Cruising:Getting Around The Lines By Cindy Bertram

One of the natural highs of taking a group on a cruise is the sigh of relief arriving at the port of embarkation and accounting for everyone.But then the wait begins – waiting to check in and board the ship. The same occurs on the reverse. And if you and your group are taking a flight back, there might be another wait at the airport. It’s not the most fun part of taking a cruise but can some of it be avoided? Are there ways to get around the lines?If you use a little strategic planning and focus on knowing the key components involved, you can find ways. It’s imperative to know key things about the cruise line you’re sailing on - how they handle embarkation and disembarkation procedures, pre-cruise information requirements, how their past passenger club memberships work and what’s included, as well as pre- or post-cruise city tours offered.Another component that might be of value with certain cruise itineraries involves flight schedules. Are charter flights involved, or do scheduled return flights usually depart later in the afternoon? Finally, know the realities –we all like to think our groups are important, but trying to wangle priority for special embarkation or disembarkation is not always feasible.

Past Passenger Programs and
Memberships

As cruise lines have upgraded their past passenger clubs, adding different membership levels according to the number of cruises guests have taken, they have included some perks beyond the traditional private cocktail party. A few cruise lines have even gone the route of including priority embarkation areas for their past passengers who have achieved a higher status.Royal Caribbean Cruises, for instance, has four tiered membership levels, and one of the perks included with their Platinum, Diamond and Diamond Plus memberships involve a private departure lounge onboard. In addition, priority checkin at certain departure ports is also available. Other cruise lines usually have a separate check-in line for their past passengers.NCL’s tiered past passenger club, “Latitudes,” has their Latitudes check-in line; in addition, NCL has a priority area calendar this year, Princess Cruises has Manaus, Brazil and Acapulco.

Disembarkation

When Norwegian Cruise Lines introduced their revolutionary “Freestyle Cruising” concept back in 2000, one of the areas they addressed was shipboard disembarkation. “Freestyle Disembarkation” was the end result, a way to avoid the “hurry up and wait” scenario most cruise guests encounter that last morning before disembarking after the ship has been cleared by Customs. “Freestyle Disembarkation” is a streamlined process where guests do not have to immediately vacate their stateroom that last morning, but can instead enjoy a leisurely breakfast, before disembarkation. Although other cruise lines haven’t gone that route completely, most offer more than one option for breakfast that last morning – usually casual outdoor café or one of
the formal dining rooms.

City Tour Options –
Late Afternoon Departures

When sailing on certain cruise itineraries outside the U.S. and by nature of the scheduled flight departures from those cities,you might want to look at a last day city tour through that cruise line or a local ground operator. Norwegian Cruise Line, for instance, found that returning flights from Seattle as well as Honolulu are usually late afternoon departures.

Embarkation – Ways to Minimize the
Waiting Time and Lines

Even with post-Panamax ships (those too large to go through the Panama Canal) becoming the standard among new builds, it’s amazing how fast cruise guests actually get processed and boarded. However, when you and your group are waiting in line to check in, first thoughts are, “How long is this going to take?” What might speed the process up is your past passenger status with that particular cruise line or even the stateroom category booked.