Ports of Call

[saunderslee]

Hi!  If our ship says it is in port from 7am to 3pm.  What timeframe should I use to book excursions?  Thanks! 

[mom says]

Depends on the port and excursion. Is the ship docked or tendered? Is it a ship excursion or an independent agency? 

Edited November 5, 2021 by mom says

[broberts]

2 hours ago, saunderslee said:

Hi!  If our ship says it is in port from 7am to 3pm.  What timeframe should I use to book excursions?  Thanks! 

 

Welcome to CC.

 

Depends on the port, ship, and circumstances. 

 

If you are booking ship excursions you don't have to worry about times. Departures will be delayed if the ship is running late. These excursions are designed to return passengers in time for departure boarding.

 

When booking private excursions (if permitted by the port) allow enough time for the ship to be cleared by local authorities and then for a thousand or so people to join you getting off. I typically like to plan on returning no later than 1 1/2 hours before departure. This provides a margin for clearing security and potential tour delays before one usually has to be back aboard. (A note on departure time. This is the time at which the ship physically leaves the pier or mooring station. Generally passengers have to be back aboard 15 - 30 minutes (varies) before departure. At the back aboard time preparations are made for departure. No one gets aboard after that time.)

 

If a port is tendered, more time has to be allowed at both ends for the tender trip and lineups.

 

Port calls may be missed or the order changed. Private bookings should take this into account. Some operators will not offer refunds.

 

 

Edited November 5, 2021 by broberts

[Fouremco]

As ship excursions are timed to a ship's arrival and departure, you really don't need to worry about timing, other than getting to the meeting location at the specified time.

 

For private excursions, the operators generally are very good at timing start/finish times to match your ship. When there are two or more ships in port, their arrival and departure times are usually fairly similar, and tour operators will have times that can accommodate passengers from multiple ships. But if you have a particularly late arrival or early departure scheduled for your ship, make sure that the tour times work for you before you book.

 

The there is a Ports of Call board here on Cruise Critic that has a lot of information related to excursions. I suggest you take a look at the specific ports in which you have an interest: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2-ports-of-call/

 

I don't know if you have a particular cruise line in mind, but you might want to post your question on the cruise line board. Every line is a bit different, and you might get more detailed information there.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Why do the cruise line always have shitty hours in ports 

10 -6 would be nicer hours 

[Fouremco]

3 hours ago, Airbalancer said:

Why do the cruise line always have shitty hours in ports 

10 -6 would be nicer hours 

I'm guessing you aren't early risers! 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

2 hours ago, Fouremco said:

I'm guessing you aren't early risers! 

I wish I wasn’t 😢

but walking a town at 8am , nothing is open 

[Fouremco]

At 8am, we are usually in our rental car and on our way to the first of our destinations for the day. Maybe a beach for some peaceful snorkeling before the masses arrive, or an historic site not already swarming with tourists. Then walking the town later in the day, after returning the car. 😇