Timing of port adventures

[Chrislovesdisney]

Is the start time of the port adventures the meet time on the ship, or are we asked to meet a half hour or so prior to the start time to account for getting the group off the ship? I'm just wondering for a 3-hour port adventure (8:15-11:15), does that also include disembarkation? If so, it seems like it only leaves like 2 hrs. Of actual excursions time after accounting for the group getting off the ship, getting to the busses, boarding them, etc....

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Is the start time of the port adventures the meet time on the ship, or are we asked to meet a half hour or so prior to the start time to account for getting the group off the ship? I'm just wondering for a 3-hour port adventure (8:15-11:15), does that also include disembarkation? If so, it seems like it only leaves like 2 hrs. Of actual excursions time after accounting for the group getting off the ship, getting to the busses, boarding them, etc....

Generally, the time you select will be the meet up time. Now, it can change. You'll get the actual time once onboard, when you look at your tickets for the excursion in your room. But, it's usually within 15-30 minutes of the time you selected, if it changes.

If everyone is on time (or even early) you will actually be heading off the ship pretty close to your start time. And there's usually a dedicated door/gangway for excursions, so that you don't have to fight with others who are just getting off the ship.

 

[apathetic]

It's meet time on the ship. They heard everyone together in multiple rooms until the tour is ready to go. You probably won't actually leave on the tour (bus, boat, walk, etc) for at least 30 minutes from show time.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

It's meet time on the ship. They heard everyone together in multiple rooms until the tour is ready to go. You probably won't actually leave on the tour (bus, boat, walk, etc) for at least 30 minutes from show time.

That's not been my experience. They try to leave the meet spot as soon as possible after the meet time.

 

[apathetic]

That's not been my experience. They try to leave the meet spot as soon as possible after the meet time.

You must be the luckiest cruiser ever. But even if you leave right at the exact meet time, it is at least 10 minutes to herd the cats down to bus, boat, etc. At busier ports, there is almost no way to get off at the assigned time because they have so many tour operators and they can only move so many people at the same time. Shortest I ever waited was about 10 minutes after meet time. Longest was 45 minutes. That doesn't even count getting off the boat.

 

[clten]

Is the start time of the port adventures the meet time on the ship, or are we asked to meet a half hour or so prior to the start time to account for getting the group off the ship? I'm just wondering for a 3-hour port adventure (8:15-11:15), does that also include disembarkation? If so, it seems like it only leaves like 2 hrs. Of actual excursions time after accounting for the group getting off the ship, getting to the busses, boarding them, etc....

Yes, the time on the ticket is the meet time so the estimated length of the excursion includes some time to gather the group and get on whatever mode of transportation the tour is using. My experience is that the time the tour operator is scheduled to have the group (maybe 2 1/2 hours for a tour showing 3 hours), you will have that length of tour even if you are late in getting off the ship. (In other words, they don't generally shorten the tour to get you back by the estimated end time if the group was running late from the beginning. We very rarely have been back to the ship by the estimated end time of the tour.)

They do check people in as they arrive at the meeting place and use radios to keep in touch with the excursion crew that are outside so they know when the tour operator is in position to load guests. So you are generally not waiting longer than necessary (but you do have those times where several families are no shows so they spend a few minutes trying to find them or there is too big a crowd getting off so they hold some groups a few minutes so there are not too many excursion groups trying to get off at the same time.) It always seems like a long wait because we make sure we check in early so we aren't ever the ones holding up the group and you just want to start on whatever tour you have booked instead of sitting around inside. But generally, you are up and heading out within 15 minutes of the scheduled meet time. Although we have on rare occasions waited much longer.

 

[aggiedog]

This is one of the reasons I prefer DIY tours. I find excursions thru TripAdvisor, etc. Tours thru the ship seemed to be very inefficient with our port time. Even if they run basically on time, at least on our Baltic cruise, there was a decent chunk of time either before and/or after the tour that went unused since it was not really enough time to go into port.

Not to mention I'm not a fan of sitting in a tour bus with 50 of my closest friends.

 

[Notyourtypicaldisney]

I would say Disney does about as good of a job as you can expect given the amount of people on these tours. Do they leave on time? No. NEVER. I would say it is reasonable to assume about 10 minutes or so. There are always late stragglers and people with tons of questions. Most of the questions are what should be common sense but some feel the need to ask and hold up the group. Never not happens. . (I know double negative)

 

[apathetic]

This is one of the reasons I prefer DIY tours. I find excursions thru TripAdvisor, etc. Tours thru the ship seemed to be very inefficient with our port time. Even if they run basically on time, at least on our Baltic cruise, there was a decent chunk of time either before and/or after the tour that went unused since it was not really enough time to go into port.

Not to mention I'm not a fan of sitting in a tour bus with 50 of my closest friends.

Exactly why I hate the DCL excursions for the most part. The time wasted before and after. When you book excursions before the cruise, you know how long the tour takes, but usually not the start time. You get that on the ship when it is too late to cancel. Sometimes it is a couple of hours after all ashore, so you are kind of stuck because you don't have time to do anything without missing your tour group. Add to that the time you wait after meeting in the designated area and it can feel like a lot of lost time to explore. I'm a huge fan of doing the planning yourself.

I would say Disney does about as good of a job as you can expect given the amount of people on these tours. (I know double negative)

I agree here. It is hard with that many people to make things run smooth, but Disney does it. Most of the delays aren't DCL problems, but more of the tour operators and local conditions (not enough space for all the buses). But people should know you will not leave at the time on the ticket. It is usually at least 10 minutes until you leave the meeting venue. Then another 10 minute walk to the bus. Then the time it takes them to get the tour going. It can easily take 30 minutes before you leave the port area. With that said, the duration of the tour is usually correct with all this extra time. Disney is good at predicting the added time, so don't worry about being very late if things are running slow. The tour operators know how long they have to finish.

 

[Chrislovesdisney]

Thank you all!! Still trying to decide on a Disney pa or do the beach on our own, and the info regarding the timing is helpful!