Disembarkation

[Smitheroo]

4 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

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). 

I understand now. But with self assist you have the option of trying to get to the head of the line. You may not succeed but you can try.  I guess the people I saw sitting in the Atrium were like the people in an airplane who remain in their seats while the others jump up immediately just to stand in line.  

[BirdTravels]

5 minutes ago, Smitheroo said:

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. 

And the lines slow down because there are guests who join the front of the line. Haven guests and priority/VIP guests are always escorted down crew elevators and sent to the front of the line to disembark. 

[sailingships]

47 minutes ago, Smitheroo said:

 I dont recall seeing people in line with their luggage.   

probably because they were already off the ship and on their way to the airport or driving down the highway.

[Smitheroo]

3 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

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. 

.;Is this new? (since February?)  Because I dont recall seeing anything like that. I thought information was given to us through our door (no verbal communication that I remember) which told us when to leave. But I could be wrong about that.   I had no idea what the line would be like and now I know that I can choose the latest time and then sit in the Atrium until I see the line is progressing.   I dont recall any crew checking to see that you were getting on the line at the right time. Anyway, how does choosing the time yourself help with jammed up lines"  What if a huge number chose 10 am.? That would be a real mess. That's why I thought they assigned times but didnt enforce them.  But my memory might be fading on those details but it is not fading concerning the line which I will try to avoid next time.    There has to be a way to better regulate that mess.  The above , while it looks good, didnt do that.

[Smitheroo]

6 minutes ago, sailingships said:

probably because they were already off the ship and on their way to the airport or driving down the highway.

True, but other people are saying that people with luggage get in line and cause problems, bumping into people etc.  Unlesss a self assist passenger gets up early and makes an attempt to get off early that passenger will get caught up in the masses

[Smitheroo]

11 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

And the lines slow down because there are guests who join the front of the line. Haven guests and priority/VIP guests are always escorted down crew elevators and sent to the front of the line to disembark. 

 All I know is that 1) I will try self assist. If it doesnt work for me the next time I will 2) wait untiil most of the line is off the ship. I am not going to stand in that line again while the priority passengers are escorted ahead.  I dont mind waiting but not standing while I wait.  Of course its a different story if someone has a time schedule to keep. In February I did not  It was a local port for me.

Edited August 19, 2023 by Smitheroo

[julig22]

22 minutes ago, Smitheroo said:

.;Is this new? (since February?)  Because I dont recall seeing anything like that. I thought information was given to us through our door (no verbal communication that I remember) which told us when to leave. But I could be wrong about that.   I had no idea what the line would be like and now I know that I can choose the latest time and then sit in the Atrium until I see the line is progressing.   I dont recall any crew checking to see that you were getting on the line at the right time. Anyway, how does choosing the time yourself help with jammed up lines"  What if a huge number chose 10 am.? That would be a real mess. That's why I thought they assigned times but didnt enforce them.  But my memory might be fading on those details but it is not fading concerning the line which I will try to avoid next time.    There has to be a way to better regulate that mess.  The above , while it looks good, didnt do that.

Been cruising with NCL since 2018 and have gotten the same set of instructions on every cruise (19), modified of course to match the specifics for that port.  The instructions are in your stateroom a couple of days before the end of your cruise.

They limit the number of tags so no, a huge number can't just choose 10am. The colored tags are for sorting the luggage - it does take some time to get all the luggage from the ship to the terminal. If you go to early (they probably won't stop you) your luggage won't be waiting.  If you self assist remember that there are others waiting for the elevators, unless you can carry your luggage up or down the stairs -so that usually means a lot more waiting.

Choosing a time won't prevent lines, it just helps to try to spread out the crowds. No matter what the venue, a ship, a concert - there are going to be lines while a few thousand people try to do the same thing.

[Smitheroo]

8 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Been cruising with NCL since 2018 and have gotten the same set of instructions on every cruise (19), modified of course to match the specifics for that port.  The instructions are in your stateroom a couple of days before the end of your cruise.

They limit the number of tags so no, a huge number can't just choose 10am. The colored tags are for sorting the luggage - it does take some time to get all the luggage from the ship to the terminal. If you go to early (they probably won't stop you) your luggage won't be waiting.  If you self assist remember that there are others waiting for the elevators, unless you can carry your luggage up or down the stairs -so that usually means a lot more waiting.

Choosing a time won't prevent lines, it just helps to try to spread out the crowds. No matter what the venue, a ship, a concert - there are going to be lines while a few thousand people try to do the same thing.

That doesnt look at all familiar to me but I admit I may have forgotten. I do remember us getting something put into our cabin in the evening.  Even if you choose a time/color for your luggage there is nothing preventing you from joining the line at another time, either earlier or later. There was no, or very few, crew present. And if you chose to join the line later the crew if present isnt going to argue with you. If you are saying that the times and colors are JUST for the luggage then there is no hope of managing the crowd. I agree, if you go too early your luggage might not be waiting for you at the other end.   I dont know what caused the chaos or if it can be prevented by  better crowd management. I plan to do the self assist next time and if that doesnt work for me, the time after I will pick a time/color for my luggage and then sit down somewhere and wait with a book.  I personally have experienced a much more controlled disembarkation on another line but 1,000 less passengers might have had something to do with it.   

[julig22]

3 minutes ago, Smitheroo said:

That doesnt look at all familiar to me but I admit I may have forgotten. I do remember us getting something put into our cabin in the evening.  Even if you choose a time/color for your luggage there is nothing preventing you from joining the line at another time, either earlier or later. There was no, or very few, crew present. And if you chose to join the line later the crew if present isnt going to argue with you. If you are saying that the times and colors are JUST for the luggage then there is no hope of managing the crowd. I agree, if you go too early your luggage might not be waiting for you at the other end.   I dont know what caused the chaos or if it can be prevented by  better crowd management. I plan to do the self assist next time and if that doesnt work for me, the time after I will pick a time/color for my luggage and then sit down somewhere and wait with a book.  I personally have experienced a much more controlled disembarkation on another line but 1,000 less passengers might have had something to do with it.   

Getting off the ship isn't much different than getting off in a port - and I've never waited long to get off the ship. You scan your card or they use facial recognition - and off you go. And no, they aren't checking to see if you are trying to leave early.

However, if you have to go through customs or immigration there can be a hold up.  And NCL has absolutely no control over how that works. Passengers can't get off of the ship until the port authority says so. So pretty much any backup on the ship would be due to delays with passenger processing at the terminal, not because the ship is disorganized. On my last cruise the dock workers were having a work slowdown so yes, it was a mess.  Got off the ship no problem but had to wait for our luggage. And they did enforce the tag colors as a means to control the crowds.  You could get in line but you couldn't get to your luggage.

 

[sailingships]

1 hour ago, Smitheroo said:

True, but other people are saying that people with luggage get in line and cause problems, bumping into people etc.  Unlesss a self assist passenger gets up early and makes an attempt to get off early that passenger will get caught up in the masses

Oh you mean later in the morning ? After the self-assist people have already gone  ?  We get in line early and everyone has luggage with them. Everyone is polite and chatty and theres no shoving. Most people in line are old hands at the self-assist game. As to this cutting the line and shoving problem. Thankfully we're already on the plane or on the road home when that happens 🙂 

 

 

Edited August 20, 2023 by sailingships

[The Traveling Man]

3 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

 

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

As noted in the debarkation schedule you posted, there actually is an overlap of an hour or so between the self assist passengers and the first several groups of passengers who let the crew handle their bags.  This sometimes produces delays as the line grows longer.

[debenson0723]

4 hours ago, mapleleaves said:

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.

I have walked off my own luggage several times and walked directly to the NCL transfer bus to the airport. Doing it this way allowed us to be one of the first ones on the first bus to the airport.

[gizfish]

The reason for the long line is that lots of people are doing self assist.  Once that line starts moving it moves quickly.  Staff is not checking to see if you are leaving at your assigned time.  But luggage is set out in the customs hall according to those times.  So if you have an assigned time and go early, odds are you will be waiting around the customs hall.  That can look pretty sketch and prompt a longer more in-depth interaction with the custom agents and is probably not a good idea. If your cruise has visited a port outside the USA, you will be clearing customs.  Many ports have facial recognition which makes things quicker for most people.  Otherwise a customs agent will look at your ID and maybe ask a few questions.  

[Smitheroo]

I'm wondering how many people here have disembarked at San Piedro, California. That's the only disembarkation experience I have with NCL.   A lot of room for improvement

[Smitheroo]

8 hours ago, gizfish said:

The reason for the long line is that lots of people are doing self assist.  Once that line starts moving it moves quickly.  Staff is not checking to see if you are leaving at your assigned time.  But luggage is set out in the customs hall according to those times.  So if you have an assigned time and go early, odds are you will be waiting around the customs hall.  That can look pretty sketch and prompt a longer more in-depth interaction with the custom agents and is probably not a good idea. If your cruise has visited a port outside the USA, you will be clearing customs.  Many ports have facial recognition which makes things quicker for most people.  Otherwise a customs agent will look at your ID and maybe ask a few questions.  

My experience was that the line did not move quickly at all.  It was unbearable.  We stood in place several times for at least 15-20 minutes (It felt a lot longer) like in the arcade with the music.

[Smitheroo]

11 hours ago, sailingships said:

Oh you mean later in the morning ? After the self-assist people have already gone  ?  We get in line early and everyone has luggage with them. Everyone is polite and chatty and theres no shoving. Most people in line are old hands at the self-assist game. As to this cutting the line and shoving problem. Thankfully we're already on the plane or on the road home when that happens 🙂 

 

 

I was not aware of anyone cutting the line and shoving.  You can join the line early by getting on the end of it. No shoving and like I said, I dont recall seeing any luggage.  Now I know the reason why. It was as far as I could see an orderly very very long line that stood in place at several points for a long time.

[Cruisercl]

6 minutes ago, Smitheroo said:

I'm wondering how many people here have disembarked at San Piedro, California. That's the only disembarkation experience I have with NCL.   A lot of room for improvement

IMO, the cruiselines set up what looks to work out, on paper. However there are several variables that affect that; cruisers that do not follow directions given on the ship and then, the big one, the Customs and Immigrations systems set up on shore. The cruiselines have no control over C&I so timing of things is out of the cruiselines hands.

The self-assist lines do get long on some cruises, this is probably what you saw with lots of people in line with their luggage. It can be awful when that happens, it becomes a bump and shove crowd.

There seems to be alot of anxiety with some when disembarking so some people get crabby, I have seen this quite a bit. YMMV. 😊

[Smitheroo]

This is the advice I read on another older thread on this same topic:

 

So disembarkation times are just like check in times on embarkation day. No matter what you yourself agree to, its Freestyle and you should do whatever you want when the time comes. You might get through faster or you might end up causing delays for yourself or others.. The important thing is that nobody gets to tell you what to do on NCL.

 

 

[mjkacmom]

14 hours 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.

We always take our luggage, we’ve waited on a 3 hour snake with our luggage. We’ve also walked quickly off with no issues with our luggage. It depends on things like amount of staff at the cruise terminal.

[Smitheroo]

4 minutes ago, Cruisercl said:

IMO, the cruiselines set up what looks to work out, on paper. However there are several variables that affect that; cruisers that do not follow directions given on the ship and then, the big one, the Customs and Immigrations systems set up on shore. The cruiselines have no control over C&I so timing of things is out of the cruiselines hands.

The self-assist lines do get long on some cruises, this is probably what you saw with lots of people in line with their luggage. It can be awful when that happens, it becomes a bump and shove crowd.

There seems to be alot of anxiety with some when disembarking so some people get crabby, I have seen this quite a bit. YMMV. 😊

In my situation there was not a lot of luggage on the very very long unmoving line.  I dont know what the hold up was. Maybe there was no hold up, maybe that's how it is on a huge ship at San Pedro.    Actually the baggage claim area was very well organized.

 

Would it not work to assign passengers the same color as their luggage and assign that group to wait in a certain area of the ship?  Sure, the Joy has a huge number of passengers but its also a huge ship. Are there not enough areas on the ship where groups of people could wait. (this is what I experienced with Cunard on the QM2) Then your group is called and you get on line. They could stagger it so the next group is not called until the last group on line is getting near the top. And have a crew member at the line turning people back "because your group has not been called yet"   No getting on line when you feel like it.   And if there is a group of Haven passengers being escorted down then dont call another group till they are through.

[Smitheroo]

10 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

We always take our luggage, we’ve waited on a 3 hour snake with our luggage. We’ve also walked quickly off with no issues with our luggage. It depends on things like amount of staff at the cruise terminal.

I have tentative plans for an Alaskan cruise from Seattle. So I will have another experience. I may have experienced the worst first

[RocketMan275]

16 hours ago, Smitheroo said:

Anyway, how does choosing the time yourself help with jammed up lines"  What if a huge number chose 10 am.? That would be a real mess. That's why I thought they assigned times but didnt enforce them.  But my memory might be fading on those details but it is not fading concerning the line which I will try to avoid next time.    There has to be a way to better regulate that mess.  The above , while it looks good, didnt do that.

Very much like the boarding process.  Some want to get to the terminal and sit for a couple of hours while passengers leave the ship.  Others like to wait until the initial rush is over and they can walk directly onto the ship.  Just like some who disregard their assigne arrival times at the terminal.

If the cruise lines tried regulation, ie, denying entry to the terminal before the assigned times or preventing people from joining the debarkation lines, now, that would be fun to watch.

[Smitheroo]

6 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Very much like the boarding process.  Some want to get to the terminal and sit for a couple of hours while passengers leave the ship.  Others like to wait until the initial rush is over and they can walk directly onto the ship.  Just like some who disregard their assigne arrival times at the terminal.

If the cruise lines tried regulation, ie, denying entry to the terminal before the assigned times or preventing people from joining the debarkation lines, now, that would be fun to watch.

Funny!    I wouldnt have minded sitting during embarkation. We were standing but nothing like coming off the ship

[phillygwm]

18 hours 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?

I've done both.  I'm someone who needs to be the first on and off the ship🤣  In that context I'd agree, walking off with my own bag is generally easier.  If you have big bags and are on an upper deck, getting an elevator on disembarkation day can sometimes be a challenge, however.  For my next cruise, I intentionally booked deck 8.  Last time on the same ship (Joy) I spent most of my time on decks 7-8 so I'm thinking it might make everything easier, including disembarking.  But I queued up (what I thought was) early last time and the line backed into the rear of the casino.  Once people were allowed to disembark, it moved quickly.

 

The one time I had NCL handle my bags, I had preferred (Platinum) so it was pretty easy as well.  I'd also imagine it would be less of an issue if you wait until later to exit.

Edited August 20, 2023 by phillygwm

[Smitheroo]

How early is early when doing self assist?      Do you get time to eat a quick breakfast?