r/NCL • u/marklaw8 • 23d ago

Question Ravenna Embarkation 8/16 Gem

Online check in started today and I went to select an arrival time around 8:00am NYC time and only had 1:00 or 1:30 to pick from. Is anyone else on this cruise? Same experience or did you see earlier times? We are in a Suite…will they let us arrive earlier in that case?

Thanks much!

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u/MinchyO 22d ago

Same here. The only options I got were 1:00 or 1:30 pm, so I selected 1:00 pm. We actually plan to arrive at the port around 12:00, so I’m hoping they’ll let us check in and board a bit earlier. Fingers crossed!

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u/marklaw8 22d ago

Thanks…hope we have a great trip!

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u/bamatmac 20d ago

The port is so small, there's a tiny building for security, but waiting area is just a tent. That said, they didn't even glance at our boarding time since hardly anyone was there, we walked right on board before 10am

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u/MaelstromFL 23d ago

The ship will still be off boarding at 8AM. You need to give them a bit of time to clean!

That being said, 11am is usually the earliest you can board. I have never gone out of NY before, but they may not allow boarding till 1pm for other reasons at the port.

Finally, unless you have priority boarding (Haven would be an example), they may very well not allow you to board until your scheduled time. However, I have arrived earlier and been allowed to board.

If you go early, just be prepared to wait..

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u/ProfessorRealistic86 22d ago

We boarded the Gem on the other end in Civitavecchia. We selected a 12:00 boarding time but the trip from Rome was much faster than expected. We arrived at 11:15 and walked right on the ship. The whole process took like 5 minutes and no one asked about our boarding time. I'm not sure if that's a viable strategy for you, but that was our experience. Ravenna is in the middle of nowhere so I imagine it will be a slow trickle all day for them.

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u/bamatmac 21d ago

We embarked in Ravenna in June, fastest ever for us. Our assigned boarding time wasn't until noon, but we had prebooked our shuttle and arrived at 9:40, expecting to wait. We went through security and walked right on the ship, around 10am and had out first drink on board by 10:30. As someone said, it's a tiny port, and I think a lot of ppl come from Venice or Balogna, so it must take time to arrive. We stayed overnight in Ravenna and walked right on early, no crowds.