Encore - St. Thomas Stop - Specific Question

[ssfarle]

My stepdaughter will be getting married on St. John during our stop on NCL Encore in St. Thomas.

 

She wants to get off of the ship as early as possible to get over to STJ for hair and make-up before the rest of the guests head over.

 

What is the absolute earliest a person can get off of the ship in the morning in STT if they are not on a NCL excursion?

 

Thank you!

[BostonGal35]

as soon as the ship docks she can get off.

 

if you dock at, say, 8am, she should be able to get off at 8am if not earlier, depending upon how long it takes for the ship to be cleared.  obviously, if they are late getting to port for some reason, or if there is an issue with the manifest (for example someone dying on board prior to arrival) that can delay the ship.

 

of course i wouldnt want to even think about what would happen if the ship missed this port entirely for some reason.   oy.

[ssfarle]

Most cruises I've been on, there is a long time to disembark and the cruise-ship sponsored excursions get to get off first.  Is that the can with the Encore.  Has anyone had to wait in long lines to get off of the ship?

[hamrag]

47 minutes ago, ssfarle said:

My stepdaughter will be getting married on St. John during our stop on NCL Encore in St. Thomas.

 

She wants to get off of the ship as early as possible to get over to STJ for hair and make-up before the rest of the guests head over.

 

What is the absolute earliest a person can get off of the ship in the morning in STT if they are not on a NCL excursion?

 

Thank you!

My advice would be to talk to the Hotel Director....make a point of going to the ccM&G....requesting a swift  expedite process on the day given the significance of the event!

[Paul Bogle]

In ports where you must tender from ship to shore excursions have priority. It is possible to tender in St. Thomas on unusually heavy days. I believe Havensight can handle three ships and Crown Bay can handle two ships so the sixth ship would tender. This much traffic is rare. If you are docked you just walk off the ship. You do not need to worry about excursions or other priority guests, just head down to the gangway and off the ship.

[GA Dave]

You can check out the link below to see how many ships are currently scheduled to be in port in St. Thomas on any particular day.

 

St. Thomas Port Schedule

[tef43]

2 hours ago, ssfarle said:

Has anyone had to wait in long lines to get off of the ship?

 

Never.  Just walk off.

[LrgPizza]

Don't wait for the announcement that passengers can get off. I am sometimes quite a ways down the pier before I hear the ship announce this. Instead, go wait near the exit for them to open. They will motion you over when it is time. I've never had to wait on excursions on any cruise ship when docking at a pier.

[kayjay76]

Been to port at St Thomas twice and it's an easy walk off. Like someone else said... if your ship ports at 8am... have your daughter head down say maybe 730am to wait to be off as soon as she can. It's also a nice short pier walk compared to some other ports.