How To Read Your Cruise Schedule Before You Book A Car

The Four Numbers That Matter

Your cruise ticket or the line app shows an arrival time and a departure time for each port. Neither is the number you plan with. Arrival is when the ship reaches the berth or anchorage; clearing the gangway typically takes 30 to 45 minutes after that, and at a tender port the first tender can be 45 to 60 minutes after arrival. All aboard is normally 30 to 60 minutes before departure, and at a tender port the last tender is earlier again. So the four numbers we ask for are: arrival, all aboard, whether it is alongside or tender, and which terminal or pier. With those four we can plan accurately; without them we are guessing.

Where To Find Them And What Changes

Sources in order of reliability: the daily programme delivered to your cabin the night before, which is definitive; the cruise line app, usually accurate; your booking confirmation, accurate at the time of issue but subject to change; and third party port schedule websites, useful for advance planning but not authoritative. Two things change regularly. Ship time may differ from local time when a sailing crosses time zones, and all aboard is always in ship time, so confirm which clock you are reading. And itineraries change for weather or technical reasons, occasionally with a port substituted at short notice. Tell us as soon as you know and we will re plan rather than charge you for a cancellation outside your control.