Tropiclady Posted March 13, 2011 #1 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Can any of you Oceania experts answer a port question for me, please? If a private tour driver wants to pick us up in Livorno at the ship at 7:30 am and the ship arrives at 7:00 am, is this possible? I do not know how the procedure works for disembarking at each port. Do they differ at each port or always the same? Would we have to special request this or can we just leave the ship at any point after it has docked. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much! Tropiclady Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondorner Posted March 13, 2011 #2 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Can any of you Oceania experts answer a port question for me, please? If a private tour driver wants to pick us up in Livorno at the ship at 7:30 am and the ship arrives at 7:00 am, is this possible? I do not know how the procedure works for disembarking at each port. Do they differ at each port or always the same? Would we have to special request this or can we just leave the ship at any point after it has docked. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much! Tropiclady When a ship arrives in port, the first thing that happens is it must be cleared by local customs before anyone can disembark. There is no way to predict how long this will take. You can almost be assured that it will take at least a half hour after arrival. Typically there will be several announcements about whether the ship has been cleared, or not. The one thing that is dependable is that no time is dependable. It also happens that a ship may arrive late at a specific port for a number of reasons. Having said that, local tour companies are used to these vagaries, and typically will wait for you until you are free to disembark. If a tour guide insists on a specific time, I would strongly recommend moving on to a more experienced tour guide. You should also realize that there is always a chance that the ship will miss the port altogether, and therefore should not pay for a tour in advance. Most experienced tour companies are perfectly willing to wait until after the tour to be paid. On Marina's Maiden Voyage, we missed the port of Malaga, Spain because the harbor waters were too rough to allow safe docking. Not only did passengers miss the port, but costumers were left waiting at the dock w2aiting to come aboard and finish costumes for the singers and dancers. Because they could not get aboard, the singers and dancers had to switch to a different show at the last minute. On Marina's Inaugural voyage to San Francisco, we missed the port of Huatulco, Mexico because the propeller had been fouled and we had to sail at reduced speed to Acapulco, where divers were able to dislodge the log that had stuck in the propeller. The bottom line is that anything may -- and sometimes will -- happen at any given port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tropiclady Posted March 13, 2011 Author #3 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Thanks for the info, Don! I do have a couple of more questions that I hope you can help with. Can anyone leave when they want, once the ship has cleared customs? Is there a waiting area near the area where you disembark, just so we could leave once an announcement is made. Are you familar with this port at all? Our ship (Marina) will be in Portofino the day before so I am wondering what the chances of being late from that Port might be. The tour operator has said 7:30 just because of our itinerary and the fact that he would like to beat the rush hour traffic on the way to Florence. If we had to start later I think he would be okay with that, we would just have to change our itinerary to fit. Thanks for your help, Tropiclady Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpver Posted March 13, 2011 #4 Share Posted March 13, 2011 In august 2009 we were at Livorno with Nautica. We docked at that time at 08:00am. Departure 08:00pm. At that time the ship was berthed at the quay just close to the city center . (Note : that some ships are further in the port and need shuttle) First groups of the organised tours of Oceania have priority, but disembarquement time is reasonable. I would suggest to reckon on a possibility of 8 am when vessel arrives at 7 am. If it is a private tour you as client descide. What are they doing if the ships berthed later as we did? Livorno - Firenze (Florence) when no intermediate stop involved is roughly between 1h35 - 1h 45 (106 km of which 94 km on highway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondorner Posted March 13, 2011 #5 Share Posted March 13, 2011 When the ship is docked, you may leave as soon as the announcement that the ship is cleared. Understandably, there may be a bit of a line at the gangway, but I've never seen it take more than a few minutes. This is Oceania, not a megaship, and lines, if they exist at all, are short. They ask the people not congregate at the gangway waiting to leave, as this tends to slow the process. However, when the ship is docked the gangway is often on Deck 5 of Marina, near Reception, and there are some chairs in alcoves nearby. Or, wait in Martinis or the Grand Bar on Deck 6, and walk down the Grand Staircase when the announcement is made. If it's a tender port, go to the Marina Lounge (theater) a short time before the announcement that the ship has cleared. There will be prior announcements that (a) the ship has not yet cleared and/or (b) that it is expected the ship will clear momentarily. In the theater, there will be a table up front. If you are on a ship tour, this is where you meet and get a numbered tender ticket. It is true that they will tend to group tour guests together. However, the other function at the front of the theater is to hand out colored tender ticket for independent travelers. Get there a little early, and you have a good shot at getting a ticket for the first tender to go ashore. Marina only tendered one time on her first two voyages, at Cabo San Luca, but we arrived in the theater just as the announcement was made about clearance. We went up front, were asked if we were ready to go ashore, and were issued red tender tickets for immediate departure. Within two minutes, we were on the first tender carrying passengers (they had made an earlier trip with their dockside tent, drinks, step for the tender, etc., and to drop off crew members to assist guests off the tender). Obviously, as others learn about this technique, it may not be possible to be first, but Oceania will continue to hand out colored tender tickets for independent tourists and call those colors to mix in independents with ship tour guests. Some tours depart at later times; no guest should have to wait until all tours have departed if they are willing to go to the theater and wait until their color is called. At some point in the process, an announcement will be made that open tendering has begun and you will no longer need a tender ticket. I think this may be the genesis of the rumor that independent guests have to wait until then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patseacruiser Posted March 13, 2011 #6 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Once the ship is cleared you can get off whenever you like. If you are using a local tour operator that is well known and recommended then he will know the procedure well and wait for you. Sometimes they will ask what port you are in previously and they check if you left on time. Just be sure to use one of the recommended tour operators and you will be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted March 13, 2011 #7 Share Posted March 13, 2011 I only book private tours. I always get the local cell number for the tour operator and give my cell and email address ( I have a functioning Blackberry at all times). In that way we can communicate with the guides in case there are problems or if we cannot locate them at the dock! it is a good precaution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLANGE Posted March 13, 2011 #8 Share Posted March 13, 2011 You should have no problem meeting your private tour driver. We were in Livorno in October and met a private driver and had no problems. The private cars will be parked about 50 yards from the exit of the ship. Just go downstairs a few minutes early so you are one of the 1st people off the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted March 13, 2011 #9 Share Posted March 13, 2011 And inform your guide to wait should the ship take longer to clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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