oTTer wrote:they dump you off for seven hours or so, don't they??
It really depends on your cruise itinerary. Of the ones that I've been on some of the stops are only a couple hours, some are overnight stays. So you'll have to check with your cruise. Basically though, unless you take one of the shore excursions offered by the cruise (where they will hold the boat for you if the excursion is running late), you're on your own for getting back to the boat on time. Typically you need to be on board half an hour before the posted departure time, otherwise you're out of luck. If you miss the boat the cruise line will work with you to get you to the next port (at your expense) so you can pick up the cruise from there.