Joanna990 Posted May 2, 2022 Report Share Posted May 2, 2022 Hi, so in two weeks time we are sailing on our honeymoon on the Odyssey of the Seas. As it is, it's our first cruise ever, so we have a lot of questions. Specifically, how does the getting off/on board on port days work? Jessi Patterson 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted May 2, 2022 Report Share Posted May 2, 2022 Welcome to the message boards! When your ship gets to a port, you can come and go as you like while you are docked. Joanna990 and YOLO 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YOLO Posted May 2, 2022 Report Share Posted May 2, 2022 @Joanna990 Yes, welcome to the Royal Caribbean Blog Forum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianB Posted May 2, 2022 Report Share Posted May 2, 2022 Usually the ship will dock at the port and then await clearance from the local authorities. They will announce that the gangway is open and on which deck. Or, if it’s a tender port, when the tenders are ready to start ferrying passengers to the dock. You’ll scan your SeaPass card when you disembark the ship and then again when you return. Virtually all ports have local security set up to make sure only cruise passengers get back aboard so you’ll need your SeaPass card, and usually a government photo ID such as a driver’s license. Welcome to the message boards! YOLO and Joanna990 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanna990 Posted May 3, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2022 Thanks to everyone for the answers Would you know how much time, more or less, is needed to come back on board? Like for example, say that all passengers should return aboard within 5pm, how sooner should I return to port to allow me to return on board without risking being late? YOLO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted May 3, 2022 Report Share Posted May 3, 2022 I'm always back at least an hour prior to sail away, at a minimum. Joanna990, ChessE4, JohnK6404 and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 3, 2022 Report Share Posted May 3, 2022 100% agree with @SpeedNoodles! We get back at least one hour early... you don't want to be this couple... YOLO and ellcee 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianB Posted May 3, 2022 Report Share Posted May 3, 2022 Me too! I like to be sure that I’m aboard and settled so I can watch sailaway. Also, sometimes it can get very busy later and there may be long lines waiting to board. YOLO, JohnK6404 and whitsmom 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanna990 Posted May 3, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2022 Thanks, definitely would not like to be in that situation. YOLO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
She Sails Away Posted May 4, 2022 Report Share Posted May 4, 2022 I would plan to be back on ship at least an hour early. Always make sure you know ship time vs. local time so there’s no confusion. (Sometimes there is a difference.) You can always ask the staff at the gangway for clarification. Zurc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Edgar Posted May 4, 2022 Report Share Posted May 4, 2022 1st time cruiser here. How practical is it to come back on for lunch and then leave again (assuming in the nearby vicinity). Just trying to save some money since lunch is included but not if it is going to take hours out of the day to board and get off again. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWDW1204 Posted May 4, 2022 Report Share Posted May 4, 2022 As long as you're in the vicinity, it's not a problem. It doesn't take long to reboard the ship. More people do it than you'd think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotwheels Posted May 4, 2022 Report Share Posted May 4, 2022 Pier runners are fun to watch! Cozumel is a great port for that. Cruiser58 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessi Patterson Posted May 4, 2022 Report Share Posted May 4, 2022 I like to be back on the ship with plenty of time to spare. WAAAYTOOO and Zurc 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LovetoCruise87 Posted May 4, 2022 Report Share Posted May 4, 2022 We are usually on at the minimum 1 hour before the ship leaves. Most of the time we are back well before that especially if all we were doing was shopping and having a bite to eat somewhere. If you're on a Royal Caribbean excursion and there is an issue with getting back on time, the ship will wait for you. If you went out on your own and got an excursion and it is late getting back, you are out of luck, you will be left waving goodbye to your ship. Jessi Patterson and Moby Dick 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessi Patterson Posted May 5, 2022 Report Share Posted May 5, 2022 On 5/4/2022 at 1:31 PM, LovetoCruise87 said: We are usually on at the minimum 1 hour before the ship leaves. Most of the time we are back well before that especially if all we were doing was shopping and having a bite to eat somewhere. If you're on a Royal Caribbean excursion and there is an issue with getting back on time, the ship will wait for you. If you went out on your own and got an excursion and it is late getting back, you are out of luck, you will be left waving goodbye to your ship. I have always been terrified of being left behind, so if we do an excursion it's always through the cruise line. LovetoCruise87, Moby Dick and WAAAYTOOO 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitsmom Posted May 5, 2022 Report Share Posted May 5, 2022 11 minutes ago, Jessi Patterson said: I have always been terrified of being left behind, so if we do an excursion it's always through the cruise line. Me Too! We now do early dining so we like to be back early enough to get a shower and change for dinner. Jessi Patterson 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen Posted May 5, 2022 Report Share Posted May 5, 2022 As others have said, there will be an announcement as to when the ship is cleared and you can exit. Because our phones automatically set themselves to the current time zone, that is not always in sync with ship time. We found this to be an issue on our last cruise. We waited over 45 mins for a couple late for an excursion because they were using local time and not ship time!!! When you leave the ship, you will need to take a photo ID with you as well as your SeaPass card. Have this with you so you don't wait to disembark and then have to go back to your room to retrieve your ID. Another lesson learned the hard way. Happy Sailing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanna990 Posted May 5, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2022 3 hours ago, Kathleen said: As others have said, there will be an announcement as to when the ship is cleared and you can exit. Because our phones automatically set themselves to the current time zone, that is not always in sync with ship time. We found this to be an issue on our last cruise. We waited over 45 mins for a couple late for an excursion because they were using local time and not ship time!!! When you leave the ship, you will need to take a photo ID with you as well as your SeaPass card. Have this with you so you don't wait to disembark and then have to go back to your room to retrieve your ID. Another lesson learned the hard way. Happy Sailing Thank you for the advice, will make sure to have everything with me. It's not the first time that I read someone writing about ship time. Which time zone does the ship stays on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moby Dick Posted May 5, 2022 Report Share Posted May 5, 2022 On 5/3/2022 at 6:57 AM, BrianB said: Me too! I like to be sure that I’m aboard and settled so I can watch sailaway. Also, sometimes it can get very busy later and there may be long lines waiting to board. Fear of missing the ship is one reason why I always, I'm probably paying more, purchase my excursions from the cruise lines. If you purchase an excursion from, in this case, Royal Caribbean, if your excursion is running late, the ship won't leave without you. Some exceptions apply, like impending bad weather, social unrest, natural disaster..... whitsmom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToSea Posted May 6, 2022 Report Share Posted May 6, 2022 we had a trip one where where the 4th to last people to get back on the ship but thats only because we passed them on the pier. We got stuck 60 min away from the ship with no taxis arround and 45 min to get back we finally found one and a big pile of cash convinced the driver to break all sorts of traffic laws. YOLO, Jessi Patterson and jaedam0820 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Edgar Posted May 7, 2022 Report Share Posted May 7, 2022 On 5/5/2022 at 6:27 PM, Joanna990 said: Thank you for the advice, will make sure to have everything with me. It's not the first time that I read someone writing about ship time. Which time zone does the ship stays on? I am also wondering about this? We are on an Alaska cruise in couple weeks 1 way from Vancouver to Seward. Does ship time switch to Alaska time once it departs Vancouver or does it stay on Pacific time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oneoftheks Posted May 7, 2022 Report Share Posted May 7, 2022 Do children need a picture id also to return to ship ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted May 8, 2022 Report Share Posted May 8, 2022 18 hours ago, Oneoftheks said: Do children need a picture id also to return to ship ? It depends on the port. In Nassau, to get into the port area you have to show ID + seapass card. Other ports, just seapass card. We always bring our passports off the ship anyway, but when we get back to the ship, it's just seapass card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen Posted May 9, 2022 Report Share Posted May 9, 2022 On 5/5/2022 at 3:51 PM, Kathleen said: As others have said, there will be an announcement as to when the ship is cleared and you can exit. Because our phones automatically set themselves to the current time zone, that is not always in sync with ship time. We found this to be an issue on our last cruise. We waited over 45 mins for a couple late for an excursion because they were using local time and not ship time!!! When you leave the ship, you will need to take a photo ID with you as well as your SeaPass card. Have this with you so you don't wait to disembark and then have to go back to your room to retrieve your ID. Another lesson learned the hard way. Happy Sailing It stayed on Eastern time if I remember correctly and I guess I did not have an issue until we got to Costa Maya (I think). I was not paying attention to the time announcement and went by what my phone had switched over to because I had my phone on wifi. The ship time was an hour ahead of what I had, making people who had purchased the excursions late if they failed to go by ship time. Fortunately we were sailing Star Class and the Genie arrived to walk us off the ship at the correct time. We were not ready as we thought we still had an hour but hustled up and were just a few minutes late. There was another couple on the excursion that also made the same mistake and we ended up waiting for them about 45 minutes. I believe due to their lateness they were tracked down on the ship as they came running to the excursion!! Weird experience as I didn't remember this ever happening to us before. From now on I will pay closer attention and ask my steward . I also think it is mentioned in the nightly newsletter in your cabin and in the APP. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelp1446 Posted May 9, 2022 Report Share Posted May 9, 2022 On Odyssey last March, an announcement was made about ship not changing to local time zone. They recommended turning off the "Set Automatically" feature (for time zone) on your phone to stay on "ship" time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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