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Help me get off the boat early!


MegPieCruiser
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Hi everyone! My first post here though I've cruised quite a lot, I've just never run into this issue before so I'm turning to you all for help!

 

I am sailing out of NYC on the carnival horizon this summer. The ship gets back into NYC on Wednesday Sept 5th and due to a scheduling snafu, that is actually the same day my kids are supposed to start school (We thought we had another day but when the school schedule came out, we were surprised!)

 

The itinerary says we arrive at 8am on that day. We will never make it back to the kids schools in time. My questions:

 

1) What are the chances it docks earlier than that so we can get an earlier start?

2) how can I ensure I'm 'first off' the boat as soon as we've cleared customs? I plan to do self-assist of course, but anything else I can do? Trying to get as early a start as possible and head straight to dropping the kids at their schools! :)

 

thanks!

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be at the gangway as soon as you dock with all your bags

as soon as the ship clears you will be first in line

 

Yo do not say if you are flying home, driving or live in NYC

maybe have a private driver ready to pick you up so you are not looking for a taxi

 

Will the school allow children to be late on the 1st day or are you penalized ??

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Thanks for your note! I live in NYC but will need to get from Manhattan to the kids schools in a different borough so will definitely need cab access. I'm just not sure how early to be down by the gangway...I think sometimes these boats clear customs ahead of schedule, right? I'm kind of hoping it clears really early hehe

 

I also don't know how early it may come in so I can't really tell a private car what time to arrive there to wait for me. I'd be in great shape if I could get off the boat at 7am--is this super wishful thinking?

 

 

be at the gangway as soon as you dock with all your bags

as soon as the ship clears you will be first in line

 

Yo do not say if you are flying home, driving or live in NYC

maybe have a private driver ready to pick you up so you are not looking for a taxi

 

Will the school allow children to be late on the 1st day or are you penalized ??

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I also don't know how early it may come in so I can't really tell a private car what time to arrive there to wait for me. I'd be in great shape if I could get off the boat at 7am--is this super wishful thinking?

 

If the published arrival time is 8 am I wouldn't count on being off the ship at 7 am. Even if the ship arrives a little early, there are still customs and immigration procedures and set ups that need to occur before the first passenger disembarks.

 

This may seem drastic but since final payment is months away, can you change to an earlier week?

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Unfortunately, this is the only week that works, not to mention the week before is insanely more expensive so I guess we'll just have to make the best of it and be a bit late on their first day--I'm just curious as to HOW late we'll be...like what is absolute earliest I will likely be able to actually walk off the boat....:)

 

 

If the published arrival time is 8 am I wouldn't count on being off the ship at 7 am. Even if the ship arrives a little early, there are still customs and immigration procedures and set ups that need to occur before the first passenger disembarks.

 

This may seem drastic but since final payment is months away, can you change to an earlier week?

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....I'm just curious as to HOW late we'll be...like what is absolute earliest I will likely be able to actually walk off the boat....:)

 

The ship needs to be cleared by local authorities and this can take 30 - 60 minutes. You will have to go through Customs and Immigration and this could take some time as well.

 

Use the self-disembark program, which means you do not put your bags in the hall the last night but instead you leave the ship with all of your luggage in tow. You will be told where to go line up, but don't be surprised if there are hundreds of others in line with you.

 

At every disembarkation port we've ever arrived at, cabs are lined up waiting to go. A cruise ship is big money, and the cabs go where the money is.

 

One thing in your favor is that you are the only ship in port that day; this will help with C&I personnel.

 

Bottom line: we don't know, you don't know. Sounds like you are already stressed about it :( so I suggest you do as much as you can that is in your control, and hope for the best with the rest of it.

.

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you correctly sensed it...I AM nervous about it :( the first day of school is so important--and I know for certain it's my daughters favorite day of the school year so I'm feeling bad about this planning accident and hoping it doesn't put a damper on what should be a really nice time :(

 

 

 

The ship needs to be cleared by local authorities and this can take 30 - 60 minutes. You will have to go through Customs and Immigration and this could take some time as well.

 

Use the self-disembark program, which means you do not put your bags in the hall the last night but instead you leave the ship with all of your luggage in tow. You will be told where to go line up, but don't be surprised if there are hundreds of others in line with you.

 

At every disembarkation port we've ever arrived at, cabs are lined up waiting to go. A cruise ship is big money, and the cabs go where the money is.

 

Bottom line: we don't know, you don't know. Sounds like you are already stressed about it :( so I suggest you do as much as you can that is in your control, and hope for the best with the rest of it.

.

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Are you driving and parking at the terminal, getting dropped off/picked up, car service, cab? What time does school start? If you do the self walk off and are heading back to one of the other boroughs, depending what transportation you're using to get to the kid's school, you should be able to get them there maybe on time or an hour or so late, depending what time school starts.

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School starts at 8:30 and I need to travel from the manhattan cruise port to Queens so no shot if I can't even start to wait in lines to get off until 8 :( A lot of the responses are kind of the gut check I needed--that I just need to accept the fact that we WILL be late :(

 

Are you driving and parking at the terminal, getting dropped off/picked up, car service, cab? What time does school start? If you do the self walk off and are heading back to one of the other boroughs, depending what transportation you're using to get to the kid's school, you should be able to get them there maybe on time or an hour or so late, depending what time school starts.
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It sounds like there is no chance to get to the school before classes begin. So your children will be late. Is there a harsher penalty for being more late? If not, just relax and get there when you can
This! If you're 20 minutes late or 2 hours, I'm assuming the penalty is the same. And honestly, although I understand the excitement and importance of it, I wouldn't stress too much. Family time is important too, IMO. As long as they're not starting at a new school, I'm sure they'll be fine! :)
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Go to guest services and explain your situation. Ask them how you can get off in the very 1st group.

And call their school just before you leave on the cruise and explain why the kids won't be there at the beginning of the school day. Maybe their teachers can think of a way of welcoming them on their 1st day, something about their cruise they can explain in front of the class. See if this is possible before the cruise so your kids can think about to tell their new class.

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I ddmire your desire to get you children into school for the day, some parents would just take it off. :)

 

Good on you I say!

 

Sometimes, all sorts of medical and dental appointments mean children arrive in school later by an hour or so (or go earlier) and these appointments cannot be rearranged. Since you didn't plan for this look at it in that light....your kids will be fresh off the ship for the first day of school. Wish I could start my school year like that! (I teach).

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Go to guest services and explain your situation. Ask them how you can get off in the very 1st group.

And call their school just before you leave on the cruise and explain why the kids won't be there at the beginning of the school day. Maybe their teachers can think of a way of welcoming them on their 1st day, something about their cruise they can explain in front of the class. See if this is possible before the cruise so your kids can think about to tell their new class.

Teachers are busy enough on the first day and disrupting an already busy day with a special late welcome and story time seems very entitled to me.

 

It sounds like the original poster is going to take the cruise. Just go with the flow and not worry about it. Check them into school when you get there. I would plan on being out ready on the deck to walk out at 7:30 in hopes that they clear the ship early. This way you have done everything you know to do. Remember it takes time to leave the cabin with luggage and catch the elevator to the appropriate deck. I would be walking out my cabin no later than 7:15.

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My experience with NCL is that the ship will arrive in NYC around 5:30 - 6:00 a.m., and normally is cleared to begin disembarking between 7:30 and 8:00.

 

To ensure that you are off early you should be ready to be in line, and ready to get off the ship no later than 6:15. Be aware that 500 of your closest friends will have the same idea.

 

You could be off as early as 7:30 or it could be after 9:00, there is really no way to predict.

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Unfortunately, this is the only week that works, not to mention the week before is insanely more expensive so I guess we'll just have to make the best of it and be a bit late on their first day--I'm just curious as to HOW late we'll be...like what is absolute earliest I will likely be able to actually walk off the boat....:)

 

I don't know. I think I would take the hit and move to a different cruise or cancel the cruise and do something else for that vacation slot. Then, no stress for me or the kids.

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In trying to "help" you....here are some more things I thought of IF I were in your shoes.

 

In trying to disembark with 3000 of your new friends, who also have urgent appointments to get to....did you give any thought of the previous day? I would assume it would be a sea day, with that being said you would have enough time to gather things up and pack. Are you a night owl, or do you go to bed early? how about the kids? You would probably have to get up at the crack of stupid, which would mean an early night, on your last night on your cruise, would the kids be OK getting up around 5:30 am, getting some breakfast and YES, dressing for school, which means you would be packing their school clothes and supplies to be able to disembark, gather your luggage, get a cab and then off to school..then find your way home and cart your luggage into the house. How would you fare for your day getting up at 5:30...how about them. Have you asked them (you never mentioned their ages) how they feel about getting up and ready for school and cabbing it, then spending the whole day at school? Does the school offer staggering times to attend? Where as students can enter at any time? If unfortunately you were running late and didn't get a cab in a timely manner, would you take the kids to school late, or have them miss the first day... Lots to think about.

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Assuming you are still reading after myfuzzy’s diatribe, one suggestion. I assume you are a couple traveling with child. You may make life easier that morning if one adult + child scoot to the front of the line, scamper through immigration, and head for Queens. Meanwhile, the other adult can handle ALL the luggage, can maneuver all the stuff across town to home base. It may save time, it will for sure save on your nerves if you don’t need to worry about anything more than a hurried cross-borough trip to school...

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Twenty years from now what do you think your children will remember most. The fun and fantastic time they had on the cruise, or being a couple hours late to school one day. My guess is the late to school part will be forgotten. Relax, it will work however it works. If you are stressing your children will be stressing.

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Twenty years from now what do you think your children will remember most. The fun and fantastic time they had on the cruise, or being a couple hours late to school one day. My guess is the late to school part will be forgotten. Relax, it will work however it works. If you are stressing your children will be stressing.

 

Forty-eight years ago this September I missed the first morning of my senior year getting my braces taken off (after 3 years!). I can't remember why it was scheduled that day but know my mom had let the school know the prior week (during teacher workdays). I showed up for lunch looking and feeling great only to pick up my class schedule to find that I had only been assigned 2 classes and 5 study halls (which I always considered a colossal waste of time)! Granted I only needed 2 classes to graduate (and I did after the first semester) but it took me days to get the schedule filled with electives. Would it have been easier to handle first thing in the morning? Probably not but I still remember showing up for most of my classes a day or two late and having to explain to my teachers that I had been twiddling my thumbs in study hall for the first couple of days of school. I certainly remember that specific day better than almost any other in high school :D.

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Hi everyone! My first post here though I've cruised quite a lot, I've just never run into this issue before so I'm turning to you all for help!

 

I am sailing out of NYC on the carnival horizon this summer. The ship gets back into NYC on Wednesday Sept 5th and due to a scheduling snafu, that is actually the same day my kids are supposed to start school (We thought we had another day but when the school schedule came out, we were surprised!)

 

The itinerary says we arrive at 8am on that day. We will never make it back to the kids schools in time. My questions:

 

1) What are the chances it docks earlier than that so we can get an earlier start?

2) how can I ensure I'm 'first off' the boat as soon as we've cleared customs? I plan to do self-assist of course, but anything else I can do? Trying to get as early a start as possible and head straight to dropping the kids at their schools! :)

 

thanks!

 

That's a tight schedule. Not likely able to make it.

When you say 'self-assist', do you mean that you will be able to carry off ALL of your luggage? That's the earliest you can leave the ship. With the walk off group carrying ALL of your luggage.

Then you go through customs yourself.

If the ship begins walk off disembarkation at 9:00 or 9:30 a.m. ... you then have to go through customs after that. Then get to your car parked wherever and get on the road. ???

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