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Embarkation and disembarkation when a ship is in "overnight" status


muri96
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We are leaving on a cruise from Papeete with Holland America on Oct.14th. The ship is overnighting on the 14th with departure on the 15th, and returning the 27th with disembarkation on the 28th. Were does that leave passengers with late evening flight arrivals on the 14th or 5:30 am arrivals on the 15th? Then there is disembarkation. What about those passengers who have late evening departures on the 27th, or early am departure on the 28th? I am assuming that embarkation and disembarkation, because of "overnight" status, is now like checking in and out of a hotel?

If this is true, I have also heard that the cruise termainal and the airprort are not open 24hrs a day.

Does anyone have any firsthand knowledge of this process?

Thanks

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I can only speak for the Paul Gauguin which I have been on 5 times. They depart at approximately midnight and we can get on the ship at 3:00 pm. That allows for people arriving very late on the departure date to still make the ship. The PG arranges air for many so they do coordinate their departure with the arrival of the late night passengers. Although we can get on the ship by 3:00 pm everyone has to leave the ship by about noon on that same date. That allows for the crew to get the ship ready. You have to be out of your cabin at 9:00 am.

 

I have heard that some other cruise lines allow the departing passengers to vacate their cabin early in the morning but remain on the ship until the afternoon. As you know most of the flight out of PPT leave at about 11:30 pm. The PG, and others, provides a day room as part of their fare if you are purchasing transport from the cruise line.

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Flight options are limited to very late schedules out of PPT. When we did a Princess cruise, departing passengers were allowed to use one of the ship's lounges for their carry-on luggage while they spent time on day tours. Their large, flight luggage was set aside in a large tent on the pier until they were ready to head to the airport. We had opted for a few days on the island, and then took a taxi to the airport.

 

International check-in opens late evening and was quite an experience. Standing in line, each carry-on bag was weighed and tagged as OK for weight, [they were very strict with weight limits] our passports were checked, extra baggage fees were taken care of in a secure room with an added interview [thankfully, I could speak enough French to make the customs/security smile]. Then into another line for security, and into a Duty Free area [last minute spending - very expensive] and when our flight ATN was called, we walked onto the tarmac and up the steps onto the plane. Upon arrival at LAX, we had to "claim" our luggage that was tagged through to BOS, move it across the room to another belt and then walk along a side walk to go through yet another security check for our flight back home. Our prior trip, ATN flew non-stop to JFK; it was a much easier.

 

Oh, food options at PPT are limited and worse than airline food.

 

Darcy

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Thank you. Sounds like something you'd like to forget, but I'm sure glad you shared this information.

 

Holland America's rep said that basically there are two arrival times in Papeete. Very early am (5:30) or late evening ( 9:45 iish ) Late arrivals can easily embark. Early arrivals are greeted by "longshoremen on the pier, who

take and tag your luggage, and do a partial checkin " Then you are sent on your way, with instructions to return at 1PM boarding process. Disembarking is easy as you can take your self and your luggage off the ship after its cleared to catch a late night, or early am flight. Taxi service hours are an unknown, however. A new cruise terminal is under construction for completion in 2020. I just wish I knew if there is even a building that is in existence now. The mental picture of longshoremen tagging luggage isn't reassuring.

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We have taken the early arriving flight many times, again this coming July. If Holland America will take your bags definitely take that flight. Taxi to the waterfront and drop your bags. The market is 3 blocks from the pier and is open at about 5:00 am. I would have breakfast along the waterfront after getting rid of my bags. If you want, the ferry terminal to Moorea has a decent "restaurant" upstairs and they serve coffee, Danish, etc. Nothing fancy but a nice place to sit and relax while watching the ships. I would then head to the market. There is also a very pretty park along the waterfront, walk to your left when facing the water, that is work exploring.

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We have taken the early arriving flight many times, again this coming July. If Holland America will take your bags definitely take that flight. Taxi to the waterfront and drop your bags. The market is 3 blocks from the pier and is open at about 5:00 am. I would have breakfast along the waterfront after getting rid of my bags. If you want, the ferry terminal to Moorea has a decent "restaurant" upstairs and they serve coffee, Danish, etc. Nothing fancy but a nice place to sit and relax while watching the ships. I would then head to the market. There is also a very pretty park along the waterfront, walk to your left when facing the water, that is work exploring.

 

Great ideas!

We have been drawn to the early arriving flights so that we can embark on the ship when its first available, and for this reason. If your flight gets delayed or cancelled, you have the possibility of getting on an upcoming late evening or another early am flight before the ship leaves port. I'm also hoping that Holland will allow some flexibility at embarkation as Norwegian did. There embarkation was at 1pm and we were on the ship at 11:45.

Fingers crossed!

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