Help Needed on Norwegian Epic's Arrive and Depart Times to Plan Excursions

Hi. I'll be a first-time cruiser and need help to play it safe scheduling Viator excursions at various ports. Thank you in advance for your explanations and tips!

I read on ncl.com that disembarkation at ports starts 2 hours after arrival, and everyone must be onboard 2 hours before departure. To schedule a trip to Florence/Pisa, the ship arrives Livorno at 7 a.m. To schedule with Viator, do I say my disembarkation time is 9 a.m.?

On the flip side, Epic departs Livorno at 7 p.m. What should I list for Viator as the boarding time? 4 p.m.?

If you've taken a Viator tour to Florence/Pisa, Cannes/Eze/Monaco, or Naples/Pompeii (or Capri, Sorrento & Pompeii) where did you find information for the "Drop Off Location" for port arrival and "Pick Up Location" for departure to complete a tour registration? Are they both the name of the port? Any other tips for any of these Viator or DIY excursions are appreciated.

The 2 hours notice refers to the embarkation and disembarkation ports only.

At other ports you will be able to leave the ship at around the stated arrival time and need to be back onboard 30 minutes before the leaving time (although give yourself longer than that).

As Cannes is a tender port you will need more time.

NCL really need to change the wording on their website. This question comes up pretty well every week.

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Yes, the 2 hours only applies to boarding and disembarking the cruise. In docked ports you can get off very close to the listed time and all aboard is usually 30 minutes before. In tender ports it takes longer to get off and all aboard is usually 60 minutes before.

If you are in port 7a to 7p; I would be comfortable scheduling a tour that leaves as early as 8 and returns by 5:30 or so.

Check with Viator they meet the ship every week.

Thank you all for your replies! I appreciate your explanations.

Hi. I'll be a first-time cruiser and need help to play it safe scheduling Viator excursions at various ports. Thank you in advance for your explanations and tips!

 

I read on ncl.com that disembarkation at ports starts 2 hours after arrival, and everyone must be onboard 2 hours before departure. To schedule a trip to Florence/Pisa, the ship arrives Livorno at 7 a.m. To schedule with Viator, do I say my disembarkation time is 9 a.m.?

 

On the flip side, Epic departs Livorno at 7 p.m. What should I list for Viator as the boarding time? 4 p.m.?

 

If you've taken a Viator tour to Florence/Pisa, Cannes/Eze/Monaco, or Naples/Pompeii (or Capri, Sorrento & Pompeii) where did you find information for the "Drop Off Location" for port arrival and "Pick Up Location" for departure to complete a tour registration? Are they both the name of the port? Any other tips for any of these Viator or DIY excursions are appreciated.

The two hour time only applies at the initial port of embarkation. At all the rest of the ports you need to be on 30 minutes prior to departure. You can get off the ship beginning about 5 minutes after the scheduled docking time, except at the last port where it takes a long because of loading and unloading, customs, etc. Tell your tour operator the time the ship arrives and they will know the time they can get you and when to have you back (though keep an eye on the return time yourself.)

Be aware viator are a 3rd party booking agency and contract with local company

So contacting them about tour times they may not know detailed info

Try to find local company and deal with them direct

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