"self disembark"

[tuffy0317]

Last year when my husband and I cruised Carnival, they had a disembark option where you could keep your luggage with you and get off the boat on your own, carrying your luggage, when your deck number was called.

 

This worked out great, since we both packed light (although I did end up carrying a disabled woman's suitcase for her that was literally bigger than both of us combined).

 

Is this an option on RCL?

[Flonightey]

Yes family and I chose this option off of Indy in Feb. The only thing that they dont tell you is that you need to carry all of the luggage down the stairs with MANY other people. They get you to a low level deck to wait but there were at least 2 flights of stairs to go which made for a rather dangerous walk with a LOT of luggage.....One woman fell with her suitcase which fell down and tripped 2 other people.....Good option if your situation allows it...Do at your own risk :-)

[cb at sea]

Of course...it's an option on any cruiseline. If you don't need to be first off, tho, it's nice to have someone else heft all that luggage off for you....we are generally in the 1st groups off (after the self-carry folks) and have PLENTY of time to get wherever we're going.

[vowsatsea]

We did self-assist on Princess and Carnival and loved it, so we did it on our RCCL cruise. We did the Explorer, so this might not be the case for you, but we had to get our luggage on the shuttle bus, and it did not go as smoothly. However, RCCL did warn us about this. When we went to sign up for it, they asked us how much luggage we had, warned us about steps, the shuttle bus and various other obstacles we'd face, so I really appreciated that. We had to do it anyway, because we already had a scheduled pick up and no way to change it. But - if you do not have to be off at a certain time, I wouldn't recommend it, as it did not go as smoothly as Princess and Carnival's self-assist.

[Hackpba]

We just did this on the Liberty of the Seas in April, it worked out great for us as we had a 10am flight to catch, was up and ready by 6am took our luggage to the elevator and went down to the 4th deck (No stairs for us with the luggage!). We did have to walk to the other end of the ship but was off in no time and made it to the airport in plenty of time.

 

I was surprised that there we only about 20 people ahead of me. It went very smooth for us anyway.

[temple1]

Yes family and I chose this option off of Indy in Feb. The only thing that they dont tell you is that you need to carry all of the luggage down the stairs with MANY other people. They get you to a low level deck to wait but there were at least 2 flights of stairs to go which made for a rather dangerous walk with a LOT of luggage.....One woman fell with her suitcase which fell down and tripped 2 other people.....Good option if your situation allows it...Do at your own risk :-)

 

I'm wondering - what part of this was a surprise to you and why?

[patseacruiser]

Only on the Explorer did I ever had a problem and have stairs. I always do self disembarkation and it usually goes very smoothly. The Explorer I did have to go down stairs and the shuttle does not hold as many people as it did when no one had suitcases so that's a little slow going.

[jjb415]

Always use Express Disembarkation here & it usually goes smoothly, however, sometimes it seems that every elderly slow-walker with gigantic suitcases decides they need disembark early..................:(

[Jolimont]

STOP talking about getting off the ship, it's depressing ;-)

[FLACRUISER99]

Yes family and I chose this option off of Indy in Feb. The only thing that they dont tell you is that you need to carry all of the luggage down the stairs with MANY other people. They get you to a low level deck to wait but there were at least 2 flights of stairs to go which made for a rather dangerous walk with a LOT of luggage.....One woman fell with her suitcase which fell down and tripped 2 other people.....Good option if your situation allows it...Do at your own risk :-)

You are saying there was no elevator?

[Reijo]

My husband and I had several bad experiences with luggage being late getting to us. The last time we waited pushing 2 hours and had completed info for lost luggage (per the attendants suggestion) only to have it finally show up. The frustrating thing is that apparently MANY people put down the early call to make sure their luggage is waiting for them while they lounge at the pool area until the last minute (so we were told). We saw the same luggage go round and round and round, it was there when we arrived and still there when we left.

 

ANYWAY, we tried the self-disembark. We saw in the Compass that we had to leave at a certain time so I checked with the desk. I was told that "Yes" there was a specific time for the self-disembarkers to leave BUT that no one would stop us. We gave it a try (along with many others) and had absolutely no problem and just walked off. The only wait was just going thru the normal checkpoints. We've learned to carry as few pieces of luggage as possible and to make sure they roll. Also there were no stairs involved on our ships. We just took the elevator to whichever floor was the correct one (I think it was 4). Give it a try.....you won't be disappointed UNLESS you have a LOT of luggage. If I had a flight to catch, I would NEVER leave it up to the cruise line to get me off and have my luggage waiting for me. In all of our cruises we've only had luggage waiting for us ONCE. Give yourself plenty of time between disembarking and your flight. Sometimes Customs might have a problem clearing the ship and no one can get off and that delays everyone.

[PH8]

Its amazes the amount and size of the luggage people try to haul off,,,,,,,,,its an accident waiting to happen.:eek:....

[barbie5401]

Especially for weekend cruises - how many outfits is someone going to wear?

One carryon with wheels for the both of us, I pack a little tote with me in the carry-on - when I don't have to be at work that morning, I let them take my carry-on the night before and we lesiurely have breakfast the last morning.

 

NCL Sky did something interesting when boarding they will hold your carry-on for you - while you have lunch and before your room is ready. Nice touch - ever in the WJ will everyone's luggage day 1.

[bug18]

Does anyone know if steps are involved to self disembark on Oasis?

[Mousy]

Yes family and I chose this option off of Indy in Feb. The only thing that they dont tell you is that you need to carry all of the luggage down the stairs with MANY other people. They get you to a low level deck to wait but there were at least 2 flights of stairs to go which made for a rather dangerous walk with a LOT of luggage.....One woman fell with her suitcase which fell down and tripped 2 other people.....Good option if your situation allows it...Do at your own risk :-)

 

I have impaired mobility, we were planning on bringing our own luggage off, my DH can carry it.. we always only pack one suitcase per person anyway, in fact there are many trips that we share a suitcase but I want one each for this trip to bring items back. ANYWAY.. getting to my question, Can we use the elevators or are they off limits on check out day?

 

Also this thread says that they call you by deck, we are staying on deck 9, is this near the beginning or the end? I am looking to have a rental car after the cruise, what time should I book it for?

Thanks so much!

Mousy

[jjb415]

NCL Sky did something interesting when boarding they will hold your carry-on for you - while you have lunch and before your room is ready. Nice touch - ever in the WJ will everyone's luggage day 1.

 

Good idea since the buffet area on the Norwegian Sky has such limited dining space. Holland America does this too.

[jjb415]

I have impaired mobility, we were planning on bringing our own luggage off, my DH can carry it.. we always only pack one suitcase per person anyway, in fact there are many trips that we share a suitcase but I want one each for this trip to bring items back. ANYWAY.. getting to my question, Can we use the elevators or are they off limits on check out day?

 

If you have limited mobility Express Disembarkation is NOT for you. Passengers are very much in a hurry and those behind you are likely to run you over. On many ships the elevators are turned off on the specific decks that are used for disembarkation.

[FLACRUISER99]

I have impaired mobility, we were planning on bringing our own luggage off, my DH can carry it.. we always only pack one suitcase per person anyway, in fact there are many trips that we share a suitcase but I want one each for this trip to bring items back. ANYWAY.. getting to my question, Can we use the elevators or are they off limits on check out day?

 

Also this thread says that they call you by deck, we are staying on deck 9, is this near the beginning or the end? I am looking to have a rental car after the cruise, what time should I book it for?

Thanks so much!

Mousy

Some elevators will be in use but be warned they are veyy hard to find empty, a serious problem if you are in a scouter or wheelchair.

[tommccabe]

Got off Explorer last week and did self disembark for the first time. Wife and I were very happy with it. Was told that our "Group" was 9:00 - 9:15. Left out room about 8:45 (Deck 7). Took stairs to Deck 3. Waited about a half hour on the stairs (barely moving for five to ten minutes at a time), but all told we were in our car in the parking lot at 9:45. This really beat waiting around for a color to be called (which we've done on our other four cruises).

 

The elevators are JAMMED because of this, though, so many stairs are involved. Forget about getting out of the elevator at deck 1 (I don't even know if that was a possibility), because the elevators are full at every floor they open up on and I didn't even see anyone getting on them going down. I did see people getting on UP elevators with full luggage simply so they could go down.

 

If the situation is right and you have the ability and option to self disembark, I'd say to try it. It worked for us.

[Havingfun2010]

I have impaired mobility, we were planning on bringing our own luggage off, my DH can carry it.. we always only pack one suitcase per person anyway, in fact there are many trips that we share a suitcase but I want one each for this trip to bring items back. ANYWAY.. getting to my question, Can we use the elevators or are they off limits on check out day?

 

Also this thread says that they call you by deck, we are staying on deck 9, is this near the beginning or the end? I am looking to have a rental car after the cruise, what time should I book it for?

Thanks so much!

Mousy

 

By chance, do you have a reason, to torture you husband, or does he just say yes dear? My wife has limited mobility, and I would never even consider, lugging her luggage, my luggage, and watching out for her while waiting in lines to get off the ship, and dealing with crowded elevators. (and I have a teenage son to help me!):cool:

[Riley13]

A Also there were no stairs involved on our ships. We just took the elevator to whichever floor was the correct one (I think it was 4). Give it a try.....you won't be disappointed UNLESS you have a LOT of luggage. If I had a flight to catch, I would NEVER leave it up to the cruise line to get me off and have my luggage waiting for me. In all of our cruises we've only had luggage waiting for us ONCE. Give yourself plenty of time between disembarking and your flight. Sometimes Customs might have a problem clearing the ship and no one can get off and that delays everyone.

 

Reijo- Did you self disembark from the Mariner? Just wondering if there were stairs involved on that ship.

[madforcruising]

NCL Sky did something interesting when boarding they will hold your carry-on for you - while you have lunch and before your room is ready. Nice touch - ever in the WJ will everyone's luggage day 1.

 

Some RCI ships do this as well.

[madforcruising]

Does anyone know if steps are involved to self disembark on Oasis?

 

Yes they are and even though there are escalators, they won´t let you use them with bags. The line for the elevators was looong and when I saw it it wasn´t even for the self debarkation people, but for those with larger carry-ons.:eek:

[akcruz]

Just be forwarned even if you think you can go in an up elevator to go back down, there may not be any going up! We did self disembark on Freedom a few years back and there were so many people in the hallway waiting to get off the ship those on the elevtors couldn't get into the hallway, therefore all the elevators were stuck on deck 4 waiting for the crowd to move. It was probably like that for at least 10 - 15 minutes waiting for the ship to clear.

 

If you can manage your bags on the STAIRS do self disembark. If you will be relying on the elevators don't do it.

[zebra36]

To self-disembark or not to self-disemabrk?

 

Though this is a nice option what needs to be aksed and answered in a logical manner is:

1. Do I really need to be off of the ship this early in order to make my travel plans work?

2. Can I reasonably handle my luggage by myself without assistance from anyone?

 

If the answers to both ?'s above is yes go for it, if not have a nice breakfast and relax somewhere on the ship until you are forced to leave.