How long before departure to be back on board?

[BVK]

How far in advance of departure from ports of call does Princess require passengers to be back on board? I will be sailing Princess for the first time on Emerald in the Baltic on 6/15/09. Thank you.

[paul929207]

Be on board at least 30 minutes before the listed sailing time.

[Toto2Kansas]

How far in advance of departure from ports of call does Princess require passengers to be back on board? I will be sailing Princess for the first time on Emerald in the Baltic on 6/15/09. Thank you.

 

Normally 30 minutes before sailing. But we have visited some ports where they required you back earlier than that. But the normal timeframe is 30 minutes prior to sailing.

 

Always check the princess patter and the sign at the gangway, just to be sure. ;)

[DrivesLikeMario]

30 mins. to an hour depending upon the port.

[BVK]

Thanks for your immediate responses! I'll try not to miss the boat. :)

[sultan_sfo]

Look for Sign on the Gangway when you leave the ship.

And be sure that your personal watch matches the ship's time!

[Pam in CA]

Remember, the time the ship says for you to be back onboard is the LATEST you should be, so always plan on at least 30 minutes before then. You never know what you might encounter: traffic, flat tire, etc. that could delay your return. When you're on your own, you're on your own and no matter what happens, you're responsible for being back on time.

[shipsealand]

Make sure to be on time and better yet early. My DW and I saw a man that was late getting to the ship after it left the dock when we were on the Sapphire in Alaska. He then just filmed the ship as it was leaving. Then we saw a Princess rep go to him to provide assistance - likely arrangements to the next port and I wonder how much it costs. I heard that he was in a phone booth on shore making a phone call thinking it would save money (vs email from the ship - that would have paid for a lot of internet time). Also it is not fair to all the other PAX on time who would otherwise have to wait or the ship having to pay extra dock time fees.

[Spender Nui]

Thanks for your immediate responses! I'll try not to miss the boat. :)

 

I'd recommend it. If you miss it can be expensive to catch up at the next port ... especially when security is so tight and you may have left your passport on the ship.

[captainron]

While the most romantic sight is a fully lit cruiseship sailing off into a sunset, that's a wonderful sight as long as the ship is not yours. You want to be safe not sorry.

 

On our Coral transcanal in 2006 they recommended 30 mins in some ports, one hour in others and still people straggled onboard as the gangway was being prepared to roll away. Check the Patter and at the gangway and listen for ship's announcements early in the day prior to going ashore when they'll advise you what time the ship sails, when crew must be back onboard and when passengers must be onboard by.

 

One important point of note...sometimes ship's time and the local time in the port are not the same, so it is equally vital that you set your watch by ship's time prior to going ashore.

 

Ciao for now!!!

[Cruisin' Chick]

If it's a tender port, you'll have to add some time to get in line for the tenders. Especially toward the end of a port stay, when the line will start getting long.

 

Just don't forget: by Sailaway time, you need to be back on board and with a drink in your hand up on deck to wave bye bye.