carnival Glory self-disembark?

[ireland666666]

Hello. Can anyone tell me if they have done the self-disembark off the Carnival Glory in Port Canaveral? What time did you get off the ship? Do you have to have the small carry-on size bags to do this option? We have a very early flight and I need all the info I can get to get to the airport on time :) Thanks very much!!!

[Bonnie J.]

You can cary as many bags off the ship as you can manage. You can't be sure what time the ship will be cleared to let pasengers off. The ship will ask those with early flights to let them know, then you will get luggage tags to be 1st off the ship -if you're not doing carry off. When we did carry off on the Triump in September, there were so many passengers waiting to get off that when the elevator doors opened NO ONE could get OFF the elevators, there were SO MANY people waiting! It was wall to wall people!

What time is your flight? I believe the airport is in Orlando and that's about an hour away and how are you getting there? A local cab may not go that far.

It is recomended flights not be before 11AM at the earliest when the airport is closeby. Don't know about the time for flights from Orlando which is NOT nearby. You might want to change your flight to early afternoon to be safe.

We've been on the Glory and enjoyed it. Do try their deli for answiches made while you wait for them!

CRUISE LINES WE"VE BEEN ON:

Dolphin

Commodore

Regency

Premier

Cape Canaveral Cruises

Carnival

Royal Caribean

NCL

Celebrity

Princess

Costa

[GTO-Girl]

Hello. Can anyone tell me if they have done the self-disembark off the Carnival Glory in Port Canaveral? What time did you get off the ship? Do you have to have the small carry-on size bags to do this option? We have a very early flight and I need all the info I can get to get to the airport on time :) Thanks very much!!!

 

The one time we tried it on Glory it was a zoo!! Hopefully they have gotten better at it. Even though they are calling tag colors they don't bother to check them so everyone tries to be the first ones off-no matter if their tag has been called or not. For some reason Carnival doesn't seem to want to enforce this...... so it's a mess.

 

We will be back on the Glory on Feb 7th and I'll let you know how our disembark goes......:o

[ireland666666]

I will also be there on feb 7th! I did not realize that you werent supposed to book a flight before noon and it would be way too much money if I rescheduled. Its actually cheaper for me to miss my flight, get one the next day and pay for a hotel than to reschedule! Anyway, I guess I will do the carry your own bags off option since we will only have 2 bags each. One large bag and one travel size. I have arranged for a shuttle bus to meet us at 8:15am so hopefully we can make that. I understand that things could go wrong but I am really hoping to be off the ship by then.

[okgirl]

I'm not sure you'll be off by 8:15. I always do self-assist off but I'm Platinum and get to be among the very 1st, but it's usually closer to 8:30ish before I'm headed to the car rental place. Then of course the trip back to MCO is close to 50ish minutes.

 

But good luck, the stars could line up in your favor.

[cruzeluver]

We were on the Glory the week after Thanksgiving.

 

Although they said they would begin self-assist at 8:00 it was more like 8:45 before they started. And self-assist was done by decks, not all at once.

 

We waited for our deck to be called (not self-assist) and it was after 10:00 before we were called.

 

Had a great cruise, but disembarkation did take quite a bit of time.

[arms4]

when we got off the Glory back in Sept we were off first and our bags were right there waiting for us. We had an early flight and were quite early for it. I believe we were off by 9a.m with bags in hand.

[klfrodo]

Its actually cheaper for me to miss my flight, get one the next day and pay for a hotel than to reschedule!

 

Have you actually spoken with your airline about this?

 

I only know of 3 possible options here.

 

1. You're a VIP frequent flier on this particular airline and the price you paid is such that they will put you on the next flight out at no additional charge. Sorry to say this but in todays economic tiems, not many flights are flying with empty seats. The airlines have reduced the number of flights to ensure full capcity on the ones that do fly.

 

2. The price you paid dictates that if you miss your flight you are SOL. You'll have to purchase a new 1 way ticket at last minute prices.

 

3. The airline will allow you to fly standby. That means that IF they have any seats available on the next few flights, you might be able to get a seat. If only 1 seat is available, only 1 person flies.

 

From reading your story, I know that you have no intention of paying extra fee's to change your tickets.

You really need to figure out what your backup plan is though if you miss your flights.

What hotel is near and will have available rooms for a couple of nights? Any decent places to eat nearby? Do you have enough cash and/or available credit for additional nights until you can catch flights? What flights and times are available if you miss your original flight? Any other airlines flying back home?

[DanJ]

You really need to figure out what your backup plan is though if you miss your flights.

 

He said what his back-up plan is. Miss the flight and buy a new one, which he claims is cheaper than paying the fees to change the booking he already has. I would suggest keeping the airline's reservation number on your cell phone and call them if it appears you might miss the flight that morning. They might be able to work with you.

 

Also, whatever time they tell you to be ready to carry your luggage off, start making your way down to the designated area early. When we did the carry-off from the Caribbean Princess, we left the cabin at 7 for the scheduled 715 debarkation time and the elevators were packed. Managed to get one where my wife and luggage would fit, and I went down 9 flights of stairs.

[alcpa1]

What time is your flight?

If you are using a shuttle service I'd almost bet you will not be the only cruise passengers in the vehicle and you may have to wait for others.

You may do better asking for the earliest tags rather than fight the awful crowds trying to dismbark with their luggage too. Walking the stairs is doable when you do not have luggage in tow.

[ireland666666]

I called the airline and its a $40 fee if I tell them I am going to miss the flight and they will move me to the next flight (which is the next day). I will keep their number in my cell phone. Missing the flight would suck, but its not a life or death problem for me because its the weekend and no one in our group has to work until monday anyway. Its not the worst thing to be stuck in Orlando when we are from NY and experiencing snow/ice/freezing temperatures :) I hired a private shuttle, just for the 6 of us, so no waiting for other people. Should I make him be there at 8:30 instead of 8:15? I just worry this puts us too close to the deadline for the 11:15am flight...

PS- Thanks to everyone for all their help, I know i should not have booked such an early flight but I really did not know any better until it was already done...