Embarkation late problem

[jjcj]

The cruise is from Hong Kong on March 27.

Our flight gets in at 1:55 on the 27th and latest boarding is 3:30.

We will be late and were told to call emergency services when arriving in HK.

The catch is the ship stays in the port for an additional full day and leaves the 28th in evening.

The flight was a mistake because I thought boardings were later and we only had a short time to see Singapore which is where we are flying from.

I cannot imagine them denying us boarding considering the ship will be there for another 28 hours or so but should we be stressed about this?

[Momof4crazytocruise]

That is a question for the cruise line. Maybe put a call into guest services and see what they say. 

[twangster]

They can't keep all the terminal staff available for multiple shifts around the clock.  Terminal staff are local contractors, not cruise line employees, in addition to customs and immigration who are government workers, all who have limits to their work day.   They can't tell any of those people to work 18 hour days.  To cover an extended check in window that would mean multiple shifts of each set of people doubling or tripling the cost.  From forklift drivers, xray technicians, luggage handlers on land and on the ship, security, police, customs, immigration, check in counter workers and more.  There are a lot of people in the terminal involved in boarding new guests onto a ship.  

 At a certain point the local terminal people who process new guests will go home leaving a small security staff to screen existing passengers coming and going to the ship.   That's relatively easy and immigration knows those guests have already been processed.  

The best thing to do would be to fly in day before and spend a night in the hotel.  That also protects you better from delayed or canceled flights.  Flying in the day of the cruise is a rookie mistake that often causes people to miss cruises.  I have missed a cruise thinking I could fly in the day of the cruise and my flight was supposed to land at 9am.   Never again.   

1:55pm international arrival?  Wow!

[Ryan79]

I would be stressed. As was mentioned above, the port will not be staffed to handle those embarking after the cut off time. Royal has ZERO control over this. You might get a phone agent tell you it’s OK, but phone agents don’t have all the info and have been known to wing it! The ship being docked for 28 hours has to do with logistics, not an extended period to take on late passengers. There is a reason for the 3:30 cut off on the 27th and I would take that very seriously. You wouldn’t be the first one to show up after the final boarding call and left ashore. I’d seriously look into changing that flight to the 26th. Any increase in airfare cost has to be cheaper than the cost of missing the final boarding call. 

[Fastfaller]

This would freak me out if I were doing it from NH to FL, but international? Having to get off the plane, get luggage, clear customs, get to the cruise port? This all assumes your flight gets off the ground on time and there are no arrival delays. Heck for international trip I would be worried going in 1 day early, I would probably go 2 days early.

[Baked Alaska]

Trip insurance, I hope!

[PhillyLady]

Wow, a little late to ask the question if your cruise is next week. 

Did you book air on your own or through the cruise line? If on your own, everything is your responsibility. Not sure what the cost might be to change the flight, but probably substantially less than missing the cruise.

Sometimes I have heard of cruise ships with overnights allowing passengers to embark late, but I believe it should be prearranged and approved.

However, I do not know all the rules in Hong Kong, not where you are from, nor how long the plane de-boarding,  luggage claim, immigration, transfer time, etc, will actually take, depending on lines, traffic, etc.

I certainly agree with others that arrivals should be multiple days in advance.  I have crossed the international date line before, and the jet lag recovery also has to be factored into the travel experience.

I will keep my fingers crossed that all goes well, but I would definitely have a conversation with the cruise line in advance to review all details and contingencies.