Myadobehacienda Posted July 11 #1 Share Posted July 11 Is there a general guideline for how long before departure we should be back on the ship after a day in port? We obviously don't want to miss our ship, but we also don't want to return too early from an outing that we're really enjoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olemissreb Posted July 11 #2 Share Posted July 11 If it is a dockside port, the general all aboard time is 30 minutes prior to sail away. The time will be posted as you leave the ship for the day. Tender ports are different. All aboard time may be an hour before sailaway. Again...check as you disembark. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 1025cruise Posted July 12 #3 Share Posted July 12 When you leave the ship, there will be a sign when to be back. Just note, that will be in ship time, which may or may not be local time. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGinMTL Posted July 12 #4 Share Posted July 12 I like to target 60 min before the all aboard. This gives us a buffer for unexpected events. Don't want to cut it too short. If your ship does not change time. Be extra careful of technologies that will change automatically when connected ( phone, smartwatch) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zqvol Posted July 12 #5 Share Posted July 12 45 minutes ago, olemissreb said: If it is a dockside port, the general all aboard time is 30 minutes prior to sail away. The time will be posted as you leave the ship for the day. Tender ports are different. All aboard time may be an hour before sailaway. Again...check as you disembark. Really that would be last tender time is an hour before sailaway. As stated when docked on most lines all aboard is generally 30 minutes before sailaway. If you are in line to board or tender you aren’t going to get left behind. To be safe many people are back 30 minutes or so earlier than required. You may see on websites that all aboard is 2 hours before sailing, but that is on initial embarkation. Alwys pay attention to the sign on the gangway when leaving the ship. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Kat Posted July 12 #6 Share Posted July 12 1 hour ago, Myadobehacienda said: Is there a general guideline for how long before departure we should be back on the ship after a day in port? We obviously don't want to miss our ship, but we also don't want to return too early from an outing that we're really enjoying. @Myadobehacienda Regarding "ship time" others have mentioned, perhaps this oldie but goody Cruise Critic article will be helpful: What Is Cruise Ship Time? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bull Posted July 12 #7 Share Posted July 12 The latest time (after which you might get a proper dressing-down or you might miss the sailing) is usually - for ships moored at the quayside, at the gangway 30 minutes before advertised sailing time. - for ships moored off-shore - where you're ferried between ship & shore by boats called "tenders" - at the tender pier 60 minutes before advertised sailing time. Note, that's the time you need to be at the pier ready to board a tender - it's not when you have to be back on the ship, so there's no need to take into account the time that your tender needs to get to the ship Those latest "Back On Board" or "Last Tender" times are well-advertised and displayed as you disembark. Those are the minimums, different folk have different opinions about how much extra time to allow. For most of us that will depend how far we are from the ship & how we'll get back. For instance if we're a short walk away, we simply allow the time it takes. If we're a bus-ride away we allow perhaps 30 minutes more than we'd expect it to take, if we're a long way away we allow perhaps an hour longer than we'd expect. We're very wary of travel where there's no "Plan B" to overcome a mechanical failure etc - so for places which involve a ferry we're very very wary. Other folk will have different opinions, there's no right or wrong, it's what you're comfortable with. JB 🙂 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 1025cruise Posted July 12 #8 Share Posted July 12 Of course, I'm a bad person to ask. Hard to be late getting back to the ship when you don't bother getting off at all. I dinged on during embarkation, and didn't ding off until they kicked me off. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcook Posted July 12 #9 Share Posted July 12 While it’s going to warn people about the possibility of ship time being different from port time, keep in mind that it’s pretty rare nowadays and will be heavily announced in the rage occasions it happens. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 1025cruise Posted July 12 #10 Share Posted July 12 30 minutes ago, wcook said: While it’s going to warn people about the possibility of ship time being different from port time, keep in mind that it’s pretty rare nowadays and will be heavily announced in the rage occasions it happens. Carnival, as a rule, does not change their ship time from the home port. Yes, there are exceptions, but for standard cruises Carnival ship time might be different than local time. But yes, there will be plenty of signage. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clo Posted July 12 #11 Share Posted July 12 9 hours ago, John Bull said: The latest time (after which you might get a proper dressing-down or you might miss the sailing) is usually - for ships moored at the quayside, at the gangway 30 minutes before advertised sailing time. - for ships moored off-shore - where you're ferried between ship & shore by boats called "tenders" - at the tender pier 60 minutes before advertised sailing time. Note, that's the time you need to be at the pier ready to board a tender - it's not when you have to be back on the ship, so there's no need to take into account the time that your tender needs to get to the ship Those latest "Back On Board" or "Last Tender" times are well-advertised and displayed as you disembark. Those are the minimums, different folk have different opinions about how much extra time to allow. For most of us that will depend how far we are from the ship & how we'll get back. For instance if we're a short walk away, we simply allow the time it takes. If we're a bus-ride away we allow perhaps 30 minutes more than we'd expect it to take, if we're a long way away we allow perhaps an hour longer than we'd expect. We're very wary of travel where there's no "Plan B" to overcome a mechanical failure etc - so for places which involve a ferry we're very very wary. Other folk will have different opinions, there's no right or wrong, it's what you're comfortable with. JB 🙂 I'm a punctuality freak and I build in "what if" time. What if the bus blows a tire? What if a wreck blocks the road? Etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ontheweb Posted July 12 #12 Share Posted July 12 17 minutes ago, clo said: I'm a punctuality freak and I build in "what if" time. What if the bus blows a tire? What if a wreck blocks the road? Etc. I feel the same way about getting back, but on our last cruise when I said to DW that we did not have enough time to see one last attraction and get back on time, she insisted we visit the Funicular in Bergen. We did luck out that the hop on hop off bus to which we had tickets came very soon after we left there. We got back onboard I'd say 15 minutes give or take before all aboard time. When I pointed this out to her, her reply was that there were a lot of people on the line behind us to board the ship. Still the whole episode made me very nervous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clo Posted July 12 #13 Share Posted July 12 2 minutes ago, ontheweb said: Still the whole episode made me very nervous. Oh she-gawd, yes! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ontheweb Posted July 12 #14 Share Posted July 12 2 minutes ago, clo said: Oh she-gawd, yes! Yeah, that bus ran basically every half hour. We were EXTREMELY lucky that it came only a few minutes after we left the Funicular and got to the stop for the bus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clo Posted July 12 #15 Share Posted July 12 2 minutes ago, ontheweb said: Yeah, that bus ran basically every half hour. We were EXTREMELY lucky that it came only a few minutes after we left the Funicular and got to the stop for the bus. BTW my husband is like your wife...and I don't mean that as a compliment to either one of them 🙂 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ontheweb Posted July 12 #16 Share Posted July 12 1 minute ago, clo said: BTW my husband is like your wife...and I don't mean that as a compliment to either one of them 🙂 But at least they both have a sense of direction and a feeling of love for their spouse. 😊 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mum2Mercury Posted July 12 #17 Share Posted July 12 21 hours ago, Myadobehacienda said: Is there a general guideline for how long before departure we should be back on the ship after a day in port? We obviously don't want to miss our ship, but we also don't want to return too early from an outing that we're really enjoying. Personally, we always aim to be back 2 hours before sail-away. As someone else said, this means that if something goes wrong, you have a solid buffer /have time to deal with a set-back like getting lost or even a twisted ankle. Thoughts on being time-safe: - In my limited experience, it seems to me most people are back onboard by mid-afternoon anyway. Going ashore can wear you out. - We have small analog clocks that clip onto our backpacks. We trust those instead of our phones; we never have to wonder whether our phones have switched time zones or not. They're also handy by the pool, where you can rarely see a clock -- our clocks are on carabiners, so they're quick to move from one bag to another. - We never allow our party to split up. That's easy now that it's just the two of us, but -- if we're with a larger group -- we agree ahead of time what to do if we are accidentally separated. No guessing whether to go back to the ship or not. - We always have cash to take a taxi back to the port, if necessary. - We always know at which pier our ship is docked; this doesn't matter at every port, but at larger ports -- Cozumel and Roatan, for example -- you could get yourself into big trouble by returning to the wrong pier. - We don't drink heavily. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGinMTL Posted July 12 #18 Share Posted July 12 Also, I prefer morning excursions. And free time in afternoon. Start farthest point and make your way back towards the ship . Also, I never look at sailing time ( I believe that time should not even be published) The only important time is all aboard I am also a pro of " reverse scheduling " 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted July 13 #19 Share Posted July 13 12 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said: - We have small analog clocks that clip onto our backpacks. We trust those instead of our phones; we never have to wonder whether our phones have switched time zones or not. They're also handy by the pool, where you can rarely see a clock I have a small analog clock that straps onto my wrist that performs the same functions you mentioned above. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pengu1n Posted July 14 #20 Share Posted July 14 The ships used to hand out maps that had a contact number for the ship, if you had trouble on shore. They don't seem to be as available anymore. Maybe the number is in the app? We like to browse the shops near the ship. If you save that until last, you know you are near the ship and can time it better. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted July 15 #21 Share Posted July 15 2 hours ago, pengu1n said: The ships used to hand out maps that had a contact number for the ship, if you had trouble on shore. They don't seem to be as available anymore. Maybe the number is in the app? I have noticed a decrease in ad-laced maps handed out when we got out for shore. This could be a function of the specific cruise lines I've been on, general (paper) waste reduction measures, and/or the ports I visited. I didn't notice the contact # on those maps (I'll take your word for it), but I always notice that it's in the paper newsletter - which is also being reduced on some cruise lines these days. The problem with putting contact info in the app is you need separate Internet or cell phone data access to get into the app, unless you're VERY close to the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d9704011 Posted July 15 #22 Share Posted July 15 1 hour ago, Honolulu Blue said: I have noticed a decrease in ad-laced maps handed out when we got out for shore. This could be a function of the specific cruise lines I've been on, general (paper) waste reduction measures, and/or the ports I visited. I didn't notice the contact # on those maps (I'll take your word for it), but I always notice that it's in the paper newsletter - which is also being reduced on some cruise lines these days. The problem with putting contact info in the app is you need separate Internet or cell phone data access to get into the app, unless you're VERY close to the ship. Taking a photo or a screenshot of the contact info is a handy way to keep it available without requiring anyinternet/wi-fi access. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airbear232 Posted July 15 #23 Share Posted July 15 On 7/11/2024 at 7:54 PM, Myadobehacienda said: Is there a general guideline for how long before departure we should be back on the ship after a day in port? We obviously don't want to miss our ship, but we also don't want to return too early from an outing that we're really enjoying. For us, if the ship docks in town, we’ll return up to half hour before designated return. For ports like Civitavecchia when we go to Rome, we try to be back at least 2 hours before leaving. There are exceptions. When we’re in Charlotte Amalie, we try to be back close to the ship within 1/2 hour of leaving. Traffic there can get very heavy and you can run the risk of being late very easily. Read info on each port to see what others say about getting back to ship. Have a great trip. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare GeezerCouple Posted July 15 #24 Share Posted July 15 1 hour ago, d9704011 said: Taking a photo or a screenshot of the contact info is a handy way to keep it available without requiring anyinternet/wi-fi access. I'd strongly suggest that in addition to a photo/screen shot of the local port agent, one writes it down the old-fashioned way, and puts it in a pocket... someplace where it isn't likely to get left behind or stolen... just in case... GC 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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