Magic's late (?) Departure from NYC

Both yesterday and last Saturday, I noticed that the Magic left Manhattan what seemed to be late. She passed under the VZ bridge well past 6:30pm. This is unfortunate, as those with the early dinner seating will miss the harbor sights. Is this the norm? Doesn't she usually depart by 5pm?

Could be any number of reasons for a later-than-normal departure. If guests who made air travel plans through Disney were delayed, the ship will normally wait a reasonable length of time for them to arrive. (Those who made their own arrangements are out of luck if delayed!) Also, if the harbor pilot is delayed boarding the ship, they can't depart until he/she is aboard. Other possibilities - - mechanical problem, fueling incomplete, longshoremen delayed.... all sorts of possibilities.

Could be any number of reasons for a later-than-normal departure. If guests who made air travel plans through Disney were delayed, the ship will normally wait a reasonable length of time for them to arrive. (Those who made their own arrangements are out of luck if delayed!) Also, if the harbor pilot is delayed boarding the ship, they can't depart until he/she is aboard. Other possibilities - - mechanical problem, fueling incomplete, longshoremen delayed.... all sorts of possibilities.

I understand those reasons would delay her departure. But two weeks in a row?

Both yesterday and last Saturday, I noticed that the Magic left Manhattan what seemed to be late. She passed under the VZ bridge well past 6:30pm. This is unfortunate, as those with the early dinner seating will miss the harbor sights. Is this the norm? Doesn't she usually depart by 5pm?

I made our Palo reservation for 7 instead of 6 on sail away day in November for this reason .... just in case....

I made our Palo reservation for 7 instead of 6 on sail away day in November for this reason .... just in case....

Good idea for even another reason: late delivery of your luggage. Which November cruise are you on?

Nov 26 repositioning to San Juan. Kids have no idea. We fly to NYC that Friday and are telling them daddy got some trades off at work so we are going to go see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center :) ages 11 and 7

Good idea for even another reason: late delivery of your luggage. Which November cruise are you on?

Yes, but.....30 DCL cruises and we've always had luggage delivered by 5. Sometimes it was there far earlier. Maybe we're just lucky.

Nov 26 repositioning to San Juan. Kids have no idea. We fly to NYC that Friday and are telling them daddy got some trades off at work so we are going to go see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center :) ages 11 and 7

What a wonderful surprise they'll get. Hide the bathing suits when packing!

Yes' date=' but.....30 DCL cruises and we've always had luggage delivered by 5. Sometimes it was there far earlier. Maybe we're just lucky.[/quote']

 

We've never had a problem either in 16 cruises, but you never know. When we sailed on the Southern Caribbean out of San Juan in 2014, our table mates' luggage never made it onto the ship. They were given a credit to use in the shops for clothes and their luggage caught up with them a few days later at one of the ports.

I'm not sure what the normal departure time is

but the distance from the pier to the V bridge is about 10 nautical miles .... ships do NOT typically run maximum speed thru a congested harbor area so at least part of the trip is going to be made at a speed of around 8 to 10 knots. Once past the Statue the speed begins to increase. IME it takes almost an hour to reach the bridge, sometimes longer.

I was on the Magic on October 28th. We left at 5. Muster was 4:15. There were no delays leaving, but then we were caught in the storm, rough seas and was late to Castaway Cay on October 31. Then, as I understand, we were late getting cleared by customs in NYC on November 4.

We've never had a problem either in 16 cruises, but you never know. When we sailed on the Southern Caribbean out of San Juan in 2014, our table mates' luggage never made it onto the ship. They were given a credit to use in the shops for clothes and their luggage caught up with them a few days later at one of the ports.

Ouch. Happened to me on a WDW trip once--it took Magical Express 3 days to find my suitcase. On the other hand, I've had 2 trips that involved San Juan and both had "issues." I won't use that port again. Yes, luggage issues can happen anywhere.

But in your example, an hour later for Palo would not have mattered to these people....their problem lasted a few days. THe post that I responded to made the point that opting for later Palo allowed more time for luggage delivery. True...but DCL attempts to have all luggage delivered before 5.