Disembarkation procedure on Norwegian Epic?

[WouterC]

Hi all,

 

I'm currently comparing excursions and whether to take the cruise lines excursions or do some on our own.

 

Can you freely walk off the ship once it's cleared for customs? Or do the people going on nlc excursions get priority and do you have to wait for them before you can get off the ship?

 

For example, I'm thinking we could gain a lot of time by getting off in Civitavecchia at 8 AM then taking the train, since the excursion Rome On Your Own only leaves at 8.45.

 

Sent from my GT-N8000 using Tapatalk

[VideoTech]

Hi all,

 

I'm currently comparing excursions and whether to take the cruise lines excursions or do some on our own.

 

Can you freely walk off the ship once it's cleared for customs? Or do the people going on nlc excursions get priority and do you have to wait for them before you can get off the ship?

 

For example, I'm thinking we could gain a lot of time by getting off in Civitavecchia at 8 AM then taking the train, since the excursion Rome On Your Own only leaves at 8.45.

 

Sent from my GT-N8000 using Tapatalk

 

I don't know about European ports, but my experience on our cruises in the Caribbean and Alaska is that once the ship is cleared, it's pretty much a free-for-all to get off the ship. There's usually a huge line already formed before the ship is cleared, snaking around up the stairs.

 

The good news is that it moves pretty quickly once they are cleared. All that's needed is a swipe of your room key/ID card and you're off the ship.

 

There are some priority ways to disembark: If you're in a suite, your concierge will usually arrange to take a group down through the backstairs and directly to the access way, so that you're usually the first off.

 

If you are in a port where you are tendered, the ship will sometimes use a ticket system to control the flow of people onto the tenders.

[WouterC]

Thanks for the info!

 

What's there to stop anyone from taking those back stairs on their own? Or are those back stairs normally not accessible?

 

And couldn't you make sure you're first in line by arriving early (or does everyone has this idea :) )?

 

I don't know about European ports, but my experience on our cruises in the Caribbean and Alaska is that once the ship is cleared, it's pretty much a free-for-all to get off the ship. There's usually a huge line already formed before the ship is cleared, snaking around up the stairs.

 

The good news is that it moves pretty quickly once they are cleared. All that's needed is a swipe of your room key/ID card and you're off the ship.

 

There are some priority ways to disembark: If you're in a suite, your concierge will usually arrange to take a group down through the backstairs and directly to the access way, so that you're usually the first off.

 

If you are in a port where you are tendered, the ship will sometimes use a ticket system to control the flow of people onto the tenders.

[JohnIreland]

You can walk off once the ship clears, but the back route will only be for crew , suite guests and people on ncl excursions.