Jump to content

Days at Port Question


JennP

Recommended Posts

When we arrive at a port - is it first come first serve off the ship? If we arrive at at a port for 7am, and are ready to go, do we just walk off? Is there usually line ups? Is there a rhyme or reason how cruisers exit off the ship? Thanks for your help!

(So many questions...tried to search but didn’t see anything relatable.) 😊

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On the final day of the cruise...I do early walkoff...I carry (roll) my own luggage. I go down to the disembarkation area early...around 6am and there is usually a line. When the ship is cleared, the line moves quickly. In Bayonne, most times the line starts moving around 6:45-7:00 and I'm in my car and driving out of the garage with 15 minutes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is first come first serve. There will be lineups for those who want to be first off the ship. Usually they will make an announcement when the ship has been cleared for people to leave the ship. They may or may not allow you to go down to the gangway deck and wait there for that announcement -- it sometimes depends on how early you're trying to go down. 

The situation is different as @Allen2 stated if it's a tender port since that's not a steady stream of people exiting the ship one by one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another thought for you.  If you have plans for the port, then lining up makes sense.  If not, I find it much more relaxing and enjoyable to wait 30-60 minutes so the initial rush is over before going ashore.  Generally, there's plenty of time to browse the shops and explore. Getting off with the stampede is always stressful.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From my past experiences, on other cruise ships, it depends on what you mean...

Are we talking straight up "days at port?" OR, debarkation?

The destination, times, and demographics of your ship matter too.

For instance, for non-debarkation port days, if you are on a ship with younger people on the way to Ensenada, and the ship arrives at port before 10am, it is likely that there will not be a big line to get off of the ship.  People will be sleeping in late and generally get off of the ship at these types of destinations to party and drink.  Not much of that happening at 10am.

OR

You are on a ship to Alaska (long day light hours) and cruising with mostly older folk (like me)...People will more likely get up early to get off of the ship and explore.  I am not sure that Alaska is a party destination (June will be our first Alaskan cruise)

As for debarkation, we have not cruised post-Covid, so I cannot offer you any insight other than from what I read.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, CruisingNewb said:

From my past experiences, on other cruise ships, it depends on what you mean...

Are we talking straight up "days at port?" OR, debarkation?

The destination, times, and demographics of your ship matter too.

For instance, for non-debarkation port days, if you are on a ship with younger people on the way to Ensenada, and the ship arrives at port before 10am, it is likely that there will not be a big line to get off of the ship.  People will be sleeping in late and generally get off of the ship at these types of destinations to party and drink.  Not much of that happening at 10am.

OR

You are on a ship to Alaska (long day light hours) and cruising with mostly older folk (like me)...People will more likely get up early to get off of the ship and explore.  I am not sure that Alaska is a party destination (June will be our first Alaskan cruise)

As for debarkation, we have not cruised post-Covid, so I cannot offer you any insight other than from what I read.  

I’m talking straight up days at port, not debarkation on last day.

We have our own plans to get off at the ports during the week and do our own thing. But that being said I also would like to make use of that entire day and get off to start adventuring asap. 3 ports are tendered. Should I be planning differently for these? Thanks again. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, BrianB said:

On the final day of the cruise...I do early walkoff...I carry (roll) my own luggage. I go down to the disembarkation area early...around 6am and there is usually a line. When the ship is cleared, the line moves quickly. In Bayonne, most times the line starts moving around 6:45-7:00 and I'm in my car and driving out of the garage with 15 minutes.

I believe the question was about ports of call, not disembarkation

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, JennP said:

I’m talking straight up days at port, not debarkation on last day.

We have our own plans to get off at the ports during the week and do our own thing. But that being said I also would like to make use of that entire day and get off to start adventuring asap. 3 ports are tendered. Should I be planning differently for these? Thanks again. 

Not to sound nitpicky, but these types of questions require more detail.  3 ports.  Ok. What are the port arrival times?  What are the destinations? Kind of along the lines of my examples above.  

And what do you mean by "Should I be planning differently for these?"  They are different ports correct?  Assuming different arrival times and durations at port, I guess my answer is yes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, JennP said:

3 ports are tendered. Should I be planning differently for these? Thanks again. 

Yes, you should be planning differently for these. Priority to get off the ship and onto the tenders goes to excursions booked through the cruiselines. Sometimes they will use a ticket system for the tenders, so you'll need to pay attention to announcements of where and when to pick up tender tickets so you can get off the ship as early as you can.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

Yes, you should be planning differently for these. Priority to get off the ship and onto the tenders goes to excursions booked through the cruiselines. Sometimes they will use a ticket system for the tenders, so you'll need to pay attention to announcements of where and when to pick up tender tickets so you can get off the ship as early as you can.

I need to keep this in mind for Santorini. I haven’t tendered since St Maarten back in the 90’s! Lol 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On our last cruise we bought the Key package, and we also did for our next one, leaving in 10 days.  It's a little bit more than the Zoom package that comes with it, but it does give one some nice perks, including preferential disembarking. It's kind of like the drink package, it's hard to justify, but it keeps giving back during the cruise. Preferred seating at shows, etc. Staff seems to treat you differently too. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

Yes, you should be planning differently for these. Priority to get off the ship and onto the tenders goes to excursions booked through the cruiselines. Sometimes they will use a ticket system for the tenders, so you'll need to pay attention to announcements of where and when to pick up tender tickets so you can get off the ship as early as you can.

Thank you! This is the info I was looking for. Much appreciated 😊

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...