How strict is NCL About what time you have to be back aboard?

[marktwothousand]

Strict. Sometimes the all aboard time is within 30 minutes of the actual sail time. I personally would aim for 2 hours PRIOR to the time posted in the daily.

 

The only grace you can really count on is embarkation day, where I was once delayed due to lost luggage plus a lost driver, and I got to POM at about 2:30-3 for a 4 PM departure. Everything was pretty chill at the terminal by that time, no lines, but all the way there including up until I actually was told I’m good to go, I was having a nervous breakdown and making plans in case I didn’t get on. They were starting muster drills right after I stepped on the boat 

[zqvol]

3 hours ago, marktwothousand said:

Strict. Sometimes the all aboard time is within 30 minutes of the actual sail time. I personally would aim for 2 hours PRIOR to the time posted in the daily.

 

The only grace you can really count on is embarkation day, where I was once delayed due to lost luggage plus a lost driver, and I got to POM at about 2:30-3 for a 4 PM departure. Everything was pretty chill at the terminal by that time, no lines, but all the way there including up until I actually was told I’m good to go, I was having a nervous breakdown and making plans in case I didn’t get on. They were starting muster drills right after I stepped on the boat 

15 minutes before all aboard is plenty, why waste 2 hours of port time 

[marktwothousand]

27 minutes ago, zqvol said:

15 minutes before all aboard is plenty, why waste 2 hours of port time 

I meant if you’re on an independent excursion. If you can eyeball the ship, you’re likely fine to cut it close 

[KeithJenner]

It totally depends on what you are doing. If you are wandering around town 5 minutes from the shop then 15 minutes before all aboard is plenty.

 

If we are in Rome and have to get a train to Civitaveccia then I always work out the last train that will work and aim to catch one at least an hour before that.

[ontheweb]

12 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

It totally depends on what you are doing. If you are wandering around town 5 minutes from the shop then 15 minutes before all aboard is plenty.

 

If we are in Rome and have to get a train to Civitaveccia then I always work out the last train that will work and aim to catch one at least an hour before that.

We did that and took the next to last train to be safe. It was nearly 100 degrees that day and the packed railroad train was even hotter and extremely uncomfortable. 😢 And it was even worse when a fight broke out on the train. 😒

[BirdTravels]

16 hours ago, zqvol said:

15 minutes before all aboard is plenty, why waste 2 hours of port time 

Kinda depends. The timing on the last couple to be left behind looks like they would arrive back from their independent tour just before all aboard. They showed up “a few minutes late” and waved at the ship as it left dock. They blamed traffic in the rain. 

[graphicguy]

I kind of view this the same was as I do flight boarding times.  Generally speaking, if you're not on board 10-15 minutes before doors closing, you're OOL!  Once in a while you'll catch a break.  Mostly, not!

 

Tours, especially private ones, have no safety nets.  Late to get back to the pier?  Weather?  Traffic?  Irresponsible tour operators (as in the one in Africa that didn't get the guests back in time)?  None of that matters and the ship's schedule is the schedule.

 

You get some leeway if it's a ship sponsored tour.  But, independent?  Grace period would be hard to come by.

[smillerholmes]

On 4/30/2024 at 1:08 PM, icft said:

Glad you mentioned "most likely." I had to chuckle because on our last cruise my phone, while on airplane mode the entire time, changed a couple of times. On many, many cruises I've never had that happen but on this cruise the time flip-flopped. I couldn't use it as my alarm because I never knew if it would change in the middle of the night.

 

I suspect the reason is that in addition to checking the phone's date and time options to use my carrier I also had the option to set time based on the phone's location checked. The spam ads Gmail sends all changed to Spanish once we were around the ABC islands so somehow my location was known by the internet.

 

My phone is doing some wonky things, I need that alarm feature and of course I forgot my handy dandy kitchen timer/clock this time that I bought specifically for cruising.  I am currently using the timer feature on my phone and I just set if for the appropriate amount of hours to count down and wake me up.

[yakcruiser]

I just bought a wristwatch this morning for $10.95 at Walmart for my upcoming cruise. Now if I'm late I have nobody to blame but myself.

Edited May 4 by yakcruiser

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, yakcruiser said:

I just bought a wristwatch this morning for $10.95 at Walmart for my upcoming cruise. Now if I'm late I have nobody to blame but myself.

$10.95. or $10.95 + tax? And if the battery goes bad, it is cheaper to buy another watch then replace the battery. That is said from experience.

[9tee2Sea]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

$10.95. or $10.95 + tax? And if the battery goes bad, it is cheaper to buy another watch then replace the battery. That is said from experience.

I always buy those $10.00 watches ( maybe $15.00) when the ship has their watch sales.  Like you said, almost cheaper than buying batteries.

[Travelling2Some]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

$10.95. or $10.95 + tax? And if the battery goes bad, it is cheaper to buy another watch then replace the battery. That is said from experience.

Yes, I never wear a watch except for cruises so sometimes when I take it out of the back of a drawer for a cruise it has stopped and I just buy another one.  I like the ones that light up.  I leave it in the cabin's bathroom every night so I can see what time it is without turning the light on.

Edited May 4 by Travelling2Some

[yakcruiser]

3 hours ago, ontheweb said:

$10.95. or $10.95 + tax? And if the battery goes bad, it is cheaper to buy another watch then replace the battery. That is said from experience.

Oops! I forgot the tax.

[ontheweb]

5 minutes ago, yakcruiser said:

Oops! I forgot the tax.

Actually, if you buy your $10 watch on the cruise, no pesky state sales tax.

[zqvol]

9 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Kinda depends. The timing on the last couple to be left behind looks like they would arrive back from their independent tour just before all aboard. They showed up “a few minutes late” and waved at the ship as it left dock. They blamed traffic in the rain. 

It doesn’t depend at all. I said being on board 15 minutes before deadline is plenty. I will stand by that in all circumstances.

[Fogfog]

Well yesterday they called for 4 folks, 4 times, every 5 min who were late….

Hear they made the ship ONLY because 2 trucks ran late provisioning.

 

Experienced cruisers observe the on board times

Edited May 7 by Fogfog