Thread: Yay Husband decided to leave a day early!!

Great news My husband decided we should leave the day before and drive to Charleston and stay a night before departing on our cruise ..Can you say Super excited ..I have always wanted to visit Charleston Sc ..Being I am a big gone with the wind fan ..and I love old plantations..Its like getting two trips in one ..we found a cheap hotel about 7 mins from the port and being we do not leave until 4pm the next day we will have plenty of time to explore..This just made my trip even better.Also Has anyone ever been to The Bahamas during The end of march early April..what will the weather be like?? Also how far will we have to get out on sea before we can enjoy the pool and water slides?? Thanks again Everyone ..Super excited!!

Make sure your actually on the ship before 4 though!

That is Great, hope you have fun exploring. As previously mentioned though, double check the latest check-in time. You don't want to be denied boarding.

Originally Posted by luccianoslb

Great news My husband decided we should leave the day before and drive to Charleston and stay a night before departing on our cruise ..Can you say Super excited ..I have always wanted to visit Charleston Sc ..Being I am a big gone with the wind fan ..and I love old plantations..Its like getting two trips in one ..we found a cheap hotel about 7 mins from the port and being we do not leave until 4pm the next day we will have plenty of time to explore..This just made my trip even better.Also Has anyone ever been to The Bahamas during The end of march early April..what will the weather be like?? Also how far will we have to get out on sea before we can enjoy the pool and water slides?? Thanks again Everyone ..Super excited!!

I have seen people in the pool before departure so the answer is- almost as soon as you unpack. You do have to break for muster drill, though.

Originally Posted by luccianoslb

Great news My husband decided we should leave the day before and drive to Charleston and stay a night before departing on our cruise ..Can you say Super excited ..I have always wanted to visit Charleston Sc ..Being I am a big gone with the wind fan ..and I love old plantations..Its like getting two trips in one ..we found a cheap hotel about 7 mins from the port and being we do not leave until 4pm the next day we will have plenty of time to explore..This just made my trip even better.Also Has anyone ever been to The Bahamas during The end of march early April..what will the weather be like?? Also how far will we have to get out on sea before we can enjoy the pool and water slides?? Thanks again Everyone ..Super excited!!

Good choice on a pre visit to Charleson, SC. I'm quite jealous - I could spend a week there just sampling all the great food. An amazing city and a must visit for all Americans sooner or later.

Enjoy!

Good idea about getting to the port city a day ahead of time. We enjoy being able to see it and perhaps do a little shopping for anything we left behind at home. You can check out the website for that city and get some ideas for sites you can see that day. But as the others have said, I would definitely get to the port a few hours before your cruise. You do have to be onboard by a specific time (at least 90 minutes ahead, as long as you have completed all the paperwork online by the deadline indicated on the Carnival website), but I wouldn't even cut it that close. You'll want time to explore the ship, have some lunch, take a dip in the pool. Usually around 3:30, a little before sailaway is the muster drill which is mandatory (and I'm sure no one will be reluctant to take part nowadays).

Great! Hugs to your hubby! You will enjoy Charleston...there is so much to see you will have to make another trip to enjoy everything that Charleston has to offer. Our son used to live there and we visited a few times but still had lots that we didn't see or do.

Have fun!

Your ship is scheduled to depart at 4:00pm. The cruise line wants you there 90 minutes prior to sailing to insure you have all your paperwork completed and you're checked in and onboard 60 minutes prior to sailing.

TSA requires them to submit their final passenger manifest 60 minutes prior to departure, so they can't leave until 60 minutes after they allow their last guest to go onboard.

In other words, make sure you're at the pier by 2:30pm. And make sure you have either; 1) your passports, or 2) an original birth certificate (not a copy) along with a government issued photo ID, such as a driver's license. Keep in mind that the passport cannot expire less than 6 months after your cruise ends.

And as everyone else has stated, you will love Charleston! It's a beautiful city and lots of old southern charm, friendly people with that southern hospitality, and great food.

Pete

Thanks everyone you guys rock!! Keep the tips coming I am making my list of all the great tips you guys are giving us.

Actually, I would check on when you are allowed to board the ship. I find it is best to get on as early as possible so you can unwind. As you can see from these shots of our sailaway, people were already in the hot tubs and in the pool. Looking over at the Carnival ship that was in port with us, you can see one kid already on the slide.

Of course, our first sailaway was nowhere near as much fun. It was raining!