How does an overnight stay at embarkation work?

[ktcishot]

Our Canada/new England cruise begins Friday August 4th, but doesn't leave the dock until 5pm on Saturday august 5th. Are you able to board at anytime between Friday and Saturday?

It's too early to pick a time on the app, but just wondering as we've never had a cruise begin like this before.

[Coral]

Boarding time is normal. Yes - you can come and go between those 2 days. I don't remember if there was a time in the middle of the night when they didn't allow people to embark or disembark but it is nice to have overnights like this.

 

I did this in Quebec also. Unfortunately we had really bad weather so we stayed on the ship. It was like blizzard conditions.

[skynight]

Board day 1 starting around 11:30 or so. Continue boarding all day. Board day 2 until an hour or so before sailing. The ship is docked adjacent to the lower old city area. If you are taking the train from Montreal the ship is close to the Quebec train station. Once boarded get on and off as you like. I was asleep but believe you can board late night. You can also return to the ship anytime overnight. 

[macmax]

6 hours ago, skynight said:

Board day 1 starting around 11:30 or so. Continue boarding all day. Board day 2 until an hour or so before sailing. The ship is docked adjacent to the lower old city area. If you are taking the train from Montreal the ship is close to the Quebec train station. Once boarded get on and off as you like. I was asleep but believe you can board late night. You can also return to the ship anytime overnight. 

You can use the ship like a hotel and come and go as you like. The gangway is usually open all night.

[Rick&Jeannie]

This is an interesting concept... I have an upcoming sailing where disembarkation includes an overnight (coincidentally in Quebec as well!)  That just seems like a strange way to "end" a cruise...ship arrives in port but you can spend the night on the ship if you like.  

 

What's next?  Some 5 day cruises where both embarkation and disembarkation you can spend the night on a ship while docked?  Is this the next cost-cutting ploy by Princess to save the cost of fuel? 😄

[cr8tiv1]

It seems like all Quebec port arrivals and departures are overnight stays.  I know the ship arrives in the afternoon (too late to begin disembarkation for flights, etc).  Hence the next day departure/embarkation.

[Rick&Jeannie]

1 minute ago, cr8tiv1 said:

It seems like all Quebec port arrivals and departures are overnight stays.  I know the ship arrives in the afternoon (too late to begin disembarkation for flights, etc).  Hence the next day departure/embarkation.

Ah!  That would explain it.  My sailing is far enough out where I've not really paid any attention to that level of detail yet.  Plus...I've booked a post-cruise hotel so it really doesn't impact me as far as that goes!

[vjmatty]

I love overnight embarking cruises, I think I had one in Venice years ago..... it's the one time you can break the cardinal rule of not flying in the day of your cruise  :)

 

[PTMary]

2 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

This is an interesting concept... I have an upcoming sailing where disembarkation includes an overnight (coincidentally in Quebec as well!)  That just seems like a strange way to "end" a cruise...ship arrives in port but you can spend the night on the ship if you like.  

 

What's next?  Some 5 day cruises where both embarkation and disembarkation you can spend the night on a ship while docked?  Is this the next cost-cutting ploy by Princess to save the cost of fuel? 😄

Quite common, actually. We did an Asia cruise from Singapore to Hong Kong with an overnight at embarkation and another at disembarkation. We boarded the first day at the normal time, enjoyed exploring the ship, had dinner and saw a show, woke up the next morning after sleeping on the ship, had breakfast and took a ship's excursion on the 2nd day in Singapore (we could have just done our own).

 

In Hong Kong, similar happened. We arrived in the morning on the next to last day, toured Hong Kong, slept on the ship that night while still at the dock, and disembarked for the airport on the last day the usual way. 

 

We also had an overnight in Bangkok. With a 3 hour drive there and back, we chose to hire a private guide who lead our tour through the city the first day, dropped us off at an upscale hotel on the main river for us to enjoy the night in a truly amazing city, and the next morning picked us up and showed us around more of the area and dropped us off at the ship.

 

Three overnights on one 14 day cruise. It was the best cruise we've ever taken!

 

Edited February 2, 2023 by PTMary

[RD64]

3 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

This is an interesting concept... I have an upcoming sailing where disembarkation includes an overnight (coincidentally in Quebec as well!)  That just seems like a strange way to "end" a cruise...ship arrives in port but you can spend the night on the ship if you like.  

 

What's next?  Some 5 day cruises where both embarkation and disembarkation you can spend the night on a ship while docked?  Is this the next cost-cutting ploy by Princess to save the cost of fuel? 😄

No this is nothing new - plus it gives you the oppty to experience dinner, and some local entertainment / nightlife. Venice, in particular, is one of those ports where this is an added bonus. You get to experience the city after the hordes of day trippers and cruise ship passengers have left, for a truly unique experience.

 

For Quebec City, I think it is more of a logistical solution for either embarkation or debarkation. Air lift to Quebec City is limited - even to Canadian cities. Many passengers will have to make their way to / from Montreal International Airport - or by train with Via Rail. The overnight will provide adequate time to get to the ship for embarkation, or to Montreal for early flights.

Edited February 2, 2023 by RD64

[jlstwinmommy]

We did Quebec to NYC cruise in 2019. It was great. We got there a day early and rented a car to explore outside the city and then turned in the car and boarded the ship and had 2 days to explore old Quebec before the ship left port. Our favorite cruise thus far. 🙂

[bjkTX]

6 minutes ago, jlstwinmommy said:

We did Quebec to NYC cruise in 2019. It was great. We got there a day early and rented a car to explore outside the city and then turned in the car and boarded the ship and had 2 days to explore old Quebec before the ship left port. Our favorite cruise thus far. 🙂

We did the same thing - except we didn't rent a car.  We had a B&B the first night and took a couple of tours - and like everyone else said the first night on the ship I think we had a time to be back on board but I'm not sure - we were back fairly early - and then could come back on the ship right up to whatever the final boarding time was the day we left Quebec.  We loved it and have some of our favorite memories of those 2 days in Quebec!

[milolii]

1 hour ago, RD64 said:

No this is nothing new - plus it gives you the oppty to experience dinner, and some local entertainment / nightlife. Venice, in particular, is one of those ports where this is an added bonus. You get to experience the city after the hordes of day trippers and cruise ship passengers have left, for a truly unique experience.

 

 Large Cruise ships no longer dock at Venice, but about 100 miles away at Trieste.  Italy has banned ships over 25,000 tons. 

Edited February 2, 2023 by milolii

[parentsof5]

For verification, if something (KNOCK ON WOOD), we would be able to check in and board on the second day if we did not make it for the first day in Quebec?

[skynight]

On 2/1/2023 at 4:39 PM, Rick&Jeannie said:

This is an interesting concept... I have an upcoming sailing where disembarkation includes an overnight (coincidentally in Quebec as well!)  That just seems like a strange way to "end" a cruise...ship arrives in port but you can spend the night on the ship if you like.  

 

What's next?  Some 5 day cruises where both embarkation and disembarkation you can spend the night on a ship while docked?  Is this the next cost-cutting ploy by Princess to save the cost of fuel? 😄

Overnights are somewhat common. People seem to enjoy them. The Quebec City overnights have been part of the itinerary for decades. I have experienced overnights in Buenos Aires. We were there three days. Rio used to require an overnight just to port there. Last time we were there there was an overnight. Princess has offered short cruises to the Mexican coast with an overnight in Cabo. I have also seen itineraries with overnights in Honolulu, and have been on board an overnight in Tahiti. While it does save sailing costs, don't believe this is the primary reason for an overnight. Believe the primary reason is that the overnights are enjoyed by passengers.

[Hlitner]

We love overnights and usually take advantage to dine ashore. if in a port with some decent restaurants.  But we have always found it fascinating at the vast majority of passengers who will stay aboard with many saying, "we are not going to miss a free meal."  I still recall one HAL cruise where we overnighted in Venice, Italy (when ships actually docked in Venice).  DW and I went ashore in the afternoon and stayed ashore to dine and enjoy the evening at a local cafe.  We returned to the port about 11pm and realized that we were the only souls walking towards the ship!  But there were plenty of folks leaving (at 11pm) and they were all crew (we saw a few with red eyes the next morning).  That same ship often did overnights in Lisbon where DW and I would always go ashore for the Fado dinner show at a popular local fado restaurant/club.  But again, we were in the minority with most either staying aboard or perhaps taking an overpriced cruise line evening excursion.

 

We also did an overnight in Tahiti, and fortunately, there is a decent nearby evening market with lots of food vendors.  Most on the ship took advantage and went ashore for sample the local goodies (they had some amazing crepes) and decent seafood.

 

I think the trend among luxury and premium cruise lines is to have more overnights since they are enjoyed by many passengers and crew.  

 

Hank

[cruisequeen4ever]

Embarkation day is normal, except that you’re not stressed about missing the ship. Yes, you can come and go as you please after you have boarded. Depends on the port whether you can come and go throughout the night or not. Crew typically love overnights because they can go out and party in the night. They may allow emergency check in on the second day for those who were delayed, but normal check-in would probably not occur because it’s not a standard check-in day. I can’t say that for certain, though. 

[Guardsy]

We have done overnights at embarkation twice; Tahiti and Quebec.  Both were awesome.  So, if you had an overnight at DISembarcation, take advantage of it.  If you can get a big airfare break, leave early.  If not, stay onboard.  You already paid for the "hotel" and possibly the drinks.  Certainly the food!

People overthink this stuff!