New to Cruising - Disembarkation

[bigwicer86]

I am sailing out of Baltimore on 5/20 on the Carnival Pride to the Caribbean for 7 days. This will be my first time cruising and I am going solo... :roll eyes:

 

I have a friend picking me up in Baltimore that day, what is the process like on the last day? When can I expect (or when is the latest I can expect) to get off the ship?

 

I want to be respectful of my friend's time as much as I can.

 

Thanks.

[Lejardin]

First of all have a blast on your solo cruise. I LOVE going solo.

 

the last night of the cruise, you will be assigned a specific time for debarkation, -- I think it's random depending on what deck you are on. This can be anywhere from around 8:00 am to around 10 am from what I remember.

 

You can also choose self-debarkation which means you leave first (early) and take your luggage with you.

[kingoftheicedragons]

There is really no clear cut answer to this, but the latest that you should expect to be on board (assuming nothing delays the ship getting back into port) is about 10 or 10:30.

 

If you self-assist (carry everything off by yourself), you can disembark fairly early. Otherwise, you will spend time in a lounge or up on deck waiting. They usually do go through this whole process pretty quickly. San Juan was the only place where I found it slow.

 

When you disembark, you will go find your bags in the warehouse if you didn't self assist. Then once you have your bags, you will get in line to go through customs. This is probably going to take probably 10-20 minutes.

 

If your friend is picking you up and is reasonably close to the port, I would probably call them when you find your bags and get in the customs line. If you end up waiting a few minutes after you get through customs, that's probably more respectful of their time than having them wait for you.

[vacruizer]

Things sometimes run a bit later in Baltimore since the ship doesn't dock until around 9am. A lot of the Florida ships come in pre-dawn and run debarkation from 7-10:30am or so.

 

I've seen debarkation run as late as noon in Baltimore. I've also noticed that way more people do "self-assist" there where you carry off your own luggage which means regular debarkation starts later but moves quicker since fewer people use it. It's really tough to say in advance exactly when you will be off the ship and through customs. If they can wait nearby I'd call them once you are debarking or through customs (they will not let you use a cell phone in the terminal or customs lines.)