Staying onboard the night before a cruise - tell me my friend is wrong!

[catwoman6226]

Hi - don't shoot the messenger!

 

My friend insists that she has heard that it's possible to stay on the ship the night before it sails, and that her sister did it on a recent Princess Canada/New England cruise (hence why I'm asking on this board).

 

I've never heard of this and find it hard to believe, given the amount of documentation, etc. that one has to go through. Has anyone heard of someone doing this?

 

My friend thinks that would save hotel costs the night before we leave. It wouldn't be possible anyway because the cruise we're considering doesn't even get back into port until the day we leave, but my curiosity is aroused....

 

So again - no flames, please! I think she's full of balony or got some bad information, so wanted to check with the experts here :)

[PrincessMelody]

In all of my years of cruising I have never heard of such a thing! I'm certain that if that were a possibility, that everyone would be doing it, and/or talking about it! :eek:

[M4dC0w]

Little hard when it doesnt get in port until the day of embarkation

I call baloney

Edited May 18, 2015 by M4dC0w

[Kenswing]

Yes it's true.. Sort of.. We did the New England cruise last year out of Quebec. The first night IS spent in port. Same thing when w cruised Tahiti. The first night was spent in port..

[FritzG]

I've never heard of this, and I don't see it could be possible when the ship doesn't arrive until the morning of the next cruise.

Edited May 18, 2015 by FritzG

[CruiserBruce]

Yes it's true.. Sort of.. We did the New England cruise last year out of Quebec. The first night IS spent in port. Same thing when w cruised Tahiti. The first night was spent in port..

 

 

This is the correct answer. In a small number of ports, the cruise ship may spend an overnight, where the new pax come on, but the ship doesn't leave until sometime the next day. A common port for this is Venice, sometimes Barcelona. We did it last year in Lima, Peru. Kenswing gives an example of it happening in Quebec. So it does happen.

 

Yes, in the vast majority of ports, the ship arrives early in the morning, releases the current pax, picks up a new load of pax, and sails late in the day. But there are exceptions to that.

Edited May 18, 2015 by CruiserBruce

[Ready to Sail!]

Yes it's true.. Sort of.. We did the New England cruise last year out of Quebec. The first night IS spent in port. Same thing when w cruised Tahiti. The first night was spent in port..

 

It does happen but it is considered day one of the itinerary. We did it in Tahiti also. Friends did it in Quebec in reverse. The ship arrived but they did not disembark until the next day.

[ar1950]

This is the correct answer. In a small number of ports, the cruise ship may spend an overnight, where the new pax come on, but the ship doesn't leave until sometime the next day. A common port for this is Venice, sometimes Barcelona. We did it last year in Lima, Peru. Kenswing gives an example of it happening in Quebec. So it does happen.

 

Yes, in the vast majority of ports, the ship arrives early in the morning, releases the current pax, picks up a new load of pax, and sails late in the day. But there are exceptions to that.

 

So to the OP, unless the itinerary includes an overnight in the embarkation location, if you plan on being there a night early you probably would want to book a hotel room. Camping outside the port probably would not be fun. :cool:

[Colo Cruiser]

Yes when the cruise starts with an overnight.

[Sailingpeace]

More experienced cruisers may correct me but my understanding is that this is not possible unless you have started your cruise. Let me explain; if your booking is for a cruise that starts on let's say Saturday , you can board on Saturday. Some cruises have an overnight stay in the first port so you only leave on Sunday. But you are not staying on the ship "before" your "cruise" starts.

Maybe your friend had an experience with another cruise line, but to my knowledge, this is not possible with Princess.

Edited May 18, 2015 by Sailingpeace

[san diego sue]

And where would those people sleep. There would be people still in the cabins that would leave the next day.

WE arrived in Venice one day and not scheduled to disembark till the next morning.New passengers couldn't board that first day we were in Venice because none of us left the ship till the next day when embarking passengers would take our place.

[Pam in CA]

More experienced cruisers may correct me but my understanding is that this is not possible unless you have started your cruise. Let me explain; if your booking is for a cruise that starts on let's say Saturday , you can board on Saturday. Some cruises have an overnight stay in the first port so you only leave on Sunday. But you are not staying on the ship "before" your "cruise" starts.

Maybe your friend had an experience with another cruise line, but to my knowledge, this is not possible with Princess.

You're right.

 

Here's an example:

 

A 17-night trans-Atlantic cruise to Ft. Lauderdale embarking in Venice. You book and pay for 17 nights. However, you board day 1, stay overnight on the ship and the ship sails the afternoon/evening of day 2. You've booked and paid for that night onboard. It's not a "free" night.

 

The friend is not full of baloney but what they are naive about is that they have booked and paid for that night onboard. It's not a free night onboard. They would have had a cruise card, bought drinks, dined in the dining room or buffet, etc. They paid for the night.

[Ready to Sail!]

You're right.

 

Here's an example:

 

A 17-night trans-Atlantic cruise to Ft. Lauderdale embarking in Venice. You book and pay for 17 nights. However, you board day 1, stay overnight on the ship and the ship sails the afternoon/evening of day 2. You've booked and paid for that night onboard. It's not a "free" night.

 

The friend is not full of baloney but what they are naive about is that they have booked and paid for that night onboard. It's not a free night onboard. They would have had a cruise card, bought drinks, dined in the dining room or buffet, etc. They paid for the night.

 

Explained perfectly Pam.

[icat2000]

Yeap I had it on my Sydney to Singapore. Started with an overnight in Sydney this year.

[insidecabin]

One company(now defunct) used to offer this as an option.

 

They ran 6n cruise on a 7n cycle.

you could add a pre or post cruise night.

 

if you booked B2B you got the night for free.

[KruzeKrazy!]

Yes to what people are replying. So the ship acts like a "floating hotel" for night 1 (and sometimes the last night) but it’s part of the cruise itinerary and paid for as are all the days/nights of an itinerary.

[CruisingSince2012]

More experienced cruisers may correct me but my understanding is that this is not possible unless you have started your cruise. Let me explain; if your booking is for a cruise that starts on let's say Saturday , you can board on Saturday. Some cruises have an overnight stay in the first port so you only leave on Sunday. But you are not staying on the ship "before" your "cruise" starts.

 

Maybe your friend had an experience with another cruise line, but to my knowledge, this is not possible with Princess.

 

So Princess never stays overnight at embarkation ports?

[KruzeKrazy!]

Yes Princess does. See the earlier postings - they do in Venice, Tahiti, etc.

 

It will clearly show as day 1 of any itinerary where it occurs.

[GUT2407]

Some cruises overnight in the embarkation port.

 

HOWEVER 90+% arrive in port in the morning [usually 6:00-7:00 am], disembark the last load of passengers in the morning [that's why they want you off by about 9:30]and then embark the new bunch that afternoon [normally between 11:00 and 4:00].

[COMBOY]

Well, you friend was right as the ship didn't physically sailed out of Quebec City until the following day so the ship was used as an overnight hotel. However, her cruise actually did start when she boarded the ship on Day 1. She did NOT start her cruise on the day prior to her cruise. Yes, certain ports like Quebec City, Venice and Papeete usually don't sail until the following day due to late arriving flights or limited issues with air schedules and it gives passengers more opportunity to explore the port of embarkation.

[GUT2407]

Some also don't sail till the next morning due to tides and port activity.

[dorisis]

Yes it's true.. Sort of.. We did the New England cruise last year out of Quebec. The first night IS spent in port. Same thing when w cruised Tahiti. The first night was spent in port..

 

The first night is part of the cruise package.

[paul929207]

We have also overnighted in Cape Town to start a cruise.

[Esprit]

It does happen but it is considered day one of the itinerary. We did it in Tahiti also. Friends did it in Quebec in reverse. The ship arrived but they did not disembark until the next day.

 

Agreed. We did this when we embarked Emerald Princess in Venice and again when we disembarked in Venice on Grand Princess

[catwoman6226]

Thank you, everyone, for all the responses!

 

Pam - your explanation was so clear - I'll use that to set my friend straight. I suspect what other people have said is true - her sister was just naïve that what she called "the night before the cruise", Princess called "Day 1" :)