overnight in port, leave the boat?

[rawlus]

When overnighting in a given port, is it permissible or common to leave the boat after dinner to explore the city even more and come back later at night?  is it expected everyone goes to bed after dinner?  

 

We we have an overnight in Amsterdam and I’d like to make the most of it by seeing more of the city at night before we set sail the next day... is that possible or frowned upon?

 

thanks for any advice.

 

rawlus

[Coral]

Yes -  you can go out after dinner and return later.

 

Many times people enjoy dinner off the ship and spend time in the city and then return.

[jpalbny]

6 hours ago, rawlus said:

When overnighting in a given port, is it permissible or common to leave the boat after dinner to explore the city even more and come back later at night?  is it expected everyone goes to bed after dinner?  

 

Certainly! We do this whenever we can. Some itineraries lend themselves to doing this more than others, but by all means you can (and should) go out whenever you want. Though many people DO go to bed right after dinner, there is no law that you must and they don't do a bed check to make sure...

 

We've had great fun out after dinner in various cities like Vienna, Viviers (not really a city I know), Avignon, and probably a few others which I've forgotten by now. 

[mskaufman]

Absolutely, Many people were off the boat after dinner.

[pontac]

23 hours ago, rawlus said:

is it permissible or common to leave the boat after dinner

 

Absolutely permissible to walk off the boat at any time it's moored up; up to you to return before boat departs and that information is on the daily fact sheets given out the evening before.

 

The concierge will recommend places to visit and restaurants and will make restaurant bookings for you if you want to eat out.

 

However, I strongly recommend that you 1) check with reception on leaving the boat that departure time hasn't changed, and 2) take a card with the phone number of the boat on it.

 

We came back from an evening out, after checking the boat wasn't leaving till the next morning, only to see water churning around the stern and by the time we got to the jetty the boat was in mid-river. We chased it along the river bank waving and shouting without effect. Luckily it moored again further along the river. The harbour master had instructed the captain to change moorings. If we hadn't see the boat move and followed it we would have returned to an empty jetty and thought the worst, not knowing where it was. So have the boat phone number in case it happens and take your mobile phone if you have one.

 

(I've only been on Viking but I think all the river cruise lines work the same way.)

[dogs4fun]

Absolutely and I highly recommend doing so. We often book dinner reservations in the city rather than dine on the boat - recently did this on our first night in Vienna ( enjoyed an excellent dinner at Figlmuller).

[travlr21]

Just a heads-up. We over-nighted on our recent Uniword cruise in Bordeaux. In two cites we had an access code printed in the daily, needed to open a security gate when we returned from a walk.