruises, and I’ve never seen that.

 

[dclpluto]

Boarded Adventures of Seas today in Cape May NJ.
So simple and organized. The chairs are in rows and numerical order. They board one row at a time no fuss.
View attachment 333696

Rccl doesn’t sail out of cape may. They sail out of Bayonne. I think op meant cape liberty. Cape may is south jersey about as far south you can get in jersey. Bayonne is north jersey close to nyc. Wait to op gets off the cruise rccl has a very bad unloading. Or at least the did in my one rccl cruise from Bayonne

 

[Weedy]

Rccl doesn’t sail out of cape may. They sail out of Bayonne. I think op meant cape liberty. Cape may is south jersey about as far south you can get in jersey. Bayonne is north jersey close to nyc. Wait to op gets off the cruise rccl has a very bad unloading. Or at least the did in my one rccl cruise from Bayonne

You are correct oops. I’ll fix the original post.

 

[dclpluto]

You are correct oops. I’ll fix the original post.

Enjoy your cruise.

 

[Macprincess]

I just cruise Allure of the Seas last month out of Port Everglades. It was CRAZY BUSY at boarding with lines of people everywhere. I much prefer DCL out of Port Canaveral.

 

[MomOTwins]

We just showed up late (1pm) and walked right on with DCL. I was so glad I did not take the common advice to get there right when the terminal opened. Zero wait, zero chaos, and we still had plenty of team to eat at the buffet, unpack, and hit the pool deck for some aqua duckin before the mandatory drill.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I sailed Anthem out of Cape Liberty in March 2017. They had the online cruise check-in. So we arrived, went through security, and were shown where to go have a seat. In the rows like the picture. Employees came to us with iPads and checked us in then sent us to another area of rows to sit. Everyone filed in. When it was time to board they came out, had a row stand up, and file onto the ship. It was insanely orderly and calm. I was blown away. When it was time for staterooms to be ready thenkeys are in an envelope outside your door waiting. You go in, secure your space, and on you go. Loved. Waaaaayyy more orderly with zero chaos unlike the DCL terminal when boarding first begins.

 

[starvenger]

I think every cruise line has a “peak time” when the majority of people go in. If you happen to get to the terminal during those times, it’s not gonna be fun.

 

[Macprincess]

When it was time for staterooms to be ready thenkeys are in an envelope outside your door waiting. You go in, secure your space, and on you go.

I'm glad you liked the keys being issued at the cabin door. My take was very different then yours on this. We cruised Allure of the Seas. I disliked not having a key when I boarded and thought it was a security risk to have one key outside the cabin door with the others inside. Honestly anyone could have walked by and taken the key off the door.

Also, I admit as a RCCL newbie I was unaware of how things worked on RCCL but another issue with not having our key at boarding popped up for us at our first lunch before the cabins were open. It was pouring rain when we boarded which left the possibility of the pool deck and central park off the table for my family we didn't want pizza and found the offerings at Cafe Promenade limited. Being unfamiliar with the ship at boarding and unlike DCL we found that the crew was not helpful directing people where to go for lunch upon boarding. So with our limited knowledge of the ship at that point we went up to Windjammer. We were greeted off the elevator with a large crowd and waited approximately 30 minutes for a table in a overcrowded and stuffy hall. As a Mom, after crazy/stressful boarding process (which admittedly the rain is not something RCCL should not be held accountable for) all I wanted was to get my family feed and have an adult beverage! I was ready to finally relax and be in vacation mode. However, since I had paid for the beverage package for my husband and I and soda package for the kids and we didn't have our keys because cabins were not opened up yet we had no way of verifying we had paid this in advance. This info is printed on your room key and soda cups are left in the cabin. I'm uncertain if there was a way to order a drink without the room key present. Perhaps there was but as a newbie we had no clue how things worked. The whole process set a negative tone for the start of the cruise.

 

[southerngirl528]

I disliked not having a key when I boarded and thought it was a security risk to have one key outside the cabin door with the others inside. Honestly anyone could have walked by and taken the key off the door.

I would not like that at ALL.

 

[Shanti]

I actually would not like being ordered to sit in a certain row at the port until my row was called. Too regimented. DCL's method is just fine in our book. You can look around the room, see the ship model, meet Mickey, etc. We often arrive at port opening and have never found anything chaotic or unpleasant. People aren't standing in straight lines or sitting in rows, but who cares? Everyone has always been patient and calm in my experience. This is a vacation & I wouldn't want the exciting experience of embarkation to feel like a lifeboat drill.

 

[lklgoodman]

We just showed up late (1pm) and walked right on with DCL. I was so glad I did not take the common advice to get there right when the terminal opened. Zero wait, zero chaos, and we still had plenty of team to eat at the buffet, unpack, and hit the pool deck for some aqua duckin before the mandatory drill.

We had a similar experience last March. We arrived around 2pm, we walked into the terminal and we were the only passengers at that time. It was great, I was able to get lots of pics without having lots of other people in them. Since we had cruised several times before, we didn't care about getting on the ship right away. We plan on arriving around 1-2pm for our next cruise.

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm uncertain if there was a way to order a drink without the room key present.

From reading on cruisecritic, I believe your setsail pass would have been what you showed to get the included drinks. For sodas you would go to a bar and get the “soda gun” drinks until you got your cup (in the room) for the freestyle machines.

Also, I admit as a RCCL newbie I was unaware of how things worked on RCCL

To make sure it’s known, that’s not on all ships. It’s one maybe two classes that do the room key at the door thing.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I'm glad you liked the keys being issued at the cabin door. My take was very different then yours on this. We cruised Allure of the Seas. I disliked not having a key when I boarded and thought it was a security risk to have one key outside the cabin door with the others inside. Honestly anyone could have walked by and taken the key off the door.

Also, I admit as a RCCL newbie I was unaware of how things worked on RCCL but another issue with not having our key at boarding popped up for us at our first lunch before the cabins were open. It was pouring rain when we boarded which left the possibility of the pool deck and central park off the table for my family we didn't want pizza and found the offerings at Cafe Promenade limited. Being unfamiliar with the ship at boarding and unlike DCL we found that the crew was not helpful directing people where to go for lunch upon boarding. So with our limited knowledge of the ship at that point we went up to Windjammer. We were greeted off the elevator with a large crowd and waited approximately 30 minutes for a table in a overcrowded and stuffy hall. As a Mom, after crazy/stressful boarding process (which admittedly the rain is not something RCCL should not be held accountable for) all I wanted was to get my family feed and have an adult beverage! I was ready to finally relax and be in vacation mode. However, since I had paid for the beverage package for my husband and I and soda package for the kids and we didn't have our keys because cabins were not opened up yet we had no way of verifying we had paid this in advance. This info is printed on your room key and soda cups are left in the cabin. I'm uncertain if there was a way to order a drink without the room key present. Perhaps there was but as a newbie we had no clue how things worked. The whole process set a negative tone for the start of the cruise.

Any and every ship I sail on I extensively research ahead of time to avoid the lunch situation you described. Sorry it was less than stellar for you. I always research like crazy so I know what I do or don’t want to do. I also find out what the boarding lunch options are, pros/cons, and decide accordingly. I’ve walked laps looking for an available seat at the buffet on every ship I’ve sailed across 3 cruise lines, Disney included. It’s the nature of buffet meals at busy meal times. It’s never a non-frustrating thing. I get that.

On Royal (again, info I gleaned from researching on Cruise Critic) for the ships that don’t issue a key card at the port check-in there’s the form with a barcode you print at home & bring with you. It’s for your port check-in but also for use prior to having your room key. So at bars or anywhere you want to utilize your drink package or buy something you don’t have a package for you just use that paper with the barcode. The crew knows the procedure. They scan that as payment because it’s connected to your onboard account.

 

[Carlnne]

I dont mind Disneys boarding process but I wish they could find a way to prevent the massive crowd that forms and blocks the boarding area.

 

[anricat]

We just showed up late (1pm) and walked right on with DCL. I was so glad I did not take the common advice to get there right when the terminal opened. Zero wait, zero chaos, and we still had plenty of team to eat at the buffet, unpack, and hit the pool deck for some aqua duckin before the mandatory drill.

We arrived at 1 PM in Barcelona a couple weeks ago and it was a MADHOUSE. I've never waited so long to board ever. We usually arrive early, get an early boarding number and relax in some chairs until it's time to board and our number is called. They were on general boarding and we had to wait to check in, then wait in a long long line in that glass hallway to get on board behind a big crowd of people waiting for their family name to be announced. I'm never going for a later PAT again if I can help it.

 

[anricat]

I dont mind Disneys boarding process but I wish they could find a way to prevent the massive crowd that forms and blocks the boarding area.

THIS! Everyone needs to remain seated until their number is called. In Miami we've encountered this in particular where we had an earlier boarding number and couldn't even make it when they called our number due to people with much later numbers crowing around. Maddening.

 

[MSPeeler]

We just showed up late (1pm) and walked right on with DCL. I was so glad I did not take the common advice to get there right when the terminal opened. Zero wait, zero chaos, and we still had plenty of team to eat at the buffet, unpack, and hit the pool deck for some aqua duckin before the mandatory drill.

We did this on our May 2016 cruise, no hassle!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I dont mind Disneys boarding process but I wish they could find a way to prevent the massive crowd that forms and blocks the boarding area.

Set up corrals like the running events!