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When in port


Wilmsta

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Hi all

Quick newbie question - when docked in a port is everything still open on board the ship as normal (pools, bars restaurants etc). Having never cruised before was just curious as to whether it is common place to stay on board and enjoy the ship at possibly its least busiest?

On the flip side - roughly how long on average does it take to get off and back on the ship whist in port - is this a fairly smooth process or can it be a little hit n miss?

Thanks in advance for any answers/pointers

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I'd say everything is pretty much the same while in port or during sea days.

Except:

1. The specialty restaurants are not open for lunch during port days.

2. You may also find some activities or shops (shows, sales) not available while in port.

3. Casino is not operational while in port.

 

However, you are still able to enjoy pretty much the same during port days. Depending on what you planning to do, you will find that cruise during port days are significantly less crowded than seas days.

 

Usually, the ship will dock in the morning (around 8am?) until around 4:30pm (last boarding). But this may vary from port to port so check your cruise compass!

Port visiting is almost hassle-free. Usually, you just need to scan your seapass card at the gangway and you are good to go.

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This site has a wealth of Cruise Compasses posted by past guests for various ships.  If you can find your ship and/or itinerary you can likely discover what is open and when.  They may not open all bars at the same hours as sea days, or things like flow riders and slides may be open at different hours, depending on the ship.  From 10am on there is usually a few bars open but not all the bars may open on port days until the mid-afternoon.  The Windjammer will be open for lunch but main dining rooms will likely not be open until dinner, etc. 

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compass

 

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We also like to stay onboard during one of the port days. Typically the middle one of the 3. Our last cruise we did not as we were only in port from 7-2. It was hard and we were quite tired from 3 port days in a row. We like the relaxed pace of being on the ship for a port day. 

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We love staying on board while in port.  Makes for some of the best sleeping in and pool days.

I'll echo what others have said in that some of the pool (flow rider etc.) hours are reduced a bit.  Not all the restaurants are open, but WJ always is.  Not sure if it's important to you but shops on board are also not open while in port.

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They will normally cut down the number of bars that are open on port days but there will still be somewhere to go and get a drink.  As others have mentioned, the retail stores are normally closed and the casino is almost always closed, with a very few exceptions.  Port days are good days to try some of the more popular attractions (water slides, bumper cars, north star, etc.) as the number of people trying to do them is usually lower.  It is also a good day to go to the spa if you are thinking of doing that.  There are always "deals" (it's never cheap !) at the spa on port days.  I went to the spa the day we were in COZ and got a massage and facial.  Very nice !

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