What does Cruise Ship ARRIVE (in port) time mean??

Question

Is this the time passengers can expect to start getting off the ship or what??

Answer 1

This is the estimated time the ship will dock in the new port it is arriving at.  Normally passengers can begin exiting into the port shortly thereafter.

Answer 2

The debarkation process can take several hours but usually, all passengers are off the ship no later than 10:30 am.

Upon arrival at the port, U.S. Customs takes control of the ship and checks out off the ships paperwork.

Once Customs has released the ship, de-barkation can begin.

Self de-barkation (you carry all of your luggage off the ship yourself...not for families or folks with a ton of luggage) at about 8:00 am.

Then, floors are called for de-barkation.  You exit the ship, collect your luggage and then proceed to the Customs agent.

Tips....

Take colorful yarn or ribbon and mark the handles of your luggage.  There is a sea of luggage and most of it looks alike.

Get a porter to handle your luggage.  The porter can expedite you through customs.  Be sure to tip the porter about $1 a bag.

Don't book your return fight too soon after your scheduled arrival. There are many variables that can hose up the process.

For our 2006 trip, we were de-barkation was delayed 2 hours because some guys got busted with weed.

Answer 3

You can usually start to disembark about 45 minutes after the ship arrives in port.  You need to clear local customs first.

Answer 4

For end of cruise....The cruise ship will "arrive" at the dock at a certain time, but then must go through customs.  

So, the ship may arrive at say 7am but you may not be able to disembark until 8am.

Port of Call:  Time ship arrives in port, but then ship must prepare for passengers to disembark.

Either way, it does not mean the time YOU will be leaving the ship.

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

What time zone the port is in

Answer 6

Good question.  I've rarely been awake to find out.  They're normally in port before the arrival time.  Getting off the ship is an entirely different matter and it really depends on where the moorage is.  For example, if it's not at a dock, then they'll shuttle you to shore.  They may have a sequence for getting off such as the early tour groups get off first.  Each tour you sign up for will give you a meeting place.  The early tours sometimes have a meeting place on the ship (such as a lounge).

If it's the end of the cruise, then you'll have to wait until your group (often by color) is called to get off.  This could be hours after the arrival time.  It's based on priority using connecting tour and flight information that you've provided to the cruiseline.

Answer 7

If it is a port of call, you can expect to start getting off within an hour of arrive if not sooner.

If it's for disembarkation and customs is involved. you can not disembark until the ship has been cleared by customs.  This can sometimes take hours if people fail to show up for their customs inspection.  Then it depends on how smoothly things are running in the terminal.  The disembarkation when you return is controlled by the ground staff, not the ship.  It's a very complex operation.  The ultimate goal is to get all the passengers off as quickly and safely as possible.  Remember, for every passenger coming off, there's an excited passenger impatiently waiting to get on!