jsehlmeyer

How was your experience? I just stumbled up on this and would much rather rent and drive the family around then feel like cattle on a tour bus; as well as be on our own schedule.

The backup was due to only 1 lane being open for traffic to pick up and drop off passengers. I know because I had to do both that day. When we arrived on 5/1 (for the 10 day cruise) we arrived at the port around 9 am, waited outside for about 15 minutes, then were one of the first 10 people in line. We waited in the terminal after getting checked in for about an hour or so (took the embarkation photo, and made last-minute arrangements for excursions) and then got called (boarding group 1) right after Haven and on board the ship by 11:10 am.

We found 3 on our May 1st 10-day Getaway cruise. My (4yo) daughter absolutely loved them.

As others have stated, it can vary, but here are the times based on colors: Self-assist: 8:15am Light Blue: 9:00am Purple: 9:20am Orange: 9:40am Pink: 9:50am Brown: 9:50am Green: 10:00am There were a couple other Red categories, but I believe those were for people who had excursions or shuttles to the airport. Our self-assist on Thursday started earlier, but there were a ton of delays announced. We had Pink and didn't get called to go until 10:30a. Semis were blocking the access road for pickup/drop-off only allowing 1 lane of traffic at the port. It was a mess. I had to go get a car and come back to pick up my family and waited in line for 45 minutes (exit for Terminal 10 to the pick-up point; approx 1mile distance ). We also learned they close the stairwells past 7th floor, so we couldn't even take the stairs down to 6 to go to breakfast in the morning (7:15am). Knowing what I know now, I'd plan for light blue and get to breakfast when they open at 6:30. Disembarkation was an overall terrible experience (mostly NCL fault, but partly outside forces)

While I only ate there once on the recent 10-day cruise, yes, a few couples got up and danced to the live entertainment. Not common, but it is possible.