Disembarkation: Why The Mad Rush?

[room010]

I don't understand it and it seems to apply to every cruise line. People clogging up the gangway, booking too-early flights, pushing and shoving to get off the ship. Why? I know we can't linger until lunchtime and the crew needs to get ready for that afternoon's departure but what's wrong with taking a calm, leisurely breakfast while bags are offloaded and the crowds at customs/immigration clear and then catching a lunchtime or afternoon flight. You've had a relaxing cruise and then lose all those benefits in the mad rush at the end of it.

[cruiseryyc]

Because most early flights are cheaper than later ones. I totally agree with you!

[TMO3CCO1]

For us it really comes down to price of flights. I've never been on a cruise but am assuming once on the ship I won't want to get off. If I can get a later flight for cheaper, I'll take the later flight. We also have to fly all the way across the country (long flight times) and would rather get in at a "decent hour".

[klfrodo]

Part of me agrees with OP.

We live on the west coast and always stay an additional day so we don't have to rush to catch a flight to get home at a reasonable hour.

 

However, I also understand some folks wanting to get off the ship ASAP so they can start their 10 - 12 hour drive home.

[herbanrenewal]

We all have different needs and priorities. Its all about the most practical schedule for return home.

 

I frequently fly with FF miles, and I will need to take what I am offered as long as it is physically possible. sometimes I have an extra night in port town, but sometimes I have to get to the airport ASAP.

 

And sometimes I can take a few more days after the cruise before returning to work, and sometimes I need to work the next day...when I join the large numbers of frequent cruisers who are retired I may have more choices, but for now, returning to work is another part of the picture.

 

So sometimes I'm debarking asap with suitcase in hand to get out the gate as soon as it opens, and sometimes I'm laid back and in no hurry.

 

I do appreciate it when those who have no reason to hurry hang in there until those with a need to get going have gone!

[TMO3CCO1]

For us this time, staying an extra day isn't an option. Oh how I wish it was!!! I would love to go check in at a hotel and relax for one more day before facing the real world.

[Teeara]

I'm so glad I don't have to be one of those people. We always fly in a day (or more) early and stay a day (or more) late. I will never fly in the same day a cruise starts or fly out the day it ends. It's just not worth the stress. I'm now going to stay on the ship until last call to leave. Did that in Puerto Rico after our Adventure cruise. It was sweet. No problem locating our luggage because ours was among the last in the pile. ;):D I also like not dealing with the zoo at the airport. So if you can stockpile some vacation time, please try it. You're entitled to the time off. Take it and truly enjoy your vacation without stressing yourself out to get home after the cruise.

[jdvmd]

Might be nice to stick around but some of us have to get back to our responsibilities. Flights are cheaper too, or maybe that is the only nonstop. Lots of reasons.

[sail7seas]

We always stay over but still want to be off early in disembarkation. When our cruise is over, we like to leave and get to our hotel to enjoy our stay there.

 

Many of those who are rushing to the airport are trying to beat the crowds coming from all the ships docking that morning. Thee who gets there first, gets in the security line first.

 

[obnurse]

We are in much less of a hurry to get off the ship than the crew is to get us off. We've always felt herded off. It's a fine welcome to reality

[navybankerteacher]

Very often the lower fare available when you fly the following day covers the cost of a hotel/motel for the night - plus you can easily get to the airport early before the crowds.

[Cruisin' Chick]

We have never tried to be the first ones off. When we are leaving from our home port, we're certainly not going to push our way to the front of the line just so we can get home before noon. Even when we were getting off our Alaskan cruise, we booked our return trip via train for a few days after that, so that my hubby and daughter can play tourist in Seattle. We waited our turn, figuring a half hour or hour still on board wasn't going to cut too much into our post-cruise vacay. Only once did we book a flight for the same day after a cruise, but for early afternoon so that it's not a mad dash to the airport. I didn't have all the extra vacation time my hubby did then, so our pre-cruise flight was the day before our cruise, but right after I got off from work. And I was back at work the day after we got off the ship. I figured laundry could wait.

[OCruisers]

Love getting off early because we have a long drive (10 hours) home from Ft.Lauderdale.

We take our time driving down and spend the night along the way ... but, once off a longer cruise, we want to go home as quickly as possible.

 

LuLu

[room010]

I totally understand that we have to get back to the "real world" in a timely fashion, but does delaying getting off the ship by an hour or so really make that much difference? Judging by some of the pushing and shoving I've seen you'd think someone had yelled "abandon ship!" :p

[TMO3CCO1]

I totally understand that we have to get back to the "real world" in a timely fashion, but does delaying getting off the ship by an hour or so really make that much difference? Judging by some of the pushing and shoving I've seen you'd think someone had yelled "abandon ship!" :p

:DMade me laugh! This will be our first cruise so I'm hoping we won't see the pushing and shoving. What a bad way to end a vacation!

[Azulann]

Having disembarked from a US port for the first time , it was crazy. the pier expereince was a mad dash and then wait routine. And we were in the last group off the ship at 10:00 am. Disembarkation in Europe is much more orderly. Immigration and customs happens at the airports.

 

I have come to realize that on all future cruises I will stay in the port city one extra day after a cruise. It is worth the extra money, using one more vactaion day and less of a hassle to my wonderful vacation.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We used to never rush off the ship as we always have to stay over at a hotel since our flights start at 6:30 AM.

We would stay on the ship until 9 - 9:30.

But now that I require wheelchair assistance, I have no choice but to be at a designated area to have my assigned wheelchair get me off the ship -- usually around 8:15. We really don't like to be rushed but have no choice.

[kingoftheicedragons]

I can see your point. We do go and have breakfast on the Lido on disembark day, but then we still need to go back to our cabin after breakfast and before 8:00 or 8:30 to be out. A lot of times, we have a high zone number for disembarking, so we won't be getting off the ship until 9:30 or 10. The cruise is essentially over, and we have our carry on luggage with us, which means we aren't all that mobile. It can be quite boring sitting in the main lounge for 60-90 minutes with nothing going on waiting to disembark.

 

Maybe if they had some kind of entertainment there to help pass the time, some sort of movie playing, or the house band, or comedian.....something. That would at least be entertaining, a good way to pass the time, and you leave the ship with a positive memory instead of a memory similar to waiting at an airport.

[SupesUp]

This will be our first cruise this summer, and we will be docking in barcelona where we have a hotel room for the next few nights, because I have no early flight to rush off to would you suggest I just take my time getting off the ship? Will this make my disembarking much more calm and stress free? I like the sounds of that.

[Warm Breezes]

This is why we try to always extend our vacation a day before/after at our port city. We get up on debarkation day, have a leisurely breakfast, and usually still have time for a few games of cards on the promenade deck before the last numbers/colors are called and we head off the ship. Usually by then the lines are gone to get off, it's real easy to find your luggage and the customs lines are short. I'd take this over the mad rush and pushing/shoving to get off any day...after all we're still on vacation ;):D.

[cruisemom42]

By the same token, I don't fully understand the mad rush to get ON the ship either.

 

I'd rather arrive an hour or two later and avoid the unpleasant lines (often in hot weather) than be one of the mob that tries to get onboard at the earliest possible moment.

 

(And I particularly don't understand it in Europe, where the ports are often more interesting than being onboard ship....:cool:)

[murfturf]

We always stay over but still want to be off early in disembarkation. When our cruise is over, we like to leave and get to our hotel to enjoy our stay there.

 

Many of those who are rushing to the airport are trying to beat the crowds coming from all the ships docking that morning. Thee who gets there first, gets in the security line first.

 

 

Why not let those who have a flight get off earlier though? I understand your reasoning, but I think if you don't have to - just stay a bit longer. Why not? When we got off AOS others thought we were on a B2B because I do believe we WERE the last passengers off! We had 2 nights at the Sheraton Old San Juan and we weren't in a hurry at all! In fact we still had to kill time to get in our hotel room.

 

This next cruise I'd like to be driving away from PC by 10:30 - 11:00 for our 2:30 MCO flight, and I don't think we'll have a problem at all. Still not in a hurry.

[olemissreb]

Our first cruise, we wanted to get off quickly because we were meeting up with friends we hadn't seen in a few years. Our second cruise we had a flight to catch - not early, but not real late either. Our third cruise, we took our time. We had a flight to catch, but it was late evening and we just cruised around San Juan. That was relaxing.

 

Our 4th cruise, we stayed an extra day and so we thought we'd really take our time getting off the ship. We didn't have to be anywhere quickly and knew we couldn't really check in at our hotel until later. We got off around 10 and there was still a line that snaked around the ship! We thought that maybe we should have gotten off with the early groups!

 

Next cruise - we catch a train at 5pm. We are going to do a "HOHO" bus tour around Vancouver for the day, but again - no rush to get off the ship. Hopefully if we do wait until the last group there won't be the long lines like there was on our last cruise!

[sail7seas]

Having disembarked from a US port for the first time , it was crazy. the pier expereince was a mad dash and then wait routine. And we were in the last group off the ship at 10:00 am. Disembarkation in Europe is much more orderly. Immigration and customs happens at the airports.

 

I have come to realize that on all future cruises I will stay in the port city one extra day after a cruise. It is worth the extra money, using one more vactaion day and less of a hassle to my wonderful vacation.

 

 

I don't understand you saying Immigration and Customs happens at the airport for guests leaving a cruise ship. We have always gone through Immigration when we left a ship in Europe and rightly so. We were not headed directly to the airport but were staying over in that country for varying amounts of time. If they don't do Immigration at the dock, people are walking into the country without having their documents checked. They are free to stay as long as they want and no one knows they are there.

 

We have disembarked in Athens, Rome (Civitevecchia), Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Copenhagen etc

 

[Warm Breezes]

By the same token, I don't fully understand the mad rush to get ON the ship either.

 

I'd rather arrive an hour or two later and avoid the unpleasant lines (often in hot weather) than be one of the mob that tries to get onboard at the earliest possible moment.

 

(And I particularly don't understand it in Europe, where the ports are often more interesting than being onboard ship....:cool:)

 

Totally agree with you there. We got to POM to board the Destiny at 11:30 once and ended up basically walking right on the ship. There was no line anywhere.