Self Disembarkation - Why doesn't everyone do it?

[Muushka]

Correct, the lines for self disembarkation often snake around the ship, it would be worse with everyone doing, guarantee there would be some arguments for people perceiving others cutting in.

 

That's the problem, there is an extremely long line for self debarkers.

Now if we could self debark at our leisure, that would be great. Say 11ish? Do they let you self debark late AM?

[GUT2407]

Why do people do that? I can never understand why they bring their carry-ons/luggage/small cases to breakfast. It's before 9am and their cabins are still open, so why do pax feel it's necessary to clog the walkways in the Oceanview :confused:? I ask myself the same question on every cruise.

 

 

Mainly because they asked us to be out of our cabin by 8:00.

[Ozzmund]

OK, here's my take on this, have you ever wlaked by the long line of self debarkers? If so, have you seen even one person smile? Yes, I understand their cruise is over, but they seem to be a very unhappy group.

I get it if you need to make an early flight, but if you don't, why go through this ordeal?

[Lois R]

I cannot imagine if "everyone" wanted to do self-disembarkaton:eek:

The original poster wants to know why everyone doesn't do it? OMG...

So you want to line up with 3,000 people all trying to get off the ship

at the same time with all their luggage?........no thanks, not me.

 

I usually ask to be in the very last group off the ship.....no lines, very

little luggage left in the terminal too. Easy Peasy.

[varoo]

Why do people do that? I can never understand why they bring their carry-ons/luggage/small cases to breakfast. It's before 9am and their cabins are still open, so why do pax feel it's necessary to clog the walkways in the Oceanview :confused:? I ask myself the same question on every cruise.

Because Celebrity does not provide room service breakfast on disembarkation morning, the very morning when it is most needed.

 

So if Celebrity passengers want to eat breakfast at all, we need to take our luggage to breakfast with us.

 

Otherwise, we would have to double back and forth through the hallways and elevators right at the very times when they are the most crowded, necessitating making 3 trips through the crowded hallways that morning instead of just one.

 

[Mparis184]

Another good reason to travel light with only one carry on piece of luggage each, you can walk right off the ship. Packed light makes travel easier from getter no on and off planes to getting to hotels via public transportation especially in Europe.

 

 

 

Marion

[ginabab]

In Civitavecchia, we went to our bags, got a porter and went right to the driver waiting for us in a couple minutes The efficiency was amazing We did not touch our luggage until we got to the airport Heaven

[CaroleSS]

Ok, a few quick questions.....

What time do you have to be out of your cabin? ( I read 8am earlier)

What time do you have to be off the ship?

 

This will be our fist cruise not having to rush to the airport....so it is the first time we've been able to NOT do self-disembarkation!!!

[drafterdw]

We're not planning on much luggage, and we'll have our car parked at the Miami port, so this sounds like a good idea for us. Wasn't aware of it. Do you get an assigned time to disembark, or do you just leave whenever you want to? THe earlier the better for us - will be anxious to pick up our pooch! :-) (the only negative about cruising - missing our doggie)

 

you might really want to do it in Miami....the last 2 X we sailed out of there getting our luggage was awful. Totally disorganized and took forever! If you can handle your bags I would suggest you do that. We are out of Miami next Feb. but it is 14 days....don't thing I can handle that much luggage.

[Lady Chew]

Because Celebrity does not provide room service breakfast on disembarkation morning, the very morning when it is most needed.

 

So if Celebrity passengers want to eat breakfast at all, we need to take our luggage to breakfast with us.

 

Otherwise, we would have to double back and forth through the hallways and elevators right at the very times when they are the most crowded, necessitating making 3 trips through the crowded hallways that morning instead of just one.

 

 

We figure that we're up early anyway ... so we go up for a quick breakfast the last 15-20 minutes the buffet is open, leaving our luggage in our room with the do not disturb sign in place. (If we see our room attendant, we tell him we will be back very soon and to not go into our cabin.)

 

We use the stairs to go up & back ... when we do leave our cabin, we usually take the elevator UP so that we don't have to watch all of the full elevators going down with us ...

[snow bunny]

Sometimes depending on your nationality, you cannot utilize the self disembarkation. We have done this on another cruise line but would never do it again. Due to shoulder issues, DH had to lug two bags down 6 flights of stairs as the elevators were packed and I couldn't help!

 

 

snow bunny

[POA1]

Good travelers only pack what they can move/carry.

 

You might be confusing traveling with camping or backpacking. ;)

 

Very good travelers pack to the limit allowed.

 

Excellent travelers know how to get around the limits.

 

Awesome travelers know that it's important to have enough shoes, bags, and outfits so that you don't have to repeat.**

 

If you can't be awesome, strive for excellence.

 

**My wife told me this. It must be true.

[jimsilv]

No, the true "sweet spot" is watching the kids struggle with their kids and their strollers and their luggage.

 

Rocketman...... you are not a true.... Christian....Muslim......Hindu.....Sikh....Jew....Budist......Jedi.....you get the idea.....(other religions are available)......

 

Watching my son with his stroppy 4 year old is hilarious.

 

Jim

[excitedofharpenden]

Ok, a few quick questions.....

What time do you have to be out of your cabin? ( I read 8am earlier)

What time do you have to be off the ship?

 

This will be our fist cruise not having to rush to the airport....so it is the first time we've been able to NOT do self-disembarkation!!!

 

It's normally 8.30am to leave your cabin and off the ship by 9am or 9.30am

 

Phil

[FredZiffle]

I cannot imagine if "everyone" wanted to do self-disembarkation:eek:

The original poster wants to know why everyone doesn't do it? OMG...

So you want to line up with 3,000 people all trying to get off the ship

at the same time with all their luggage?........no thanks, not me.

 

I usually ask to be in the very last group off the ship.....no lines, very

little luggage left in the terminal too. Easy Peasy.

 

Admittedly, we've never sailed on X before, but unless they're different from all the other cruise lines, they don't have a separate line for self-disembarkation. Everyone gets in the same line to exit the ship. We've always been able to disembark at any point after our scheduled time. So, just because we're doing self-disembarkation doesn't mean that we're waiting in a longer line than anybody else. We're usually in no rush, so we'll hang around until one of the last groups are called. So, we're exiting at the same time you are, but while you're retrieving your luggage in the port, we're already in the customs line.

 

I am glad that everyone doesn't self-disembark because there would invariably be people who would struggle with too much luggage and slow everyone down. And, other posters are correct that the elevators are sometimes a challenge, but, since we're in no rush, we either wait for space, or ride it up and then back down as some have suggested.

[Hlitner]

I will answer the OPs question as to why we do not do self debarkation. Because we enjoy cruising, do not want to rush off the ship (why leave), do not want to carry our own luggage (we pack heavy), and we prefer to enjoy that last morning while many are running around like chickens without their heads, working up a sweat, etc.

 

So what do we do? Generally, if we are flying home, we book an early afternoon flight (12:30 on our Celebrity cruise next month). We put our luggage out when we go to sleep (with 2 luggage tags on each piece) and enjoy our last night's sleep on the ship. In the morning we get up towards the end of the breakfast time, walk to breakfast and enjoy the meal with no rush. Then we head back to the cabin to finish our last minute packing of our carry-on luggage and take our time carefully checking that nothing is left behind. We then (still relaxed) leave our cabin with our carry-ons and usually head up to the pool deck where we find a comfy lounger. At that point, I will usually go get some coffee and we just relax in our lounger with our Kindles. Somewhere around 9:30 - 9:45, when just about everyone is already ashore, we grab an elevator (easy to get at that point) down to the appropriate deck and walk off the ship. At this time there are no lines anywhere. Once in the terminal we quickly grab our luggage (easy to find since most of the luggage is long gone), walk outside, hop into a taxi (no long lines at this point) and are at FLL a little after 10 (more then 2 hours before our flight).

 

I should add that if the weather is not conducive to being out on the pool deck we might head to the Elite Lounge after we leave our cabin where we can relax and usually sip coffee.

 

Hank

Edited October 20, 2015 by Hlitner

[PumpkinPatches]

I do self-disembarkation and love it. I'll admit I am a total worrier and feel the need to be in total control of my belongings. I also like to be one of the first off the ship, get through customs and carry on with my day.

[Moonlitherial]

We don't because we want to savor every last moment. One last stroll around the ship and so on.

 

We are also not in a hurry since we usually stay 1-2 extra nights in Fort Lauderdale or Miami.

 

I don't tend to stay extra nights but I do like to enjoy my last day of vacation and so I schedule my flights as late as I can manage and stay on board until the last disembarkation group as often as possible.

[flyingv4me]

Using the luggage valet service when available for your checked luggage is wonderful! No need to pick up luggage at the pier or check at the airline. You won't see your luggage until your final destination. Well worth the nominal fees for time and backs saved.

[Fouremco]

Sometimes depending on your nationality, you cannot utilize the self disembarkation. We have done this on another cruise line but would never do it again. Due to shoulder issues, DH had to lug two bags down 6 flights of stairs as the elevators were packed and I couldn't help!

 

 

snow bunny

We've never had any desire to self disembark, but I'm curious about your comment. I've never seen any restrictions based on nationality and I don't understand why there would be.

[gwesq]

you might really want to do it in Miami....the last 2 X we sailed out of there getting our luggage was awful. Totally disorganized and took forever! If you can handle your bags I would suggest you do that. We are out of Miami next Feb. but it is 14 days....don't thing I can handle that much luggage.

 

Well - I've just been informed by my "better half" that because of the workshop she's teaching on our cruise, we will also have 4 or 5 50lb boxes to get off the ship in addition to our luggage. Guess Self won't work!

[villauk]

Admittedly, we've never sailed on X before, but unless they're different from all the other cruise lines, they don't have a separate line for self-disembarkation. Everyone gets in the same line to exit the ship. We've always been able to disembark at any point after our scheduled time. So, just because we're doing self-disembarkation doesn't mean that we're waiting in a longer line than anybody else. We're usually in no rush, so we'll hang around until one of the last groups are called. So, we're exiting at the same time you are, but while you're retrieving your luggage in the port, we're already in the customs line.

 

I am glad that everyone doesn't self-disembark because there would invariably be people who would struggle with too much luggage and slow everyone down. And, other posters are correct that the elevators are sometimes a challenge, but, since we're in no rush, we either wait for space, or ride it up and then back down as some have suggested.

 

Self disembarkation on X means you are the first to leave the ship i.e. around 7am carrying your own luggage. It's not a leisurely wait until you're ready to leave and then trot off with your suitcases :confused:. Hence that's why people are referring to the long, snake lines around the ship waiting for the gangplank to be opened. I think you may be getting a little confused with other lines ;).

[boscobeans]

I just think about how long it takes for the baggage crew to get all those bags onto the ship. They are using forklifts to move bins filled with luggage and the process seems to never end. Then I look at the endless rows of baggage lined up in the terminal waiting for us on that last day. UGH. Imagine all that being pushed, pulled, dragged or carried down elevators or stairs to the gangway. Breakfast in any venue would be like eating with the entire passenger contingent amongst the rows of baggage at the port terminal. I prefer luggage valet when ever possible or the traditional walk of light and then gather our bags at the terminal.

 

OMO

 

bosco

[Queen of Oakville]

No, the true "sweet spot" is when the kids grow up and take care of your luggage for you! :)

 

No, the true "sweet spot" is watching the kids struggle with their kids and their strollers and their luggage.

 

lol

 

 

 

We've been self-disembarking for as long as I can remember. Would never do it any other way.

 

Only "line" that I remember was on Disney Dream or it might have been Fantasy. That line curved and wound around in circles.

 

Self-disembark on X is a breeze. And I have a smile on my face. We get breakfast at the buffet and then come back for our bags and off we go. No waiting around for a number to be called or desperately trying to find our luggage.

 

I get that it's not for everyone; but it works for us.

[travelnap]

I cannot imagine if "everyone" wanted to do self-disembarkaton:eek:

The original poster wants to know why everyone doesn't do it? OMG...

So you want to line up with 3,000 people all trying to get off the ship

at the same time with all their luggage?........no thanks, not me.

 

I usually ask to be in the very last group off the ship.....no lines, very

little luggage left in the terminal too. Easy Peasy.

 

Hi Lois, I agree, standing in line with a bunch of other people all pulling their luggage behind them does not sound like a nice way to disembark the ship. I don't think I have ever disembarked as a walk-off on any of my cruises that I can remember. I usually book a late enough flight that I can disembark at my leisure and not have to worry about getting to the airport in time.

 

I know you have one more trip this year before your river cruise next April. Where are you going on this one? I did book an 11 day southern Caribbean that leaves on November 16th. I've been to all the ports before but you know that any day cruising is always better than a day at work. I am sailing with HAL for this trip. Lots of sea days so I really enjoy their great libraries. Neil