How fast can I get off the ship?

[muskyfins]

So, we're booked on the NCL Jade for February 13, 2016. Itinerary says arrives at 8 am. Me, being new to cruises and thinking they're pretty good about being on time, I book a smoking deal on airfare departing at 12:55. I figured, if I'm off the boat by 10 am and to the airport by 11, I'll be good.

 

However, I see lots of folks commenting on how long it actually takes to get off the ship and that's only if it's on time to start with!!!:eek::eek::eek:

 

So, I put another one of those polls on this thread. I think they're kind of fun. But, I ask, in your experience how likely am I to be off the ship by 10 am? 11 am? Of course I'll take the proper steps to do whatever is necessary to facilitate that too.

[JustAllie]

I hope you bought travel insurance. :)

[Scrapnana]

Chances are good that you will be off the ship by 10 (for an early morning arrival the ships want everyone off as quickly as possible to zero out the ship and complete all the turn-around activities). Now collecting your luggage and getting through customs and immigration might be another story.

 

Depending on how far the port is from the airport, however, a 12:55 departure sounds doable.

Edited November 17, 2015 by Scrapnana

[taglovestocruise]

Almost everyone is off by 9:30.. your poll should be about getting through customs and immigration, that is always the hold up.. and then the next hold up is for a taxi... and then the loooong line at airline checkin..

[muskyfins]

Good stuff.

 

Yes-- I mean what time will I be heading to my car parked in the lot?

 

I expect to rent a car and leave it there. Hoping to find another couple that wants to split the costs and will end up costing about the same as a taxi, but we can travel on our own schedule.

[capriccio]

Good stuff.

 

Yes-- I mean what time will I be heading to my car parked in the lot?

 

I expect to rent a car and leave it there. Hoping to find another couple that wants to split the costs and will end up costing about the same as a taxi, but we can travel on our own schedule.

 

I would need the answers to additional questions before making a 'guess'. What port (for those not familiar with the ships)? What day of the week and how many ships will be in port (impacting the number of passengers trying to make flights)? Are you parking at the port or at off-site parking? Finally, I presume you need to return the rental car. Will that require a shuttle to the terminal?

Edited November 17, 2015 by capriccio

[muskyfins]

I would need the answers to additional questions before making a 'guess'. What port (for those not familiar with the ships)? Bayport Tx What day of the week and how many ships will be in port (impacting the number of passengers trying to make flights)? Saturday and 2 I know of Are you parking at the port or at off-site parking? Port in rental car Finally, I presume you need to return the rental car. Will that require a shuttle to the terminal? Yes, but not part of my question. If I'm on my way to the car by 10, I'm golden. By 11 I can make it happen. I travel quite a bit and once I'm in the car, I've got it from there.

 

Replies in red

Edited November 17, 2015 by muskyfins

[navybankerteacher]

Good stuff.

 

Yes-- I mean what time will I be heading to my car parked in the lot?

 

I expect to rent a car and leave it there. Hoping to find another couple that wants to split the costs and will end up costing about the same as a taxi, but we can travel on our own schedule.

 

You must be getting a terrific rental deal on the car if the rent plus parking fees will be the same as a couple of taxi fares. Not to mention the time wastage picking up and dropping off the car.

[muskyfins]

You must be getting a terrific rental deal on the car if the rent plus parking fees will be the same as a couple of taxi fares. Not to mention the time wastage picking up and dropping off the car.

 

Transfer transport plans aren't set in stone yet. And, I'm not getting a deal on the rental car. But The taxi companies I checked with are looking at $125 each way (50 miles), so for $250, I can rent a car and travel a little more on my own terms versus relying on a taxi. If we can split with another couple, I'm looking at under $200 round trip. I travel a bit for business and the time spent to drop off rental car is probably less than the time spent waiting in line for a taxi.

[OCruisers]

You really should be all right!

Look forward to having a GREAT cruise! :)

[navybankerteacher]

Transfer transport plans aren't set in stone yet. And, I'm not getting a deal on the rental car. But The taxi companies I checked with are looking at $125 each way (50 miles), so for $250, I can rent a car and travel a little more on my own terms versus relying on a taxi. If we can split with another couple, I'm looking at under $200 round trip. I travel a bit for business and the time spent to drop off rental car is probably less than the time spent waiting in line for a taxi.

 

If you could get a flight to Hobby, it would be just 21 miles to Bayport. In any event you want to talk things up on your roll call - to line up someone to share transport - either rental car or van.

[AKman2495]

Replies in red

 

We were sailing out of the new Houston terminal and we got stuck by fog. We didn't tie up until 10 am. We were 3 hours late.

 

It probably won't happen to you, but I would keep the airline and the rent-a-car company on speed dial.....

[SuiteTraveler]

Good stuff.

 

Yes-- I mean what time will I be heading to my car parked in the lot?

 

I expect to rent a car and leave it there. Hoping to find another couple that wants to split the costs and will end up costing about the same as a taxi, but we can travel on our own schedule.

 

We travel to Houston for business every month. The traffic there is completely unpredictable. Sometimes we get across the city in an hour, no problem. Other times, it is gridlocked and a trip that should take 1 hour takes 4 hours. Because of this, although we live in Dallas and it is a 4 hour drive between the cities and only a 1 hour flight, it is actually faster for us to drive between the two cities than try to make it to the airport in Houston from the area of the Galleria. Bayport is half again as far away as the Galleria. Just be forewarned, things can happen there in the way of traffic that you just don't expect. Sometimes it will be an easy drive, but if things go belly up, they really go belly up there.

 

Things that can help:

Trusted Traveler

status with the airline

flying First Class

Most of the time any of the above will get you Pre Check - which helps speed you through security.

 

If you travel a lot I'm sure you and your spouse know to dress accordingly for the TSA security and put anything against TSA rules for carryons in your checked luggage so they don't have to look at it and you don't have to take it out. I pretty much put everything but medicine and money in my checked luggage flying home from a cruise since I can replace it all when I get home if it gets lost. That means there's nothing to look at in my stuff for the TSA.

 

If you are in a suite and can carry off your own luggage, you can be personally escorted off the ship before any non-suite passengers by pre-arrangement with the concierge while you are onboard. The concierge takes everyone from suites who wants to do this off in one group. That puts you in the first 20 or so to go through customs and can really speed things up greatly as you will be getting off within minutes of the ship being cleared for debarkation. The risk is when you are trying to do this with other passengers to save money on your ground transportation. If they are not in suites, they will be getting off at a different time than you and may take much longer in customs.

 

If you are in a Garden Villa, btw, the transportation is included to and from the airport - but that's probably not the category you are in because you would already know that or so I would hope.

 

BTW, you'll love the Jade. It's a great ship. We've been on Jade twice - in a villa and an Owner's Suite. If you are a Haven or suite guest, really it is fabulous!

[muskyfins]

Thanks for all the info.:)

 

Believe it or not, Houston is one of the few major US cities I've never been to. But I live in Chicago, so I'm familiar with weird traffic situations. Same goes for NY and LA. It makes me laugh when my clients in Atlanta or Minneapolis or Cleveland talk about avoiding the bad traffic. :D

 

We're not in a suite. Every other year we spend a little more and on the off years, we try to save a little money. This is the save a little money year, so we booked a balcony.

 

My airline program is with Delta and about half the time I get the pre-check, but this flight will be on American, so i'm going to work on that. So far we're in business class, but we'll see how that goes.

 

And I hate carry on. When I travel for business, I check everything except my laptop and wallet. But Mrs Muskyfins doesn't exactly travel "light" and the $25 per checked bag is pissing me off for some reason this time. Maybe I'm just getting tired of it, but we'll each have one carry on and of course put the problem items in the checked bag.

 

We were "tentative" about the Jade at First, but the more we look into it and now that it's booked and becoming "real" we're getting excited.

[nolatravelgirl]

One thing to note is IAH airport has a remote parking structure for rental cars. Factor in time on the rental car shuttle bus to the terminal. Saturday morning isn't exactly a bustling time at the airport rental car facility so the bus may not be running super quickly at that time of the morning.

 

I would not plan on the likelihood of finding another couple willing to share a car with you, especially considering you would have to coordinate arrival into IAH. Plan on funding the whole thing yourself. What happens if one couple is delayed on arrival. Are you going to wait?

 

I think you will be fine, but I think you have faulty logic in your costs. I would just plan on Uber/Taxi/Car Service.

Edited November 18, 2015 by nolatravelgirl

[Bonnie J.]

We used to walk off the Carnival Fantasy in Charleston, SC at 6:15am! We usually walk off by 7:30 at the latest on most ships.

[SuiteTraveler]

Thanks for all the info.:)

 

Believe it or not, Houston is one of the few major US cities I've never been to. But I live in Chicago, so I'm familiar with weird traffic situations. Same goes for NY and LA. It makes me laugh when my clients in Atlanta or Minneapolis or Cleveland talk about avoiding the bad traffic. :D

 

We're not in a suite. Every other year we spend a little more and on the off years, we try to save a little money. This is the save a little money year, so we booked a balcony.

 

My airline program is with Delta and about half the time I get the pre-check, but this flight will be on American, so i'm going to work on that. So far we're in business class, but we'll see how that goes.

 

And I hate carry on. When I travel for business, I check everything except my laptop and wallet. But Mrs Muskyfins doesn't exactly travel "light" and the $25 per checked bag is pissing me off for some reason this time. Maybe I'm just getting tired of it, but we'll each have one carry on and of course put the problem items in the checked bag.

 

We were "tentative" about the Jade at First, but the more we look into it and now that it's booked and becoming "real" we're getting excited.

 

Le Bistro on Jade is gorgeous! Cagney's is also pretty and very relaxing. The ship is smaller and doesn't have all the features of the NCL mega ships, but if you have a good itinerary, you should have a fun and relaxing trip. BTW, it was originally designed for Hawaii, so the decor inside is all about Hawaii: Grand Pacific MDR features a statue of King Kamehameha and scenes from Hawaii, lobby bar is the Volcano Bar, ceiling in the lobby is covered in glass flowers - I believe I read they are Chihuly - like the lobby of the Bellagio in Las Vegas, colors aboard are very tropical. If you want to eat at Teppanyaki, book in advance as it is small and always sold out. Another tip, in the morning, walk all the way through the buffet and go into La Cucina with your food - there is overflow seating in there most people don't know about. The buffet is otherwise too small for the number onboard and it can be hard to get a table in the buffet, but most people don't figure out about La Cucina until late in the cruise! The Great Outdoors is a great place to hangout for sail away and get a snack.

 

I've worked extensively in Chicago over the past 20 years and seen Chicago traffic at its worst. Believe it or not even on the worst day in Chicago, there is no comparison to Houston traffic when it is bad. They joke that the #1 way you can tell if someone is from Houston is if they have spent most of their life waiting in traffic.

 

Here's the REAL TIME Houston Traffic map which can be very helpful in last minute planning of how to get across Houston. If it is RED avoid those streets/highways at all cost:

http://traffic.houstontranstar.org/layers/

 

And yes, rental car return is REMOTE from the airport - adds about 30-45 minutes to your return to the airport. This is another reason why we drive instead of fly most of the time.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Most cruise lines like everyone off by 9:30 or so. That gives you plenty of time to catch your 12:55 plane.

The staff want everyone off as early as possible as they have to get the cabins changed and cleaned for the next passengers.

[muskyfins]

Yes-I should have been more careful with my wording.

 

I should have asked "How fast can I get through customs and out to my car?"

Edited November 19, 2015 by muskyfins

[muskyfins]

Well- a little good news for anyone paying attention to this thread.

 

American Airlines changed my flight times for the flight I was booked on getting me home later but with the same departure by making my layover in DFW longer. So I called them up ready to do battle, but to my utter amazement, they were willing to change us to a non-stop that leaves at 1:25 and arrives an hour earlier (because of no layover) for no change fee. So now I have an extra half hour of breathing room and I get home an hour earlier which is good since I have plans that evening to attend an event.

 

I have to credit AA on this one. As I said, I usually fly with another airline and stuff like this is almost always a fight.

 

And the kicker, I got straight through with no hold time and talked to an actual American citizen who spoke English.:cool:

Edited November 24, 2015 by muskyfins

[Jcastle431]

If you are really concerned about time you can book a tour for about 30 dollars of your arrival city. Tour passengers get off the boat first on NCL (at least they did on NCL epic in may) then you can skip the tour and go to the airport

[CruisingJs]

Because if the distance from the airport to the port in Houston, using the ship's transfer to/from the airport is the best way to go in my opinion. The cruise line will time your disembarkation based on your flight time to ensure you get to the airport on time. I'm not normally a big fan of cruise line transfers but I think it makes sense for Houston.

[SuiteTraveler]

Well- a little good news for anyone paying attention to this thread.

 

American Airlines changed my flight times for the flight I was booked on getting me home later but with the same departure by making my layover in DFW longer. So I called them up ready to do battle, but to my utter amazement, they were willing to change us to a non-stop that leaves at 1:25 and arrives an hour earlier (because of no layover) for no change fee. So now I have an extra half hour of breathing room and I get home an hour earlier which is good since I have plans that evening to attend an event.

 

I have to credit AA on this one. As I said, I usually fly with another airline and stuff like this is almost always a fight.

 

And the kicker, I got straight through with no hold time and talked to an actual American citizen who spoke English.:cool:

 

That's great news! Glad you got it changed at no cost. That doesn't happen often these days!

[Hlitner]

This is an absurd question because none of us can give the OP a good answer. There are too many factors which become magnified if a US port. 1. You first need to assume that the ship docks on schedule...and this does not always happen. Docking times are subject to delays because of weather, when the pilot gets to the ship, other unexpected harbor traffic, etc. 2. Once the ship docks it is totally subject to the power of the authorities (in the USA it is CBP). Before anyone can leave the ship it must first be cleared by CBP. We have seen substantial delays because they cannot find a particular passenger or crew member, understaffing, or simply because the CPB computers are down! These issues, and more, can delay anyone getting off the ship...sometimes for hours! We will end our lecture here although once off the ship one still has to deal with getting transportation and the potential security issues at the airport. And that begs the question which port and airport. The best combination is Port Everglades/FLL. From there we go downhill.

 

We should add that we have a lot more confidence catching an early flight in Europe then in the USA. European authorities are generally a lot faster in clearing ships...and most European ports have few issues with Passport Control or customs.

 

Hank

Edited November 25, 2015 by Hlitner