Embarkation and Debarkation in Greenwich

[cruisegal#116]

It has been 7 years since I embarked on a Viking Ocean ship in Greenwich.  I understand that check in now takes place in a building and not in a tent.  Do you still board a water shuttle to a little island to board the ship?  If so on the free time in Greenwich do these shuttles operate going back and forth to the ship?

 

Many thanks.

[OneSixtyToOne]

The ship is moored offshore (there is no island) and you are tendered to and from the ship/dock at regular intervals.

[CannotSwim]

Last year the shuttle was going back and forth constantly. It wasn't a long trip, most of the time was spent loading and unloading the ship. Some the time there were two shuttles.

[Peregrina651]

When we embarked 12 days ago, tenders to the ship ran every half hour.  I wasn’t sure if they were running one tender or two.  

[Brad1185]

The ship arrives in Greenwich June 13th. We have all day in London on the 13th then disembark on the 14th. We have a very early flight on the 14th from Heathrow so we were thinking do our thing in London all day on the 13th then come back to the ship and have dinner then disembark around 8pm and head to Heathrow and spend the night there then fly home early on the 14th.  Any issues disembarking at 8pm on the last night?

[Peregrina651]

This is a question that you should ask Viking directly for accuracy.  If you have the email for the ship, email them directly (email address is included in the edocs sent two weeks before embarkation). 

[Jim Avery]

8 hours ago, Brad1185 said:

The ship arrives in Greenwich June 13th. We have all day in London on the 13th then disembark on the 14th. We have a very early flight on the 14th from Heathrow so we were thinking do our thing in London all day on the 13th then come back to the ship and have dinner then disembark around 8pm and head to Heathrow and spend the night there then fly home early on the 14th.  Any issues disembarking at 8pm on the last night?

 

the General Manager should be able to arrange this for you.  We have done so and have stayed the night at the Sofitel in Terminal 5.  Next morning they provided a town car to take us and luggage to the entrance of Terminal 3 for our flight to PHX.  Very comfortable night.

[vslparis]

On 5/22/2024 at 1:03 AM, Brad1185 said:

The ship arrives in Greenwich June 13th. We have all day in London on the 13th then disembark on the 14th. We have a very early flight on the 14th from Heathrow so we were thinking do our thing in London all day on the 13th then come back to the ship and have dinner then disembark around 8pm and head to Heathrow and spend the night there then fly home early on the 14th.  Any issues disembarking at 8pm on the last night?

You must have permission to disembark early and I would request that sooner rather than later ( like right now ) .  There are customs and immigration issues that must be dealt with and the timing of that must be arranged in advance. In the past I have called Viking before I embarked with what I wanted to do and they contacted the appropriate department .  I then received an approval email which I showed to the customer service desk once on board the ship ; do not assume that they will  know you want to disembark early .Also keep in mind that you will more than likely need to take your own luggage off the ship which in this case means getting it onto the local boat transfer service hired by Viking to take you ashore. Might be best to have Viking arrange a taxi as where the shuttle boat drops you off in Greenwich is a pedestrian area. 

[Brad1185]

I checked once on board the Venus this morning and Viking said we could disembark anytime we wanted to once we arrive in London. We arrive in London on June 13th and regular disembarkation is the morning of the 14th.  

[Peregrina651]

5 hours ago, Brad1185 said:

I checked once on board the Venus this morning and Viking said we could disembark anytime we wanted to once we arrive in London. We arrive in London on June 13th and regular disembarkation is the morning of the 14th.  

 

Okay, it worked in this case, but as a heads up to future readers, just because it can be done in the UK does not mean that it can be done in every country where Viking sails. Therefore, before you make plans to disembark early, talk to Viking directly to find out of it can be done in your disembarkation port.

 

Moreover, do it by contacting Viking at tellus@vikingcruises.com (rather than via the chat or the call center).