"Freestyle" Debarkation/Embarkation

[Avril]

I'm wondering about "Freestyle" Debarkation. :confused: It says in the brochure that "Debarkation usually begins 2 hours after docking". So, does that mean that if the ship docks at 8am (like it says in the brochure) debarkation doesn't start until 10am? I this is great at the end of the cruise :D but I'm wondering when's the earliest we can board the ship at the beginning of our cruise? My thinking is, if debarkation starts at 10, takes maybe 2 hours (give or take), then the earliest we can board would be 12 noon (or soon after). Does this make sense? Am I right? If n ot, can someone let me know how this wroks exactly? I'm just trying to figure out when we should arrive at the cruise terminal. If it makes a difference, I'm thinking of sailing on the Epic (or Gem, but probably Epic) from Miami. It'll be my 1st cruise with NCL so I'll probably have lots of "Freestyle" questions!! :D

Thanks!! :D

[bakerintn]

initial boarding in Miami seems to typically start at about 11:30.

 

at the end of the cruise, if NCL says that they dock at 8 am, it will probably be earlier and if you self dis-embark (take your own luggage off with you) , you should be able to get of by 9:00 if not earlier.

[spacepotatoes]

It is not always the case but more often than not, the ship is docked well before the time stated on your itinerary. The time on the schedule is usually when disembarkation begins. There can be delays but generally, last call is between 9:30 and 10:30 (depending on ship/port).

[dread_pirate]

I just spoke to NCL about this - we're scheduled to dock back in Boston at 8 AM, a very difficult pick up time given Boston's rush hour! She said we were likely to begin debarkation at around 9:30 or so.

 

My cruise documents say boarding begins at noon for a 4 PM sailaway.

[njhorseman]

I just spoke to NCL about this - we're scheduled to dock back in Boston at 8 AM, a very difficult pick up time given Boston's rush hour! She said we were likely to begin debarkation at around 9:30 or so.

 

My cruise documents say boarding begins at noon for a 4 PM sailaway.

 

The telephone customer service rep you spoke to obviously doesn't know anything about self disembarkation (where you carry your own luggage off the ship), which typically begins about 30 to 45 minutes after the ship docks.

[phoenix1181]

I just spoke to NCL about this - we're scheduled to dock back in Boston at 8 AM, a very difficult pick up time given Boston's rush hour! She said we were likely to begin debarkation at around 9:30 or so.

 

My cruise documents say boarding begins at noon for a 4 PM sailaway.

 

I was @ Black Falcon yesterday about 11:00 am to see what we'd be dealing with when we cruise in a few weeks. It looked like debarkation was probably complete. Traffic was light in both directions & traffic out of the garage was light. There were a few people with luggage walking toward the ship but we didn't see anyone walking from the ship.

[DevCruise]

I'm just trying to figure out when we should arrive at the cruise terminal.

 

It's a little early yet, but your eDocs/boarding pass will have an embarkation start time on them. Generally, you can show up about an hour before this and make it through the check-in process. However, if you show early, you will have to wait to board the ship most likely.

 

Not sure what they do at other ports, but in Hawaii, they had hula dancers to entertain us until we could board.

[shof515]

my edocs has this for my cruise next week:

EMBARKATION:

Guests check in begins at 12:00 PM Please do not arrive earlier than 1 hour prior to embarkation time shown here