Latest Time to Reboard Ship?

We're taking a Med cruise this summer. We are slated to depart a certain port at 7pm. I realize the cruise line (Princess) wants us to be back on board an hour before departure (i.e., 6pm).

Our train is slated to get to the port's train station about 5:30 (might be a 15-min taxi ride to the ship). SHOULD or IF the train is late or we run into some type of snag and are maybe, 45 minutes late, what would happen if we get to the boat at 6:15pm instead of by the recommended 6pm? Is this a common enough problem or would we get a scolding, frowns, or refusal to board us?

All cruise lines tell passengers to be on the ship 30 minutes before departure. If the printed departure time is 7:00, you need to be back on by 6:30.

All cruise lines tell passengers to be on the ship 30 minutes before departure. If the printed departure time is 7:00, you need to be back on by 6:30.

Hmm, I thought I was told it was SIXTY (60) minutes before departure, but of course I could be wrong.

OK, then, what happens if we come running up to the dock at 6:40pm?

Back-on-board time is virtually always 30 minutes before scheduled sailing time. At virtually every port (where I happen to be looking) there is someone who comes jogging up the pier in the last five or ten minutes. They are allowed to board, because the gangplank is only removed just before the mooring lines are cast off.

Of course, if a train might be 45 minutes late, there must be the possibility of it being an hour and a half late - so whenever you are a train ride away from re-boarding you either want to build in some generous extra just-in-case time, or have a viable plan B.

We're taking a Med cruise this summer. We are slated to depart a certain port at 7pm. I realize the cruise line (Princess) wants us to be back on board an hour before departure (i.e., 6pm).

 

Our train is slated to get to the port's train station about 5:30 (might be a 15-min taxi ride to the ship). SHOULD or IF the train is late or we run into some type of snag and are maybe, 45 minutes late, what would happen if we get to the boat at 6:15pm instead of by the recommended 6pm? Is this a common enough problem or would we get a scolding, frowns, or refusal to board us?

If you are late, but before sail-away nothing at all will happen, other than you might be told to be more careful next time. The only purpose in the the suggested return time is so that the ship can depart on time, it is not a rule or a law.

Of course YMMV, but I "try" to be onboard an hour before departure time, tho the official time would be 30 minutes. I'm just more comfortable with the extra "wiggle room" - just in case.

Hmm, I thought I was told it was SIXTY (60) minutes before departure, but of course I could be wrong.

 

OK, then, what happens if we come running up to the dock at 6:40pm?

If your tour is not booked through the cruise line, have a phone number handy. Then you can call the ship to let them know you will be late. If you booked your excursion through the cruise line, even that will not be necessary. Also, in ports where there are more cruise ship passengers than local residents, there will not be a problem because most people who take guided tours have to be back on a ship.

Thanks everybody for your helpful information!

We'll certainly do our best to return well before the suggested time, but at least this one tour will not give us as comfortable leeway as we'd like is all, so as long as our photos won't be posted on a ship Gallery of Shame, we're happy enough. :p

Then there is the possibility of waving at the ship as it leaves the port without you

Make sure you take the Port Agent's phone number with you & if you are delayed & will not make it by 6:30 let them know

they do not always hold the ship for people

we have left port with people missing & they had to make their own way to the next port at their expense

Trick is be back earlier than the ship tells you

If your tour is not booked through the cruise line, have a phone number handy. Then you can call the ship to let them know you will be late. If you booked your excursion through the cruise line, even that will not be necessary.

 

Your daily paper/schedule shows a "Port Agent" for each port. Their phone number is listed just for this reason.

Just in case you do miss the ship. Bring your passport and have an idea on how you can get to the next port.

Is the ship docked?

Answers above are very different if you are talking a tender port.

Twice in the last couple of years, I've seen the gangway pushed back out for people running up to the ship at the last minute. That's cutting it way too close for my taste. And over on the Saving Money board, someone has posted his experience of missing the ship. So choose your time to be back based on your tolerance for risk and how well you know the port.

When you do independent port day travel (DW and I have been doing this for over thirty years) you need to plan and know your options when things do not work out as expected. Many of us call it the "Plan B" and in the Med our Plan B is usually how we will catch-up to the ship at its next port :). If you are going to make it tight on getting back to the ship then you increase the risk that you will have to use your Plan B. Its all that simple.

Hank

If you miss the ship, and don"t have your passport with you, they will leave your passport at the dock..they WILL get into your safe!

If you miss the ship, and don"t have your passport with you, they will leave your passport at the dock..they WILL get into your safe!

Unless, of course, you hid it someplace else in your cabin. They probably will check the safe first thing, and if it is not there they will assume you have taken it with you. If, for example, you left it in a jacket pocket in your closet you will be S O L.

I don't need that kind of pressure. If I am booking a non-ship tour, which is mostly what we do, I want to be back at the ship at least one hour before, otherwise I will book a different tour.

When we were in Europe in 2012, we took quite a few trains from ports.

European rail is extremely efficient. The most any trains was late in our experience, was by 2 minutes.

When we were in Europe in 2012, we took quite a few trains from ports.

European rail is extremely efficient. The most any trains was late in our experience, was by 2 minutes.

The most expensive trains in Europe are I believe those in the UK. As for punctuality - well, the Brighton to Victoria train is late (>5 minutes past it's scheduled arrival) only 44% of the time.

:rolleyes:

I would go to the ports of call boards for the Med. and research or ask this question about your specific port. Here is the link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19 You will get more info on the idiosyncrasies of the port. You will probably be able to hear from people who have done this and if there are taxis waiting, and whether the taxi can get you right to the ship. If you do not know how to search, come back and ask.

Another thing I would take into consideration is what is the next port. If your port is Civ. (Rome) and the next port is either Livorno (Florence) or Naples, you can easily get to the next port the next day. If the next port is a different country you are in for a lot of pain. Personally, we did this in Rome and we took the earlier train. We always do independent tours or on our own but we make sure we are within walking distance of the ship well before on board time.

[From the OP] We've been to Europe several times (and I was stationed/lived in Germany for 2 years in the 70s) so I'm very comfortable with the trains and schedules; of course there's always the odd strike or general logistics problems to get us to the trains (we'll be relying on foot, bus, cab, train and ferry conveyances which may or may not work out as our plans call for).

Otherwise, our deep fallback (in concurrence with the last post) is that we're close enough to our next port of call (Rome) that we heap on unnecessary angst should we actually miss. We'd just notify them and stay overnight in Lucca (love that town) or Rome and hop on the ship the next day. I'm no stranger to winging it and cobbling out a little extra adventure!

All cruise lines tell passengers to be on the ship 30 minutes before departure. If the printed departure time is 7:00, you need to be back on by 6:30.

I would like to think this is true, and make my plans accordingly - always leaving myself some leeway, and always having a plan B ( and maybe a plan C).

But NCL is telling me to be back TWO HOURS before the scheduled departure. I am GUESSING they have chosen to specify a safety buffer for me! That doe not please me - I am a big boy, and am responsible for my own buffers, and my own errors.

So really - is a half hour prior an appropriate deadline for me to use?

I would like to think this is true, and make my plans accordingly - always leaving myself some leeway, and always having a plan B ( and maybe a plan C).

 

But NCL is telling me to be back TWO HOURS before the scheduled departure. I am GUESSING they have chosen to specify a safety buffer for me! That doe not please me - I am a big boy, and am responsible for my own buffers, and my own errors.

 

So really - is a half hour prior an appropriate deadline for me to use?

Having been on more then 100 cruises (all over the world) we would accede to your expertise and suggest you get back aboard at least 2 hours early. This will certainly make you feel better (an important factor in travel) and do no harm to anyone else. But we do wonder why you even post the issue when you have already made your decision?

As to us, with the exception of embarkation ports we would seldom be back to any ship less then an hour before sailing time. And if we were in a situation where we were within walking distance of the port (or tender) we will often cut it close to 30 minutes. We would also be very surprised if Norwegian (or any other line) suggested being back 2 hours early unless it was an embarkation port (where new passengers are boarding).

Hank

I would like to think this is true, and make my plans accordingly - always leaving myself some leeway, and always having a plan B ( and maybe a plan C).

 

But NCL is telling me to be back TWO HOURS before the scheduled departure. I am GUESSING they have chosen to specify a safety buffer for me! That doe not please me - I am a big boy, and am responsible for my own buffers, and my own errors.

 

So really - is a half hour prior an appropriate deadline for me to use?

As is discussed every single day on the NCL board: those guidelines on the NCL website apply to embarkation day only. This entry in their FAQs is a little more clear than the one you are referring to which I believe is from the online check in. NCL recommends one hour in ports of call, two only on initial embarkation and only if you have not completed online check in.

If you return, lets say 10 minutes past your ships departure time and on a non cruise line excursion, you might be watching the ship sailing out of port. The only way the ship will wait is if your on a cruise line excursion. And in this case the ship will wait just so long . Its not worth the excursion to be stranded at a port.