When ti arrive fur embarkment

[doolfan]

I’m trying to book a transfer to our port and I’m not sure what time to arrive. Our ship sails out of Athens at 8 PM. I would like to board as early as possible since we have no other plans that day and being our first cruise ever we’re excited to get on board and look around and settle in. Everything I read says the latest times you can arrive by but not how early. If we arrived at the port at 1 would we just be wandering around for hours? Thanks!

[The Traveling Man]

Just now, doolfan said:

I’m trying to book a transfer to our port and I’m not sure what time to arrive. Our ship sails out of Athens at 8 PM. I would like to board as early as possible since we have no other plans that day and being our first cruise ever we’re excited to get on board and look around and settle in. Everything I read says the latest times you can arrive by but not how early. If we arrived at the port at 1 would we just be wandering around for hours? Thanks!

Check your cruise documents for more information.  Generally speaking, though, ships arrive in port for debarkation before sunrise.  Passengers are required to be off the ship early, usually by 9:00 AM or so.  The crew has about two hours before the next group of passengers starts boarding, usually starting about 11:00 or 11:30, but sometimes not until noon.  You may arrive at the cruise terminal as early as you like, but the check-in process usually doesn't start until 10:00, 10:30, or 11:00.  Depending on the crowds, it may take anywhere from 10 minutes to two hours from the time you arrive at the cruise terminal until you board the ship.  NCL requires passengers to begin the check-in process not later than two hours before the scheduled departure time.  If you do arrive early, you may have to sit in a waiting area for a while before you are allowed to board, but you won't just be wandering around for hours.

 

Soooooo, there's a lot of flexibility.  Your cruise documents should indicate a requested time for you to arrive at the terminal, but it rarely if ever is enforced.  Most folks just show up when they want to, ignoring their scheduled arrival time, resulting in frequently long lines at prime time.  Bon voyage.

[UKstages]

most cruises depart around 4 PM.

 

if your departure is scheduled for 8 PM, that suggests that boarding may not begin until 2 or 3 PM. it is unlikely that they will board you at 11:30 or so if your departure is not until 8.

 

look at the ship's schedule for the prior cruise on the same ship... what time is it scheduled to arrive?

 

On, NCL you can do a preliminary checkin online 120 days before the cruise. to get the earliest checkin time for the pier, go to the website at 12 AM ET exactly 120 days before your sail date. in person checkin at the pier usually starts 2 hours before boarding begins. so if the website is offering a checkin time of 11 AM, it's a safe best that boarding will not begin before 1 PM.

[zqvol]

1 hour ago, UKstages said:

most cruises depart around 4 PM.

 

if your departure is scheduled for 8 PM, that suggests that boarding may not begin until 2 or 3 PM. it is unlikely that they will board you at 11:30 or so if your departure is not until 8.

 

look at the ship's schedule for the prior cruise on the same ship... what time is it scheduled to arrive?

 

On, NCL you can do a preliminary checkin online 120 days before the cruise. to get the earliest checkin time for the pier, go to the website at 12 AM ET exactly 120 days before your sail date. in person checkin at the pier usually starts 2 hours before boarding begins. so if the website is offering a checkin time of 11 AM, it's a safe best that boarding will not begin before 1 PM.

An 8 p.m. departure does not mean that boarding will be delayed past he usuall,11:30 or so, unless the ship arrives later than normal..BTW you cannot begin checkin 120 days prior to sailing it is 21 days

[doolfan]

Ok thank you for the info. We are at 24 days out, so I’ll wait a few days to book the transfer until I have an idea on boarding times!  I’d love to get in the boat as early as possible!

[ggTexasGal]

On 5/1/2024 at 8:12 AM, doolfan said:

Ok thank you for the info. We are at 24 days out, so I’ll wait a few days to book the transfer until I have an idea on boarding times!  I’d love to get in the boat as early as possible!

Hopefully, you understand that NCL "Check-In" times are NOT your "boarding time"!

 

Also, for earliest boarding, you would need to be in a Haven or other suite, or have established some "status" of some type from a lengthy list!

[PartyPlannerLady]

FYI you do not need a FUR to embark! :;)

[NordicExpat]

On 4/30/2024 at 10:24 PM, doolfan said:

I’m trying to book a transfer to our port and I’m not sure what time to arrive. Our ship sails out of Athens at 8 PM. I would like to board as early as possible since we have no other plans that day and being our first cruise ever we’re excited to get on board and look around and settle in. Everything I read says the latest times you can arrive by but not how early. If we arrived at the port at 1 would we just be wandering around for hours? Thanks!

Greece is one of our favorite places to visit and we have been there several times. The weather, history, food, drinks, people and more are wonderful. I have sailed out of Athens/Piraeus three times in the last few years since corona. We want to get on the ship early as we can. I know each experience can be different but this is how it has played out for us.

 

We sailed the first cruise after lockdown on the Jade in July 2021. Sailaway was at 23:00 and we were on board around 11:30.

 

I sailed solo on the Epic from Piraeus to Civitavecchia. My wife joined me in Civitavecchia continuing on to New York for the Epic's transatlantic in November 2021. I was on board in Piraeus for my solo cruise before noon, and sailaway was the following morning at 06:00. This was a unique and great sailaway.

 

Sailaway for our Getaway sailing in July 2023 was at 22:00. We were on board and back in Spice H2O with drinks by noon.