Disembarkation

[Smitheroo]

I have seen references to "walking off the ship with our luggage"     Does this mean you can skip the long snake through the entire ship to get off?  Why would anyone not choose to walk off with their own luggage?  Because they have too much?  If manageable this seems like the way to get off the ship.  If you do it this way you probably have to go through customs?  If so, why is that worse than standing in that line inching your way around and up and down the ship?

Edited August 19, 2023 by Smitheroo

[Ellis1138]

I've only ever done the 'drag your own luggage off the ship" disembarkation. I would assume there are people with too much luggage to be able to do it or there are people who are not physically able to do it. I honestly can't recall having to go through customs, but I also did round trip cruises that started and ended in the US in the same city, so maybe I didn't have to go through.

 

We do it not just for the speed, but because I worry I'll pack something important that we need before leaving.

[mapleleaves]

People who are taking a cruiseline transfer to the airport will NOT be walking off the ship with their luggage.  As well as people who have late flights and are taking a post-cruise tour to kill time.

[The Traveling Man]

9 minutes ago, Smitheroo said:

I have seen references to "walking off the ship with our luggage"     Does this mean you can skip the long snake through the entire ship to get off?  Why would anyone not choose to walk off with their own luggage?  Because they have too much?  If manageable this seems like the way to get off the ship.  If you do it this way you probably have to go through customs?  If so, why is that worse than standing in that line inching your way around and up and down the ship?

Sorry, no, you do not get to skip the line.  It just means that you don't have to pack your bags and leave them in the hallway the night before departure and you don't have to wait for your bags to be lined up in the baggage claim area of the terminal.  You still join the exit line, but you have to be able to handle all of your own luggage.  Once you enter the terminal, you still have to go through whatever customs check that all the other passengers do.

[Smitheroo]

2 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

Sorry, no, you do not get to skip the line.  It just means that you don't have to pack your bags and leave them in the hallway the night before departure and you don't have to wait for your bags to be lined up in the baggage claim area of the terminal.  You still join the exit line, but you have to be able to handle all of your own luggage.  Once you enter the terminal, you still have to go through whatever customs check that all the other passengers do.

So what is the advantage then? of  being "self-assisted"

[The Traveling Man]

1 minute ago, Smitheroo said:

So what is the advantage then? of  being "self-assisted"

You don't have to pack your bags the night before.  You don't have to wait for your bags to be placed in the baggage claim area.  We always self assist for debarkation.

[Smitheroo]

Just now, The Traveling Man said:

You don't have to pack your bags the night before.  You don't have to wait for your bags to be placed in the baggage claim area.  We always self assist for debarkation.

 I dont get it. We spent so much time on the line there was little chance our luggage wasnt  waiting for us (it was)  I dont recall seeing people in line with their luggage.   So, if you cant "walk off with your luggage" what do  the other posters mean?

 

[1025cruise]

The main thing with drag your own luggage is that you need to be able to handle it all yourself, with no assistance. Yes, you wait in line. Usually, due to taking up so much space with all your luggage, you are asked to disembark first. 

I have never done this. I'm usually not in a rush to be the first off, plus I find having to deal with luggage on the ship too much work.

[The Traveling Man]

1 minute ago, Smitheroo said:

 I dont get it. We spent so much time on the line there was little chance our luggage wasnt  waiting for us (it was)  I dont recall seeing people in line with their luggage.   So, if you cant "walk off with your luggage" what do  the other posters mean?

 

It means you carry your own luggage when you exit the ship, rather than have the ship's crew take it for you.  Think of carry on luggage vs. checked luggage on an airplane.  Depending upon the number of passengers and the space available for luggage claim in the terminal, there may not be enough room to set out everyone's luggage at the same time.  In such as case, as some passengers reclaim their bags, other bags are set out in their place.  It sometimes can take a couple of hours for all the bags to be set out in the claim area.  The time required to pass through the terminal can vary widely from one port to another, or even from one cruise to another at the same port.

[The Traveling Man]

2 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

The main thing with drag your own luggage is that you need to be able to handle it all yourself, with no assistance. Yes, you wait in line. Usually, due to taking up so much space with all your luggage, you are asked to disembark first. 

I have never done this. I'm usually not in a rush to be the first off, plus I find having to deal with luggage on the ship too much work.

If you choose self assist, you are not assigned a specific departure time.  You may join the debarkation line at any time you choose, including as soon as they open the gangway.

[Smitheroo]

2 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

The main thing with drag your own luggage is that you need to be able to handle it all yourself, with no assistance. Yes, you wait in line. Usually, due to taking up so much space with all your luggage, you are asked to disembark first. 

I have never done this. I'm usually not in a rush to be the first off, plus I find having to deal with luggage on the ship too much work.

I've been reading a lot of different posts and comments and it sure sounds like if you self assist you get off first but then others say on this thread no, you still get on line.  Because I travel solo often I try to have only one suitcase which I am physically able to pull.   I find it hard to believe that waiting on a line like I was on last February leaving the Joy doesnt bother you.  It was horrible, up stairs, down stairs, across lobbys, through the atrium , standing in the arcade forever and forced to listen to the horrible loud music.

[Smitheroo]

1 minute ago, The Traveling Man said:

If you choose self assist, you are not assigned a specific departure time.  You may join the debarkation line at any time you choose, including as soon as they open the gangway.

oh, I get it now. So you have to up and out early, before the line forms.

[genealogyfan]

It also means you can leave earliest and when you want. Normally if you have left your luggage out the night before, you also pick a color coded luggage tag. That will tell you the timeframe when you depart the ship. If you take off your own luggage you can leave with one of the first groups.

 

I've been on ships where there are no lines, and we get off quickly and other times where the line snakes down the deck, down the stairs, around the outside deck,  etc..Both were with bringing our own luggage.

Edited August 19, 2023 by genealogyfan

[The Traveling Man]

1 minute ago, Smitheroo said:

I've been reading a lot of different posts and comments and it sure sounds like if you self assist you get off first but then others say on this thread no, you still get on line.  Because I travel solo often I try to have only one suitcase which I am physically able to pull.   I find it hard to believe that waiting on a line like I was on last February leaving the Joy doesnt bother you.  It was horrible, up stairs, down stairs, across lobbys, through the atrium , standing in the arcade forever and forced to listen to the horrible loud music.

There is still a line to exit.  With self assist you may join the line at any time you choose.

[Smitheroo]

I commented on a post on this topic but it wasnt mine. I dont know whose it was (or where it was lol) but the person said that the way NCL disembarks is the "freestyle" way. You may have a time but you dont have to obey it because on NCL no one tells you what to do. 

 

When I disembarked from the Cunarder QM2 they took our luggage the night before, the same as NCL. We were given either colors or numbers according to group. I cant remember which.  Then the group is assigned to some area of the ship to wait to be called. I was assigned to the theater and there were seats. When the group's number is called you get up and walk out and to where your luggage is waiting for you. Passports were checked on board towards the end of the voyage.  The  QM2 has about 1,000 less passengers than the Joy which might have something to do with the order or lack of it.

[Smitheroo]

9 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

It means you carry your own luggage when you exit the ship, rather than have the ship's crew take it for you.  Think of carry on luggage vs. checked luggage on an airplane.  Depending upon the number of passengers and the space available for luggage claim in the terminal, there may not be enough room to set out everyone's luggage at the same time.  In such as case, as some passengers reclaim their bags, other bags are set out in their place.  It sometimes can take a couple of hours for all the bags to be set out in the claim area.  The time required to pass through the terminal can vary widely from one port to another, or even from one cruise to another at the same port.

Ah, my experience was at San Piedro.......

[Smitheroo]

5 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

There is still a line to exit.  With self assist you may join the line at any time you choose.

That's why I saw people sitting in chairs in the Atrium reading as our line snaked past.  Just sit there until the end of the line, if you are in no rush

[Smitheroo]

15 minutes ago, genealogyfan said:

It also means you can leave earliest and when you want. Normally if you have left your luggage out the night before, you also pick a color coded luggage tag. That will tell you the timeframe when you depart the ship. If you take off your own luggage you can leave with one of the first groups.

 

I've been on ships where there are no lines, and we get off quickly and other times where the line snakes down the deck, down the stairs, around the outside deck,  etc..Both were with bringing our own luggage.

so I guess you either have to be up and out very early or wait until the end if you want to avoid lines, or at least never ending lines.  

[Smitheroo]

19 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

If you choose self assist, you are not assigned a specific departure time.  You may join the debarkation line at any time you choose, including as soon as they open the gangway.

But from what I'm reading in the comments, even if you dont choose self assist you can join the line anytime.  You may have to wait at the end for your luggage though.

[BirdTravels]

14 minutes ago, Smitheroo said:

Ah, my experience was at San Piedro.......

 

22 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

If you choose self assist, you are not assigned a specific departure time.  You may join the debarkation line at any time you choose, including as soon as they open the gangway.

Self assists are asked to leave the ship before people who have color tags. 

[Smitheroo]

NCL doesnt explain this process very well.  We did get the part about putting our luggage out the night before and I also knew that from previous ships I've been on.  But we were clueless about having a time to get on line and puzzled when we saw people siitting relaxed in chairs in the Atrium.  Got it now.

 

I laughed when I saw that I had posted a HOT Topic!

[BirdTravels]

23 minutes ago, Smitheroo said:

I've been reading a lot of different posts and comments and it sure sounds like if you self assist you get off first but then others say on this thread no, you still get on line.  Because I travel solo often I try to have only one suitcase which I am physically able to pull.   I find it hard to believe that waiting on a line like I was on last February leaving the Joy doesnt bother you.  It was horrible, up stairs, down stairs, across lobbys, through the atrium , standing in the arcade forever and forced to listen to the horrible loud music.

You can get off before bags are loaded in the baggage hall. Just like a plane, if you have your bag you can leave. If the airline has your bags, you need wait for your bags to be delivered to the baggage hall. 
 

Like a plane, you still need to wait to get off. If you have your bag and if you don’t have a bag, you need to wait in line to get off. Unlike a plane with 80 people, the cruise ship has 4500 people, all needing to get off, clear immigrations and customs. Sometimes, in the US, that is all done as you leave the ship (the ship’s system is linked with CBP and one facial recognition scan takes care of checking you off the ship and cleaning you through customs). 

[Smitheroo]

3 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

 

Self assists are asked to leave the ship before people who have color tags. 

Fair enough.   the people I saw sitting in the Atrium while our line snaked through were probably not self assist as I saw no luggage. They were passengers who disregarded their notice about when they should leave.  I can't remember if there were crew not allowing people to join the line early but I know no one seemed to bother with the ones sitting in the Atrium.  People joining the line when they want to can lead to chaos. 

[BirdTravels]

4 minutes ago, Smitheroo said:

NCL doesnt explain this process very well.  We did get the part about putting our luggage out the night before and I also knew that from previous ships I've been on.  But we were clueless about having a time to get on line and puzzled when we saw people siitting relaxed in chairs in the Atrium.  Got it now.

 

I laughed when I saw that I had posted a HOT Topic!

The timing seems pretty simple. Wait until your color is called. If you are carrying your own bag, get off and make way for others. 
 

Too many people “think” they can carry their own bag off, and struggle, clogging up the line and banging into other people. Folks with a handcarry, luggage and a Starbucks. 

[sailingships]

51 minutes ago, mapleleaves said:

People who are taking a cruiseline transfer to the airport will NOT be walking off the ship with their luggage.  

I do it every time I cruise whether I drive to the port or I have a transfer to the airport.