Help me plan for debark morning

[BENHANDEL]

Starting a new thread instead of hijacking

 

Another thread mentioned "relaxed" debarkation? What is that?

 

Looking for advice on how we should plan our debark morning, considering our group, plans and needs. 

 

The is our first time on CCL. We have FTTF and family suite. We have 3 kids (12, 14, 16).

 

OUR TIME RESTRAINTS/SCHEDULE

After getting off the ship we will be grabbing an Alamo shuttle to the airport to get our rental car and will be driving up to Orlando. But we want to explore Miami a bit. Probably not much to see super early and weather will guide our path. We target getting to Orlando by 7 or 8pm which means we need to be on our way from Miami before 3pm. 

 

OUR FAMILY PREFERENCES

We would like to have one more big, nice breakfast on the ship before getting off. We don't like crowds but don't want to be up at 5am. We are on 2nd floor so easy off the ship and are perfectly capable of carrying our bags. DH would rather not hand the bags over, but I dont want to lug bags to breakfast. 

 

Can we pack up and leave our bags in the room while we go to the MDR for breakfast? And then go grab the bags from the room and walk off the ship? As FTTF/suite, what "zone?" would we request? How does that work? What would be our timeline to maKe that happen?

 

TIA-2 weeks left!

[crooooze]

Here’s what we did for a similar situation... Booked the Miami Southbeach with MIA transfers from Carnival excursions... On debark morning, we got right off the ship and onto the excursion Bus. They took us to South Beach, where we enjoyed the morning peacefully. They kept the luggage on the bus, which was one less thing to worry about. Then after several hours, we met back at the  meeting point and they took us directly to the airport. Then just mosey over to the car rentals... Easy Peasy. Cost a few extra bucks, but worth it, as all the logistics were covered.

 

We left everything in the cabin, went to the lido for breakfast, then grabbed our bags and headed to the FTTF debarkation meeting point. No numbers, as it was self-assist. I don’t remember if breakfast was served in the MDR on the last morning - it was the Glory.

Edited December 9, 2018 by crooooze

[firefly333]

They will make you leave your cabin quite early, including luggage so they can be starting to get the cabins turned over for the next group. Yes, you can relax over breakfast but with your luggage and then should be able to walk off when you are ready as your deck will already have been called.

 

I guess it depends on your definition of early is. Seems like we had to clear the cabin by 8 am which does leave you with plenty of time to breakfast first. 

 

No such thing as sleeping in Ive found, even when i tried, the people next door were slamming doors and drawers loud enough you couldnt sleep. Might as well make up your mind just to eat and get off the ship. 

 

google miami and ft lauderdale and see what is in your budget. I love airboats, especially out in the everglades, but they are pricey. so fun. there is the zoo and other less pricey options.

 

South Beach and its brighly painted houses worth seeing. 

Edited December 9, 2018 by firefly333

[Jerseygirl1416]

If you don’t like crowds and want to take advantage of your FTTF perk why not meet up with the FTTF self assist group and get off the ship without lines or waiting then go to breakfast in Miami with your bags in your trunk. Usually only the buffet is open on debarkation day for breakfast and IMO it’s not worth getting stuck in the lines off the ship. Most ships debark on the 4th or 5th floor so being on 2 will be of no advantage.

[stargate fan]

29 minutes ago, Jerseygirl1416 said:

If you don’t like crowds and want to take advantage of your FTTF perk why not meet up with the FTTF self assist group and get off the ship without lines or waiting then go to breakfast in Miami with your bags in your trunk. Usually only the buffet is open on debarkation day for breakfast and IMO it’s not worth getting stuck in the lines off the ship. Most ships debark on the 4th or 5th floor so being on 2 will be of no advantage.

Why pay for breakfast when the op and family can enjoy their last meal on the ship.

[stargate fan]

2 hours ago, BENHANDEL said:

Starting a new thread instead of hijacking

 

Another thread mentioned "relaxed" debarkation? What is that?

 

Looking for advice on how we should plan our debark morning, considering our group, plans and needs. 

 

The is our first time on CCL. We have FTTF and family suite. We have 3 kids (12, 14, 16).

 

OUR TIME RESTRAINTS/SCHEDULE

After getting off the ship we will be grabbing an Alamo shuttle to the airport to get our rental car and will be driving up to Orlando. But we want to explore Miami a bit. Probably not much to see super early and weather will guide our path. We target getting to Orlando by 7 or 8pm which means we need to be on our way from Miami before 3pm. 

 

OUR FAMILY PREFERENCES

We would like to have one more big, nice breakfast on the ship before getting off. We don't like crowds but don't want to be up at 5am. We are on 2nd floor so easy off the ship and are perfectly capable of carrying our bags. DH would rather not hand the bags over, but I dont want to lug bags to breakfast. 

 

Can we pack up and leave our bags in the room while we go to the MDR for breakfast? And then go grab the bags from the room and walk off the ship? As FTTF/suite, what "zone?" would we request? How does that work? What would be our timeline to maKe that happen?

 

TIA-2 weeks left!

We love our last breakfast in the MDR on debarkation morning.  We usually get up around 6:30 to shower, dress, and pack last minute things.  (We use Self-Assist.)  We leave our luggage in the cabin, go to the MDR, and are back in the cabin for 8:30, which is when cabins must be evacuated.  If we have late flight, we hang around Lido, soaking in the rays and warmth before we are ready to leave the ship and head to the airport to fly back to the frozen tundra of New Hampshire.

[Shaded Lady]

I concur with Stargate Fan- most ships I've been on the past few years the MDR is open for breakfast the last day. We get up around 7:30 (if other cruisers around us will let us! Firefly was right in that it can get pretty noisy around 7 on debarkation day!) and throw the final things in the suitcase. We leave our stuff in the room and head to the MDR, eat breakfast then go back and pick up our luggage. As long as you're out by 8:30 I find they won't hassle you. When we have FTTF we just head to the gathering area (they'll let you know the evening before where to gather) and if the timing is right, just walk off the ship.

 

You said you were planning on taking the Alamo shuttle- I'd make my way there and let them know you have a party of 5 waiting for pickup. You should be there, get your rental car and be able to enjoy your morning/early afternoon in Miami before hitting the road.

 

As for what to do, some of the suggestions made already are great. But if you just want to wander around, I'd suggest making sure you all wear your bathing suits under your clothes and make your way to South Beach.  There's a ton to do around there.

[PhillyFan33579]

53 minutes ago, Jerseygirl1416 said:

If you don’t like crowds and want to take advantage of your FTTF perk why not meet up with the FTTF self assist group and get off the ship without lines or waiting then go to breakfast in Miami with your bags in your trunk. Usually only the buffet is open on debarkation day for breakfast and IMO it’s not worth getting stuck in the lines off the ship. Most ships debark on the 4th or 5th floor so being on 2 will be of no advantage.

 

The MDR is open for breakfast on debarkation day.  Also, maybe my mind is distracted watching football, but I can’t think of any ship that debarks on the 4th or 5th floor.  

[Shaded Lady]

6 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

Also, maybe my mind is distracted watching football, but I can’t think of any ship that debarks on the 4th or 5th floor.  

Agreed- most ships debark on 2 or 3, in my experience.

[Saint Greg]

 I think all of mine have been deck 3 for debarkation..fantasy class may have been different.. I want to say they called the bottom passenger deck...deck 4 on Elation...and we debarked on deck 7. 

 

The room check out times are 8:30 self assist is usually called before then. When I got off Dream this morning they had called self assist on decks 1-5 by like 7:15am. So OP could have easily left  the room for breakfast, came back to the room for bags, gone up one floor and off the ship.

[BENHANDEL]

3 hours ago, Shaded Lady said:

 

 

You said you were planning on taking the Alamo shuttle- I'd make my way there and let them know you have a party of 5 waiting for pickup. You should be there, get your rental car and be able to enjoy your morning/early afternoon in Miami before hitting the road.

 

Thanks for the tip...but I cannot understand how else we would do that part? Are you suggesting that someone hustle ahead to try to catch the shuttle and ask them to hold the other 4 spots? We had all planned to ride the shuttle to that car rental pickup spot. This is new to us so I would appreciate any guidance!

[BENHANDEL]

4 hours ago, stargate fan said:

Why pay for breakfast when the op and family can enjoy their last meal on the ship.

 

Exactly this! Breakfast for 5 people in Miami would surely cost a chunk-and take away from our exploration time!

[BENHANDEL]

6 hours ago, crooooze said:

Here’s what we did for a similar situation... Booked the Miami Southbeach with MIA transfers from Carnival excursions... On debark morning, we got right off the ship and onto the excursion Bus. They took us to South Beach, where we enjoyed the morning peacefully. They kept the luggage on the bus, which was one less thing to worry about. Then after several hours, we met back at the  meeting point and they took us directly to the airport. Then just mosey over to the car rentals... Easy Peasy. Cost a few extra bucks, but worth it, as all the logistics were covered.

 

That is an intriguing option! But husband is really interested in driving around and looking at the architecture so he is set on getting our rental car right away-but south beach is definitely on our to-see list!

[Shaded Lady]

1 hour ago, BENHANDEL said:

 

Thanks for the tip...but I cannot understand how else we would do that part? Are you suggesting that someone hustle ahead to try to catch the shuttle and ask them to hold the other 4 spots? We had all planned to ride the shuttle to that car rental pickup spot. This is new to us so I would appreciate any guidance!

Nothing different than you already had planned- all I meant was no need to rush, just take your time with your luggage and get to the spot where Alamo will pick you up, latogether. I'm not sure how they work at your port- in Tampa you often have to call the rental car company to let them know that you'll be there and how many in your party... if you were rushing to catch a flight it might be different but since you're not, take your time!

[BENHANDEL]

4 minutes ago, Shaded Lady said:

Nothing different than you already had planned- all I meant was no need to rush, just take your time with your luggage and get to the spot where Alamo will pick you up, latogether. I'm not sure how they work at your port- in Tampa you often have to call the rental car company to let them know that you'll be there and how many in your party... if you were rushing to catch a flight it might be different but since you're not, take your time!

 

They said the Alamo shuttle is at the port and will depart every 20-30 minutes? Sounds like they have a lot of customers?

[ProgRockCruiser]

Just off the Sunshine.  Needed to be out of cabin by 8:30am.  MDR was open for breakfast - not sure how long it stayed open, probably 9am.  All food from buffets gone at 9am, as they swap over to prep for the new round of pax.  Coffee/juices/water still available, though.

 

I would suggest you minimize your carry-off, letting Carnival move your main bags to the customs area by leaving them out the night before.  Then you can saunter to the MDR or other food areas at 8:30am with your carry-off, grab some plates of food, make sure to get another round if desired before 9am, and then sit back with a coffee for a little bit.  That's what we did this past cruise - except CBP was so slow that the wait for our "late-time debarking zone" was waaaaayyy too long - we weren't told to debark until after 10:30am (!), and weren't physically past CBP until after 11:30.  CBP was woefully understaffed to process 3600-ish pax+crew - only 3 agents (one of those processing crew and the pax using porters).  If they wanted to fully process those 3600 pax in even three hours (8am through 11am), that would mean each "interview" would last only 9 seconds.

 

Oh, and if you have a few bucks in cash, use the porters to take your luggage through CBP if the normal line-up for CBP is stupidly long - by the time I realized we should have run for the porters, the porter line was almost as long as the regular one...

 

 

[serene56]

23 hours ago, Jerseygirl1416 said:

If you don’t like crowds and want to take advantage of your FTTF perk why not meet up with the FTTF self assist group and get off the ship without lines or waiting then go to breakfast in Miami with your bags in your trunk. Usually only the buffet is open on debarkation day for breakfast and IMO it’s not worth getting stuck in the lines off the ship. Most ships debark on the 4th or 5th floor so being on 2 will be of no advantage.

carnival debarks on the same deck you got on- the Lobby area.    We have ALWAYS eaten in the MDR for breakfast as the buffet is the worst then when you got on.   Seems almost every passenger is there getting breakfast.   I like it a tad quieter and more relaxing.  Travel day is stressful to begin with.       They call self assist by decks.   FTTF will get off earlier then the self assist. 

 

 

[BENHANDEL]

8 hours ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

 

 

Oh, and if you have a few bucks in cash, use the porters to take your luggage through CBP if the normal line-up for CBP is stupidly long - by the time I realized we should have run for the porters, the porter line was almost as long as the regular one...

 

 

 

This is all so new to me that I do not have the context to comprehend this. Where would I find porters for debark?  I imagine porters to be the ones grabbing luggage outside before we embark...and would thos replace putting my luggage put the night before?

 

.thanks for your patience. 

[ProgRockCruiser]

9 hours ago, BENHANDEL said:

 

This is all so new to me that I do not have the context to comprehend this. Where would I find porters for debark?  I imagine porters to be the ones grabbing luggage outside before we embark...and would thos replace putting my luggage put the night before?

 

.thanks for your patience. 

 

After you get off the ship and into the terminal, you usually pick up your big luggage and get in a line for CBP.

 

There is often an alternate line to hand your big luggage to a porter, who takes you to a parallel CBP line that (usually) has very few people in it, so you pass through CBP within minutes.  The porter takes you luggage outside with you on a trolley/dolly (they don't go to your car, just to the outside of the main terminal), and you tip him/her (usually him) a buck or two per piece.  You save a bit a pulling of luggage, and (usually) get through CBP faster.

 

Don't feel bad if you only tip a buck or two total for the porter - I overheard one of the "crowd control" folks in the terminal say how much the porters get per hour - they are doing well (well!) above minimum wage before tips.

[serene56]

10 hours ago, BENHANDEL said:

 

This is all so new to me that I do not have the context to comprehend this. Where would I find porters for debark?  I imagine porters to be the ones grabbing luggage outside before we embark...and would thos replace putting my luggage put the night before?

 

.thanks for your patience. 

It will come clear when you are experiencing it.     Ports will be in with the luggage with carts.   Some use the porters Most do not 

 

[pacruise804]

On 12/9/2018 at 4:20 PM, stargate fan said:

Why pay for breakfast when the op and family can enjoy their last meal on the ship.

 

I think the key is whether or not they would enjoy the meal on the ship.  Sometimes "free" isn't worth the cost 😉 

 

We enjoy visiting MDR for a last breakfast, but I'm also usually ready to eat someone else's food other than ship offerings by the end of a cruise and could see others being ready to get off the ship and have a change of scenery.  

 

Why do some passengers pay for specialty restaurants or drinks other than the included beverages? Because they find value in something different.

[ZoeyVictoria]

You will find porters waiting as you enter the luggage pickup area.  They will follow you to your luggage pickup zone, load your luggage onto their cart, and lead you very, very quickly to the porter line (usually much shorter than the regular line).  They are working as quickly as possible because more passengers = more tips, so have your passport and a tip ready to go.

 

I also take a photo of my luggage before putting it in the hallway the night before;  if there is a lot of luggage or congestion, you can show the photo to the porter and he will know what to look for as you stand back and wait.

Edited December 11, 2018 by ZoeyVictoria

[BENHANDEL]

9 hours ago, pacruise804 said:

 

I think the key is whether or not they would enjoy the meal on the ship.  Sometimes "free" isn't worth the cost 😉 

 

 

This is our first CCL cruise...only a 6 day...are budget conscious and are "breakfast people..." so I think MDR will definitely be part of or debark day plans!

[Gallivanting Souls]

About your car rental, have you looked into how the tolls work? If not read up or call about this so you know what to expect. Have a great trip! 

https://www.sunpass.com/en/tolls/rentalVehicles.shtml

 

https://www.alamo.com/en_US/car-rental-faqs/toll-charges/other-state-toll-options.html

[pacruise804]

10 hours ago, BENHANDEL said:

This is our first CCL cruise...only a 6 day...are budget conscious and are "breakfast people..." so I think MDR will definitely be part of or debark day plans!

 

Enjoy 🙂