If port arrival at 7am what time can we walk off ship if no excursion booked?

[Linda W.]

Going to meet friends in St. Maarten from the Silhouette but have no idea when we will actually get off the ship.  The itinerary says we will be there at 7am.  I imagine they will let people that have excursions booked off first but since it is not a tendering port how long does it usually take for people without excursions?

[hrhdhd]

5-10 minutes?

[Guindalf]

Arrival time and disembark time can be very different. You have to wait until the ship is cleared by local authorities before you can get off the ship. This can be as little as 5-10 minutes to much more. 

[CaribbeanBound]

If you're not at a tendering port, I'm unaware of anything that would prevent you from lining up prior to gangway opening and being among the first to depart the ship when the gangplank opens.

 

Frankly, you "can" actually get off the ship before the official time if the ship has been cleared.  They will not make a general ship announcement until the official time.  So, if you want to try to get off early, head on down to the gangplank and see if it's open and okay to leave the ship.  We've gotten off the ship several times between 30-60 minutes prior to the official time.  Clearly, far from "often" but not unusual.

 

[NutsAboutGolf]

15 minutes ago, CaribbeanBound said:

If you're not at a tendering port, I'm unaware of anything that would prevent you from lining up prior to gangway opening and being among the first to depart the ship when the gangplank opens.

 

Frankly, you "can" actually get off the ship before the official time if the ship has been cleared.  They will not make a general ship announcement until the official time.  So, if you want to try to get off early, head on down to the gangplank and see if it's open and okay to leave the ship.  We've gotten off the ship several times between 30-60 minutes prior to the official time.  Clearly, far from "often" but not unusual.

 

 

Pretty much what I was going to say

[Betsynh]

I agree with everything already stated. Just off Equinox. The captain made announcement when we arrived in port and then a half hour later once we were cleared to depart. I’d head down to the gangway area when the first announcement is made and wait for security to open up.