buying tickets at port

[shashy]

Hi,

Has anyone ever gone to the port and bought tickets for a cruise that was leaving either that day or the next?

 

Thanks

[paul929207]

While you could do this in the past, in the US, TSA requires the passenger list 24 hours before the ship sails. So you cannot go to Miami or another US port and purchase a ticket for a cruise today or tomorrow.

[waitin4acruise]

911 changed that .

[shashy]

So how many days in advance could we buy one at port? Without sounding contradictory but I wanted to wait and see when we get down to Tampa to see what they had left.

[cb at sea]

I think it's 72 hours, at least.

[shashy]

That is a reasonable amount of time...72 hours. I heard that sometimes great deals are available and since we are already going to be down there, it makes sense to see what is offered.

[Amlee]

Hate to say, but there is a few flaws to your plan.

 

1. People are only at the teminal the day the ship is there. So there is no going to the port 72 hours before hand to purchase a ticket.

 

2. I would highly doubt that you would make it through the terminal door. As of now, you have to show your boarding pass to even get in line, much less to the ticket counter.

 

Your only option would be to contact the cruise line either via phone or online 72 hours before hand and see what your options will be.

[shashy]

Those are definitely good points. Thanks for all of the advice!

[jetskier]

The list is required to be submitted 60 minutes before sailing as of Feb 19th, 2008. You now have to be onboard the ship 90 prior to sailing (2 hrs with NCL) or you will be denied boarding. In the past, the manifest was required to be submitted within 15 minutes of sailing and within 96 hours of returning to a US port. There never was a 24 or 72 hour rule.

 

Yes, it is still possible to book the day before but you cannot book it at the port. I have received last minute offers from Carnival because I am two hours from the port.

 

Dave

[shashy]

Well, that is great news since we will be in the Tampa area. Do you know if there are great deals on rooms waiting until the day before???

[NAS-KARR]

Maybe in the good ole days but no mas today ! :(

 

CIAO,

[bob brown]

Yes, in the 'good-old-days' they used to call it a 'pier head jump', when you went right to the port to purchase any unsold space, usually at a big discount. As mentioned earlier, the port employees are only there when there is a ship to embark, and their function is only to check passengers in, not to sell tickets. I don't know about other ports, but here in New York, these employees work for the port contractor and usually represent all of the lines that depart from here. They are not directly employees of the cruise lines.

I usually book cruises within 30 days of departure and get a good deal. If not, I simply wait until a good deal comes along. One of the advantages of living in a port city, (and having a job where my vacation dates are flexible!);)

[shashy]

Well, I guess I will wait and see when I am down there. I can either use the cruise line directly or find a travel agent down there. I have the attitude of whatever happens will happen, so if it doesn't happen I won't be disappointed!

[jetskier]

Yes, in the 'good-old-days' they used to call it a 'pier head jump', when you went right to the port to purchase any unsold space, usually at a big discount. As mentioned earlier, the port employees are only there when there is a ship to embark, and their function is only to check passengers in, not to sell tickets. I don't know about other ports, but here in New York, these employees work for the port contractor and usually represent all of the lines that depart from here. They are not directly employees of the cruise lines.

I usually book cruises within 30 days of departure and get a good deal. If not, I simply wait until a good deal comes along. One of the advantages of living in a port city, (and having a job where my vacation dates are flexible!);)

 

Most places wont let you in the terminal without the proper documentation showing you are going on a cruise.

 

In Mobile, New Orleans and Galveston the processing people work directly for the cruiseline. All the others are employed by the port such as porters and security.

 

Dave

[matj2000]

There is no Box Office or Ticket Window. Like a previous poster stated, The port is only used when the ship is there. Most of embarkation staff is already leaving at 2:00.

When I went on the Conquest, I had to drive back for a piece of luggage that was left behind. It was around 3:00 pm, the ship was still there, but the terminal(which was chaos early) was like a ghost town. There was only one person I could find. Only because he couldn't leave till the ship left.

[shashy]

Well, I guess if I see a good deal the week before, I should take it! Thanks for all of the good info. I am glad I found out now!

[jerseygirl3]

The list is required to be submitted 60 minutes before sailing as of Feb 19th, 2008. You now have to be onboard the ship 90 prior to sailing (2 hrs with NCL) or you will be denied boarding. In the past, the manifest was required to be submitted within 15 minutes of sailing and within 96 hours of returning to a US port. There never was a 24 or 72 hour rule.

 

Yes, it is still possible to book the day before but you cannot book it at the port. I have received last minute offers from Carnival because I am two hours from the port.

 

Dave

 

So are you saying you can call a cruiseline (or use a TA) and book a cruise up to one hour prior to sailing? I thought, at the very least, you had to be onboard 90 minutes prior to sailing if you didn't complete your registration online beforehand.

 

Jo-Ann

[Essiesmom]

Jerseygirl3, you are misreading what you quoted. The list submitted 60 minutes prior to sailing is of those passengers checked in and on board. You would have to book at least 24 hours in advance, probably more. EM

[jerseygirl3]

Jerseygirl3, you are misreading what you quoted. The list submitted 60 minutes prior to sailing is of those passengers checked in and on board. You would have to book at least 24 hours in advance, probably more. EM

 

Okay, that makes more sense.

 

Does anybody know the actual answer to the OP question. What is the absolute latest one can book a cruise?

 

As for the new thing about being onboard 90 minutes prior to sailing, isn't that only if you didn't register online? Otherwise, it's 30 minutes? Anybody know? I know we surely cut it close when we boarded the Constellation a few weeks ago. We boarded at 3 p.m. for a 4:30 sailing. We got there late because we were with my Dad at the ER two hours away from Ft. Lauderdale and I was indecisive whether we should cancel the cruise or not. The docs said my Dad would be fine, my Mom insisted we go, so we did (we had a very patient driver who waited 2 1/2 hours in the waiting room of the E.R. while I made up my mind what we were going to do). The only nice thing about boarding so late is that there was nobody else in line at the terminal. It looked deserted!

 

Jo-Ann

[aaerobear]

Jetskier, the people checking you in in Galveston are NOT employees of the cruise lines. Most of them are employed by a company called Shore-2-Sea and they have contracts in several port cities. There are other contract companies that do that as well. We have 3 different ones here in San Francisco. About the only port you may find employees of the cruise lines doing the check-in would be Miami or Fort Lauderdale.

 

The new rules are for EVERYONE, whether you checked in online or not. You MUST be onboard at least 1 hour to departure and the list/manifest has to be in the hands of the Feds. No one will be allowed to check-in less than 1 hour before the sail time. If there is a late arriving bus or other incident, the sailing would have to be delayed so the "one hour" rule would still be in tact.

[gazingm42]

We have booked less that 24hours before sail. This has been in the last 3 years.

[jetskier]

Jetskier, the people checking you in in Galveston are NOT employees of the cruise lines. Most of them are employed by a company called Shore-2-Sea and they have contracts in several port cities. There are other contract companies that do that as well. We have 3 different ones here in San Francisco. About the only port you may find employees of the cruise lines doing the check-in would be Miami or Fort Lauderdale.

 

The new rules are for EVERYONE, whether you checked in online or not. You MUST be onboard at least 1 hour to departure and the list/manifest has to be in the hands of the Feds. No one will be allowed to check-in less than 1 hour before the sail time. If there is a late arriving bus or other incident, the sailing would have to be delayed so the "one hour" rule would still be in tact.

 

You sure about Galveston, I was just there in Sept and the people that checked me in said they worked for Carnival. It is possible that they are subcontracted just like the shops, photographers, entertainment, casino onboard the ship.

 

Dave

[LHP]

New Orleans are Carnival employees as well. A friend of mine is retired and works there just enough to get his employee discount to cruise on sister cruise lines.

[hajekfam]

As for the new thing about being onboard 90 minutes prior to sailing, isn't that only if you didn't register online? Otherwise, it's 30 minutes? Anybody know? I know we surely cut it close when we boarded the Constellation a few weeks ago. We boarded at 3 p.m. for a 4:30 sailing. We got there late because we were with my Dad at the ER two hours away from Ft. Lauderdale and I was indecisive whether we should cancel the cruise or not. The docs said my Dad would be fine, my Mom insisted we go, so we did (we had a very patient driver who waited 2 1/2 hours in the waiting room of the E.R. while I made up my mind what we were going to do). The only nice thing about boarding so late is that there was nobody else in line at the terminal. It looked deserted!

 

Jo-Ann

No - the govt requires a listing of who is actually onboard for the cruise 60 minutes before sailing so most cruiselines require you to board 90 minutes prior.

Celebrity requires that you board 2 hours prior to sailing if you haven't completed the online documentation, 90 minutes prior if you have completed it. If you come later than that, they can refuse to let you board. From their website:

New Government Regulations:

Due to new government regulations requiring cruise lines to submit final departure manifests at least 60 minutes prior to sailing, guests are requested to complete Online Check-in no later than 3 days prior to their cruise. If you have not completed Online Check-in, you will be required to complete this process at the pier two hours prior to the published sailing time.

 

Please note: Xpress Pass guests whose cruise departs from ports in the United States are required to be at the pier and checked-in no later than 90 minutes prior to the published sailing time or you may not be permitted to board. For a cruise that departs from other ports not in the United States, please verify on your Guest Ticket Booklet.

[jerseygirl3]

No - the govt requires a listing of who is actually onboard for the cruise 60 minutes before sailing so most cruiselines require you to board 90 minutes prior.

Celebrity requires that you board 2 hours prior to sailing if you haven't completed the online documentation, 90 minutes prior if you have completed it. If you come later than that, they can refuse to let you board. From their website:

 

Thanks for clarifying that for me. It's a good thing we had done the online registration prior to our 2/8/08 Constellation cruise. We showed up exactly 90 minutes prior to sailing (due to my Dad's illness); it looks as though if we hadn't done online registration, we would have been out of luck, as the ship sailed exactly on time at 4:30 and we arrived at 3 p.m..