I hope to pull from the experience of some of you who have cruised on NCL for this.
We have two NCL cruises coming up in the Mediterranean (Western and then Eastern) and need to know for DIY and private tours how important it is to return to the ship two hours in advance.
My research so far has caused me to try to plan excursions with the goal of returning to the ship two full hours in advance, as the ship's information says to do. But is that really expected and/or important?
For one private tour group on our ship I see that some have the understanding that one hour in advance is fine (that two hours is just "a suggestion" like arriving at the airport two hours in advance but being fine arriving one hour in advance).
If that is the case it will give us more time at each port, but if it isn't I want to plan appropriately. Who can help us with your experience?
In some ports like Naples & amalfi coast area the traffic can be really bad so planning to arrive 2 hrs is a good idea . If you are back sooner you can always check out things closer to the port.
Start at the furthest site & work your way back to the ship if you are running behind you can alway skip something.
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Lyn
FORMER CRUISES:
Alexandr Pushkin, Carnival-Holiday, HAL-(old)Westerdam, Orient lines-Marco Polo, Royal Olympic-Olympic, NCL-Dream, Dawn-Princess, ACCL-Grande Caribe, Oceania-Insignia (3), Regatta(4) Marina (1) St Lawrence Cruise Lines-Canadian Empress
I appreciate your feedback Lyn. Good tip about starting at the farthest point and working your way back.
As a follow-up to the question, do a lot of people wait until later to get back on the ship, even if they are back in the vicinity of the port? And if so, is that "later" more like 1 hour before departure, or even lingering at shopping and getting back on ship less than 1 hour prior to departing?
As a follow-up to the question, do a lot of people wait until later to get back on the ship, even if they are back in the vicinity of the port?
Thanks! Becky
Usually you must be onboard 30 minutes prior ro sailing
The ship will post the latest time allowed in the Newsletter & at the gangway.
check it before you leave.
Always take the newsletter or the Port Agents name and phone number ...if you run into a problem they are your lifeline to the ship
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Lyn
FORMER CRUISES:
Alexandr Pushkin, Carnival-Holiday, HAL-(old)Westerdam, Orient lines-Marco Polo, Royal Olympic-Olympic, NCL-Dream, Dawn-Princess, ACCL-Grande Caribe, Oceania-Insignia (3), Regatta(4) Marina (1) St Lawrence Cruise Lines-Canadian Empress
And if you book your excursion thru NCL, you won't have to worry about getting back late....the ship will wait for any of their booked excursions...one reason I always book long distant or time consuming excursions thru the ship....it may cost more, but it's like buying insurance...which I hope you did.....Happy Cruising..
Thanks to both of you for your replies. That 30 minute info is what we suspected but didn't know, and we did not know to expect a newsletter telling us the latest permissable time. Our cruises on the big ocean-going ships were more than 10 years ago, so I'm learning as I plan this time.
And yes, we bought our trip insurance. I agree the extra cost of that insurance is worth it.
Yes, the 30 minutes is standard for most cruise lines. But you don't have to get off the ship if you don't want to (not that you would want to miss anything in Europe). So if you wanted you could go see something in the morning and be on the ship in the afternoon.
Make note of the time they tell you to be back on the ship. ALSO (and this is important) make sure you set your watch to "ship time" as you get off, make sure you know what time it is on the ship. The port may be a different time zone. It a bad thing to think you have an hour when you are really supposed to be back on board.
And if no one has welcomed you to cruise chat yet, let me be the one- Welcome Aboard!
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NCL Dream October 2006, RCCL Mariner OTS June 2007
The NEW ships will wow you....and they are getting bigger every day.....Happy cruising...and I'm sure you will be back for more before another 10 years.....I'm up to 21 cruises and I don't see an end in site...
I knew I would get good feedback from this site. I had already used it quite a bit in researching excursions for this trip and found it very useful but hadn't had a need to post a question.
In the past 6 years we have made 12 great trips to Europe, South America and even China, with 7 of those being multi-day tours, and we loved every trip. Now we are really looking forward to seeing lots of beautiful places by way of these 2 cruises, where we won't have to pack to move to each new place!
Thanks so much for your helpfulness and for the warm welcome.
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