to arrive after my allotted embarkation time for cruise?

[CallieCruiser]

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I'm going on my first ever cruise in a few weeks. I had thought from the info I had that boarding would be any time after 11am and best to be onboard at least 2 hours prior to departure. Just had updated info and I have been given an embarkation time of 11am-midday. All aboard is 5.30pm for departure at 6pm. The thing is we fly in to the departure city on that day and we wont make it to the port until 1-2pm. Have tried to contact cruise operator but they cant change my slot.

Does anyone have experience of how strict they are with the embarkation slots? I will be there 4.5 hours before 'all aboard' but 1-2 hours after my slot - will they let me on ok?

YABU - You need to be there between 11-12
YANBU - the slot is a guide, as long as you are well before all aboard it will be fine.

I cruise MSC all the time and often fly on the day. Arriving later is no problem as long as you’re there in advance of check in closing. Sometimes you can change embarkation time on the MSC for me app.
Enjoy the cruise!

Been with msc a few times, you will have a brilliant time.

Hijacking the thread slightly, but those MSC cruisers that have posted here and enjoyed it, have you sailed other lines? How would they compare?

We've only sailed RCI and P&O before. MSC has some beautiful ships and destinations, but I've been put off by hearing about daily muster drills, announcements in numerous languages taking ages, etc.

We love Azamara - smaller boutique style ships (hundreds rather than thousands of passengers), all inclusive including drinks, adult/ couple oriented though not specifically adult only, destination focussed. They don’t go to and from Southampton though, they might start there and finish somewhere else or vice versa. We are cruising from Venice to Istanbul in the summer, can’t wait.

I'd be concerned that Azamara would be too posh for us!

Don't get me wrong, we're not Carnival/Virgin level party cruisers, but we're also not "dressing up v smart for dinner every night" cruisers either. Smart Casual is perfect for us.

We'd never cruise Cunard, for example, but would consider Celebrity.

My neice flew out of Manchester to London and there was a delay of 2 hours. Which meant she missed her connecting flight and was put on the next available flight out, meaning she was delayed by 5 hours in arriving at her final destination. So delays can happen even if not in London. Best to aim to travel down the night before or arrive early in the morning. Just seems like you're cutting it fine. Planes and Boats wait for no man. If u miss your embarkment, you will have to make your own way to the next destination, likely at your own cost. Good luck and enjoy.

Azamara doesn’t have formal evenings, it’s just smart casual. Obviously you can dress up a bit if you like but I’ve never seen anyone wearing a dj or anything.

I was wondering the same thing

Interesting to read that people have enjoyed Azamara, Marella and MSC cruises as all these get pretty low ratings on the Which? cruise lines investigation.
The first cruise we did was with TUI; it could have put us off cruises for life. Luckily we had already booked another cruise with Fred Olsen as TUI was like Benidorm-on- Sea, lots of racism amongst the passengers and all a bit ‘bargain basement’.
Fred Olsen was much nicer, we have since cruised several times with them but find Saga’s true all inclusive offering suits us best.
You get what you pay for with cruise lines, ‘cheap’ is unlikely to mean ‘good’.

I’ve been on a range of cruises from P&O up to Scenic and actually enjoyed Marella/Tui. I went on three and enjoyed them because of the itineraries, one Romania/Bulgaria sailing was really interesting.
My favourite cruise lines so far have been Scenic, Celebrity and Disney, so all completely different but excellent in their own way. The only company I wouldn’t sail with again is Carnival and only P&O at a push.

I haven’t sailed with Azamara but I thought they were an above mid range cruise company.

They are bottom end of the luxury market. Cut above P&O,Fred Olsen etc.

Ok thanks, I’ve often looked at them and wondered what they are like.

Risky to take a flight same day but should be OK. Good luck. Any backup plan if flight delayed or cancelled 🙃

Fair enough, OP; I'm another who always flies the day before, but if you can't you can't and happily you've left plenty of time on the day (and MSC won't care at all if you're later than your "slot", which they only use to manage the crowds)

Just one newbie tip: don't, whatever you do, go to the buffet if you're there in time for lunch ... it'll be chaos on the first day and the MDR (main dining room) will be a much more relaxing way to start your cruise off nicely

OP should be fine at the buffet because there is no "first day" on the circular cruises, it will be quieter than a sea day because a good chunk of the guests will be off the ship as it's a port day for anyone who got on in the previous 6 days.

I've read people complaining about the daily muster drills on MSC before and I genuinely didn't notice or pay any attention after our first day! It had no impact on us.

OP should be fine at the buffet because there is no "first day" on the circular cruises

Actually that's a good point, @Cookielover64; I'd forgotten MSC embark at each port - though I still think it's a nice way to start a cruise

I liked that about MSC but it was quite a shock to see so many people on the first sea day 😅.

One thing that did put me off the MDR is the reviews that the service is slow and the food tends to be cold, have you got experience of MSC MDR? I'm booked again for summer and can't wait!

Not MSC, @Cookielover64; I was writing more generally about the MDR experience so was a bit disappointed to hear the service is slow

My own have been Princess, Cunard, Celebrity and Oceania (which were enjoyable) and P&O and Holland America which definitely weren't

I went on a cruise about 12 years ago with Princess and they did leave a couple behind in St Maarten. They had to catch a flight to the next island to catch up with the ship the following day. Hopefully their travel insurance had cruise cover…

Ive only been on two cruises - first was brilliant, second was very average - think I might have relished being left behind in port on that one… 😁

Oh no way! I remember the ship waiting for hours at times for guests to re-embark usually if a tour had over run or a traffic incident.
I would actually love to cruise as a guest at some point but need to persuade my husband. I guess you get good experiences and bad with any holiday it’s just no fun when it happens and you have spent a lot money on it.

Definitely this regarding sail away. They won’t wait!!

Oh no way! I remember the ship waiting for hours at times for guests to re-embark usually if a tour had over run or a traffic incident

Usually a ship will wait a while if passengers are late while on a ship-organised tour. Or if it doesn’t/can’t wait, the cruise line will help and pay for a transfer to the next port.

But if you are late back while ashore with a local tour, or just doing your own thing, it won’t wait for long - sometimes it might wait an extra 30 mins or so, but no longer than that, due to high port fees/fines if in port too long. And it will be up to the passenger to catch up at their own cost

All aboard is 5.30pm for departure at 6pm

OP, just be aware that although all aboard is 30 mins before sail away for passengers already on the cruise, it’s like that for new passengers embarking, check in will close 2 hours before departure, as the cruise line will need to do their manifest. While I’m sure they’ll do all they can if you arrive after check in closes, it’s not guaranteed they’ll let you on then