Disembarking at the OPT

[Esilef]

We are on voyager in feb and were wondering what the procedure was for disembarkment.

 

How can I make this easier with an autistic 4 year old, luggage and a hubby on a mobility scooter? Is their any customs queues?

[Cruise_me_Crazy]

Sorry not familiar with terminology of OPT.

 

I can say we left Brissy & were due to be in vista lounge @ 9.35am to start the disembarkation process. We were out with luggage & through customs and buying water @ IGA in under 30 minutes.:)

 

However when we nominated our needs to leave the night before, there were options for mobility & special needs pax to disembark early! I was surprised how painless it was!

[Cruise_me_Crazy]

Also they provide advice on how to get off the ship as pain free as possible.

 

ie all our wood / shells / kava etc was packed in a separate bag & declared. That was all they checked. (Not sure why they wouldn't want rummage through our suitcase of grubby clothes!!;))

 

Those that weren't declaring went in a separate cue.

[rkmw]

We are on voyager in feb and were wondering what the procedure was for disembarkment.

 

How can I make this easier with an autistic 4 year old, luggage and a hubby on a mobility scooter? Is their any customs queues?

 

you should get travel arrangements for going home in the last few days of the cruise which you fill in and they give you a time and place to disembark, you should put down on the form that you require wheel chair assistance and hand the form to the purser.....the RCI staff will wheel hubby off the ship and you will have to go thru customs

[campingman]

We are on voyager in feb and were wondering what the procedure was for disembarkment.

 

How can I make this easier with an autistic 4 year old, luggage and a hubby on a mobility scooter? Is their any customs queues?

 

My thoughts are go speak to Customer Service a couple of days before and ask join in the Accessible Wheelchair Crew that MAY gather at Aquarius Bar on Deck 4?

 

The crew have excellent patient for this Wheelchair jobs and deserves a gratuity (we thought)?

 

I have friends, that the crew, even took our friends up to Circular Quay Station off the Solstice,via Wheelchair,beyond the OPT.

 

I note that you have a Child (in perhaps chair getting off ship),plus your Husband in Scooter.

 

The Sydney shore luggage people ashore are excellent assisting the Wheelchair crewperson to get from luggage collection to pick ups outside.

 

The crewman SHOULD take you off on DECK 1 to ground level ashore where your bags have your major luggage then customs.(slightly north of ground fl, OPT).

 

Larger ships in Sydney are using two exits now .

 

Customs get pax through very quickly at, OPT.

Edited January 5, 2014 by campingman

[Murgat]

We are on voyager in feb and were wondering what the procedure was for disembarkment.

 

How can I make this easier with an autistic 4 year old, luggage and a hubby on a mobility scooter? Is their any customs queues?

 

You will get a form to complete asking you for your disembarkation preferences including whetter you need to be off in time for x flight, need transfers to the airport etc etc. If you are unsure pick a quiet time and ask at the pursers / guest relations desk for advice. I have done the disembarkation exercise several times on different lines (not RCL) including the OPT and with a DP (aka Dear Partner) on a mobility scooter. The first time we went with the "we need assistance" option and found that we waited for a long, long time in the lounge set aside for those in need of assistance by escorts providing wheel chairs or available to assist with carry off luggage. This may not be the best option for you. Our better solution was to reduce our carry off baggage to the absolute minimum so we could be self assisted and DP could scoot off alongside me through customs and to the baggage area. The taxi service at the OPT is very good if you are local to Sydney.

 

Hope this helps.

[rkmw]

You will get a form to complete asking you for your disembarkation preferences including whetter you need to be off in time for x flight, need transfers to the airport etc etc. If you are unsure pick a quiet time and ask at the pursers / guest relations desk for advice. I have done the disembarkation exercise several times on different lines (not RCL) including the OPT and with a DP (aka Dear Partner) on a mobility scooter. The first time we went with the "we need assistance" option and found that we waited for a long, long time in the lounge set aside for those in need of assistance by escorts providing wheel chairs or available to assist with carry off luggage. This may not be the best option for you. Our better solution was to reduce our carry off baggage to the absolute minimum so we could be self assisted and DP could scoot off alongside me through customs and to the baggage area. The taxi service at the OPT is very good if you are local to Sydney.

 

Hope this helps.

 

if you do self assist who takes your partner down the ramp in the scooter and with your luggage do you put it outside the door on the last night

[woodscruise]

We got off Radiance of the Seas last Sunday, and they did have 2 gangways in operation. One was from deck 2 and the other from deck 5. The passengers who were assigned to go off on deck 2, there luggage was sorted on that level (that is the wharf level) and 2 or 3 customs officers were there. They check the immigration card and you exit right on the street level near Peter Doyles restaurant. Those who exit from deck 5, there luggage was inside the terminal building.

[aussielozzie18]

We disembarked at the OPT off the Rhapsody two weeks ago.

 

I was surprised how quick and straightforward it was. We completed a form a day or two before. We elected to not self assist. The night before disembarkation, we were given colour coded suitcase labels and a sheet that listed the time our coloured label group would depart the ship. We were given a time - 8.00am - Meeting place - Shall we Dance Bar. In the morning we had brekky in the Windjammer and then hung out in our cabin until 8am and then we headed to the Shall we Dance bar. We were there all of 2 seconds, then our "time slot" group (very small group of cruisers) were "announced" and told to walk ourselves down to Deck 1. Customs was on the bottom level of the OPT. Our suitcases were lined up in groups and very easy to locate. There was no-one else there but our group. We showed our completed custom cards to the customs staff (which took 1 sec) and we were out.

 

Very quick and non-crowded process - your son should be fine.

Edited January 5, 2014 by aussielozzie18

[musicorn]

We are on voyager in feb and were wondering what the procedure was for disembarkment.

 

How can I make this easier with an autistic 4 year old, luggage and a hubby on a mobility scooter? Is their any customs queues?

 

Towards the end of your cruise you will receive paperwork in your cabin asking if you need assistance to disembark. This is if you have let them know that your husband is in a scooter, which I assume you would have.

 

When you disembark you will be met by staff who will assist right to the end. You will not have to line up and will be given priority through customs. This is how it has been for us every time with daughter in a wheelchair.

 

Just make sure you inform whoever you booked with of your extra needs and you will be fine.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[Murgat]

if you do self assist who takes your partner down the ramp in the scooter and with your luggage do you put it outside the door on the last night

 

We always cleared this option through the pursers desk when handing in our disembarkation form. There were staff members on hand to assist with the descent if needed. If the advice had been against self assistance, we would have selected the assisted option. We retained a small day bag each as carry off and put out all other luggage the night before for collection on shore.

[Esilef]

Thank you all. I might do the assisted check out but talk to the guest relations a couple of days prior to see what they can suggest is our best option.

 

I'm hoping not to take a pram & limit luggage to 2 suitcases for all 3 of us.

 

The best thing about having hubby in a mobility scooter is that he can take mr 4 on his lap.

[rkmw]

Thank you all. I might do the assisted check out but talk to the guest relations a couple of days prior to see what they can suggest is our best option.

 

I'm hoping not to take a pram & limit luggage to 2 suitcases for all 3 of us.

 

The best thing about having hubby in a mobility scooter is that he can take mr 4 on his lap.

 

with doing self assist you are supposed to take your luggage off your self without any assistance from the crew

[rkmw]

Thank you all. I might do the assisted check out but talk to the guest relations a couple of days prior to see what they can suggest is our best option.

 

I'm hoping not to take a pram & limit luggage to 2 suitcases for all 3 of us.

 

The best thing about having hubby in a mobility scooter is that he can take mr 4 on his lap.

 

 

i would also like to add if you sign up for wheel chair assistance depends on your arrangements for going home it might be easier if you leave your luggage out the night before and get the shore side staff to assist your husband off the ship....my DW needs assistance but being elite with princess we get priority disembarkment and we are normally in the first group off the ship

[gbenjo]

We got off Radiance of the Seas last Sunday, and they did have 2 gangways in operation. One was from deck 2 and the other from deck 5. The passengers who were assigned to go off on deck 2, there luggage was sorted on that level (that is the wharf level) and 2 or 3 customs officers were there. They check the immigration card and you exit right on the street level near Peter Doyles restaurant. Those who exit from deck 5, there luggage was inside the terminal building.

 

We always have the two levels for debark, deck 2 or the lower level is "normally" for passengers who have coaches or tours booked through RCCL and deck 5 or upper level is for "independant " pax who will have organized their own transport from the terminal. The Taxis are on the upper level and there are lifts or escalators to take you to street level.

 

Originally Posted by Esilef

We are on voyager in feb and were wondering what the procedure was for disembarkment.

 

How can I make this easier with an autistic 4 year old, luggage and a hubby on a mobility scooter? Is their any customs queues?

 

I assume you are organizing your own transport from the terminal so you will be coming off on the upper level which has far better access for wheelchairs etc than the lower level and providing you can make your own way to the baggage hall there will be porters (the guys, and girl, in the red shirts) who will assist you to either the taxi rank or downstairs to where the private pick ups are which is out the front of the terminal. The customs queues are never really very long and you will only need to give them the yellow arrivals card..you will NOT need your passports and if you have nothing to declare you will go straight through in no time.

 

As others have mentioned you will be asked by form a day or two before reaching Sydney what time and how you would like to disembark (we call it debark but that's another story:)) and I would speak to guest services on board if you have any special requirements for this but, as I said, if you can get to the baggage hall unaided you will have no problem.

[strtrek]

what is the latest time you can choose..we are on rhapsody in a month and would like a wee bit of a lie in if we could:D

[gbenjo]

what is the latest time you can choose..we are on rhapsody in a month and would like a wee bit of a lie in if we could:D

 

Sorry NO lay ins on debark day.:mad: We can't start check in until all pax are off so everybody off the earlier the better so you don't delay your fellow cruisers getting on.:D

 

I think around 8:30am is about the last debark time.:confused:

[rkmw]

Sorry NO lay ins on debark day.:mad: We can't start check in until all pax are off so everybody off the earlier the better so you don't delay your fellow cruisers getting on.:D

 

I think around 8:30am is about the last debark time

 

Graham is 8.30am the latest time they can debark, with princess they have to vacate the cabin by 8am and everyone is off by 10am but when you embark princess you can go straight to your cabin if you wish but with RCI you have to wait until about 1pm to go to your cabin

[MicCanberra]

Normally people have to be out of their cabins by 8 am.:D

[Bayside Cruiser]

Normally people have to be out of their cabins by 8 am.:D

We were on Voyager over Christmas. The latest disembarkation time we went for was 8.30 - 09.00am, however when our luggage tags arrived our disembark time was 07.30am. Went to guest service desk who advised us we could simply head to deck 4 when we wanted to disembark and our luggage would be waiting for us. We opted to depart the cabin by 08.00am and let the cabin attendant know so he could start setting up for the next round of guests, then went for breakfast and finally casually strolled off in under 10 minutes to get through customs etc. Too easy!

[MicCanberra]

We were on Voyager over Christmas. The latest disembarkation time we went for was 8.30 - 09.00am, however when our luggage tags arrived our disembark time was 07.30am. Went to guest service desk who advised us we could simply head to deck 4 when we wanted to disembark and our luggage would be waiting for us. We opted to depart the cabin by 08.00am and let the cabin attendant know so he could start setting up for the next round of guests, then went for breakfast and finally casually strolled off in under 10 minutes to get through customs etc. Too easy!

 

It is extremely easy, especially at the OPT. The White bay terminal is a bit different.:D

[strtrek]

so I may sleep in till 7.30 ....:D thats not so bad I guess...

I bet the DH will be up earlier taking city pics from our million dollar view at the quay..

 

at least we get back on a saturday so no battling weekday traffic from the city.

 

Thanks again.

[MicCanberra]

so I may sleep in till 7.30 ....:D thats not so bad I guess...

I bet the DH will be up earlier taking city pics from our million dollar view at the quay..

 

at least we get back on a saturday so no battling weekday traffic from the city.

 

Thanks again.

 

Enjoy those views and have a great cruise.:D