Disembarkation

[taxmantoo]

It seems everybody wants to get off the ship as fast as they can to catch a flight back home. We have decided to spend a few days in the FLL area after the cruise and are therefore in no hurry. It would be quite nice to totally avoid the mad rush to get off the ship while enjoying a nice leisurely breakfast. What is the latest you can disembark and how do you advise Princess that you don't mind at all being the LAST person off?

[dsfitz]

Interesting question.

 

I guess you could wait around until everyone has been called, and then leave. There's no one running around trying to throw you off the ship - though since there is not much going on and essentially everything is closed, it's not like there's that much to do anyway.

 

You can sit around in any of the public lounges - that's about it.

 

You could advise the purser's desk, but I don't believe it is necessary. Just wait for the last color to be called, then mosey on off.

 

The breakfast is pretty early on disembarkation day, as I recall, so it's not like you could hang around there for any length of time.

[Cruisin' Chick]

We haven't hurried off our last few cruises. We haven't waited until the last person onboard but haven't demanded to have one of those earlier times. With our last one, I had arranged for a car service to pick us up at 10am and the disembarkation process started way late. So I called the company at 10 and they said the car will just circle around the World Cruise Center until we get to the shuttle pickup outside. Why hurry off when there's others trying to catch a flight?

[cruiseryyc]

Please note that even if you're not in a rush to get off the ship, you will be required to show up at Immigration between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. so you won't be able to sleep in. Also your cabin steward will be wanting to get in and clean your room for its next guests so will have to vacate the cabin too. But as an earlier poster said, you can sit in one of the lounges until you want to get off. Better yet go up to the Lido deck and sit on a lounger - usually that deck is quite empty during disembarkation.

[cruiserjanet]

Please note that even if you're not in a rush to get off the ship, you will be required to show up at Immigration between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. so you won't be able to sleep in. Also your cabin steward will be wanting to get in and clean your room for its next guests so will have to vacate the cabin too. But as an earlier poster said, you can sit in one of the lounges until you want to get off. Better yet go up to the Lido deck and sit on a lounger - usually that deck is quite empty during disembarkation.

 

We slept in until 7:00, had breakfast in the dining room, went to Immigration at 10:00 a.m., came back to our room and hung out on the balcony, left our room to disembark at 10:45, found our luggage quickly, boarded our shuttle and went home. Our cabin steward knew we were not leaving right away and therefore cleaned up the other rooms before we left. We told him he could work on ours while we were in there if he would like but he told us to enjoy our last moments on the ship.

[cruiseryyc]

Cruiserjanet - you are from the USA, the original poster is from Canada, there are different times to clear immigration for "aliens" as we're called. And yes, your room steward will allow you to stay in the cabin if you like, but by doing that you are making their job harder as they would have less time to get the room cleaned.

[cruiserjanet]

Ah, gotcha. I'm learning new things every day about cruising. We offered to leave but our cabin steward told us to stay. We won't have to be concerned about that for another 10 years since our upcoming cruises are not leaving from local ports. :)

[we2cruze]

When we cruise from Florida we drive and park at the Cruise terminal. We always wait until the last call to disembark. We have literally been the last passengers off the ship. The lines are short by that time and your suitcases are sitting alone. We prefer this method when our children cruise with us, as it is difficult standing in long lines with young children. The pool area is a pleasant place to wait if you are not in a hurry.

[taxmantoo]

Cruiserjanet - you are from the USA, the original poster is from Canada, there are different times to clear immigration for "aliens" as we're called.

 

I have not heard of this anywhere else. We really have to be at Customs or Immigration between 6 and 7 a.m.? How does that process work and what do you do after that?

[cruiseryyc]

Well you don't have to be there between 6 and 7 but then you'll be hearing your name being called over the ship's loud speaker every five minutes until you finally show up. After going through Immigration we usually catch a quick breakfast and then go back to our cabin, brush our teeth, pick up our carry on baggage and then head for a lounge chair to wait our turn to disembark.

[TwinCruiserMom]

I have a question to add...

 

What if you have elected to carry your own baggage off the ship? Can you also wait until the end or "last call"?

 

We have no need to hurry and we hate waiting in lines for no reason.