First time cruisers MSC Seaview please HELP!

[ls51096]

Hi everyone i have been reading alot of posts and as a first time cruiser i have some "stupid" questions to ask 😉 we r sailing MSC seaview in July and wanted to ask if someone can let me.know:

1. When the ship says it arrives at 07:00 how long after are you allowed to disembark?

2. How long does it take to disembark and is everyone allocated a time for this or can you disembark any time you like?

3. How much time before the ship leaves are you supposed to be back on the ship?

 

Apologies for all the questions as i have never been on a cruiseship and i will be having my young daughter with me

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/49-msc-cruises/

[John Bull]

Unfortunately the time quoted is different for different cruise lines.

7am might be arrival time - so add at least half-an-hour, - or it might be when they expect disembarkation to start.

Ask about that on the MSC forum linked by Itchy & Scratchy.

 

At most ports the ship ties-up at the pier. There's no time allocation for disembarkation, you go ashore when you like - there'll be a long queue at first but it clears quickly. If you head to the gangway 15 - 20 minutes  after the ship is cleared to disembark you'll probably walk straight off.

 

But at some ports, the ship moors off-shore and you're ferried ashore by boats - sometimes local boats, sometimes ship's own tenders. Check your itinerary, looking for words like "ashore by tender".  I doubt there'll be any on an MSC Mediterranean (mebbe one if you go to Santorini).

Folk on ship's excursions get priority boarding on tenders, for the rest of us again it's different ships / different routines......

Mebbe collect tender tickets where advertised, like ship's theatre or a bar - if you're keen to get off quickly get there early, at least 30 minutes earlier than the time advertised. Tickets are numbered, lowest numbers issued first, then find somewhere comfy like a bar & listen for your number to be called.

Or mebbe the system is that you go to the advertised venue - usually theatre or dining room - when you're ready to go ashore, get your numbers when you arrive & stay there til your number is called.

If you have any tender ports, also ask which ticketing system on the MSC forum

 

Latest "back-on-board" time is usually 30 minutes before sailing time.

At tendered ports, "last tender time" is usually 60 mins before sailing time. That's the latest time you should be at the pier waiting for the tender. You don't have to be on the ship by then, just at the tender pier.

Back-on-board time / last tender time will be well advertised in the daily newssheet and at the gangway.

No priorities for getting tenders back to the ship.

Tenders run back & forth all day.

 

JB 

Edited June 11, 2019 by John Bull

[KarenDON]

We travelled on seaview last year and could disembark whenever we wanted.

We docked at 9.30am and were able to store luggage until we left at 2pm.

You will be out of your cabin early though so have some clothes in your hand baggage if you can.