On the day
Boarding a cruise
A ship leaves when it leaves. There is no later sailing, no rebooking onto the next one, and a passenger who misses embarkation is generally expected to reach the next port at their own expense. That makes the day you board the least forgiving day in travel, and almost all of the difficulty is avoidable with paperwork done in advance.
7 min readLast reviewed
Online check-in is not optional any more
Every major line now requires check-in to be completed online before arrival, typically opening some weeks before departure and closing a few days before it. It collects passport details, an emergency contact, the card for the onboard account and a security photograph, and it produces the boarding pass and luggage tags.
The window matters because boarding times are usually allocated in the order check-in is completed. Completing it early tends to get you a better arrival slot at the terminal, which on a large ship is the difference between walking on and queueing for an hour.
Documents are checked against every port, not just the first
Your passport has to satisfy the entry rules of each country the itinerary visits, and those rules differ. A common pattern is a requirement for validity some months beyond the date of travel, and it is assessed against the last port rather than the first. Visa requirements likewise depend on your nationality and on each individual country.
Entry requirements change, and we are not able to advise authoritatively on them. Check each country on the itinerary with its own embassy or official government source before you sail. A passenger refused boarding on documentary grounds is not owed a refund by the line.
- Closed-loop itineraries that begin and end in the same country sometimes have relaxed document rules, but the relaxation is specific and it is not universal.
- A name on the booking that does not match the passport exactly is a problem to fix weeks out, not at the terminal.
- Some ports require an onward or return travel document to be shown, particularly where a cruise ends in a different country from where it began.
The boarding window and the deadline
The assigned boarding window is when the line would like you to arrive, and it manages the flow of several thousand people through one terminal. The final boarding deadline is a different time, usually an hour or more before departure, and it is the one that is enforced.
If you are flying to the port, arriving the day before is the only arrangement that survives a delayed flight. A cruise line has no obligation to hold a ship for a passenger whose flight was late unless the flight was booked through the line as part of the package, and even then the remedy is usually transport to the next port rather than a refund.
What runs on the onboard account
Almost nothing on a ship is paid for in cash. A card registered at check-in backs an onboard account, and drinks outside any included package, speciality dining, shore excursions, wi-fi, the spa and gratuities where they are not prepaid all settle against it at the end of the voyage.
Gratuities are the item that most often surprises people, because on many lines they are charged per passenger per day and applied automatically. Where they are not already in the fare we say so in the quote, along with the port charges and government taxes, so the figure you are comparing is the figure you will pay.
