Should I self assist on the last day?

[scrapmamma]

Our car will be parked at the nearby hotel. I want to sit and enjoy one last b'fast in the MDR, should we self assist?

 

We don't have a flight to catch and won't be in any hurry to get off the ship.

 

Thanks as this is our first cruise! :)

[Shery]

We always self assist and love it!!

[Tapi]

Our car will be parked at the nearby hotel. I want to sit and enjoy one last b'fast in the MDR, should we self assist?

 

We don't have a flight to catch and won't be in any hurry to get off the ship.

 

Thanks as this is our first cruise! :)

 

Self Assist doesn't mean that you HAVE to get off the ship immediately. All it means is that you're getting off the ship with all your luggage in hand. It will give you the flexibility to disembark when you're ready.

 

Personally, we like doing self assist, but we usually head to the MDR for one last breakfast, then head to an open deck on the ship and enjoy a leisure morning onboard the ship while everyone else battles the long disembarkation line. We wait for the last call, and then we proceed ashore.

 

Keep in mind that Mobile is more of a "drive to" port, so most passengers don't have flights to catch either.

[Fourseventeen]

I personally dont care for self assist unless im in a huge hurry to get off the ship. If you self assist you have to take ALL of your luggage with you to breakfast and carry it off the gangway. Pain in the butt if you ask me.

[lillian marie]

You could wait and enjoy that last morning with breakfast. We self assist because we usually need to catch a flight.

[ncovert]

If I am not in a hurry I much prefer to let Carnival take my luggage off for me, but then this is my preference.

[mykidsm0m]

We have always done the self-assist, so like the others stated we can enjoy our liesurly last morning on the ship before heading home. It's really quite nice to not have to feel rushed only to stand in the longest line you've ever seen. Enjoy!

[ardnassac79]

Our car will be parked at the nearby hotel. I want to sit and enjoy one last b'fast in the MDR, should we self assist?

 

We don't have a flight to catch and won't be in any hurry to get off the ship.

 

Thanks as this is our first cruise! :)

 

My first ever cruise was on the Pride out of Baltimore last November (getting ready to set sail on her again in less than 2 days!!) and we did self-assist debarkation last year. It was just the 2 of us, we had out main roller suitcase and carry-ons, and it was lovely. Granted being our first cruise, we were a bit naive and ended up sitting on our suitcase/floor for a while (you have to vacate your room before anybody debarks) before our floor was called. This time being a seasoned sailor, we will either relax up in the Mermaid Grille (buffet area probably not very occupied at that time of day) or stake out a couch or bench for my party pretty early to allow for comfortable waiting times (finish that vacation book!)

 

Either way, I can't imagine NOT doing self-debarkation if you only have a few travelers in your party. When we went through Customs and walking out with all luggage in hand, we walked straight past what looked like MILES of rows of miscellaneous lines of luggage that people were hunting and pecking through to find. We were probably in our vehicle and halfway home before some of the parties close to us even found their stuff.

[CruisinKelly]

We've done it both ways and personally I prefer to have them do the luggage then we ust have one small bag that we take to breakfast and like some of the others enjoy our last morning having breakfast and go down at last call. When you wait there is no line and your luggage is really easy to find as there are only a few bags left. Even doing it this way we have been off the ship by 10:00 a.m. It can be a pain doing the self assist if you go right way you will wait in the hallway forever, but once you start to move it goes fairly fast.

Have a great time and enjoy your first cruise!

[jjamiestar]

I'm a newbie so bear with me.

 

With self assist does Carnival take your luggage to the airport? If not, is that an option?

 

What time do you have to be out of your room at? Can we just sleep in and leave the room at last call?

 

Thanks!

[KenMo]

i'm a newbie so bear with me.

 

With self assist does carnival take your luggage to the airport? no. Self-assist is you carrying off all of your luggage. if not, is that an option? carnival does have luggage express. It's not available for all airlines. You'll get a notice in your cabin about midweek with instructions for doing this.

 

what time do you have to be out of your room at? they'll start pushing you out around 8:30-9-ish. can we just sleep in and leave the room at last call? you can sleep in a little. But your cabin has to be vacated so the stewards can get it ready for the next batch that are waiting to board. They have lots of work to do.

 

thanks!

 

hth

[bright eyes]

We always self assist and love it!!

 

Could you tell me how self assist works? My husband and I will each only have one small roller suitcase apiece and we have an early train to catch. We are plantinum on the coming cruise. Do we just get up and go? Thought we had to wait for an announcement or something. Thanks for any info you can help with.

[KenMo]

Could you tell me how self assist works? My husband and I will each only have one small roller suitcase apiece and we have an early train to catch. We are plantinum on the coming cruise. Do we just get up and go? Thought we had to wait for an announcement or something. Thanks for any info you can help with.

 

You don't set out your luggage the night before. Just keep it in your cabin.

 

In the morning, they'll announce that self-assist may now leave. It will be one of the first groups off the ship.

 

You must be able to carry all of your stuff off the ship without assistance. (Doesn't sound like that will be a problem for you.)

[MrPete]

The only time we have used self assist is when we have parked at the pier. Any delay always meant sitting in bad port traffic.

 

It was a lot easier when few used it, but it became a madhouse...

 

Until I became VIP.

[Sherrybaby412]

I would never self assist.

 

Two years ago, my sister, niece, my daughter and I went on a cruise together. My daughter and I did Luggage Express. I loved it. We were able to walk right off the ship. My sister on the other hand did self assist. My sister weighs maybe 100 pounds. My niece maybe 110. The 2 of them trying to wrangle 3 huge pieces of luggage was horrible. It took forever and was a pain in the a**.

 

On top of that, we had rented a car. Because my sister had all her luggage, I had to rent a larger car on my own dime. My sister had purchased transfers through Carnival but decided to travel with me to the airport.

[KruznKel]

Self assist is there for those that need to get off the ship faster then those that drive to port... people with early flights and what not.. when you drive to port I dont think you have the urgency to get to your location as those with flights.. but be aware MOST DO NOT understand what self assist is.. IT IS CARRYING YOUR OWN LUGGAGE.. NOT 5 BAGS at a time and them falling all over the place.. it means a bag or two.. please you really do hinder those that are following the rules... I wish Carnival would step up and force those that bring the whole dayum house with them on self-assist to GO BACK and wait:(

[donaldsc]

Our car will be parked at the nearby hotel. I want to sit and enjoy one last b'fast in the MDR, should we self assist?

 

We don't have a flight to catch and won't be in any hurry to get off the ship.

 

Thanks as this is our first cruise! :)

 

You can relax and enjoy your final meal even more if you are not lugging your suitcase(s) behind you.

 

DON

[Rosefloater]

We have done it both ways. Either way, we eat a leisurely breakfast and then wait until there is hardly anyone left on the ship. This works great if you have your luggage taken the night before since it is easier to find your luggage if there are only a few pieces left in your zone.

 

For us, it also depends what the gangway is like at the port. At San Diego, there is 1 elevator and 2 flights of stairs. In this case we didn't self-assist debark.

[CupKayke]

I hope this is okay to ask on this thread... someone earlier mentioned the luggage express option... is there a way to find-out if this is available on a particular cruise, ahead of time?? We are coming into the Los Angeles San Pedro Harbor at 8am and planning to fly out of LAX SUPER LATE that night (1:50 am to be exact) and we want to spend the day ~ luggage free ~ on Catalina Island and visiting relatives in the LA area. Any way to know ahead of time if luggage express is available?

[GatorMomInNC]

What happens if you DON'T self-assist? They come and take your luggage for you? Do you have to get off the ship at a certain time then? I would also rather linger and eat breakfast and get off when the traffic has cleared, since I'm in no hurry but will be traveling with an elderly disabled person and two small children...

[nashscan]

What do you choose if you want to lallygag on the ship for awhile? Do you still vacate your room at the same time with either option?

[Rosefloater]

I hope this is okay to ask on this thread... someone earlier mentioned the luggage express option... is there a way to find-out if this is available on a particular cruise, ahead of time?? We are coming into the Los Angeles San Pedro Harbor at 8am and planning to fly out of LAX SUPER LATE that night (1:50 am to be exact) and we want to spend the day ~ luggage free ~ on Catalina Island and visiting relatives in the LA area. Any way to know ahead of time if luggage express is available?

 

FYI - Catalina Island Express is $66 roundtrip from San Pedro. This is one reason why I like to take the 4 day Paradise cruise.

 

Here is the website for Catalina Island Express.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Could you tell me how self assist works? My husband and I will each only have one small roller suitcase apiece and we have an early train to catch. We are plantinum on the coming cruise. Do we just get up and go? Thought we had to wait for an announcement or something. Thanks for any info you can help with.

 

It depends on the ship. I've had them announce self assist by decks. "Self assist decks 7 & 11 can now disembark" but I've always ignored it and walked off when I was ready. We always do self assist for 3 reasons. 1.) I don't know how many times they give me disembark #21 or something that gets you off the ship last. 2.) I usually have a long drive ahead of me and want to start heading home as soon as I've eaten breakfast. 3.) I hate trying to find my luggage in the zoo of look-a-like bags.

[Forchunut1]

What happens if you DON'T self-assist? They come and take your luggage for you? Do you have to get off the ship at a certain time then? I would also rather linger and eat breakfast and get off when the traffic has cleared, since I'm in no hurry but will be traveling with an elderly disabled person and two small children...

 

If you don't self assist, you put your bags outside your doorway the night before (except for what you need for personal items the next day). You will have been given special tags for the bags with a zone number on them. Carnival then unloads the bags from the ship into a big warehouse area the morning of disembarkation. That morning, when your zone is called you disembark into the warehouse and search for your bags which are separated by the zone numbers. However, you don't HAVE to get off exactly when your zone is called. You can wait and enjoy breakfast, etc. but at some point all passengers will be required to get off the ship. :D

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

What do you choose if you want to lallygag on the ship for awhile? Do you still vacate your room at the same time with either option?

 

Most ships say you need to be out of your room by 8:30 so the stewards can start cleaning the ship for the next arriving passengers. If the ship hasn't cleared customs yet, all the people are either at the lido deck eating or in public rooms around the ship waiting for them to start calling numbers.