Killing time before boarding

[Lisacope]

Hi we are going to be on the Sept 11th sailing of the Ovation - our boarding time is not until 4:20pm - we have a half day tour that I think we can stretch out until 2:00pm, after that I think we will be dropped off at the pier - given that we will still have time to kill - is there anything nearby? A cafe would be great but at least a bench in the shade would be fine

[Hlitner]

The Ovation embarks from Pireaus where the actual pier does make a difference in terms of accessing the locality.  The ship has primarily been using Pier/Terminal "C" which is further from many of the better parts of Pireaus then the major cruise pier "A.".   The area outside of the Pier C area is not particularly noteworthy although a walker can certainly get access to various places around Pireaus.  The Marina Zea area (very popular for evening restaurants and clubs) is within a very long walking distance and also accessible via the local buses, but for those not familiar with the area it might be a stretch too far.

 

The good news is that when we arrived at the port (about 4 weeks ago) there was no problem checking-in early.  In fact we were about 3 hours before our designated embarkation time (it could not be helped) and nobody raised the issue.  We were quickly checked-in, tested (antigen test) and onboard within 20 minutes of arriving at the embarkation tent.  Also consider that the Ovation has been operating at about 1/2 capacity (approximately 300 passengers) with about half embarking on a weekly basis (most cruisers are doing back to backs).  So SB only needs to process about 150 embarking passengers on a week to week basis which is not a big crowd.  The only potential problem seems to be if you happen to arrive at the port at the same time as the SB transfer buses bringing in the folks who were on the SB pre-cruise package.   On our cruise that group (coming from the Grande Bretagne Hotel) arrived between 1 and 1:30.

 

Hank

[marazul]

We were the only ones when we arrived at the pier 3 hours early. We we were tested and went right in.

[AdvenLee]

Does anyone know which terminal in Port of Miami will be used for Ovation cruise, Dec. 10. 2021?

 Are we allowed to wait in the terminal for couple hours before boarding time?

Edited November 23, 2021 by AdvenLee

[WNcruiser]

4 hours ago, AdvenLee said:

Does anyone know which terminal in Port of Miami will be used for Ovation cruise, Dec. 10. 2021?

 Are we allowed to wait in the terminal for couple hours before boarding time?

The port schedule is not out yet for December 10th. The Nov 29th cruise is leaving from Terminal J which is almost always used by the small luxury lines. 
 

on Dec 10th Oceania Insignia is also in Miami so will have to wait for the port schedule. 

Edited November 24, 2021 by WNcruiser