Carnival Victory disembarking - 11:10am flight - HELP!

[knowerofnada]

My husband and I are traveling on the Carnival Victory Southern Caribbean cruise on May 10 for our anniversary. I have realized after reading various comments on this website what a stupid decision we made to book an 11:10am flight when our ship docks at 7:00am. Just pure stupidity. We've never cruised before, and we did not do our homework. We wanted to get home as quickly as possibly to our two small children who we are leaving behind. And that was also a stupid decision, to leave them behind. :( But, I digress. Unfortunately, I am not able to rescind on either decision as all other flights are sold out, and for financial reasons. Has anyone sailed this cruise and been able to make a flight this early?? I am absolutely stressing out and making myself miserable. Any advice on how we can possibly make this flight would be much appreciated. To make matters worse, I just discovered that two other ships are coming in that day. :eek: Thanks in advance.

[rickb]

While it's cutting it close, it can be done if everying goes on schedule. We had an 11:50 flight in March and were sitting at the gate by 9:00 AM. People with early flights can wait in the main show lounge and will be the first to debark around 8:00 AM. I would wait near the door as you will be one of the first to leave when they say it's OK to go. That way you will be one of the first to get to customs, etc. We were one of the first off and encountered no lineups even at the airport but it did build quickly. The key is to be one of the first off the ship.

 

Good Luck!

[FlaKrznNubie]

My guess is you are going to have to self disembark. Make sure you can handle your luggage down the stairs by yourself.

 

In the past, when I have self disembarked, I have had everything down to the lowest deck possible prior to them opening the doors to the dock. I stake out a spot out of the way, but close to where they set up the machines to scan your sign & sail cards as you leave the ship. As soon as folks start exiting, I just join the flow.

 

Good luck.....

[knowerofnada]

We had an 11:50 flight in March and were sitting at the gate by 9:00 AM.

 

Which gates? The ship gates, or the airport gates?

 

Thank you both for your replies!

[knowerofnada]

My guess is you are going to have to self disembark. Make sure you can handle your luggage down the stairs by yourself.

 

Stairs? They don't have a ramp??

 

Thanks for your reply!

[FlaKrznNubie]

Which gates? The ship gates, or the airport gates? Thank you both for your replies!

 

I'm sure the poster meant airport gate as ships don't have gates...

 

Stairs? They don't have a ramp?? Thanks for your reply!

 

 

With all due respect, you have to get off the ship before you can even begin to go to the airport.

 

The ship has elevators and stairs. Generally, during disembarkation, the elevators are packed with people or shut off (crew is using them for luggage, whatever).

 

You have to be able to get your luggage down to the lobby deck (generally where you leave the ship) by yourself in order to self disembark.

 

Yes, there will be a ramp from the ship to the dock.

 

I suggest you read some threads on self disembarking (use search function) as you will need everything to go perfectly in order to have a chance to make your flight.

 

Holy cow I hope that does not happen to me in May. I have an 11:10 plane. It would cost over a 1000 to change the time with AA. Anyone know how AA would help you if you miss your flight? I don't fly much, and I am concerned. I should have left Monday but didn 't think work would go for it.

 

If this is your spouse, traveling partner, sounds like you have done a cruise. Hopefully you have some idea how the ship is set up, stairs, elevators, disembarking.

[knowerofnada]

FlaKrznNubie:

 

I'm not sure why you would assume that poster is my spouse. I've already said that we have never cruised before. Which seems kind of obvious to me, because as you pointed out, I'm pretty clueless about the disembarkation process. I have no idea who the poster you quoted is. (But at least you've brought it to my attention that we're not alone in our stupidity!)

 

Your tone throughout your reply has made me a bit uncomfortable.

[FlaKrznNubie]

FlaKrznNubie:

 

I'm not sure why you would assume that poster is my spouse. I've already said that we have never cruised before. Which seems kind of obvious to me, because as you pointed out, I'm pretty clueless about the disembarkation process. I have no idea who the poster you quoted is. (But at least you've brought it to my attention that we're not alone in our stupidity!)

 

Your tone throughout your reply has made me a bit uncomfortable.

 

I assumed because poster is cruising in May and has 11:10 AM flight and is worried.

I did miss the part where you said you had never cruised.

 

I was trying to help you (giving specific info which might help you)

You have made far more insults about your actions than necessary, not sure why you think I have taken a tone with you. You asked questions about the ramp, stairs and gate. I answered them.

You just made a "first timer's mistake", that's all.

You are "uncomfortable" for no reason..... I am done with trying to help. Good luck ! Hope you can enjoy your cruise !

[Virginia_Native]

I remember having a 12:30pm flight and sitting there 2 hours early with nothing to do. As long as the ship is on schedule you should have no problem making that flight. We took a post cruise excursuion after AOS to En Yuque for 4 hours and were back at the airport by 1:30.

 

I believe Carnival can color coordinate your baggage to coinside with earlier flights. You should be able to go to the pursers desk with your flight info during your cruise and they will make sure your bags are off the ship quickly and you can be one of the first to leave.

 

If you need further info about that call Carnival direct.

[knowerofnada]

I assumed because poster is cruising in May and has 11:10 AM flight and is worried.

I did miss the part where you said you had never cruised.

 

I was trying to help you (giving specific info which might help you)

You have made far more insults about your actions than necessary, not sure why you think I have taken a tone with you. You asked questions about the ramp, stairs and gate. I answered them.

You just made a "first timer's mistake", that's all.

You are "uncomfortable" for no reason..... I am done with trying to help. Good luck ! Hope you can enjoy your cruise !

 

I misinterpreted you -- sometimes tone is hard to interpret online. Thanks for the well wishes!

[knowerofnada]

I remember having a 12:30pm flight and sitting there 2 hours early with nothing to do. As long as the ship is on schedule you should have no problem making that flight. We took a post cruise excursuion after AOS to En Yuque for 4 hours and were back at the airport by 1:30.

 

If you were back at the airport by 1:30, didn't you miss your flight? Or was that a typo?

[rickb]

Which gates? The ship gates, or the airport gates?

 

Thank you both for your replies!

 

We were off the ship and through airport security sitting our gate by 9:00 AM.

[Mrs.C05]

Yes, since Carnival should know your flight information, they should give you a colored luggage tag and it should be within the first few #'s of 1-10. They call you by that number based on your fight time.

 

On our cruise on the Victory this past Feb. we had #30 and our flight was at 4pm. I was talking to a lady that had a 3 AND a 30 tag. She didn't know what they were for and waited on the 30 to be called. Needless to say when she found that out, she was mad.

[Virginia_Native]

If you were back at the airport by 1:30, didn't you miss your flight? Or was that a typo?

 

We have been on 2 cruises out of san juan, the first we had the 12:30 flight. The 2nd we did the excursion because we had a 4:30 flight, but we still made it back to the airport by 1:30.

[DOTTE]

My husband and I are traveling on the Carnival Victory Southern Caribbean cruise on May 10 for our anniversary. I have realized after reading various comments on this website what a stupid decision we made to book an 11:10am flight when our ship docks at 7:00am. Just pure stupidity. We've never cruised before, and we did not do our homework. We wanted to get home as quickly as possibly to our two small children who we are leaving behind. And that was also a stupid decision, to leave them behind. :( But, I digress. Unfortunately, I am not able to rescind on either decision as all other flights are sold out, and for financial reasons. Has anyone sailed this cruise and been able to make a flight this early?? I am absolutely stressing out and making myself miserable. Any advice on how we can possibly make this flight would be much appreciated. To make matters worse, I just discovered that two other ships are coming in that day. :eek: Thanks in advance.

 

 

Hi, knowerofnada.

 

We're on the same cruise as you. Come join the roll call on the roll call board. I don't know what airline your flying, but we're flying AA and they supposedly have a luggage express program...where you set your luggage outside your cabin the last night on ship and you don't see it again until you get home. I'm not sure of the cost for this. That's what I'm planning on doing. We have a 11:50 flight...due to AA changing the time. You need to let the pursers desk know of your early flight also.

 

Hope this helps a little.

 

Sea ya!!!

[knowerofnada]

Wanted to tell everyone we had NO problem making our flight. We were off the ship before eight (we were group #2), and we were through all USDA & security at the airport by 8:35am. All that stress for nothing! I hope the other lady on this thread had just an easy time. There was one lady on the ship who had a 9:30 am flight. I'm sure she made it, too.

 

We actually were able to volunteer to give up our seats on the flight, since it was overbooked, and each received a $400 voucher for doing so. Yay.

[FlaKrznNubie]

Wanted to tell everyone we had NO problem making our flight. We were off the ship before eight (we were group #2), and we were through all USDA & security at the airport by 8:35am. All that stress for nothing! I hope the other lady on this thread had just an easy time. There was one lady on the ship who had a 9:30 am flight. I'm sure she made it, too.

 

We actually were able to volunteer to give up our seats on the flight, since it was overbooked, and each received a $400 voucher for doing so. Yay.

 

We wanted to get home as quickly as possibly to our two small children who we are leaving behind.

 

Scratching my head on this one ???? :rolleyes:

[knowerofnada]

Scratching my head on this one ???? :rolleyes:

 

Heh -- Yeah, well -- we had never left our kids before. Not even for a night. So alot of anxiety to do with that. I fully admit it was nice without the kids. Very nice. It was our anniversary. They were in good hands with the grandparents. And a few more hours delay was totally worth being able to get away next year for free airline tickets. And I don't feel the slightest bit guilty for saying so! :)

 

P.S. FlakrznNubie: Don't be such a bad sport about being wrong! :P

[knowerofnada]

Oh, also wanted to mention that we did NOT self-disembark. We asked about this but Carnival discouraged it so much to us that we decided against it. So left our luggage outside our door the night before like everyone else. It was fine. Those of you who are stressing about early flights on disembarkment day -- don't worry, you should be fine under normal circumstances! :)

[puablo]

Oh, also wanted to mention that we did NOT self-disembark. We asked about this but Carnival discouraged it so much to us that we decided against it. So left our luggage outside our door the night before like everyone else. It was fine. Those of you who are stressing about early flights on disembarkment day -- don't worry, you should be fine under normal circumstances! :)

 

I was on your same ship, and Carnival blatantly lied to me about self disembarkation. They told me that while I was permitted to take my luggage off myself, that the elevators would be shut down and I would have to fend for myself on the stairs. I wasn't in a rush so I didn't bother self-disembarking, but when we were roaming the decks we walked into an open elevator to go down a few floors, and while descending we paused and thought "hey! wait a minute!!!" But I'm glad you made your flight - it really seemed like our disembarkation process was quite smooth. I didn't fly out until Monday morning and got to the airport 2 hours early for nothing at all. I went from my taxi to my gate in under 10 minutes.

[NCTribeFan]

Oh, also wanted to mention that we did NOT self-disembark. We asked about this but Carnival discouraged it so much to us that we decided against it. So left our luggage outside our door the night before like everyone else. It was fine. Those of you who are stressing about early flights on disembarkment day -- don't worry, you should be fine under normal circumstances! :)

 

Well, we disembarked this past Sunday and they didn't even call #10 until 10:00 am. Actually, it might even have been 10:30. Don't remember. I was at the aft pool, relaxing in the sun and reading. :D

 

You never know how disembarkation is going to go. I simply do not understand why people insist on booking flights hours earlier than the recommended time.

 

Book one in the late afternoon. Take your time that last morning. Use the luggage express or take your luggage to one of the places that will keep it for you and have one last, relaxing morning in San Juan.

 

We flew home yesterday afternoon. Airport was nice and calm. Quick and easy through USDA, checkin, and security. And those extra two days post cruise at the Marriott Stellaris were wonderful, even with all the rain showers!

[knowerofnada]

You never know how disembarkation is going to go. I simply do not understand why people insist on booking flights hours earlier than the recommended time.

 

I don't think many people realize about the recommended times until it is too late. Like I stated in my OP, we didn't do our homework. Anyway, we'll most likely book an early flight again if I ever cruise out of San Juan. I think the first few groups for early flights go quite fast, then it sounnds like it slows down exponentially as people with the "recommended flight times" start to deboard. Makes sense.

[luvmysox1]

I assumed because poster is cruising in May and has 11:10 AM flight and is worried.

I did miss the part where you said you had never cruised.

 

I was trying to help you (giving specific info which might help you)

You have made far more insults about your actions than necessary, not sure why you think I have taken a tone with you. You asked questions about the ramp, stairs and gate. I answered them.

You just made a "first timer's mistake", that's all.

You are "uncomfortable" for no reason..... I am done with trying to help. Good luck ! Hope you can enjoy your cruise !

 

That poster was me. I was able to get off first. I just switched my tags to disembark first and met in the lounge where they told me. Baggage was easy to grab and qiuk thru customs. Got a taxi and was at the airport before most were even off the boat. It can be done at 11:10 but I would not do that again. Yes, I have been on CCL before but did not check the suggested flight times. I was thinking well 11 would be good since we were getting off @ 7 am.

[boowaaccaa]

How late can you stay on the ship if you have a late flight?

I am looking at booking a flight for 3:40.

 

Also how early can you get on the ship?

[cruiseman40]

We're in the same boat, I mean situation(ha ha). Should I reserve a taxi/shuttle service once we disembark or will there be plenty of transportation to flag down to get us to Airport?