Embarkation day when ship is in port for two days

[TheEs2022]

We are about two weeks out from our first Viking cruise (ocean), and I’m wondering if anyone has had this scenario before. I’ve done a search but can’t find anything concrete, although I haven’t been able to find a way to phrase the situation well so I may have missed an answer in a previous thread.

 

If you are in port for two days and you have an early embarkation time, are you able to go through embarkation, drop your bags off, and then leave the ship to do some exploring in port on the first day? When you come back do you go through the regular embarkation line again, or is there a separate area for people to board who have already been on the ship?

 

Thanks!

[ropomo]

Once you have checked in and have your "cruise card", you can come and go as you please as far as Viking is concerned. You just go to the gangway and board the ship, tap in and enjoy!

[CCWineLover]

33 minutes ago, ropomo said:

Once you have checked in and have your "cruise card", you can come and go as you please as far as Viking is concerned. You just go to the gangway and board the ship, tap in and enjoy!

Absolutely correct!  As we have done in several times.  Board about 11 AM, drop bags off, get the room card, do the safety briefing and then leave the ship again to go wander about!

[TheEs2022]

Awesome. That was what we were hoping but I wanted to make sure before we planned on it! Thank you both!

[Heidi13]

17 hours ago, TheEs2022 said:

We are about two weeks out from our first Viking cruise (ocean), and I’m wondering if anyone has had this scenario before. I’ve done a search but can’t find anything concrete, although I haven’t been able to find a way to phrase the situation well so I may have missed an answer in a previous thread.

 

If you are in port for two days and you have an early embarkation time, are you able to go through embarkation, drop your bags off, and then leave the ship to do some exploring in port on the first day? When you come back do you go through the regular embarkation line again, or is there a separate area for people to board who have already been on the ship?

 

Thanks!

 

The procedures can vary depending on the port, but in most similar situations, pax already having boarded are treated similar to pax in transit and you are normally directed straight to the queue for Security Screening, if required by "In Transit" pax.

[Pushka]

1 hour ago, Heidi13 said:

 

The procedures can vary depending on the port, but in most similar situations, pax already having boarded are treated similar to pax in transit and you are normally directed straight to the queue for Security Screening, if required by "In Transit" pax.

I was wondering about security and immigration processes when doing this. Usually boarding the ship means exiting immigration. Looking forward to seeing what happens in Mumbai next year on Mars. 

[katlew]

In Bergen, Norway, we had no issues with going out and exploring the city after embarkation. It's no different than if you are at any other port and coming & going from the ship. We did not have to stand in the same line to get back on as we weren't "checking in," but we did have to do any of the normal ship security.

 

We have plans to do the same in Auckland, NZ next month. 

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, Pushka said:

I was wondering about security and immigration processes when doing this. Usually boarding the ship means exiting immigration. Looking forward to seeing what happens in Mumbai next year on Mars. 

 

The Ship's Security Manual, required by the ISPS Code, should require some level of security screening in every port, either conducted by the shore facility, or onboard the ship.

 

With respect to Immigration, for "In transit pax" I have seen this requirement in a few ports. Can't recall all of them, but Vancouver and St Petersburg come to mind. 

[azdrydock]

1 hour ago, Heidi13 said:

 

The Ship's Security Manual, required by the ISPS Code, should require some level of security screening in every port, either conducted by the shore facility, or onboard the ship.

 

With respect to Immigration, for "In transit pax" I have seen this requirement in a few ports. Can't recall all of them, but Vancouver and St Petersburg come to mind. 

In Sydney Australia we were not allowed to leave the ship once we embarked at White Bay.  Some of the answers we got related to logistics issues in the terminal to immigration having to match their records with the ships manifest. It was a rare situation since there were two ships from the same line using the terminal Passengers from ship A were continuing on A, others transferring to B and others ending their journey. Same for ship B. Australia required all in transit passengers to disembark with their luggage go through customs and then embark..

[Pushka]

2 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

The Ship's Security Manual, required by the ISPS Code, should require some level of security screening in every port, either conducted by the shore facility, or onboard the ship.

 

With respect to Immigration, for "In transit pax" I have seen this requirement in a few ports. Can't recall all of them, but Vancouver and St Petersburg come to mind. 

Yes, those two in particular came to mind having experienced them. We arrive by plane into Mumbai then board the ship a couple of days later, but an overnight in Mumbai on the first night then 6pm departure the next night. We'd hoped to do a Viking excursion on the second day before departing. So not sure how that will be handled. Maybe even a multi entry visa might be needed?

Edited November 23, 2022 by Pushka

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, azdrydock said:

In Sydney Australia we were not allowed to leave the ship once we embarked at White Bay.  Some of the answers we got related to logistics issues in the terminal to immigration having to match their records with the ships manifest. It was a rare situation since there were two ships from the same line using the terminal Passengers from ship A were continuing on A, others transferring to B and others ending their journey. Same for ship B. Australia required all in transit passengers to disembark with their luggage go through customs and then embark..

 

Wow, that a new one for me. We have had to disembark a number of times and remain ashore, or even in the terminal until the ship reached zero count. Fortunately, we never had to pack up the cabin and take everything ashore.

[azdrydock]

10 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Wow, that a new one for me. We have had to disembark a number of times and remain ashore, or even in the terminal until the ship reached zero count. Fortunately, we never had to pack up the cabin and take everything ashore.

This was also a first for us.

Both ships, Crystal Serenity and Symphony were arriving from foreign ports and Sydney was the final destination for both voyages 

I think both ships were supposed to dock in Darling Harbor and the night before we were notified that we would embark at White Bay and I am not sure if the Serenity was anchored or sent to a pier with no immigration facilities.  If think this was due to 2 megaships in Darling were being held over because of an impending storm. In any event the pax from Serenity arrived by ferry White Bay   and luggage was on a barge. We heard stories about the chaos and confusion at White Bay for days and it reinforced our policy of embarking as late as possible. 

[CurlerRob]

1 hour ago, azdrydock said:

This was also a first for us.

Both ships, Crystal Serenity and Symphony were arriving from foreign ports and Sydney was the final destination for both voyages 

I think both ships were supposed to dock in Darling Harbor and the night before we were notified that we would embark at White Bay and I am not sure if the Serenity was anchored or sent to a pier with no immigration facilities.  If think this was due to 2 megaships in Darling were being held over because of an impending storm. In any event the pax from Serenity arrived by ferry White Bay   and luggage was on a barge. We heard stories about the chaos and confusion at White Bay for days and it reinforced our policy of embarking as late as possible. 

Is it possible that you meant Circular Quay versus Darling Harbour in your post? I have yet to see cruise ships in Darling Harbour - only at White Bay. As well, larger ships (your megaship reference) must dock at Circular Quay - many will not fit under the bridge. 🍺🥌

[azdrydock]

21 minutes ago, CurlerRob said:

Is it possible that you meant Circular Quay versus Darling Harbour in your post? I have yet to see cruise ships in Darling Harbour - only at White Bay. As well, larger ships (your megaship reference) must dock at Circular Quay - many will not fit under the bridge. 🍺🥌

you are correct...

[cruisewiscrrq]

Have slightly different question about 2 days in Bergen.  Arrive in Bergen on 19th and plan a short walking tour that afternoon.  On the 20th, which is embarkation day, we plan an all day tour that include Flam railway.  Will not get back to Bergen till late (7PM).  Will there be a problem embarking that late?  Departure is not till the 21st and we plan to be around Bergen all day and expect to be able to come and go as we please as long as we on board by the all aboard time. Does anyone have experience with this type of situation and are my plans OK. 

[CCWineLover]

36 minutes ago, cruisewiscrrq said:

Have slightly different question about 2 days in Bergen.  Arrive in Bergen on 19th and plan a short walking tour that afternoon.  On the 20th, which is embarkation day, we plan an all day tour that include Flam railway.  Will not get back to Bergen till late (7PM).  Will there be a problem embarking that late?  Departure is not till the 21st and we plan to be around Bergen all day and expect to be able to come and go as we please as long as we on board by the all aboard time. Does anyone have experience with this type of situation and are my plans OK. 

Excellent question.  I would rather you contact Viking directly to get their answer as that is what will count.   That being said, in the past we had friends who didn't board til late in the evening the day before actual Bergen Departure.  We boarded in the afternoon.  

I'm not sure of your itinerary, but you are going to really be tired . . . if you fly from the Midwest to Bergen, do an afternoon walk, try to sleep, and then the tour to Flam is an all-day one that is long.  You are definitely cramming a lot in.  Hope you aren't wiped out by the time you get on board!

[cruisewiscrrq]

Thanks for prompt reply. Above plan is a fall back.  Would rather do Viking optional Flam railway tour from Eidenfjord.  Worried about ability to book tour as we are in DV cabin. 

[CCWineLover]

3 hours ago, cruisewiscrrq said:

Thanks for prompt reply. Above plan is a fall back.  Would rather do Viking optional Flam railway tour from Eidenfjord.  Worried about ability to book tour as we are in DV cabin. 

We did that exact excursion.  It was probably one of the best excursions we've done on our Viking Cruises!  You'd love it.   We had a DV room and (this was before COVID) had no problem getting it.  You might "plan" for both Plan A and Plan B and see if you can get the Excursion from Eidfjord at your DV 67 day mark.

[SteelCity Cruiser]

On 11/22/2022 at 9:40 PM, azdrydock said:

In Sydney Australia we were not allowed to leave the ship once we embarked at White Bay.  Some of the answers we got related to logistics issues in the terminal to immigration having to match their records with the ships manifest. It was a rare situation since there were two ships from the same line using the terminal Passengers from ship A were continuing on A, others transferring to B and others ending their journey. Same for ship B. Australia required all in transit passengers to disembark with their luggage go through customs and then embark..

That's good to know.  Our cruise starts in Sydney but we'll already be in the city before embarkation.  We might opt to check our luggage at the hotel in the morning and embark later in the afternoon after spending time in the city.

 

[azdrydock]

1 hour ago, SteelCity Cruiser said:

That's good to know.  Our cruise starts in Sydney but we'll already be in the city before embarkation.  We might opt to check our luggage at the hotel in the morning and embark later in the afternoon after spending time in the city.

 

We are doing the same thing again in a few weeks. Good luck

[mhb1757]

We boarded in Bergen, had some lunch, left luggage and went back out again to do a walking tour. Returned to the ship late afternoon. We could come and go as we pleased. This was precovid, so I would check with Viking but I think you should be fine if you do the Flam trip independently. 

[burnabyjean]

On 12/10/2022 at 1:56 PM, cruisewiscrrq said:

Have slightly different question about 2 days in Bergen.  Arrive in Bergen on 19th and plan a short walking tour that afternoon.  On the 20th, which is embarkation day, we plan an all day tour that include Flam railway.  Will not get back to Bergen till late (7PM).  Will there be a problem embarking that late?  Departure is not till the 21st and we plan to be around Bergen all day and expect to be able to come and go as we please as long as we on board by the all aboard time. Does anyone have experience with this type of situation and are my plans OK. 

We did our own "pre" before our Viking Homelands out of Bergen this past summer. The only direct flight from Edinburgh landed about 5:30 pm which got us to the ship about 7 pm. Absolutely no problems boarding at the time. In fact, it was quite lovely ... there was nobody else boarding, so the staff treated us like their most treasured guests!

[NavyCruiser]

We have a different take on this.

We always/usually fly into embarkation port 2 days prior to debarkation date, just to 

1.  Just to be safe from not missing ship departure

2.  Relax & tour port city 

For our upcoming cruise out of Barcelona next month, Although we've been to Barcelona twice before, we still wanted to further the city's sites & enjoy the food on our own, which is still much less expensive in cost per day.

Once we check onto cruise ship on debarkation day, we've already enjoyed 2 days onshore, so we always try to relax & enjoy onboard lunch, do safety/muster drill check in, check our dining table assignment, explore & tour the ship, gym, spa, etc, rest/nap, more food, so by then ship should be underway soon thereafter...

[Pushka]

3 hours ago, NavyCruiser said:

We have a different take on this.

We always/usually fly into embarkation port 2 days prior to debarkation date, just to 

1.  Just to be safe from not missing ship departure

2.  Relax & tour port city 

For our upcoming cruise out of Barcelona next month, Although we've been to Barcelona twice before, we still wanted to further the city's sites & enjoy the food on our own, which is still much less expensive in cost per day.

Once we check onto cruise ship on debarkation day, we've already enjoyed 2 days onshore, so we always try to relax & enjoy onboard lunch, do safety/muster drill check in, check our dining table assignment, explore & tour the ship, gym, spa, etc, rest/nap, more food, so by then ship should be underway soon thereafter...

That works when the ship departs on embarkation day but the question was for when the ship stays overnight on embarkation day and departs the next night.