Tell me if this acceptable

[jjgarv]

Next fall we will be sailing on a 7 day trip on the Magic, all 12 of us (DW's family). We will all be coming from different places at different times. My DW and I will be arriving the night before and will be travelling sans child, therefore will get to the port bright and early. Has anyone had any experience with getting in line to board and "saving" the space for a large group to board together? I guess my question is, will it tick people off if my wife and I get in line early and have our family members join us in line as they get to the terminal? Please be honest!

 

[bffttsiu]

I'm sure some people would be upset and would be making comments behind your back (but of course loud enough for you to hear).

 

[CRB#33]

It actually will be kind of hard to do this. People stand pretty close to each other in line with their carry-on luggage. For 10 people to get into the line, people are going to have to pick up their carry-ons and the whole line behine you will have to start moving backwards quite a bit.

I would imagine you will definitely hear about it.

 

[SweetSpot]

Depends on how early you get there and how close to the front of the line you are. If I remember correctly the front of the line has roped off turnstiles. If you are anywhere twisted in there you will have a difficult time adding 10 additional people without squishing or irritating people. If you are a little further from the front the line just winds through the terminal and I doubt people will have an issue with adding more family members to your group.

Remember some of the people at the front of the line have been sitting there for a long time in hopes of getting the Palo and spa reservations they want. Some people might find you adding more people annoying because they are afraid of more competition for the times they picked.

 

[izzinmac]

My experience with "the line" is that not everyone in a group stays in line, and that people freely come and go from their group as long as at least one person stays. We have been in the maze part of the line on several cruises and that has been our experience . For example, the husband may take the kids to show them the ship while the wife stays in line, then return, and the wife goes to do something. Rather informal and flexible. Don't know of any "rules", but certainly have not seen anyone complain when that happens, and most everyone does it. The key is that it is not a moving line until boarding starts-you are basically getting your spot, and your carry ons save the space. I don't think you will have a problem when the rest of your group arrives!

 

[Lisa F]

You said to be honest so here it goes. Yes, it would tick me off. I think if there was a group of you and one or two people joined, it would not be a big deal, but 2 people holding a place for another 10 is over the top. I wouldn't do this in your situation. It's just kind of rude, especially for all of the people who are actually waiting on line for that whole time.

Lisa

 

[goodfaerie]

We are meeting up with 6 other people, but I have already told everyone that we will meet at a designated place on the ship AFTER checking in. I would not want to stress my SELF out worrying about whether I was irritating others, or worrying if my party was going to get there on time... I would suggest you pick a place on board to rendezvous after check in. 10 sounds like a LOT of people to try to maneuver.

Good Luck!

GoodFaerie

 

[TCROMW1013]

I'm afraid I agree it would be rude. It is one thing for a family to be in line and take the kids to see the terminal. It is another for 10 other people AND bags to show up and want to get in.

 

[webray]

I would agree..this would be rude. It would be just as easy to meet up inside the ship, later.

Have a great cruise!

 

[jjgarv]

Thanks for the honest input! I like the idea of meeting onboard, say at the buffet or so. What about making ressies at palo, if we are on early, can we make aressie for 8adults, especially if we all want to sit together as one ressie?

 

[disney6]

We've never had problems making ressies at Palo's for our entire party (3 cabins).

 

[DMS_cruisers04]

I have a question and then a comment.
When and for what does the line form? I mean, I've been on several CCL cruises (our 1st DCL is next Halloween) and the lines there are to get checked in for boarding. Once you're at the boarding desk, it then depends on how quickly the desk person you have gets you and yours processed. On to the comment.
If this is the type of line that DCL has, then I don't see a problem with having a group join someone already in line, as long as the group checks in together.
However, if the line is after check-in and we're waiting to actually board the ship, then yes, even I , would get upset. You can't expect most people not to when they may have flown in early, gotten up early, arrived early, waited awhile and then have 10 other people want to just show up and walk on ahead of them.

jj, I think your best bet to avoid DIS conflicts (cause now we know who you are and will be watching for your group ) is to take GoodFaerie's advice and meet up once onboard.
Just my lil ole opinion

 

[Lisa F]

Thanks for caring enough to ask and not having the "I'll just do whatever I want and the heck with anyone else" attitude. Yes, you can make a reservation for Palo for your entire party without them being there. Meeting up somewhere on the ship sounds like a much better idea. Have a great cruise!

Lisa

 

[Grimsby1]

I will not comment on whether or not this is rude..use your judgement.

However, i will note that the DCL policy is for only ONE PERSON in your party to check-in and wait in line....

The rest of your party is encouraged to check out the model, chat with characters, enjoy a treat from the small food/beverage stand, etc.

Just my .02..

Jason
Weymouth, MA
DCL - 1/02 7nE cat6; 12/02 4n cat6; 11/03 4n cat4

 

[cjsmith]

Since we are usually one of the first at the port and one of the first on line, I would be upset if a group of 10 showed up and was let in line. When we cruised in June, we arrived at the port way ahead of our friends since we drove from the Radisson and parked our car right at DCL and they chose to leave their car at the Radisson and grab the shuttle. We had decided ahead of time that we would simply meet on board the ship so as not to offend anyone. We were the first family and I can tell you that we got some pretty dirty look when they came to simply say hello, so we made it pretty clear that they were already in the line, but way back. It was so easy to meet up right on board and have lunch together and my husband and I just made our Palo ressies.

 

[hilltopfamily]

DMS cruisers 04 to answer your question, yes they (I believe) are referring to the 2nd line you are in at the terminal. First line is to check in w/DCL staff & take care of documents, etc. Second line is what you get into next---the line for boarding the ship.

Original poster----I agree that it was good of you to ask--- I believe it would be inappropriate for your large group to join you at your place in line after they arrived later. I am sure my children would be very upset seeing people "cut in line" while we were waiting had this happened to us and I believe this would be very different from a family already in line with 1 or 2 members checking out the terminal while others stay and keep their place in line. JMHO.

 

[Buckaroo's Dad]

Has anyone had any experience with getting in line to board and "saving" the space for a large group to board together?

"Buckaroo" is on a PAL (Police Activity League) bowling team. His ball is 8 pounds. Mine would have to be a lot bigger than that for me to save space for 10 cruisers...

 

[DMS_cruisers04]

BD is a riot!

Thanks hilltop, now I know what to expect

 

[Padre Disney]

I agree with Grimsby1

We have only been on three cruises and each time while waiting in line we have seen people holding spots for family members. Sometimes if has been only a few and others have had large groups and one time even a family of 6 or 7 that had just walked in joined in the line a few spots in front of us with about 5 other people.
We were not mad at all. Hey we were about to board the Disney ship. Everyone will get on the ship so why get mad. In a matter of minutes you are on the ship.

With that said:
We have a group of 12 people going on the March 20th 2004 cruise. We will all be arriving at the same time (early) and together. Of those 12 four are older people. One couple has a toddler and we have three older kids. No way are we making the older folks stand in line the whole time. The couple with the toddler will not be standing in line and I am positive our older three kids will be checking out the terminal. So I guess that leaves dh and I holding the line. We will take turns walking around but at some point all 12 of us will get in line together. So I apologize ahead of time to all those on the 3/20/04 cruise.

On our last three day after we turned in our paperwork a DCL person told us that it is fine if one person holds the line while the others walk around. So if DCL says it is okay then go for it.

 

[DIScruisers4]

I generally agree with padre. We are cruising in January with 3 families (14 total people- 6 adults and 8 children ages 1-10). After all of us check in, each family will have at least one family member in the boarding line to hold space for his/her family while the others, especially the children, explore the terminal, etc. Once the ship is about to board, everyone will join together in line. Therefore, it may seem like a lot of "new" people are cutting in line, but that is really not the case. I hope we do not offend anyone, but I really don't see this as being rude. I think it's far better for everyone to do it this way than to make all 14 of us wait on line for a long time, which may cause the children to start fidgeting, crying, getting bored, bothering others, etc. On the other hand, I generally agree with the comments about holding space for others who have not yet even arrived at the port. That is a different situation, and I think it would be a bit rude to do that. I would try to not let this bother me, but I can see how some people might object. My advice to everyone is to try to take things in stride and enjoy the trip regardless of what happens!