Self Assist

[nikblondiew]

My group will be cruising out of Galveston in January. We have never done self assist. Can somebody tell me what times are slotted for self assist? What do you do? Any information would be so helpful!

 

Thanks!

[big_duck]

Don't put your luggage out the night before.

 

Gather all your belongings in the morning and wait for them to call you. Self-assist debark before regular debarkation.

[nikblondiew]

I'm more looking for times they do this. Are there less people? Do you still check out (off the ship) the same way?

[big_duck]

There is no set time. It could be anywhere from a half-hour to an hour after the ship arrives in port. The number of people who self-assist ebbs and flows with each ship and sailing. Some will tell you they walked right off the ship, others will tell you it seemed the whole ship was doing self assist. There is no hotel like check out, unless you owe money on your S&S (one of the things that delays ship debarkation, because nobody leaves 'till everyone has paid), you just walk off the ship.

[nikblondiew]

Thanks!

[Cruisin Amy]

We just did this on Sunday what a nightmare...got the call to self disemark at 8 a.m. this was the worst part of the ship it seemed that everyone on the ship was doing the same thing!!!

All of the elevators were full so we took our luggage from 8 to 3!!!

 

no one in our group would listen to me that they another option which was only a 1/2 hour later where your luggage is in a different spot!!

 

When you board the ship ask them about disembarkation and they will give you sheet with 3 options.....read them closely!!!

 

good luck!!

[JJCalder19]

Yeah, self assist is interesting. Hallways and stairways are loaded. They have someone directing traffic and there is always someone who tries to get off sooner even though their color hasnt been called.

I will leave my baggage out this cruise since we have an afternoon flight.

[Cruisin Amy]

Trust me I will do the same next time!! We had never done it that way!! Wow!!

[MsBlue]

I was on a cruise last year where they were 'testing' the self-assist program. There were only a handful of people who tried it on that cruise....now, it seems like a zoo.

 

Unless you have an early plane to catch, I can't imagine why so many people want to do self-assist. I prefer ending my wonderful cruise vacation with less stress. Let them do their work, put my luggage in the holding area, and I'll take my time and enjoy an extra cuppa coffee while everybody else is scrambling.;)

[Nay Nay]

Unless you have an early plane to catch, I can't imagine why so many people want to do self-assist.

 

What would be considered an early plane? We are doing the Fly Aweigh and our flight is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. leaving Miami. Would you recommend self assist for this or would we be ok letting them handle our baggage?

 

Thanks!

[nikblondiew]

Yeah, we have a plane to catch at 1:15 in Houston. Our return port is Galveston. We are going to do self assist and hope that everything goes well.

[MsBlue]

Since Carnival suggests no outbound flights before 1pm, I'd think both of you would be just fine with your 1:10 and 1:15 flights. If the ship arrives in port on time, and there are no customs delays, normal time for clearing the last of the passengers is around 10am.

[b8tzm]

We just did this on Sunday what a nightmare...got the call to self disemark at 8 a.m. this was the worst part of the ship it seemed that everyone on the ship was doing the same thing!!!

All of the elevators were full so we took our luggage from 8 to 3!!!

 

no one in our group would listen to me that they another option which was only a 1/2 hour later where your luggage is in a different spot!!

 

When you board the ship ask them about disembarkation and they will give you sheet with 3 options.....read them closely!!!

 

good luck!!

 

 

Can you please provide more details about the 1/2 hr later in a different place option? Is that available on Conquest? Which option do you check, are they numbered? Thanks

[Cruisin Amy]

It was listed on the Disembarkation sheet that I got from the pursers desk...you had to request it there and get different luggage tags....this is the option that I wanted that started at 8:45 and self is anywhere from 7:30 to 8:30 I wish we would have done this one!!

[Wilsoncruisers]

Nikblondiew........are You Flying Out Of Hobby? Or Iah?

 

We're On The Conquest 11/27- 12/04. Flying Out Of Iah Also @ 1:15. With All The Talk About Trouble Getting Off The Ship On Time I'm Getting A Little Nervous.

I Was Also Wondering How You Plan To Get Back To The Airport?

Cruise Ship Shuttle? Taxi?

With This Being The End Of Thanksgiving Weekend I'm Worried That If I Miss My Plane There Won't Be Another One To Get Me Home.

[greatful]

Thanks sounds like a good option

[southbayer]

Just go to the Information Desk the night before.. They will give you a "new" colored tag for your luggage designating you a early leave off the ship. Your cruise director will go through this with you the day before at the "Disembarking procedures" show. You will simply arrive at one of the lounges they tell you about, its at 7:30am, then they will get you and let you off the ship. Your outside and on your way home about 8:20am

[silentbob007]

I always hate debarkations ... they are messy and few people are in a good mood. :)

 

On my last trip, the ship was 3 hours late into Port Canaveral and I had a 12:50 flight out of Orlando. For self assist, everyone was antsy, and many people ended up hauling their luggage to the Amber Palace to wait until they let us off the ship. No colors were called, but the line off started moving, so I jumped in it, boarded one of the Carnival busses, and arrived at MCO by 11:45. Some friends who did not do self-assist missed the flight.

[glrounds]

I realize "self-assist" has probably different results on different ships at different times of the year (kind of like food quality & service :) ), however these are my experiences.

Just got off the GLORY yesterday. Had just sat down with my first cup of coffee on the Lido with my 2 rollons beside me when my "color" was called for self assist at 8:00 ! ! I was off the ship and through customs within 45 minutes and sitting on a bus for Orlando.

At Orlando airport no later than 10:00 ! ! Piece of cake. I think the big difference is having even the self assist people go off by colors (probably because it is so popular today).

On the GLORY 2 years ago my experience with self assist was EXACTLY the same. It was kind of a new concept then and very few participated, however.

On the PRIDE (twice) self-assist went essentially the same. Was off the ship by 9:30, out of the parking garage 15 minutes later and home 45 minutes after that ! ;)

On the LEGEND out of NYC a year ago - self-assist was a DISASTER ! ! Everybody and their brother chose self-assist it seemed. That combined with the congested New York port, the high percentage of New Yorkers on board, which probably contributed to the swearing, pushin, shoving, fighting, mayhem that resulted. (I honestly mean no offense to New Yorkers, I think its part of their culture and I actually loved it - even think I learned a few new hyphenated words :D ).

So, go with what you know. I'll choose self-assist every time, but if everybody did it, it probably wouldn't be so neat. I do think that breaking down even self-assist by colors (on the GLORY this last time) was an excellent idea.

[glrounds]

sorry, double post . . . cc is acting up today

[Gr8tChoice]

We used the self-assist debarkation today on the Valor and it was almost painless. We walked through the warehouse doors and on the shuttle at 7:30 am! Because of that we were able to catch a much earlier flight and get home 5 hours earlier. We did wait about 5 minutes for an elevator but that's about it.

 

Next time I will pack with the "self assist" in mind, keeping the bags to a minimum and as light as possible. ;)

 

It's not for everyone but it works for some...:D

 

M