Charleston Question

[lovinlifeinSC]

Hi everyone,

 

This is my first cruise on NCL, my 2nd cruise. I am sailing on the Majesty out of Charleston April 18th. My tickets tell me we have to be on the ship by 2:00. My husband has a business meeting that day in Charleston 5 blocks from the dock. He will have to leave early from the meeting to make the boat. My question is: What time do you suggest he leave his meeting in order to get parked and get on the boat? I am just curious how long it takes to get through the line of traffic, park, and go through check in. Any advice will be helpful. TIA.

[garycarla]

Later in the day the lines will be less. Not sure about parking but I think that is a bit of an issue there. If you do not get a more defined answer as not many folks travel out of Charleston, you can do a search on CHARLESTON to find some older messages.

 

An idea... you might consider going down and checking in yourself earlier and take care of the car and let him take a cab. Since he will not have bags and car to deal with, he can cut it a bit closer to time.

[Tmrlovesjr]

They do not open for parking until around 12, last time we left( our second Majesty cruise) it took us about 75 minutes to board. We are leaving out this Saturday and I will report back on how long it takes to board when we get back. This will give you about a weeks notice to plan. Keep in mind it may be a little longer this weekend because of the Cooper River Bridge run. They are expecting 10,000 extra people in the area because of the run.:D

[lovinlifeinSC]

Thank you. I am so excited but I have to say this is stressing me. I am so afraid he will get caught up and be too polite to get away in time. Any additional time info is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Arwenmark]

The most important time information is that if he is not on the ship 90 min prior to sailing he will not BE ALLOWED TO BOARD so I would impress on him in no uncertain terms that He MUST be there. Not trying to add to your stress but missing your boat or him missing it and you sailing without him would be much more stressful.

[flashdog_1]

The ship leaves at 4, right? So it is very crowded in the terminal with all passengers having to check in between 12-2! (since they don't open parking until noon you can't get in the garage any earlier. But you could line up before then).

 

When we sailed last April 19 we arrived at 12:30, and we were trying to get into Venetian for lunch at 1:30 (they said to go to the buffet, so it took that long to board, about an hour total).

 

As another poster said, perhaps you can deal with the luggage & parking, and the initial check in but he'll still have long lines to maneuver to get to you even if he takes a cab.

 

Gosh, I can't remember where they take the photo for your sea pass card. If he has to do that, too, but gets in the door by 2 it should work.

 

Could he just bite the bullet and leave the conference at noon? Wouldn't they be breaking for lunch anyway? Then you'd be together.

 

Good luck!

[RedHeadTexan]

On our January cruise parking opened at 11:45am. We were in the main dining room by 12:30. We were fortunate that we were near the front of the line of cars since we were parked on a side street that was next to the entrance to the port...we merged in quickly.

[garycarla]

The most important time information is that if he is not on the ship 90 min prior to sailing he will not BE ALLOWED TO BOARD so I would impress on him in no uncertain terms that He MUST be there. Not trying to add to your stress but missing your boat or him missing it and you sailing without him would be much more stressful.

 

Another reason you should leave early and take care of the car and get yourself checked in. You can be onboard and having a nice cocktail and lunch while he is running down the street trying to catch the ship.

 

No sense both of you missing the ship.