Why do some ferry checkins close so early?

6/8/2017 9:58:51 AM

At many ports, there is no foot bridge, and foot passengers are ferried on-board using a shuttle bus. This bus needs to enter and leave the ferry while the car deck is still mostly empty. After that, ferry staff still need another hour or so to complete the boarding (after check-in) of all the cars and lorries, which may be quite a puzzle when the ferry is busy. During this period, ferry staff that was previously helping passengers with checkin and boarding may be required for other duties. For the same reason, it may take a while before passengers can leave a ferry after arrival; when I arrived at Belfast, foot passengers could only leave one hour after the first lorries drove off. The above reasoning applies equally if ferry staff have to block traffic in order for foot passengers to safely walk on/off the ferry over the vehicle ramp.

Some of the above was explained to me when I missed a night ferry due to delayed trains, and I asked Stena Line staff why late passengers cannot board a ferry while it’s still in port and motorists are still boarding. This was at a port which (then) did not have a passenger foot bridge.

1/20/2016 3:12:02 AM

There are some possible reasons for this, though the exact logic applied is likely different for each ferry line.

1) Consistency in policy, everyone has the same rules for checking in. That way motorists can’t complain about having the arrive an hour before foot passengers (because, yes, some will).

2) Convenience with paperwork, if everyone is checked in by a set time then the paperwork required for departure can be started and filed with the proper people. With most ferries, the crew members have multiple things to do during loading, so efficiency is key to an on-time departure.

3) Immigration / Customs / Port authorities may require departure paperwork to be submitted XX minutes ahead of sailing, hence resulting in a check in time = XX + paperwork creation time.

Credit:stackoverflow.com‘

About me

Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

Search Posts

Latest posts

Popular posts