~~What time to get On and off at Port?

[brown_eyed_poet]

When arriving in a foreign Port...how long does it take to get off the boat? Also, how early should we get back on? I hope I am being clear. For example we are going to be in Port from 10Am to 6PM. What time do you think we will get off at the latest? What time should we be back on at the latest?

[cruiserbryce]

If you are in a port where you dock rather than tender you can usually get off very quickly and typically very shortly after the scheduled time...when getting back on the ship I usualy try to get to the pier 30 minutes before last call to board...just to be safe

[hajekfam]

Getting off at a port will depend on how long it takes for the ship to clear.

For example, if you are stopping in San Juan or St Thomas (U.S. territories) after stopping in a foreign port, you will need to go through immigration before the ship can be cleared.

If you are tendered, there is a limited number of people who can disembark at one time (the number that will fit on the tender), and those with shore excursions get priority - some lines also give priority to upper levels of their past cruisers club and suite passengers.

We plan on being back to the ship at least an hour before sailing - the ship usually has a notice that passengers should be back no later than a half hour before. If you are tendered, you will be given the time for the last tender back to the ship.

Always set your watch to the time on the ship. On some cruises, the ship will change with the port timezone- on other cruises the ship will stay on the embarkation port time. By keeping your watch set with the ship's time, you know that you have the right time.

[silentbob007]

The ship's daily newsletter will list the important times ... the time debarkation is scheduled, what the tender process will be (if there is one), and what time you are expected to be back on board. If a ship is scheduled to be in port from 10 AM - 6 PM, just figure on usually having around 10 AM (if no tender and the ship is not late) to 5 PM to actually be off the ship.