Disembarkment Process

[JannyLyn]

I'm curious as to how the disembarkment process works.

 

I've been trying to read as much as possible so I know where I'm supposed to be, but I haven't been able to find all that much on the disembarkment - or at least the stuff I've read doesn't really contain the info I'm looking for.

 

Is it true that you leave your luggage outside your cabin door the night before?

What do you do with the clothes and toiletries you need to use the morning of?

What happens to your luggage after you leave it out the night before? Where does it go?? When do you see it again?

Do you have the option to not leave it out? What happens then?

 

I've also heard people say they carry their luggage on and off the cruise... what does this mean? What are the pros and cons to doing this vs. having the cruise bring it to you/take it off?

 

Sorry for all the questions! Thanks in advance :)

[cb at sea]

You only leave your luggage outside IF you can't or don't want to lug it off the ship yourself, by hand....no luggage carts!

 

When you leave your bags outside, you keep one, small bag to put your last evening's clothes in, along with toiletries that you'll need the last night and morning....along with clothes you'll wear off the ship. Yes...it requires a few mins. of planning and thought!

 

The porters will come around around midnight and take the bags, and you will pick them up (airport style) before you go thru customs, once you're off the ship in the morning. You will be given luggage tags so that you will know when and where to pick up your luggage.

 

It's much easier to let the baggage handlers lug your stuff. Of course, you should always carry on and off anything of value, including medications and anything you simply can't live without!

 

If you chooose to carry off everything, prepare to be one of the 1st people off the ship, very early! Otherwise, you will be given a time to leave the ship, and your bags will be waiting.

[paul929207]

You might also leave your bags out the last night if you are not in a hurry the next day and just don't want the hassle of lugging the bags off.

[KirkNC]

We always do self-disembarkation. No putting your bags out or ever losing sight of them. You just roll them off the ship yourself. The big benefit for us is that you will be in the first group off and don't have to try and find your bags in some airplane hanger. the down side is you need to be able to handle your own bags. No problem for us, we have taken 28 day cruises with one medium suitcase and one daypack each.

 

Kirk

[Krazy Kruizers]

If you choose to handle your luggage onto and off the ship -- remember that the bags must fir through the scanner at security when you get on the ship. It is the same size scanner as you see in the airport.

Usually near the beginning of the cruise you will get a form to fill out indicating what your plans are for getting off the ship -- airport (you will list your departure time) -- hotel -- own plans like driving home -- and a choice of the self disembarkation.

If you choose to have the ship handle your luggage -- you will be given colored tags or numbers the last full day of the cruise as to when you will disembark the ship.

Once down in the terminal you will claim your luggage -- and if you need a porter to help you -- they will be there. Then you will go through immigration and customs. After that -- you can get a taxi or your car and start your journey home.

[JannyLyn]

Thanks everyone for your responses.

 

I have a few more questions now.

 

If we do decide to self-disembark... do you have to carry your luggage down stairs or just roll it down sidewalks? I won't be able to lift my suitcase for more than a few seconds at a time, but rolling it should not be a problem at all.

 

Also, if we do self-disembark... why do we have to be one of the first groups off? Can't we have a nice breakfast first and then go back to our cabin, grab our luggage and walk off whenever we want? We have to be at the airport around 11am, so I wouldn't know what to do if we had to get off at 8am.

[johneeo]

Thanks everyone for your responses.

 

I have a few more questions now.

 

If we do decide to self-disembark... do you have to carry your luggage down stairs or just roll it down sidewalks? I won't be able to lift my suitcase for more than a few seconds at a time, but rolling it should not be a problem at all.

 

 

You will have to manage to get your luggage off the ship.

 

If you are on deck 9, you will eventually wind up off the ship, so, you will go from deck 9 to land. You can roll it, push it, carry it, pull it, whatever.

 

I could not imagine doing that.

 

Also, not mentioned, if you put it out, absolutely nothing of any value should be in it.

[skrufy]

Unless you have some large bags, going down the steps is easy. The elevators get backed up so lots of people us the stairs. With self disembark you can get off with the first group, but if you want to stay on board for a little while longer you can disembark at any time. As with the numbers on you luggage, its the same, you cant disembark before you are called, but you can disembark any time after your number is called.

If you choose to put you luggage out the night before, you set aside your attire and anything else you need for the next day. DW and I have backpacs and snall carryons, this is where we put the previous nights wear, and everything else in and carry it off.

Hope this makes sense to you, have a great cruise.

[Hlitner]

Taking your own luggage off can be a real hassle in some port facilities and not too bad in others. In some cases you will need to roll your luggage a long way and possibly down an escalator or face a long wait for an elevator. Some facilities only have a single elevator which is can often be busy if there are many handicapped folks. It would be very unusual for you to have to deal with stairs...although just getting to the proper deck on the ship can be a hassle if the elevators are overwhelmed on disembarkation morning. If you look at the Celebrity board, their new Silhouette just had major problems with disembarkation in Bayonne (they were delayed for hours). Folks said that there were so many passengers fighting to get off the ship they could not get an elevator and passengers were crammed on stairways trying to get down to the proper deck. This kind of thing does not happen often, but it does happen.

 

Hank

[jennmaybe]

I've done 4 cruises now and always self-disembarked, except for one (not my choice though). We had to put our luggage out in SJ and boy, was it a mess trying to find our luggage that morning! That was my 3rd cruise and I was already used to taking my own off. For us, it saves time rather than hunting through 5000 other pieces of luggage....;)

 

We have never had any problems taking our own off. To us, it's no different than getting your luggage up to the airport from the parking lot. It's actually easier. At the airport, we have to lift it to get on the shuttle bus (we have to park in the park & ride lot), but on the ship, we roll it everywhere and hop on the elevator in the port to get downstairs. Then the driver of the transportation we choose will put them in the vehicle for us. Wish we had one of those at the airport...:)

 

We were on Oasis a couple of weeks ago and we took our own luggage off. We didn't have to get off early (flight was next day), so we hung out, ate breakfast and took our time. Went downstairs to get off and had no problems with our own luggage. We actually saw more people this cruise taking their own off than any other cruise we've been on. Gee.....I wonder why......maybe because with over 6,000 passengers, there would be about 10,000-12,000 pieces of luggage.:eek: No thank you!:D

[johneeo]

For us, it saves time rather than hunting through 5000 other pieces of luggage....;)

 

 

Not the case at all.:(

 

Everyone is given a designated area, which might contain 100 bags, maybe more or less. No one has to hunt throught 5,000 pieces of luggage.

 

When we disembarked from the EOS in Bayonne, when we got to our designated area, only our bags were there. Everyone else had been there and had departed.

[Jimnbigd]

If you do leave you luggage in the hallway to be claimed after you get off the ship, I recommend you get a porter (available in the bag claim area). A porter will usually get you through customs faster. Of course you need to tip the porter. Usually there is a separate line to go to if you want a porter. You go to this line after you get off the ship but before you claim your luggage.

[trish1c]

Check with your specific cruise line. For some lines they require you to be able to carry your luggage off the ship & they state carry does not mean roll or wheel -- it means lift off the ground & tote down several flights of stairs.

You do put your luggage out the night before. You should keep your toiletries & the outfit you will wear home. It's a bit of a p.i.t.a. these days b/c when you get your luggage back if you have larger toiletries or other things that can't go in your carry on for the flight home you have to repack in the cruise terminal or at the AP.

Bring your key card with you when you put the bags out. I was alone in my cabin once & put the bags out. The door closed behind me & I had to go down to the front desk in my pjs to get a new key made. The only reason I didn't feel worse is that 75% of the other people on line to see the purser at that hour were also in their jammies. :p

[Bklyn11214]

I will be on the 12/17 cruise on Oasis. The ship returns to port on the 24th at 7:00 a.m. Stupidly, I booked a flight leaving at 8:30 am. Is there any chance in hell that I can get off the boat and to the airport in time for my flight???

[Cruisin' Chick]

Is it true that you leave your luggage outside your cabin door the night before?

What do you do with the clothes and toiletries you need to use the morning of?

What happens to your luggage after you leave it out the night before? Where does it go?? When do you see it again?

Do you have the option to not leave it out? What happens then?

 

I've also heard people say they carry their luggage on and off the cruise... what does this mean? What are the pros and cons to doing this vs. having the cruise bring it to you/take it off?

 

Sorry for all the questions! Thanks in advance :)

 

Thanks everyone for your responses.

 

I have a few more questions now.

 

If we do decide to self-disembark... do you have to carry your luggage down stairs or just roll it down sidewalks? I won't be able to lift my suitcase for more than a few seconds at a time, but rolling it should not be a problem at all.

 

Also, if we do self-disembark... why do we have to be one of the first groups off? Can't we have a nice breakfast first and then go back to our cabin, grab our luggage and walk off whenever we want? We have to be at the airport around 11am, so I wouldn't know what to do if we had to get off at 8am.

 

Most of us will have our luggage to be checked at the pier (given over to the porters, x-rayed by the port staff, and then taken onboard the ship and deposited into our cabin. But it may be some time before the luggage gets into the cabins. So it's a good idea to have a bag (as noted above, you'll have to be able to hoist it onto the conveyor belt in the screening area) that you'll keep with you during the check in at the terminal until you get to your cabin. Make sure all your valuables (for example, cameras), medications, documents (passports, cruise docs, etc.), a change of clothing, are in this bag. This will be the bag you can pack with the same items that last day of the cruise, and keep with you the morning you disembark. Keep your jammies, the clothes you want to wear on the disembarkation day including a change of underwear, toiletries, and anything else you might need that morning.

 

Anything you won't need that last night and the morning you leave the ship that doesn't fit the above categories, put in your luggage to be put into the hallway on the last night. Since you will have cameras, laptops, other valuables in your carryon, you won't have to worry about what you put out for the crew to deal with. Early in the morning, Customs officers will escort trained dogs to go past the bags and check for drugs. I imagine those who are going the self-disembarkation route will have to walk past one of these canines.

 

As for self-disembarkation, we don't bother with that. Most of the time we have left from our home port, so traveling back home means getting on the road for an hour. Since we know many people are trying to make flights, it would be selfish for us to make things difficult for them just to hurry off the ship. Plus, we can take our time having breakfast and double checking the cabin to make sure we have taken everything that belongs to us.

 

Plus, the way I pack, I don't want to hassle trying to deal with my purse, tote, carryon and suitcase. As others have noted, it can get very crowded, especially if there's a few people who really have too much to deal with on their own. And there will be some of those.

 

As for trying to find your items in the baggage claim, you will be given a color (at least on the cruises we've been on). The luggage tags your cabin steward will give you are of that color. The bags are generally put in an area assigned for that color. So if you have Brown-2, your tags will have that color and the number 2 on them. You'll be called to get off the ship by that color (you can leave anytime after your color is called, but not before). You go to the baggage claim area that will have a sign that says "brown 2." Simple. Plus, many people will mark their bags with color duct tape or use pom poms, or other means to differentiate your bags from others.

 

From other ports, we make sure any flights aren't for early in the day if we're traveling, or we'll stay in the city for a post-cruise stay. Why stress ourselves?

 

I will be on the 12/17 cruise on Oasis. The ship returns to port on the 24th at 7:00 a.m. Stupidly, I booked a flight leaving at 8:30 am. Is there any chance in hell that I can get off the boat and to the airport in time for my flight???

 

Not sure what airport you'll going to be trying to get to, but cruiselines generally have a recommended time to schedule your flights after. That's for many reasons.

 

First, there's no guarantee that the ship will dock at the expected time. Usually this isn't a problem, but possible.

 

Second, the customs and immigrations officers aren't always on time, especially if there's more than one ship in port that day. I've been on some cruises on which the process started more than 30 minutes late. And if there's someone who is ignoring (or doesn't understand) the page of "Mr. SoAndSo, from cabin ---, please report to the purser's desk," your disembarkation can be delayed too.

 

Third, your snagging your land transportation to the airport could be delayed. There should be plenty of taxis and shuttles available even if you haven't pre-booked a vehicle. But the line to catch one might be long. And if you have pre-booked a vehicle, there's no guarantee there isn't a foul up (we had that for our last cruise, both our pick up from home and from the port -- we'll never use that company again).

 

Fourth, if there's a traffic jam, that can delay you too. I know in Los Angeles, even on the weekends, the 405 freeway that you would take to get to LAX can be extremely busy.

 

So, no, I can't see booking a flight that early. If I were you, I would try to change your flight or have a plan B (being prepared to arrange a later flight or staying in that city another day).

[1025cruise]

I believe the Oasis sails into Port Everglades, which is spitting distance to FLL.

 

That said, there is no way in "you know where" I would book an 8:30am flight.

[Bklyn11214]

Thanks for the responses. It doesn't seem as though I will be making my flight from FLL to LAX, having booked an 8:30 am flight. All I was thinking about was making it home in time for Christmas eve.:(

[1025cruise]

The only way possible this could work would be for you to self disembark. This means that you need to haul your own luggage off of the ship, with no assistance whatsoever. You would have to be in the first self disembark group. Once through customs, head straight for the taxi line. Assuming you gun it, you can probably be at the airport by 8:00am. If you have just carry-on luggage, run straight to the gate.

 

Just writing that out raised my blood pressure. I'd look into booking a later flight.

[paul929207]

Thanks for the responses. It doesn't seem as though I will be making my flight from FLL to LAX, having booked an 8:30 am flight. All I was thinking about was making it home in time for Christmas eve.:(

I would change if there is space on a later flight. Otherwise, it is almost a sure thing that you will be hanging around the airport for the day, hoping to get on a flight. Maybe, staying there for the night.

[trish1c]

I will be on the 12/17 cruise on Oasis. The ship returns to port on the 24th at 7:00 a.m. Stupidly, I booked a flight leaving at 8:30 am. Is there any chance in hell that I can get off the boat and to the airport in time for my flight???

 

Definitely not at Christmas. Plus if you miss the flight they will put you on the next available flight which could very well be on Christmas evening.

I hope you changed it b/c there is a reason the cruise lines tell you not to book before 1;00 p.m. or 5 hours after your ship is scheduled to dock.

[esimon]

We always do self-disembarkation. No putting your bags out or ever losing sight of them. You just roll them off the ship yourself. The big benefit for us is that you will be in the first group off and don't have to try and find your bags in some airplane hanger. the down side is you need to be able to handle your own bags. No problem for us, we have taken 28 day cruises with one medium suitcase and one daypack each.

 

Kirk

 

 

seriously? shorts and a T 24/7 for you i guess

[esimon]

I've done 4 cruises now and always self-disembarked, except for one (not my choice though). We had to put our luggage out in SJ and boy, was it a mess trying to find our luggage that morning! That was my 3rd cruise and I was already used to taking my own off. For us, it saves time rather than hunting through 5000 other pieces of luggage....;)

 

We have never had any problems taking our own off. To us, it's no different than getting your luggage up to the airport from the parking lot. It's actually easier. At the airport, we have to lift it to get on the shuttle bus (we have to park in the park & ride lot), but on the ship, we roll it everywhere and hop on the elevator in the port to get downstairs. Then the driver of the transportation we choose will put them in the vehicle for us. Wish we had one of those at the airport...:)

 

We were on Oasis a couple of weeks ago and we took our own luggage off. We didn't have to get off early (flight was next day), so we hung out, ate breakfast and took our time. Went downstairs to get off and had no problems with our own luggage. We actually saw more people this cruise taking their own off than any other cruise we've been on. Gee.....I wonder why......maybe because with over 6,000 passengers, there would be about 10,000-12,000 pieces of luggage.:eek: No thank you!:D

 

explains why I won't cruise with 6,000 people -- don't want to cruise in and with a mall. never had a problem finding luggage even though I could carry it off my self.

[serene56]

I will be on the 12/17 cruise on Oasis. The ship returns to port on the 24th at 7:00 a.m. Stupidly, I booked a flight leaving at 8:30 am. Is there any chance in hell that I can get off the boat and to the airport in time for my flight???

 

 

wow-

 

the ship docks at 7 then needs to be cleared- even if you did self assist there is no way-

Luggage needs to be checked at the airport 60 minutes in advance.

 

what time is the next flight? and what is it gonna cost you to make changes?

[Hlitner]

I will be on the 12/17 cruise on Oasis. The ship returns to port on the 24th at 7:00 a.m. Stupidly, I booked a flight leaving at 8:30 am. Is there any chance in hell that I can get off the boat and to the airport in time for my flight???

 

No! You need to change that flight (its wise to book something after 11) keeping in mind that hoping to get on a later flight on the 24th without a reservation may leave you stranded in FLL. Assuming your ship does dock at 7 (it is possible they would dock earlier in the morning) it can easily take 30 min (or more) for the ship to be cleared. At that point those who choose to haul their own luggage off the ship (and there will be more then a thousand doing this on the Oasis) will have to snake their way off the ship, and wait their turn to get through the immigrations desk. At that point you can go outside and get a taxi to the airport, but you should allow 15 min for the ride (plus the time you wait in the queue for taxis). The basic rule at FLL is that you should be at the airport at least 90 minutes before your flight since you need to check-in and get through the security line. Experience has shown us that security is often tighter (which means slower) around the holidays.

 

Hank

[Bklyn11214]

Well, thanks for all the replies. I did change my flight, but really not that much better. I changed it to 9:30 instead of 8:30. That cost me nearly 400 to change for me and my two daughters. Anything later than that would have cost nearly 800. Guess I will have to just try my best to be one of the first ones off the boat.