How long does it take to disembark?

[Burkwood4]

My husband and I are going on our first cruise on 2/26/10 and are currently trying to schedule some island tours with various companies. If the ship's itinerary states arrival at 11am, is it possible to meet up with a group at 11:30? I have heard that it takes quite awhile to disembark and would love advice or stories from anyone. Thanks for any and all help.

[paul929207]

Welme to Cruise Critic. Yes it is possible to be off the ship 30 minutes after you arrive, BUT you can't guarentee it. In your example 11am is the scheduled arrival time. Once the ship arrives it must be cleared by local authorities. Then people can start getting off. Any tour company will know this, so it should not be a problem if you are late.

[cheggy]

check to make sure the ship is not being anchored off shore. if it is , you will be tendered in to the pier and that takes up more time.

[startraveler]

For some reason, my experience has been that when it's the first port of call - no matter what ship, no matter what port - it takes longer to disembark. Dunno if it's (my experience also) because seemingly everyone wants to get off the ship at the same time because they had enough of it!

[cb at sea]

If you book with a reputable company, they understand how this works, and they will wait, if they see the ship hasn't started the disembarking process yet!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

The big thing to remember -- no one can get off the ship until it is cleared by the local authorities.

 

If you are tendering -- keep in mind that the ship's excursions will be the first ones to board the tenders. Many cruise lines have you get tender tickets (location and time listed in daily program) if you are not on their tours. Then once the majority of the tours are off the ship, tender numbers will be called.