Itinerary Departure Time vs. All Aboard Time

[jtwind]

Hi All!  Is all aboard time typically 1 hour before the departure time listed on the itinerary?  Thanks.

[CruiserBruce]

Depends on the cruise line. Some cruise lines all aboard is 30 minutes before scheduled sailing, some cruise lines its 60 minutes. It can also vary if it is a tender port or a dock.

 

Lastly, some cruise line websites confuse the situation by saying its 2 hours prior to sailing, but that refers specifically to the embarkation port ONLY.

[navybankerteacher]

43 minutes ago, jtwind said:

Hi All!  Is all aboard time typically 1 hour before the departure time listed on the itinerary?  Thanks.

Frequently it will be 30 minutes before scheduled sailing from a port of call.   But the intelligent cruiser will generally plan to be back on board an hour before.   Stuff just happens…..

[leaveitallbehind]

In our experience, the final all on board time for the initial cruise departure is typically 90 minutes prior to the scheduled departure. This is because the final manifest needs to be closed and delivered to Customs and Immigration port authorities prior to departure.

 

As mentioned by others, most enroute ports of call require 30 minutes all on board prior to the scheduled port of call departure time.  This can vary by cruise line, however.

Edited February 3 by leaveitallbehind

[CDNPolar]

I guess the best advice is to not be concerned with how far the all aboard time is from actual departure and just be back on board when the cruise line suggests.  Don't test the limit - not that you were suggesting that...  Just say'n.

[John Bull]

"Back -on-board" time or "last tender" time is promoted in various ways and always on a notice at the gangway.

 

In ports where the ship is tied-up at the pier, the latest "back-on-board" time is usually 30 mins before sailing.

 

At the few ports where the ship may lie off-shore and you are ferried to the ship by tender, the "last tender" time is usually 60 minutes before sailing. That's the latest that you should be at the tender pier, you don't have to be back on the ship by then. If there's a line for tenders they will continue past "last tender" time until the line has been mopped-up.

 

On the few occasions when a ship goes into a different a time-zone, ship's time might or might not be changed by one hour to match local time - usually changed if it stays in that time zone for a few days, not usually changed if it's in that time-zone just for the day. You'll be made aware of any time-zone changes, but if ship's time isn't the same as local time it's always ship's time that's used- so don't be misled by local clocks or your electronic devices. That's when a cheap "Mickey Mouse" watch is handy.

 

Note the number of times I've used words like "usually" or "might be".

Check before you get off the ship.

 

JB 🙂