San Juan Early Boarding?

[llcooljayce]

Hey guys,

I forgot to register yesterday and got a late boarding time (2:30 - 3:00pm) for our Disney Magic Cruise out of San Juan, PR.

The cruise is almost completely sold out so I'm wondering what the likelihood of boarding early if we arrive at the port at 11AM. We are only Silver members ... not sure if we should try or if we will end up waiting in the port for 3.5 hours ... any advice?

 

[Dug720]

Your boarding number is tied to your selected Port Arrival Time. That said, if you are allowed to enter early (I don't know what the policy in San Juan is), you would only really have to wait until Open Boarding starts, but odds of you being given a lower boarding group are pretty slim - but I don't know how long that takes as I always get the first available PAT, so I've never been in the terminal that long.

 

[llcooljayce]

Ya, I've read a bunch of posts about open boarding time around 12:30pm or so but I'm unfamiliar with San Juan and the policies there ... anyone with San Juan experience?

 

[Heard02]

Left out of San Juan last week....as Platinum, we were on with boarding group 1 which started slightly before 1145am.
It all depends on the previous disembark....

 

[lanejudy]

OP - based on the post above from Heard02, I would guess that opening boarding starts maybe 1:00pm or so. I would think if you arrive around 12:30-1:00pm, you shouldn't have too long a wait. Most likely arriving at 11am will at best get you stuck in a crowded terminal watching others board.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Weedy]

I would check the boarding times again. I find it hard to believe that the time is that late especially with being a Silver.
Also remove your flight time. That has been known to make people's PAT later.

 

[Dug720]

I would check the boarding times again. I find it hard to believe that the time is that late especially with being a Silver.
Also remove your flight time. That has been known to make people's PAT later.

I think the problem is that the OP didn't check-in and select a time when Silvers could. What's unclear to me is if they are sitting at 89 days or if they mean they forgot until much closer to the departure date.

That said, I know the Southerns are pretty popular among the more experienced cruisers, so it is possible that the almost sold out ship could indeed have a large number of Gold cruisers and Silver cruisers who did check in as soon as they could. I think the Southerns skew more towards being "Heavy Metals" so to speak than the Bahamas or Caribbean ones.