What do I need to have prepared for online check-in?

[Disturbia]

Just to check. My portrait photo can’t I wear my glasses? I can’t see a thing without them.
My check in is this month. Last year I sailed Princess because it didn’t want to do all this stuff again and it was so so quick and simple.
Then this year I forgot so booked DCL again and now my heart is sinking!!!

Can you ask someone else to take a picture of you without glasses just in case.

https://plandisney.disney.go.com/qu...check-cruise-camera-app-pictures-need-519310/

Also our photos which we used on our last cruise were rejected so we had to use new photos.

 

[CarolynU]

Thank you all. I’ll ask my daughter to take another photo of me today without my glasses. It’s just without them my eyes tend to close a bit and squint.
Also my passport is from the uk and it’s got an incredible amount of glare on it with very shiny pages where the photo is.
Also often for some reason the forms don’t always seem to accept my arrival and departure information easily.
I have to get up at 04:45 to check in at 05:00am over here if I’m to join the midnight check in race but I might not bother this time. I don’t need to get on the ship super early but I’d prefer not to be boarding at 3pm!! As long as I’m on time to have some food before the buffet closes then it’s fine. I find the food around the pool is not hot enough for me personally.
I suppose I just lament the old Platinum turn up when you want days. I still don’t remember it being so lengthy on Princess though. Maybe it’s because as another poster said there wasn’t this check in frenzy and the boarding process at the port seemed easier too.
I don’t check in until March 20th so I’ll have another read and get everything prepared.

 

[RedHead0186]

I don’t need to get on the ship super early but I’d prefer not to be boarding at 3pm!! As long as I’m on time to have some food before the buffet closes then it’s fine. I find the food around the pool is not hot enough for me personally.
I suppose I just lament the old Platinum turn up when you want days. I still don’t remember it being so lengthy on Princess though. Maybe it’s because as another poster said there wasn’t this check in frenzy and the boarding process at the port seemed easier too.
I don’t check in until March 20th so I’ll have another read and get everything prepared.

Even if you get a later PAT, you will likely still get on the ship before 3:00pm. They usually call open boarding well before then.

This process actually has nothing to do with being Platinum-it's a result of COVID-19. It used to be that the check-in stuff was done at port-taking your picture, checking your passport, etc. When DCL returned to sailing during the pandemic, they instituted the online check in process to avoid long lines in the terminal/at port. And they've kept it ever since. Yes, the part about being Platinum and just showing up whenever is still true.

You have to enter pretty much the same information for Princess too (that was me that said that). But it seems much less onerous because you don't have to do it all at once, you can do it pretty much whenever you want, and it's even in different parts of the app so it doesn't seem so long. But you definitely have to take a picture, enter your passport info/picture of your passport, set up your onboard account charging method, and enter your travel plans for Princess as well.

 

[Debonna]

Thanks for all the tips here. So helpful! I am a first time cruiser, and I just checked in and got 12:15 PAT on the Dream out of Port Everglades. Gold members in our FB group said they got 11:45 and Silvers got 12:00. I’m feeling pretty good about ours. BG is 11.

 

[CarolynU]

Even if you get a later PAT, you will likely still get on the ship before 3:00pm. They usually call open boarding well before then.

This process actually has nothing to do with being Platinum-it's a result of COVID-19. It used to be that the check-in stuff was done at port-taking your picture, checking your passport, etc. When DCL returned to sailing during the pandemic, they instituted the online check in process to avoid long lines in the terminal/at port. And they've kept it ever since. Yes, the part about being Platinum and just showing up whenever is still true.

You have to enter pretty much the same information for Princess too (that was me that said that). But it seems much less onerous because you don't have to do it all at once, you can do it pretty much whenever you want, and it's even in different parts of the app so it doesn't seem so long. But you definitely have to take a picture, enter your passport info/picture of your passport, set up your onboard account charging method, and enter your travel plans for Princess as well.

Yes I can totally understand that during the pandemic the procedure had to change, and we sailed as soon as we could in those times, but I’m not entirely certain why it can’t be reinstated now. Im not even certain that Pearl get it do they?
I did upload all the identity documents to Princess too, but it was easy. No spinning wheels when it decided whether it would accept it or not and no Stitch working on a problem both of which I’ve had endless times on DCL. Plus the advantage of not having to enter a fastest finger first frenzy with everyone else sailing on various itineraries all over the world at precisely the same second. That’s a huge advantage. However I’m committed now so I’ll go through it and see how it goes.

 

[Doingitagain]

Yes I can totally understand that during the pandemic the procedure had to change, and we sailed as soon as we could in those times, but I’m not entirely certain why it can’t be reinstated now. Im not even certain that Pearl get it do they?
I did upload all the identity documents to Princess too, but it was easy. No spinning wheels when it decided whether it would accept it or not and no Stitch working on a problem both of which I’ve had endless times on DCL. Plus the advantage of not having to enter a fastest finger first frenzy with everyone else sailing on various itineraries all over the world at precisely the same second. That’s a huge advantage. However I’m committed now so I’ll go through it and see how it goes.

I actually like the procedure, you get it all done in advance and don't have to wait in long lines at the port. They can board people much more quickly. The only reason to do it at midnight is if you are worried about a good PAT. But generally they have open boarding after an hour or two anyway.

 

[RedHead0186]

Yes I can totally understand that during the pandemic the procedure had to change, and we sailed as soon as we could in those times, but I’m not entirely certain why it can’t be reinstated now. Im not even certain that Pearl get it do they?
I did upload all the identity documents to Princess too, but it was easy. No spinning wheels when it decided whether it would accept it or not and no Stitch working on a problem both of which I’ve had endless times on DCL. Plus the advantage of not having to enter a fastest finger first frenzy with everyone else sailing on various itineraries all over the world at precisely the same second. That’s a huge advantage. However I’m committed now so I’ll go through it and see how it goes.

I think Pearl can get boarding group 2. There is some boarding advantage for them; not 100% sure what it is. I'm sure it's an easier process for DCL to do everything up front, and it still does keep crowds from being overwhelming at port.

It wouldn't even be so bad if DCL's IT was better. And I've definitely had issues with Princess as well, so they aren't scot-free either.

 

[CarolynU]

I actually like the procedure, you get it all done in advance and don't have to wait in long lines at the port. They can board people much more quickly. The only reason to do it at midnight is if you are worried about a good PAT. But generally they have open boarding after an hour or two anyway.

You can get it all done in advance on Princess too at your leisure. Boarding and debarking was much faster too.
Don’t get me wrong Princess was not perfect in some regards but completing the admin side was far easier as it could be done way in advance and check in completed whenever you wanted to as long as it was before a set date.
With DCL how fast boarding is started and open boarding begins is very itinerary and port dependent as well as ship capacity and dependent upon circumstances on the day. My experience is as follows:-
Dover not speedy. Barcelona was speedy. Port Canaveral speedy. Puerto Rico not speedy. Southampton not speedy. Etc etc
You cannot predict in advance for cruises. On one cruise they couldn’t embark the new guests because they still had a small group of guests who hadn’t debarked for example. The crew were searching for them. Yes that’s atypical but it does happen. Dover was extremely disorganised. Transportation couldn’t even get into the port and was clogged up for miles around. That wasn’t a DCL problem but a Port Authority Problem but it was chaos. So those who had later PAT’s and boarding groups weren’t onboard for hours after they anticipated. By that time the buffet was closed as was the dining room. I think a solution would be if DCL kept the buffet open longer especially as they no longer open it in the evenings but of course that has staff implications. I cannot abide the quick serve food around the pool as it’s served too cold for me so all I’m asking is that I board on time to eat some food in the buffet.

 

[CarolynU]

I think Pearl can get boarding group 2. There is some boarding advantage for them; not 100% sure what it is. I'm sure it's an easier process for DCL to do everything up front, and it still does keep crowds from being overwhelming at port.

It wouldn't even be so bad if DCL's IT was better. And I've definitely had issues with Princess as well, so they aren't scot-free either.

Yes I don’t understand that the process can’t be made easier in advance if there was a desire to do so, and sometimes I could scream when the seven dwarves or whoever appear. I found the Princess app worked brilliantly pre cruise, but was overwhelmed once on the ship itself!

 

[Massic98]

I apologize if this has been asked before, I looked through stuff but there are so many pages ! For pictures of our passports do we need 1. One photo of the whole thing including photo/info page and signature page 2. Just the photo/info page 3. TWO separate photos- photo/info and signature page

Thanks for your help!!!

 

[Disturbia]

I apologize if this has been asked before, I looked through stuff but there are so many pages ! For pictures of our passports do we need 1. One photo of the whole thing including photo/info page and signature page 2. Just the photo/info page 3. TWO separate photos- photo/info and signature page

Thanks for your help!!!

Just the photo page (option 2 from your list) that has the name, ID number, expiration etc. This info will be auto filled from the photo so the codes on the bottom should be visible (make sure glare doesn’t block the info)

 

[WaltsMartini]

Hi folks, dumb question. How do I make sure the photos I take with my phone get into JPEG format? Do I send them to my email and then get on the laptop and save them? I am not tech savvy!

 

[Disturbia]

Hi folks, dumb question. How do I make sure the photos I take with my phone get into JPEG format? Do I send them to my email and then get on the laptop and save them? I am not tech savvy!

You can right click on a photo and save as say photo1.jpg (the .jpg saves the format)

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Hi folks, dumb question. How do I make sure the photos I take with my phone get into JPEG format? Do I send them to my email and then get on the laptop and save them? I am not tech savvy!

I'd email it to myself then open on the laptop/desktop. Then use that device to open my email and save it.

 

[CarolynFH]

Hi folks, dumb question. How do I make sure the photos I take with my phone get into JPEG format? Do I send them to my email and then get on the laptop and save them? I am not tech savvy!

On an iPhone you can open Settings -> Camera -> Formats -> Most Compatible, if you want to take photos in JPEG format. The downside is the JPEG files are larger and will take up more storage space.

 

[sadiecatie]

Hi folks, dumb question. How do I make sure the photos I take with my phone get into JPEG format? Do I send them to my email and then get on the laptop and save them? I am not tech savvy!

I haven’t converted my photos to jpeg and they’ve been accepted just fine. I just take selfies with my iPhone and upload them as-is.

 

[WaltsMartini]

Just wanted to say a big thank you to all the folks providing such helpful advice. Stayed up until midnight and got an 11:30 PAT as a first time cruiser and snagged Royal Gathering. Was done with everything by 12:08 am!

I took all the pics as recommended on my phone and sent to myself in gmail, then hopped on the laptop and saved to there. I also watched a walkthrough on YouTube of check-in just so I knew what to expect and I think that was very helpful.

At 11:55pm I logged in from the laptop and went to Royal Gathering in cruise activities and started hitting refresh at 11:59:50 - as soon as midnight hit there were plenty of spots and we grabbed 9:30 am on our sea day. I then went to check-in and proceeded through the steps; I did skip all the payment and flight info as recommended and I think that really moved things along.

Thanks again - SO excited for our first Disney cruise and lots of time at the pools on arrival day!

 

[Disturbia]

Just wanted to say a big thank you to all the folks providing such helpful advice. Stayed up until midnight and got an 11:30 PAT as a first time cruiser and snagged Royal Gathering. Was done with everything by 12:08 am!

I took all the pics as recommended on my phone and sent to myself in gmail, then hopped on the laptop and saved to there. I also watched a walkthrough on YouTube of check-in just so I knew what to expect and I think that was very helpful.

At 11:55pm I logged in from the laptop and went to Royal Gathering in cruise activities and started hitting refresh at 11:59:50 - as soon as midnight hit there were plenty of spots and we grabbed 9:30 am on our sea day. I then went to check-in and proceeded through the steps; I did skip all the payment and flight info as recommended and I think that really moved things along.

Thanks again - SO excited for our first Disney cruise and lots of time at the pools on arrival day!

Be careful if it’s Western Caribbean and on day 6, if you arrive at 9:30 am it will be 10:30 am ship time - 1 hour too late (check the ship time displayed in the app; we didn’t check that morning; iphone automatically adjusts earlier in the trip but not after Jamaica). The last gathering is at 10:15 am so they will ask you to line up individually (took us 3-4 hours because it was 6 princesses this year vs 4 last year).

 

[WaltsMartini]

Be careful if it’s Western Caribbean and on day 6, if you arrive at 9:30 am it will be 10:30 am ship time - 1 hour too late (check the ship time displayed in the app; we didn’t check that morning; iphone automatically adjusts earlier in the trip but not after Jamaica). The last gathering is at 10:15 am so they will ask you to line up individually (took us 3-4 hours because it was 6 princesses this year vs 4 last year).

We’re good - it’s a 4 night Bahamian. Glad I grabbed an earlier time!

 

[sadiecatie]

Be careful if it’s Western Caribbean and on day 6, if you arrive at 9:30 am it will be 10:30 am ship time - 1 hour too late (check the ship time displayed in the app; we didn’t check that morning; iphone automatically adjusts earlier in the trip but not after Jamaica). The last gathering is at 10:15 am so they will ask you to line up individually (took us 3-4 hours because it was 6 princesses this year vs 4 last year).

3-4 hours?? That’s obscene (for our gathering in Alaska last year we waited maybe 10 min. I wouldn’t want to wait much more than that )