What to expect on embarkment

[bradspeck]

Maybe I missed this information, but will someone tell me what to expect on embarkment. I am cruising for the first time on 1/7/06 on the NCL Wind in Hawaii. My travel documents say embarkment starts at 1pm and the ship leaves at 8pm. How late can we wait before we check in? We have things planned that day and want to be there on time but not too early if we can cram something else into our day before checking in. Can anyone tell me a little about the dock on Ohau? What's the procedure? We are staying a few days at a Bed and Breakfast, renting a car and seeing the sights.

[electricron]

You must be aboard the ship a half hour before the scheduled departure,

Therefore, arrivng at the cruise terminal an hour before departure is sound advice.

Don't forget, most ships schedule their lifeboat drill near undocking from the pier. You'll need to be aboard early enough to drop your carry on bags and to pick up your life jackets in your cabin. Your muster station is usually posted on the back of your cabin door, and your life jackets should be stowed in your closet.

[osiebosie]

We boarded Carnival in Oahu, and it was a little daunting, but okay. Usually there are alot of porters running around to help out, but there were not alot in Hawaii. Luckily for us, we were in a rented car with friends (who were not boarding), so they dropped us off and then waited around for us. After we registered and boarded, we got back off of the ship and hung around with our friends for a while.

 

You may want to go around 2 or 3 and board and get your luggage checked on, and then you can get back off if you wish. If I remember correctly, and it's been a couple of years, there is some shopping in the area you can go to. You can eat lunch and dinner on the ship. We did.

 

If this is your first cruise, you may be too excited to wait to get on, I would be, and you may want to get on at 1. Usually they start letting you board a little earlier if things went well with the prior cruise. But there will be a line right off, and if you want to wait an hour or so, it may ease up. You'll need time to walk around the ship and acclimate yourself with everything, and of course, check out your cabin. If you have any carry-ons, you can use this time to unpack them.

 

Of course, if you have plans, just wait to check in much later, I'd go no later than 6:30, and you'll probably just walk right on. I wouldn't push doing too much and then getting there at 7 or 7:30. What if something happened and you missed it:eek: :eek: ??

 

Enjoy your cruise. We loved our Hawaii cruise. Will you sail to the west coast? I am not familiar with NCL's itinerary from Hawaii. Or do you do just the islands?

 

I have some other tips for Hawaii for you if you wish. You can email me at temple1017@aol.com if you want.

 

Shay