Question on Port Calls

[nicoles2248]

DH & I will be going on 1st cruise later this year. It is on Legend of the Seas.

 

I have a question on port calls. Does you itenary times mean what time they actully let the first person off the ship and what time it actually sets sail at night?

For example, Belize port is showing as 7am - 5pm. At 7am do we start to tender in? How far before the leaving date due you need to be onboard?

TIA!

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Listed port times are seldom exact. If it does say 7:00am arrival and the ship actually does arrive at seven, it will still be maybe a half hour or even longer before you can leave the ship, because the ship has to go through formalities with the local port authorities.

 

On some cruises in some ports, passengers are allowed off only in a carefully controlled manner depending on the departure time of their tours. This is especially common if the ship must use tenders to get to the actual port. When that happens, it can take quite a while to get off the ship.

 

If the port departure is listed at 5:00PM, better plan on being back an hour or, at latest, half an hour before that. The ship WILL NOT wait for late passengers unless they are with a ship-authorized tour.

[cmich068]

When It says "Arrives at 7:00" it means they pull in at seven.

 

When It says "Departs at 5:00" it means they will sail at seven. Last Onboard is around 4:30.

[phantom728]

We cruised the Legend on January and the arrival times are for the ship. Although we were at many of the ports early, we did have delays getting off the ship when we were at tender spots. We did have some rough water, so that may have made a difference. Grand Cayman was the worst as you needed tender tickets, which we did not need for Belize and Cozumel. If you have an early excursion, just be up and ready early as the tenders were about every 20 minutes.

 

The departure times however are what they are. If they say 5pm, the ship leaves within 5-15 minutes of that time. They delay on occasion for late ship booked tours (not private) and sometimes during emergencies, but we experienced non of that on our cruise.

 

We had no delays in our departure from the ports and many times left within a minute of the stated time, so be conscious of your last tender time and try to be back early because there can be a line for the tender:)