Questions about the Majesty & Philly port?

[gram4haley]

We will be sailing out of Philadelphia on the Majesty. If the posted sailing time is 8PM, what time during the day will we be able to go on board the ship?

 

Will Dinner be served in the dining room that evening?

 

If we don't want to deal with major crowds, what time should we arrive at the port?

 

Is parking a problem at the Philly port?

[ricks2047]

There were several questions there. I can only help with a few.

I put my parents on a cruise out of Philly a few years back. They said to arrive at noon for a 5PM departure, which we did. We got just inside the naval yard area when the traffic just stopped. There were people in cabs that were getting out and walking the rest of the way. We did make the drop off with plenty of time but it was quite a mess. We sat on the road for about an hour before we even started to move. It looked like they were delayed in the debark of the previous cruise because they were not letting cars any further into the port. Their boat left port a little late.

A year later my wife and I went out of Philly (just over three years ago). We drove ourselves there. The cruise line said noon arrival for 5PM departure. We got there just a little before noon. We pulled up to the baggage drop off and dropped our bags. We were directed ( there were a great number of people everywhere to direct you around the port) to the parking lot and parked about 50 yards from the luggage drop off. Parking was a breeze. We went to the shuttle waiting area and waited on the shuttle. Made it to the check in area a few moments later. We got checked in and we were eating lunch on the boat less than 20 minutes total from when we dropped off our bags.

So as you can see it varies by what happens with the boat prior. For me it was a breeze. My parents a great big hassle.

 

Since your ship and departure time is different I can't speak about those items. Check with the cruise line for what they say about arrival time.

[DeltaOne]

We will be sailing out of Philadelphia on the Majesty. If the posted sailing time is 8PM, what time during the day will we be able to go on board the ship?

Boarding generally begins around 11:30 am to noon, sometimes delayed by a Coast Guard or other inspection. To avoid the crowds arrive very early (11 am) or late (3 to 5 pm). In any case, plan to be on board at least two hours before the departure time. Me? We go early -- we like to get on the ship as soon as we can.

 

All the dining venues will be open for dinner each night of your cruise.

[robmom59]

hi; my husband and i are going 10/18/08 out of philly to new england/canada - we would like to stay in hotel on friday night and park our car there for the week. are there any hotels in the area that offer this and free shuttle to the port? we live in baltimore (perry hall).