All-Aboard Time for NCL Juneau Stop

[BeagleOne]

Hello,

 

Some friends of mine are on an NCL Alaska cruise this summer. Port time in Juneau is listed as 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Alongside the itinerary my friend got by email are notices saying that disembarkation is about two hours after arrival, and "for security reasons", all passengers must be aboard two hours before departure.

 

Questions: Is the 2 p.m. "arrival" time the actual docking time, or the time they can actually expect to be able to get off the ship? Or are they likely to have to wait until 4 p.m. to go ashore? The ship is arriving from Seattle.

 

Do they really need to be onboard by 8 p.m. for a 10 p.m. sailing? I've never been to Alaska, or on NCL, but IME the last "all-aboard time" is half an hour before sailing. Two hours just seems a long time to me, but of course my experience is limited to TAs and Caribbean.

 

They're basically wondering if they will only be able to be on shore from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Is that correct?

 

Any help is appreciated, thanks!

[dustyroad]

I have never encountered having too wait 2 hrs too get off the ship in the ports. if I remember right it doesn't take anytime at all too start getting off once the gangplank is put in place. :D. but be back on no later than a good 1/2 hr before the stated depart time. the ship does not wait for passengers unless you are on a ship tour. if you go too the Alaska thread you will get a lot more help and information about your cruise.

[punkincc]

I believe that the disembarkation time in the email is in reference to the final disembarkation from the ship at the home port which can take up to 2 hours after arrival in order for the ship to be cleared.

 

The all aboard time is referencing the initial embarkation day. A final passenger list must be passed to port authorities prior to sailing.

 

On port days, you can expect to disembark very quickly after reaching port. Very close to the port times listed on your itinerary. Typically you must re board in port 1 hour before departure time, but if you are close by, you can probably get away with 30 minutes.

[Love my butler]

Hello,

 

Some friends of mine are on an NCL Alaska cruise this summer. Port time in Juneau is listed as 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Alongside the itinerary my friend got by email are notices saying that disembarkation is about two hours after arrival, and "for security reasons", all passengers must be aboard two hours before departure.

 

Questions: Is the 2 p.m. "arrival" time the actual docking time, or the time they can actually expect to be able to get off the ship? Or are they likely to have to wait until 4 p.m. to go ashore? The ship is arriving from Seattle.

 

Do they really need to be onboard by 8 p.m. for a 10 p.m. sailing? I've never been to Alaska, or on NCL, but IME the last "all-aboard time" is half an hour before sailing. Two hours just seems a long time to me, but of course my experience is limited to TAs and Caribbean.

 

They're basically wondering if they will only be able to be on shore from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Is that correct?

 

Any help is appreciated, thanks!

 

The 2 pm arrival will be pretty close to when you can get off. Depends on if the ship is early/late. The ship leaves at 10 pm, all aboard is 30 minutes before sailing. Two hours is only for the first day of your sailing. Juneau will have about 7.5 hours of port time.

[BeagleOne]

Thanks for the responses, that makes much more sense! The email is kind of confusing because it has the two-hour comments right next to the itinerary, with no indication that those times apply only to initial boarding and final disembarkation.

 

I appreciate the information from people who have actually been there and done that! Thanks again!

[dustyroad]

i try too get too the pier by 10:30/11 on embarkation day. it is nice too get onboard , have a nice lunch and be on the open deck for the sail away. ahhhh, not im on vacation. :)

[BeagleOne]

I agree! They are especially looking forward to Juneau because they have a friend there and they were hoping to be able to see each other for more than just four hours or so. They are really excited about their cruise, and they live in the Seattle area, so they don't have to travel far to get to the ship. Lucky them!

[don't-use-real-name]

I believe that the disembarkation time in the email is in reference to the final disembarkation from the ship at the home port which can take up to 2 hours after arrival in order for the ship to be cleared.

 

The all aboard time is referencing the initial embarkation day. A final passenger list must be passed to port authorities prior to sailing.

 

On port days, you can expect to disembark very quickly after reaching port. Very close to the port times listed on your itinerary. Typically you must re board in port 1 hour before departure time, but if you are close by, you can probably get away with 30 minutes.

 

xxxxxxxxx

 

I don't know about NCL but on my CC Southern Caribbean cruise at

St. Lucia we had some stragglers that got a taste of hurry up we are

pulling the anchor and gonna leave you. The ships horn makes for a

rude awaking that we are leaving without you - "NOW HURRY THE HECK

UP" and then the fan fare from the folks on the balcony cabins watching

the 100 yard dash to the rapidly receding gang plank.

 

As far as I can figure out when a ship docks at a port those folks with

shore excursions and priority concierge arranged activities leave first

and then the rest of the cruisers. Speed of getting off the ship I guess

is measured by how quickly the ship can be tied up to the dock and the

gang plank extended safely.

Getting back on should be not be much of an issue. As you board your

cabin/stateroom key card acknowledges your checking in. Not everyone

gets back on the ship at the same time except for the groups out on a

shore excursion.

About 30 minutes before departure Security knows who is NOT on board

and usually these folks are paged to see if they somehow got onboard

without passing the security point.

Sometimes the ships PA system can be heard on the dock alerting the stragglers that they are not where they should be.

Always a load of fun to see those who have misjudged the time to be

back on board making the mad dash - betcha there are some heart

pounding moments - these people flirting with missing port call.

On one cruise at Cabo the CC Pride had to slow its departure while a

tender brought folks who got on the wrong ship to the right one some

20 miles out to sea - bet that was fun bouncing all over the place out

at sea instead of calmer waters.

Probably happens more often than noted but ships can alter speed and

direction to make up for lost time - not a big deal. Unlike airlines which

can not park in mid air to receive late passengers.

 

Odd note - why does NCL have such short time at Juneau compared to

others ports Ketchikan Skagway Icy Point ?

[Don Haynes]

xxxxxxxxx

 

I don't know about NCL but on my CC Southern Caribbean cruise at

St. Lucia we had some stragglers that got a taste of hurry up we are

pulling the anchor and gonna leave you. The ships horn makes for a

rude awaking that we are leaving without you - "NOW HURRY THE HECK

UP" and then the fan fare from the folks on the balcony cabins watching

the 100 yard dash to the rapidly receding gang plank.

 

As far as I can figure out when a ship docks at a port those folks with

shore excursions and priority concierge arranged activities leave first

and then the rest of the cruisers. Speed of getting off the ship I guess

is measured by how quickly the ship can be tied up to the dock and the

gang plank extended safely.

Getting back on should be not be much of an issue. As you board your

cabin/stateroom key card acknowledges your checking in. Not everyone

gets back on the ship at the same time except for the groups out on a

shore excursion.

About 30 minutes before departure Security knows who is NOT on board

and usually these folks are paged to see if they somehow got onboard

without passing the security point.

Sometimes the ships PA system can be heard on the dock alerting the stragglers that they are not where they should be.

Always a load of fun to see those who have misjudged the time to be

back on board making the mad dash - betcha there are some heart

pounding moments - these people flirting with missing port call.

On one cruise at Cabo the CC Pride had to slow its departure while a

tender brought folks who got on the wrong ship to the right one some

20 miles out to sea - bet that was fun bouncing all over the place out

at sea instead of calmer waters.

Probably happens more often than noted but ships can alter speed and

direction to make up for lost time - not a big deal. Unlike airlines which

can not park in mid air to receive late passengers.

 

Odd note - why does NCL have such short time at Juneau compared to

others ports Ketchikan Skagway Icy Point ?

 

 

Juneau has a forty foot tide. The ship arrives and leaves with the tide. Sometimes tides are more vital than a clock.

[don't-use-real-name]

Ah ha - !!!

 

The "Paul Harvey" - - - "The Rest of the Story"

 

Thanks - explains a great deal !

[bonvoyagie]

We were on the Pearl in AK last summer. Her captain was very prompt with port times - we were on a ship sponsored excursion that ran late - we were the last people back on the ship - at around 9:30 - we pulled out as soon as they removed the gangplank - we were not even back to our cabin when we heard the horn. That said we were in port around 1:30 and were docked and unloading pax a little after 2:00. If they happen to be in a suite - or are Platinum Latitudes members they can ask the Concergie to get them off the ship early - we were on a tour that needed all the time in port so we were escorted through the crew areas and used the crew exit to avoid the crowds - Juneau is the first port stop in AK and people are very anxious to get off and get their first taste of AK. This year she may have a new captain who may not be in such a hurry :D.

 

As for tides - they are not really a factor and they don't vary by 40' - in fact the worst variance for 2013 will be 24.9' here is a link to the Juneau Tide Table for 2013 http://westjuneau.com/weather/tidesjuneau_year.htm

 

Technically embarkation and debarkation are the beginning and end of the cruise - port stops are just that - stops - I think that there is also language in the documents pertaining to port timings. BTW if there are any changes - they will be announced through the Freestyle Daily which would come out the night before the port stop - it will list the docking time as well as the reboarding time along with the number of the local port authority - the people you can contact if you are running late - better to let them know you are delayed than having them guess where you are :)

[klingoncruiser]

Juneau has a forty foot tide. The ship arrives and leaves with the tide. Sometimes tides are more vital than a clock.

 

ah.... no..... lol. Tidal change is closer to 20 feet per day. Tides make no difference on docking at any Alaska Port. However that Seattle run is not a very good one. That is a very late arrive and many of the stores will shut before you get back to the ship. Docking is controlled by space available. I will be B to B this year on the NCL Sun out of Vancouver and will be our 22nd year of the addiction called Alaska. :D

[UPGrandma]

Thanks for the responses, that makes much more sense! The email is kind of confusing because it has the two-hour comments right next to the itinerary, with no indication that those times apply only to initial boarding and final disembarkation.

 

I appreciate the information from people who have actually been there and done that! Thanks again!

 

Wonder if the email is wrong - & NCL meant to say 2 hr prior to embarkation (boarding to start the cruise). Cruise lines do make mistakes in their postings - was searching 2014 Alaska cruises & web page initially showed Southbound for both their truely SB route & the NORTHbound.