New to cruising have questions

[redned09]

Hi

We have booked a 7 night cruise next year. My first question is if the cruise is leaving at 17.00 hours what time do you board.

The second is that the ship arrives back at 5.00am so what time would you be likely to disembark.

Other questions would be port calls, how long after it docks are you able to disembark and go touring?

I am sure i will have others as time goes by but that will be a start for now

thanks

Redned:rolleyes:

[Lionesss]

Welcome, I was a newbie to the boards once, and found a ton of information here, And still return as we sail new ships, and places.

Can you give a little more information on your upcoming sailing.

Like ship, dates, ports.

This way your questions will be answered efficiently.

Safe travels.

Sue and crew

[Cathalain]

In my (admittedly) limited experience, it's best to arrive during the early afternoon for a ship that leaves later. My two sailings departed at around 4:00pm - I usually tried to aim for about 1:00pm so that I could settle in, have some lunch, and relax before sail-away.

 

No one was ever awake before 6:00am on the morning of arrival, so I can't help you there. Everyone was usually up and ready by 7:30, though, and disembarkation for us depended on where you were or whether you had paid extra for early disembarkation, etc. My traveling companion at the time is disabled, so we received early disembarkation simply for that reason. I'd estimate that we were off the ship and on the way home by 9am at the latest.

 

Hope this helps.

[39august]

Boarding usually begins between 11 AM and noon. There can be delays, of course. Usually you can exit the ship about 30min to an hour after docking in the ports. The captain will announce when the ship has been cleared. Debarkation, in US ports, usually begins around 7 AM for those who want carry off their own luggage. Others are called in groups and the ships are usually clear of pax around 10 AM. I've never heard of paying for early disembarkation. Perhaps Cathalain is refering to the Luggage Valet program, which is $20 pp to have your luggage sent directly to your airline from the ship and you see it next at your home airport.

[Cathalain]

Yes, the Luggage Valet program is exactly what I had been referring to. I just couldn't remember the name, thank you! :)

[redned09]

Hi

Thanks for the responses. We are sailing 28th April on the Navigator of the seas. 7 night Mediterranean cruise to Athens, Ephesus and Crete.

[TEXASMUNK]

Boarding: yup if you sail at 4 or 5pm, you can expect to be able to begin boarding around 11:30am. You will check your luggage at the pier, but pls remember to bring meds, essentials, etc in a carry-on. Cabins are not normally available until after 1pm. So you will have to keep your stuff with you until you can access your cabin and drop your stuff.

 

Tours: Once the ship is cleared by local customs, the announcement to disembark will be made. Pls note, they will ask folks to disembark first if you have a ship's tour. This will be totally ignored. The elevators, stairwells and every concievable bit of space will be jammed with people who believe the request is meant for others.

 

Always note onboard time, the ship does not wait for you!

 

When your disembark day arrives....RCI (an every other cruise line) are at the mercy of the local customs and immigration folks...you can opt for self-diswembark, which means you carry everything you brought onboard must be carried off with you (one time, you cannot go back to get more stuff)...or you can wait until your ship section is called for disembarking...

 

Ask away....there is a ton of info locked in the heads of CC members...merely ask and it will flow forth!!!

 

Bon Voyage!

[redned09]

Wow Texasmunk thanks for that. Its a great help. I figure with regards to the Disembarking that if they are allowing the new cruisers to board from about 11.30am that everyone should have been cleared from the previous cruise.

We wont be in a major hurry to disembark so will wait and see how it pans out.

[VillaHappy]

Welcome to the boards, Redned! It sounds like you have a lovely cruise to look forward to. Happy planning! :D

[redned09]

Thanks Villahappy!!

[pennys mum]

Hi

We have booked a 7 night cruise next year. My first question is if the cruise is leaving at 17.00 hours what time do you board.

The second is that the ship arrives back at 5.00am so what time would you be likely to disembark.

Other questions would be port calls, how long after it docks are you able to disembark and go touring?

I am sure i will have others as time goes by but that will be a start for now

thanks

Redned:rolleyes:

 

WE were on the NOS 22-29 july.

Did the same ports. We arrived at dock at 12.15 and boarded, rooms were not open until 2pm that day.

I dont know about getting off ship everyday but I do know that in Sicily the ship docked at 10am and we were off at 10.30am and were by no means the first.

If you are on a ship tour you will meet in the theatre/ice rink to get your coach details and all leave together.

Night before we left we were given a luggage tag and a schedule. As far as i can remember everyone had to be off the ship at 9.30am.

We had to use stairs all the time as elevators were full at peak times.

There are lots of reviews of this cruise on the boards and some people will e mail you the cruise compass, this will give you a better idea re. timings etc.

I found that people on these boards were happy to answer questions and gave really good advice to me when i asked.

Look on the Roll Call boards for your sailing as well.

Hope this helped.

Margaret

[redned09]

Thanks Margaret

I have found the Roll call and posted on that for anyone cruising on that cruise.

I hadnt though of looking at the cruise reviews so thats a good tip.

One thing i would like to know though, is that when we booked we chose a cabin, yet i was reading somewhere else today about someone asking when they receive the GTY allocation...is it not definite we get the deck and cabin we chose?

[Clarea]

Thanks Margaret

I have found the Roll call and posted on that for anyone cruising on that cruise.

I hadnt though of looking at the cruise reviews so thats a good tip.

One thing i would like to know though, is that when we booked we chose a cabin, yet i was reading somewhere else today about someone asking when they receive the GTY allocation...is it not definite we get the deck and cabin we chose?

If you booked a specific cabin, then that's what you should get. Sometimes Royal offers a guarantee selection, in which case you pick a minimum category and Royal picks the actual cabin. Guarantees tend to be less expensive, and are not offered on every cruise and/or category.

[redned09]

Thanks Clarea

that clears that up!! I am pleased as i spent some time working out which cabin would suit us best.