What is the standard all aboard "lead time" on Celebrity?

[Aralim]

Hi all,

 

Really basic question, I know, but I did a search of this forum and found only a few mentions of all aboard time. I'm used to sailing on Royal, where all aboard has been 30 minutes before departure time at all of my ports on all of my sailings to date. But the few posts I found here that mentioned "all aboard time" all gave times a full hour before departure.

 

Is that the standard on Celebrity? I'm trying to work out excursion windows for an upcoming sailing, and one of the days has an already short window that will be even shorter if I need to be back on the ship 30 minutes earlier than I'm thinking I do.

[WestLakeGirl]

Is it a tender port?

[ShawninFL]

Celebrity all aboard time is usually 30 prior to the scheduled ship departure time.  If it's a tendered port, they normally state the the last tender leaves shore 30 prior to the scheduled departure.

[Fouremco]

Many passengers like to build in a bit of extra time to be on the safe side and plan as if it was 60 minutes and not 30. Maybe it's their posts that have misled you.

[Mike981]

I plan a two hour buffer on almost all excursions. I hope you have a wonderful time being spoiled in one of the most perfect places on the planet.

[miched]

Always check the ships time when leaving the ship.   The people in the port don’t always know what the ship is using as their time.    

 

Sometimes the Captain won’t change to local time as it may cause a lot of confusion either way it will but jut be safe and ask as you leave.

 

happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[varoo]

3 hours ago, ShawninFL said:

Celebrity all aboard time is usually 30 prior to the scheduled ship departure time.  If it's a tendered port, they normally state the the last tender leaves shore 30 prior to the scheduled departure.

 

At tender ports, there is no need to get back to the dock early to make sure you can get on the last tender.

 

As long as you are on the tender line at the posted last tender time, they will not leave you behind, even if the tender fills up and you are still standing in line. 

 

We have seen people start to panic when the "last" tender filled up and departed without them, not realizing that they would not be left behind, even though it was beyond the posted last tender time.

 

When necessary, they will keep running tenders back and forth for as long as it takes until they have picked up everyone who was waiting in line.

                

Edited August 25, 2019 by varoo

[Aralim]

Thanks, all! The specific port I'm concerned about is Akureyri, which will be a docked port. Our port time is 11 AM to 5 PM, and there is a whale-watching excursion via Saga Travel that leaves at 1 PM and returns at 4 PM. If all aboard will be 4:30, then I'm confident about being able to make it back to the ship on time since the tour operator confirmed via email that it's something like a five minute walk from ship to whale watching boat. Even if the tour gets back a little late, like 4:15, we can make it (at the cost of being a family of pier runners).

 

I was worried that all aboard would be 4 PM and that there would be no way to book any third-party excursion since there are few that fit within our port window. If Celebrity offers this trip themselves for that day without a ridiculous premium, then I may well book through them for the security of knowing they'll wait for us if we're late. But I want to still have the option to book directly with a third-party if that works out better.

[Hypo]

Remember that your cell phones will switch to local time and will not necessarily match the official ships time!

[Alakegirl]

That shouldnt be a poblem in .akureyri

[NantahalaCruiser]

15 hours ago, Hypo said:

Remember that your cell phones will switch to local time and will not necessarily match the official ships time!

They only switch if you allow them to! You can put them on a manual mode where they only change when you make the change yourself.

[phoenix_dream]

In all my 50+ Celebrity cruises I don't recall ever being required to be back onboard one hour before leaving (have only sailed Caribbean, Alaska, and west coast US).  In fact, most of the time it has been the port time indicated in the itinerary.  On occasion they will sail prior to that time if all guest are onboard.  I do agree with those who recommend you allow yourself plenty of leeway with private tours.  Too much can go wrong to cut it close.

[Texed]

There are usually two postings as you leave the ship.  

 

Crew, one hour before departing.

Guests, 30 minutes before departing.  🙂