Time to offboard at a port?

[bigrednole]

We are planning excursions. I know cruise line excursions are timed by the ship, but we are doing out own. I am trying to get a rough estimate from docking time to the actual time off the ship and through the port area. The ports we are at are docked, so no tendering. I know no one can be exact, but having a rough idea helps. For instance, we are in St Maarten with a dock time of 7AM. It's about a 15 minute walk to the boat after exiting the port. So, for planning purposes, which estimate may be the closest match: 8AM, 8:30AM, 9:00AM?

[CruiserBruce]

In the vast majority of cases, you will be able to disembark the ship within 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival. Occasionally it will be earlier than scheduled, and rarely will you be delayed more than 30 minutes.

[Krazy Kruizers]

First the ship has to be cleared by the local authorities.  Once that happens, an annoucement will be made over the PA system (but not usually in the cabins) in the public areas that the has been cleared and you can go ashore.  This happens within a short time -- 15 to 30 minutes after the ship docks.  You will see a large number of people waiting to get off at that time so it will take some time.

 

What boat are you trying to catch?

[bigrednole]

It is just a general question. In St Maarten we are going on Boomerang for snorkeling. It was more of just getting an idea.

 

[cb at sea]

You should have no problem with the 8am time.

 

[AF-1]

 most of the local tour operators know about the ships time in port.  They live thru the ships excursions; so you should have no problems.  

[GottaKnowWhen]

Note that none of us really know the answer in the world we are living now. There is speculative that ports are going to be screening passengers and that could cause delays. Though I think they will put the onus on the ships to properly clear the passengers. We’ll see. 
The way it used to be is as discussed above; the ship probably docks about an hour before the official time, people can begin to leave around the scheduled arrival time, plus or minus. Tour operators know your schedule. 
With Ste. Marteen in particular, note that the port itself is quite extensive, so your 15 minute walk after exiting the port will mean a total of about 30 minutes. I would book the 8:00am option with little worry if on my own (with family), I would allow an extra half hour if coordinating with others traveling with you. Always a slow one in every group.

Stan

[AF-1]

GottaKnowWhen;  You are correct stating; no one knows what the new normal will bring with regards to cruising and shore excursions.

[Kate P.C]

Usuallly 15- 30 minutes after docking. But sometimes due to heavy wind it might take longer or unfortunately miss the port. That, however, hasn't happened in St.Maarten so you should make it for 8.

[broadwaybaby123]

It's hard to answer, not knowing what the new normal will be.  However, one thing is for sure: the ships will have to clear customs before allowing anyone to disembark for the day.  Once the Port Authorities clear the ship, an announcement is made (this is usually done within a half hour of docking) stating that you can disembark.

 

However, things may change once we're allowed to cruise again.  You may have to go through some sort of screening or temp checks due to Coronavirus.  I do this everyday at work, it's not a big deal, but when you have about 5,000+ passengers to disembark, that will delay your time getting on and off the ship.

[CruiserBruce]

15 hours ago, broadwaybaby123 said:

It's hard to answer, not knowing what the new normal will be.  However, one thing is for sure: the ships will have to clear customs before allowing anyone to disembark for the day.  Once the Port Authorities clear the ship, an announcement is made (this is usually done within a half hour of docking) stating that you can disembark.

 

However, things may change once we're allowed to cruise again.  You may have to go through some sort of screening or temp checks due to Coronavirus.  I do this everyday at work, it's not a big deal, but when you have about 5,000+ passengers to disembark, that will delay your time getting on and off the ship.

Ah, no. They might have to clear immigration, but that is already typically done in advance, electronically, by providing manifests of info about the pax on board. There may be further concepts of screening, yes.

[GUT2407]

I find 1/2 hour usually plenty.