The ship will notwait for you

A cruise transfer is a private car booked in advance between a cruise terminal and an address, an airport or a hotel, at one price agreed before you travel. On embarkation the pickup time is calculated backwards from the ship's sailing time. On disembarkation it is set from the walk-off time the cruise line assigns you rather than from when the ship docks.

Early enough to have you at the terminal 2 to 3 hours before your ship sails, which is what most cruise lines require for check-in. The exact pickup is calculated for your port, your date and the traffic that port sees on a turnaround morning. You give us the sailing time; we work backwards from it.

60 minutes of free waiting from your assigned disembarkation time, not from when the ship docks. Beyond that, waiting is billed in 15-minute increments at your vehicle class rate and dispatch contacts you before the first charge. Your chauffeur does not leave without speaking to you.

Because passengers do not all leave at once. Ships release people in groups over three or four hours, called by luggage tag colour or deck, and the ship assigns your group. Booking a car for the docking time is the most common mistake cruise passengers make and it usually means paying for waiting you did not need.

If your budget allows, arrive the day before. A delayed flight on embarkation morning does not cost you a transfer, it costs you the cruise, because the ship sails at its published time and does not wait. If you are flying in on the day, give us the flight number so the transfer is tracked with 60 minutes of free waiting from actual landing.

Assume roughly one large case per person per week plus a shared case, then choose by the boot rather than the seats. Two people for one week fit a Business sedan. Two people for two weeks, or a family of four for one week, need an SUV. A family of four for two weeks needs a Van. If you are unsure, book one class larger.

Yes, and it is one booking rather than two. Give us the flight number and the arrival half is tracked exactly like an airport transfer, with 60 minutes of free waiting from landing and meet and greet available as an add-on. Dispatch monitors the gap between your arrival and your sailing time throughout.

Give us the cruise line, the ship name and the sailing date and the correct terminal is set on the booking. Large ports run several terminals with different access gates, and the permitted entrance for vehicles is often not the obvious one. Your chauffeur is assigned on the basis of having worked that terminal.

As soon as you have your cruise documents, and at least 24 hours before travel. Turnaround days concentrate thousands of passengers into a few hours at one port, so larger vehicles in particular sell out well ahead. Cruise transfers are one of the few RYDES services where booking early genuinely changes what is available.

Tell dispatch and the transfer moves. Ports change berths, ships arrive late and itineraries get amended, and none of it is your fault. Transfers can also be cancelled free of charge up to 1 hour before pickup, so a cancelled sailing does not leave you paying for a car.

Yes, and hourly hire is the right service for it. You set the route, the chauffeur knows the city, and the day is planned to have you back at the terminal 90 minutes before all-aboard. In most ports it costs less than two excursion tickets and you are not sharing a coach.

In most markets, yes. Tell us the type and the folded dimensions when you book so the operator can confirm a suitable vehicle before your travel date. Mobility aids need both boot volume and the right access, so this is not something to leave until the day.

Often, once there are two or more of you. Cruise line coaches are priced per person while a private transfer is priced per vehicle, so two or three coach seats frequently cost more than the whole car. For a solo traveller on a relaxed schedule, the coach usually wins on price.

Yes. On embarkation they load at your door and unload to the port's luggage porters at the terminal drop-off point. On disembarkation they collect from the terminal hall and load. You are not moving cases yourself at either end.

Yes. Added at booking, a stop is priced into the fixed fare in advance. Added on the day, it is billed as waiting plus distance. On embarkation morning we will tell you honestly whether the stop fits inside your timing, because the sailing time is not negotiable.

That becomes a coordinated arrival rather than a single booking. Our events team arranges multiple vehicles timed to arrive together at the same terminal, with one point of contact and one invoice, which is considerably less work than booking three cars and hoping they converge.