Carrying luggage off ship

[cantgetenufcruizin]

It’s my understanding we can carry our luggage off the Summit in San Juan to get off earlier to catch a flight. Am I correct and if so, how early should we expect to get off?  TIA

[alcpa1]

Yes you can carry off your luggage.

We have been on the Summit quite a few times and generally you can expect to disembark about 1/2 hour after the ship clears. If you dock at 6 you should be off by 7 if everything goes as planned. 

Normally disembarkation is from the lobby on deck 4 but after Hurricane Maria we disembarked on deck 2 due to terminal damage.

In January we had a later disembarkation for security so later disembarkations are not uncommon.

You will be asked to gather at a specified time and in a specified area where you will be instructed to disembark. Get there early if you are in a really big hurry. Many passengers bring their luggage early and go off to get breakfast. If they are using the lobby the area has minimal seating and gets very crowded. It's not uncommon to encounter some rather pushy people either.

Also you can only use the terminal escalator if you can keep one hand on the rail. There will be staff there to make sure your trip down into the terminal is a safe one. There is a small elevator that probably holds 5 or 6 with their luggage.

Hope you didn't book anything before 10:30. With the agriculture check and long lines, especially if there are multiple ships in SJU will be challenging.

Have a wonderful cruise.

[gold1953]

Be aware that you may arrive at the gathering point early and find 100 or more people ahead of you 

[clarky213]

Never Understood why people are in such a rush to get off, why put yourself under all that stress at the end of a Holiday. Stay an extra Day and enjoy a leasurely final morning.

[Lady Arwen]

1 hour ago, clarky213 said:

Never Understood why people are in such a rush to get off, why put yourself under all that stress at the end of a Holiday. Stay an extra Day and enjoy a leasurely final morning.

Unfortunately, not everyone has the luxury of staying another day.  Most people have jobs, kids back to school, or other commitments that require them to get home.  We're retired, but we have dogs that we need to get home to. We've done walk off before and will again next month in Barcelona.  Really not that bad.

[jkgourmet]

7 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

Unfortunately, not everyone has the luxury of staying another day.  Most people have jobs, kids back to school, or other commitments that require them to get home.  We're retired, but we have dogs that we need to get home to. We've done walk off before and will again next month in Barcelona.  Really not that bad.

 

👍  And some of us don't want to spend (waste) money on another night's expenses for hotel, meals, etc.

 

we do walk off ALWAYS, never a problem. It is ONE MORE advantage to only bringing carry on cases.

Edited April 5, 2019 by jkgourmet

[sailco]

 

19 hours ago, clarky213 said:

Never Understood why people are in such a rush to get off, why put yourself under all that stress at the end of a Holiday. Stay an extra Day and enjoy a leasurely final morning.

We're leaving early because we have one day between cruises and want to make the most of it. We intend to take a short taxi ride to a hotel booked deliberately because it's close to the port and the HOHO stops outside the front door. We'll drop our luggage and go exploring. We plan on treating it as a 'port day'. 

And it's a good thing I'm on the same cruise as Lady Arwen so I can get all the best tips from her before the final day ;-)

[chemmo]

Now we have the advantage of being retired we love to wait until the ship is nearly empty to get off...luggage easy to spot (the only luggage left), taxi queue minimal....Able to spend a day or two post cruise relaxing before finally flying home.

 

After years of having tight work schedules it is a treat we don’t take for granted...

 

When we did need to fly home the same day we have always scheduled flights for after midday.  I seriously can not do stress at the end of a cruise although I do understand the temptation of a cheaper more convenient flight at an earlier time.

 

What I have never understood are the guests doing self disembark with more luggage than they can carry. A couple we met on Eclipse self disembarked in Rome last year. They were behind an elderly couple with two very large suitcases, three hand luggages and two large straw donkeys! Needless to say they (with their minimal luggage) helped the elderly couple only to find when chatting that their flight wasn’t until 2pm but they always self disembarked because they could have their luggage organised and outside the room by midnight because they would still be in the bar!!! Who says mature guests don’t have stamina!

[jkgourmet]

2 hours ago, chemmo said:

 

What I have never understood are the guests doing self disembark with more luggage than they can carry. A couple we met on Eclipse self disembarked in Rome last year. They were behind an elderly couple with two very large suitcases, three hand luggages and two large straw donkeys! Needless to say they (with their minimal luggage) helped the elderly couple only to find when chatting that their flight wasn’t until 2pm but they always self disembarked because they could have their luggage organised and outside the room by midnight because they would still be in the bar!!! Who says mature guests don’t have stamina!

 

I've seen people like that!  My favorite was last year when we did Dublin to Dublin Norwegian Fjords 8 day cruuse.  We're did several days in Dublin pre-cruise but still had only had carry on.  We're at the elevator with this older couple who EACH have two super -sized cases, and we're all doing self disembark.   He's bitching about the delay of the elevators.   In an effort to distract him, I asked if they had a good time.  No, he hated it and just wanted to be back in his own home.  I asked how long their flight home was and he replied "No flight.  We just have to meet our son at the car park and drive 35 minutes".  Then he proceeded to ***** that the car park was too far from the exit of the ship.  

 

I guess if I took an eight day cruise and insisted on lugging FOUR HUGE CASES, I would be bitching too.

Edited April 6, 2019 by jkgourmet

[BNBR]

23 hours ago, clarky213 said:

Never Understood why people are in such a rush to get off, why put yourself under all that stress at the end of a Holiday. Stay an extra Day and enjoy a leasurely final morning.

 

Because there is nothing leisurely about disembarkation day.  They want you out. Waiting around for a number to be called, along with the longer lines, no thanks. I much prefer to self disembark and avoid the crowds and nonsense.  Walk off, hop in the car, and we are home in 20 minutes with a full day ahead. 

[Cruise a holic]

You might experience a back up at the customs  departure area.  They aren't always prompt and various problems might occur.  Also, If you aren't near a staircase and think you can rely on the elevator to take you down to the departure deck- really a problem.  If you decide to walk off early, I suggest you get you and your luggage down to the lowest possible floor to disembark and wait their.  You should be able to hand carry all of your luggage without any problems. Not for the elderly or infirm, or those with young children who require assistance.

 

Good luck if the taxi cabs are backed up, or that the airport security is delayed.  I also suggest that you get global entry or TSA clearance to help avoid the airport delays.

 

Also, be realistic and give yourself a reasonable "cushion" in the event of any emergencies.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[Lady Arwen]

Well if  "the taxi cabs are backed up or that the airport security is delayed" then thank goodness we did early walk-off because if we did general disembarking, we would definitely not make our flight.  Waiting for your number to be called and then having to find your luggage in a sea of suitcases is much more stressful! 
 

[lovestx]

We plan to self-disembark this Friday off Solstice in Sydney.  The Celebrity Today yesterday explained that we could wait in public areas starting at 7 a.m.  My big fear is getting an elevator on disembarkation day.

 

Any tips?  I was thinking that we would try to get out of our cabin by 6:45....maybe ahead of the rush....and then go for breakfast at CAfe al Bacio or Blu (if they are open).

[volk904]

We walked off with our bags on the Summit in San Juan. No issues.  Lined up at 6:45 and off ship about 7:15 and through customs by 7;45.  There will be a line of people waiting but it mov s fast.  

[GoodScout]

We self-embarked Equinox in November because of a tight flight connection (it takes all day to get from MIA or FLL to Vermont!). Came down at 7am to find easily 300 people ahead of us. Once we got moving, however, it wasn't awful and we were through fairly quickly. 

 

This trip we have a little longer window, so we're doing the Celebrity luggage transfer program. 

[varoo]

15 hours ago, lovestx said:

.....  My big fear is getting an elevator on disembarkation day.

 

Any tips?

 

Just the standard way to get on when all the elevators coming down are full ---  Push the up button and hop on an empty elevator that is going up.

 

(But even that may take a while.  They sometimes program elevators to bypass stops while moving opposite to the main traffic flow at peak times.)