Ship docks at 8:30 am, excursion starts at 8:40 am...

[dln929]

....so obviously we want to be one of the first off the ship so the tour people aren't waiting on us too much. How does this work? We've always slept in and ordered room service so by the time we walked off the ship everyone else had already left! How far in advance, roughly, should we be down on the lower deck in order to be at the front of the line to get off quickly? We'll be on the Indy and the ship is just about at full capacity.

[johneeo]

....so obviously we want to be one of the first off the ship so the tour people aren't waiting on us too much. How does this work? We've always slept in and ordered room service so by the time we walked off the ship everyone else had already left! How far in advance, roughly, should we be down on the lower deck in order to be at the front of the line to get off quickly? We'll be on the Indy and the ship is just about at full capacity.

 

My experience has been that the ship docks much earlier than the posted time, so by 8:30 (and I have experienced earlier than posted time) cruisers are hitting land.

 

If you leave your cabin at 8:30, you will get to the excursion in a timely manner, and you will probably wait at least another half hour (if you are lucky) before you begin.

[uksimonusa]

....so obviously we want to be one of the first off the ship so the tour people aren't waiting on us too much. How does this work? We've always slept in and ordered room service so by the time we walked off the ship everyone else had already left! How far in advance, roughly, should we be down on the lower deck in order to be at the front of the line to get off quickly? We'll be on the Indy and the ship is just about at full capacity.

 

Is this a ship excursion or private? Seems to me that the ship wouldn't have an excursion so close to docking, the ship has to get cleared by immigration before anyone can get off, also if this is a private excursion, is it based on ship time or local time, there is very often a difference

[dln929]

My experience has been that the ship docks much earlier than the posted time, so by 8:30 (and I have experienced earlier than posted time) cruisers are hitting land.

 

If you leave your cabin at 8:30, you will get to the excursion in a timely manner, and you will probably wait at least another half hour (if you are lucky) before you begin.

 

Thanks, so by the sounds of it, it wouldn't appear that we'd have to be lining up two hours ahead of time just to get off the ship!

 

Is this a ship excursion or private? Seems to me that the ship wouldn't have an excursion so close to docking, the ship has to get cleared by immigration before anyone can get off, also if this is a private excursion, is it based on ship time or local time, there is very often a difference

 

Private tour, in Madeira. We're going on a levada walk. The brochure said they'll meet us at the cruise ship so I'm guessing they're used to the logistics of meeting passengers. (The Indy comes to Funchal every week like clockwork in season.) From what Johneeo said, it doesn't seem like there's a stampede to get off every time the ship docks. :D

[negc]

I suspect that independent tour operators are experienced with cruise ship passenger arrivals and have a good idea of when their customers will be able to get off the ship and join their tour. As long as you don't dawdle, you should be able to make it to your tour on time. If there are extraordinary delays affecting the entire ship, the tour operators will likely wait until everyone arrives. They will also know whether or not your ship is operating on ship's time or local time and will schedule themselves accordingly. Just be sure to keep your watch on ship's time.:)

[dln929]

I suspect that independent tour operators are experienced with cruise ship passenger arrivals and have a good idea of when their customers will be able to get off the ship and join their tour. As long as you don't dawdle, you should be able to make it to your tour on time. If there are extraordinary delays affecting the entire ship, the tour operators will likely wait until everyone arrives. They will also know whether or not your ship is operating on ship's time or local time and will schedule themselves accordingly. Just be sure to keep your watch on ship's time.:)

 

Thanks, negc. That sounds right to me.

[MeHeartCruising]

When I want to be one of the first off the ship (which is almost always since I'm an early riser and I do my own thing on shore usually and want to get it going), I get up and have breakfast done about 30-45 minutes prior to when we are supposed to dock. The ship is usually approaching the pier while I'm finishing breakfast. I then go up top to watch some of that process because it fascinates me. Then, while they are doing that, I head back to the cabin to pick up anything I may need for my day on shore. Then I head to a viewing point on the dock-side of the ship (Promenade deck if there is one, or my balcony if I have one, or back up top). You can see them setting up the exit ramp and the little tent they always put up at the exit ramp. Once those are up, they generally will let you off within another 5 minutes or so. So I usually head down at that time. 99% of the time, I am permitted to walk right off. I'm often within the first 10 people off a ship.