Port arrivals and excursion times

[onamountaintop]

Are the published port arrival times typically spot on?

 

And, how soon after a port arrival do the morning excursions usually begin?

 

Thanks for you help!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Port arrival times are pretty reliable, within a half hour or so, although they can vary by more than that especially if there are weather issues. Fairly often the ship arrives a bit early. Excursions usually would start something like an hour or two after that--if you're anchored, for instance, tenders have to be lowered and prepared; if docked, all they have to do is tie up and prepare the gangway; in both cases the ship has to be cleared by the port authorities--in the case of a new country, the ship has to be cleared by customs and immigration.

[nana541]

Be ready to report to the Constellation Theater between 7:30 and 8:30 for most excursions.....on port intensive cruises this gets hard day after day! I vote for more Sea Days and less 8:00 excursions :(

 

In Regents defense, they want to get there guests to all the wonderful sights before the hoards of guest aboard the huge cruiseships also in port.... Regent debarks 700 or so guests while Costa, HAL and others flood the port with literally thousands....those early tour departures gets Regents guests ahead to the throngs and let us enjoy our day without being stuck behind all those "other" passengers!

[Travelcat2]

I agree that the port arrival times are accurate. Waiting for the ship to receive clearance from the local authorities can occasionally cause delays. We had a 45 minute delay on our last cruise -- these things are not within Regent's control.