What time do you really have to be off of the ship?

[parentsof5]

We are driving and are not in a hurry to get to an airport. We all know we can arrive earlier then the tell us, how long to we really have to disembark. (Of course not wanting to hold things up for the next cruisers to board.) If we don't have to get 3 teenagers up at the crack of dawn after 5 nights on a cruise, the better the 10 hour ride home will be.

[Bflo Cruiser]

You will still have to be off the ship relatively early. Even the last passengers are usually off the ship by 10 or 11 am at the very latest. Keep in mind, however, that the more tired your teenagers are, the more likely they will sleep more on the ride home. So it could work to your advantage if they are still tired because they will just sleep. In fact, let them stay up as late as possible on the last night!

[firefly333]

usually around 10 or 10:30.

 

Might as well prepare those teens to get up because Id say no later than 9 am you will have to clear the cabins and wait someplace else.

 

Get up and have breakfast and get ready to get off. The reason I do self disembarkation is to avoid what can be longer lines thru customs later on during the morning.

[nhraformula00]

We had tag # 30 out of 32 numbers and we were called off at 11am.They started with # 1 at 8am.This was on the Valor 1 month ago.

[serene56]

I agree-

the last cruise we had to be OUT of the cabin by 8:30

 

your kids will not be sleeping because of the number of announcements being made (inside the cabins) --plus the calling of the people to the pursers desk.

[parentsof5]

Thanks, I had seen talk of people getting up at 7, so that was more what I was thinking. 8:30ish is closer to comfortable for them. I'm sure they won't care whether they have breakfast that morning.

 

I didn't remember all of the announcements in the cabin from our previous cruise.

[firefly333]

I agree-

the last cruise we had to be OUT of the cabin by 8:30

 

your kids will not be sleeping because of the number of announcements being made (inside the cabins) --plus the calling of the people to the pursers desk.

 

Oh yea, lets not forget the annoucements, like about 6 am .. yikes.. if you werent already up you are now.

 

If you are near the aft or forward, there are ship docking noises very early. I might have slept thru all that when I was younger... but its a lot of noise.

[Fraucruiser]

Just got off the Freedom on Sunday :( We had tag # 15 and our time was 9:15. We had our two teenage boys with us as well and had LATE flights, so we were in no hurry to leave.

Announcements started at 6:20 am and they were not in the room announcements. I got up at 7, woke my husband for his turn in the bathroom and so forth. We left our room at 8:30 and went to the Lido for breakfast. The Lido buffet stops serving at 9:30. So you will need to be up and eat by then.

[parentsof5]

Just got off the Freedom on Sunday :( We had tag # 15 and our time was 9:15. We had our two teenage boys with us as well and had LATE flights, so we were in no hurry to leave.

Announcements started at 6:20 am and they were not in the room announcements. I got up at 7, woke my husband for his turn in the bathroom and so forth. We left our room at 8:30 and went to the Lido for breakfast. The Lido buffet stops serving at 9:30. So you will need to be up and eat by then.

 

Thanks for the information, Fraucruiser. I assume you took your carry-ons with you when you left the room?

 

Sorry to hear you had to come home! :(

[kelly11]

We stayed on last time waiting to be called and were one of the last ones off, the lines were HUGE to go through customs, we may try the self assist this time in hopes to avoide the 2 mile long lines, we drive and arent in a hurry but we also booked a hotel and will be staying in Florida 3 extra nights so we dont have to make that long drive right away :)

[ILUVCRUZEN]

I'm sure they won't care whether they have breakfast that morning.

You can still put the breakfast card on the door the night before you disembark and they will bring you breakfast/coffee. This is a great way to get the kids up and feed them too:)

[FlaGrl4Evr]

The announcements will start early, AND, you will hear them loud and clear in your cabin. The Non-US Citizens first, etc... if this doesn't wake you up then the CD will with his/her thank-yous for cruising Carnival and yet another reminder of how the zone #'s work. You must be out of your cabin by 8:30 at the very latest. Our cabin steward came knocking at 7:30 just as we were leaving for breakfast. We assured him we would be back to get our carry-ons and out of the room in plenty of time. We were back at the cabin and at 8:26, while brushing my teeth, the cabin steward propped open the door and wished us a safe travel home. He was very nice about it but very clear that they have a job to do and your vacation is now over. The last morning is not a curise day it's more like hurry-up-and-get-your-butt-off-the-ship-quick-and-safe-day.

 

There is really no reason to prolong your stay, they want you off the ship to prepare it for the next set of cruisers. We were zone 11 so we went to up our assigned area and bought a cup of coffee form the cafe and waited patiently for our zone #to be called. We were off the ship by about 10:10 or so and at TPA airport by around 11:00 We had a 2:15 flight so we just checked our bags and had a nice lunch at our leisure with another cruiser that also had a later flight. It was all good. :)

[blindrid]

We got out of our room at about 9:00, had breakfast, found chaise in the sun and read a hour or so. At about 10:30 we left to airport. We were one of the last off.

 

Any later and I think we would have felt like we were imposing due to the crew spiffying up the ship for the next round.

[lorijeannj]

I have never left my cabin earlier than 10 a.m.

Usually just my husband and I and we let the stewards do what they have to do around us.

I have never had a problem with this.

[cathy_kearns]

Took a Paradise cruise in December. Never heard an announcement in the morning before we got off the ship. None. We got off at 7:30.

[budbo]

We just got off the Fascination yesterday in Jacksonville. We stayed in our cabin until 9:30, when the cabin steward needed to get in there. We were zone 17 (of 26, I think) and got off around 10:00. Our cruise seemed to have alot of "self assist" passengers, so they didn't start calling the zones until about 9:15, but it went really fast once they started. The disembarkation process was one of the smoothest we've seen. Hardly a line anywhere when we got off, luggage was easy to find and plenty of cabs lined up waiting for us.

[gmkmetz]

We are driving and are not in a hurry to get to an airport. We all know we can arrive earlier then the tell us, how long to we really have to disembark. (Of course not wanting to hold things up for the next cruisers to board.) If we don't have to get 3 teenagers up at the crack of dawn after 5 nights on a cruise, the better the 10 hour ride home will be.

 

 

The crew has tons of work to do so....Self assist and be on the road by 9am....Kids can sleep in the car

[elcuchio24]

We're usually out of our room by 8:30, have a long breakfast and then hang out til 9:30 or 10. We're not the last ones off, but probably in the last 20% to debark....

[hockeyluver]

The announcements will start early, AND, you will hear them loud and clear in your cabin. The Non-US Citizens first, etc... if this doesn't wake you up then the CD will with his/her thank-yous for cruising Carnival and yet another reminder of how the zone #'s work. You must be out of your cabin by 8:30 at the very latest. Our cabin steward came knocking at 7:30 just as we were leaving for breakfast. We assured him we would be back to get our carry-ons and out of the room in plenty of time. We were back at the cabin and at 8:26, while brushing my teeth, the cabin steward propped open the door and wished us a safe travel home. He was very nice about it but very clear that they have a job to do and your vacation is now over. The last morning is not a curise day it's more like hurry-up-and-get-your-butt-off-the-ship-quick-and-safe-day.

 

There is really no reason to prolong your stay, they want you off the ship to prepare it for the next set of cruisers. We were zone 11 so we went to up our assigned area and bought a cup of coffee form the cafe and waited patiently for our zone #to be called. We were off the ship by about 10:10 or so and at TPA airport by around 11:00 We had a 2:15 flight so we just checked our bags and had a nice lunch at our leisure with another cruiser that also had a later flight. It was all good. :)

 

The only time we had to be up early to go through customs on the ship, was the cruises where we had stops in St. Thomas other than that we got up with the others. Our last cruise we were driving home so not in any hurry. And the one before that we had late flights. We went to the pursurs desk and got the last zone tickets. Got our stuff together went to our daughters room woke them and then we all went to the dining room for breakfast.

[MrPete]

We are driving and are not in a hurry to get to an airport. We all know we can arrive earlier then the tell us, how long to we really have to disembark. (Of course not wanting to hold things up for the next cruisers to board.) If we don't have to get 3 teenagers up at the crack of dawn after 5 nights on a cruise, the better the 10 hour ride home will be.

 

The only bad thing about delaying debarking is that NOTHING is open. No services, NADA, other than breakfast. You have to be out of your room as well.

 

We try to get off as soon as possible, cause it's just too damned depressing.

[FlaGrl4Evr]

The only time we had to be up early to go through customs on the ship, was the cruises where we had stops in St. Thomas other than that we got up with the others. Our last cruise we were driving home so not in any hurry. And the one before that we had late flights. We went to the pursurs desk and got the last zone tickets. Got our stuff together went to our daughters room woke them and then we all went to the dining room for breakfast.

 

 

Well this was our first cruise and it was on the Legend last Oct. so I really do not know what the norm is, all I can say is that Wee Jimmy the CD, did start calling for the non-US cruisers first. The announcments starting coming over the PA right before we left our cabin for breakfast and contunied while we were eating in the buffet. So I am guessing it was around the 7am - 730 time frame. After that, they called the SA passengers and then the zones.

 

When we returned from breakfast at 8:15, all we wanted to do was brush our teeth and grab our carry-ons and the room Steward was right there, very pleasant but firm, to say goodbye have a safe trip. Most other passengers must have already vacated their cabins because he had all of the room cabin doors standing open. If there were any passengers in there trying to squeeze out the last few minutes, there sure wouldn't have been any privacy. :eek: We ended up grabbing a cup of coffee in the Cafe and chatting with some roll call friends in the area that they assigned us to wait. Mabye all ships are different, but I cannot possibly imagine anyone staying in their cabin unitl the 10am time frame, at least not on this sailing. They were also hosing down the balcony areas so this would not have been an area of retreat either.

[Pollensalta]

Embarrassing story -

June of this year I was on the Sensation with my best friend. The night before we got pretty plastered and I was hungover debarkation morning - like physically sick hungover - by 8:45-9 they were banging on our door - by 9:30 they had sent an officer to our cabin to drag us out of there if need be, and we were told we were the last passengers onboard. We heard them talking on their walkie talkies and after we left they said they had "zero-d" out the ship.

 

Pretty early! I'd thought it was 10 or 11 myself.

[nytraveller53]

The last zone leaves at about 10-10:30 AM

 

Hey, this is my 300th post! Yay!

[serene56]

The last zone leaves at about 10-10:30 AM

 

Hey, this is my 300th post! Yay!

 

 

 

yay-- congrats!!!

will not be long til you catch up to me.

[In2why]

We are driving and are not in a hurry to get to an airport. We all know we can arrive earlier then the tell us, how long to we really have to disembark. (Of course not wanting to hold things up for the next cruisers to board.) If we don't have to get 3 teenagers up at the crack of dawn after 5 nights on a cruise, the better the 10 hour ride home will be.

 

 

You don't have to be off the ship super early, but you need to get out of your cabin with all of your stuff by 8:30 am, so the stewards can get it turned over for the next cruise. The other problem is that you will want a table to eat and relax until your number is called and you need to be up pretty early to get a table. Some people camp on the stairs, but I would find that annoying.