Just back from the Pride...what I wish I knew about debarkation

[BeachyLisa]

Just back today from our cruise on the Pride which overall was fun but here's what I wish I knew prior about debarkation.

It is slow-I don't think the Baltimore terminal processes the masses as quickly as the bigger cruise ports so waits are long.

I will pack one less bag and do self-assist debarkation as they are the first off the ship. If you need to go with general debarkation please prepare for a long wait. They want you out of your cabin between 9 and 10 am and stop serving breakfast at 10 am and then there is no food and nothing to do so have reading material, cards etc to entertain yourself and kids!! We were scheduled to arrive back at 10 am and were about an hour early-we unfortunately had one of the last luggage numbers and didn't get off the ship til almost 1 pm. We saw people arriving for the next cruise as early as 9 am-hope they were prepared for a long wait as the ship was not totally emptied til at least 1:30.

Not sure why self debarkation takes so long-took at least 2 hours to complete-is it because most people are now going that route? Once general debarkation started it went pretty quickly so I guess it was because most people were already off the ship.

Well hope this helps someone out. I'll try to do a review soon while it is still fresh in my head!

[jerseygirl2609]

Thanks for the advice! Looking forward to your review.

[tiggerman101]

That is a very long time to wait. I have never waited that long and we always do the "zone" debarkation. When we were on the Victory in March there was no self debarkation and it ran very smooth. I really wish all ships were like that. A couple of self debarkations I witnessed were nightmares. Too many people trying to do it with WAY too much luggege.

[deepnite10]

what a horrible wait..does nt say much about the port and terminal

operation s..

 

i bet those who booked PM flights were sweating it out..:eek:

 

in the past we ve hid out till we were ushered to debarkation :o

even then, it was about 10:30 am..

[madre2]

We are leaving in 2 weeks on the Pride...we are still not sure which debarkation we want to do...self or zones. Either way we will be prepared to wait! Can't wait to read your review!

[elovenav]

I too will be on the Pride in just under four weeks. Looking forward to your review.

[crzndeb]

I will NEVER do self-debarkation again after the huge fiasco on the Spirit last year in San Diego. We were 2 hrs late getting back into port and it was a mess. Coming up in Oct on the Splendor, I will book a later flight time home (or next day), make sure I have a book and my gameboy is fully charged and just grab a chair and relax until they call, everyone off ship. I do not care for that sardine feeling, thank you. And the numerous bruises on the legs from people swinging their luggage into them. LOL!!

[Traveler353]

I have been doing self-debarkation from my second cruise on. Would not do it any other way. It is so quick and easy.

[kruisecat]

I have been doing self-debarkation from my second cruise on. Would not do it any other way. It is so quick and easy.

 

 

I couldn't agree more. On my recent Valor cruise I was actually the first person off the ship. I had 1 large suitcase, a garment bag and a small bag that I strapped altogether and off I went. Very easy, very quick. I was in my car and on my way within 20 minutes. :D

[evamom]

I couldn't agree more. On my recent Valor cruise I was actually the first person off the ship. I had 1 large suitcase, a garment bag and a small bag that I strapped altogether and off I went. Very easy, very quick. I was in my car and on my way within 20 minutes. :D

I also agree- we were on Spirit in June- just walked off when we were ready in Vancouver.

[crzndeb]

Kruisecat,

 

A little anxious to be done with your vacation...1st one off ship? LOL!

[cruisingreena]

I have an a flight to catch for 1:40 is that not realistic??

[cruisingreena]

i just called carnival and for the liberty into Miami they recommend not booking flights prior to 11:30 departure..so 1:40 for mine should be okay...boy i was panicky when i read the first post!!!

[Lisichka]

i just called carnival and for the liberty into Miami they recommend not booking flights prior to 11:30 departure..so 1:40 for mine should be okay...boy i was panicky when i read the first post!!!

 

On my last cruise from Miami we docked at 6:00am and I was at the FLL airport by 7:00 am. Was the first off the ship, and had a driver waiting for me. Took no time at all (this was on a Sunday, so traffic was not an issue).

[andychris]

Thanks for the advice. Can't wait to hear your review!!!

[newcruiser08820]

Just back today from our cruise on the Pride which overall was fun but here's what I wish I knew prior about debarkation.

It is slow-I don't think the Baltimore terminal processes the masses as quickly as the bigger cruise ports so waits are long.

I will pack one less bag and do self-assist debarkation as they are the first off the ship. If you need to go with general debarkation please prepare for a long wait. They want you out of your cabin between 9 and 10 am and stop serving breakfast at 10 am and then there is no food and nothing to do so have reading material, cards etc to entertain yourself and kids!! We were scheduled to arrive back at 10 am and were about an hour early-we unfortunately had one of the last luggage numbers and didn't get off the ship til almost 1 pm. We saw people arriving for the next cruise as early as 9 am-hope they were prepared for a long wait as the ship was not totally emptied til at least 1:30.

Not sure why self debarkation takes so long-took at least 2 hours to complete-is it because most people are now going that route? Once general debarkation started it went pretty quickly so I guess it was because most people were already off the ship.

Well hope this helps someone out. I'll try to do a review soon while it is still fresh in my head!

We were on the Pride in May. I don't recall any announcements to leave the cabin by between 9-10. I don't think it was in the caper either.

We did self-debarkation as well. We went down around 9.30 am and waited by the elevators on the deck 2. We were first off the ship after the crew.

[read52]

Just back today from our cruise on the Pride which overall was fun but here's what I wish I knew prior about debarkation.

It is slow-I don't think the Baltimore terminal processes the masses as quickly as the bigger cruise ports so waits are long.

I will pack one less bag and do self-assist debarkation as they are the first off the ship. If you need to go with general debarkation please prepare for a long wait. They want you out of your cabin between 9 and 10 am and stop serving breakfast at 10 am and then there is no food and nothing to do so have reading material, cards etc to entertain yourself and kids!! We were scheduled to arrive back at 10 am and were about an hour early-we unfortunately had one of the last luggage numbers and didn't get off the ship til almost 1 pm. We saw people arriving for the next cruise as early as 9 am-hope they were prepared for a long wait as the ship was not totally emptied til at least 1:30.

Not sure why self debarkation takes so long-took at least 2 hours to complete-is it because most people are now going that route? Once general debarkation started it went pretty quickly so I guess it was because most people were already off the ship.

Well hope this helps someone out. I'll try to do a review soon while it is still fresh in my head!

 

 

Lisa, sorry it took you so long to get off. We stay in our room until 9:00 am (we were going to stay until we docked which was an hour early). Then we went down to the Rapheal Area. We could not hear the announments too well. He started with deck 1 and then about 30 minutes later he said deck 8. Since we were on deck 7, we left about 10:00 am. We were through customs by 10:30 am. Customs had problems because their computers were down. I think people were confused as to when to leave if you did self assist. They said that anyone that had an early flight (I think before noon) would get off first. We were home by 11:00 am.

[sallyb]

I saw you on Lido deck as I was passing by today. Because I am local and I plan to call my daughter to pick us up, I'm not going to be in a hurry to get off the ship.

[Nicole721]

Not off the boat until 1:00 :-o

 

When I get *on* the boat, I'm usually onboard, Miami Vice in hand, by 12/12:30. I've never been off later than 10:00, either (and I've never had the first color/number for debark...usually one of the last). Maybe I'm lucky, though.

[BeachyLisa]

Hi all!

So sad to be back!!

Didn't mean to scare anyone off with the timing-I think this problem is specific to Baltimore and the lenght of time to do self-debarkation at this port. Not a Carnival problem per se-just wanted to give people a heads-up. This is a late starting cruise- sail time is supposed to be 5:30pm but by most accounts (mine included) it is usually running late most likely due to lengthy debarkation of previous cruise-I think we actually set sail about 6:15pm and my neighbor just brought over my mail and said she just saw the ship still in port at 6 pm. And yes if you have an early flight out you will be off first.

I'll try to get together with everyone tonight and tomorrow and get a review together-at least of the food which of coarse is most important!!

I still feel like a beached whale lol !!

[bluehenfan]

I was on the 6/6 Pride cruise and I loved the debarkation. It was also my first CCL vacation. Usually on DCL or RCCL and sitting around in some hot crowded lounge waiting to be called to leave ship This time, since waiting on lido deck was one of the options offered, we went there after a nice sit down breakfast in MDR. The ice cream machines were still available and also water, tea, lemonade,etc.Self debarkation did go slowly, but we stretched out on lounge chairs around the pool, had cold drinks, ice cream cones and read magazines. It was like an extension of our vacation. I think someone posting earlier had the right idea about why self debarkation took so long - people were trying to carry off an awful lot of luggage. Once we were called we were off the ship in less then 10 mins. No wait for elevator, no crowds. Walked a few feet to our car after finding our luggage - best debarkation ever.

[deepnite10]

we had a 3pm flight out of MIA..and took our time debarking..yet we were still off the Triumph 10am..

 

does nt mean you can dilly dally around, go on an excursion..just relax and

enjoy your last day..

 

and we were at the airport in plenty of time even if we had a 1:30 flight..:)

[kevinandrenay]

Hello to everyone,

 

I do not think it is a problem with the port at all. The main reason for most people taking a cruise out of Baltimore is because of location. Many more people drive to the port then fly. Then they try to get off the ship fast so they do self debarkation. I think that there are just too many people that do self debarkation since they can get off the ship and drive home. My parents work at the port and say that a lot of people have just too much luggage to do self debark with. They struggle with their luggage and hold everyone else up. With all of this said. I do not think it has to do totally with port procedures but the huge number of people doing self debark and the amount of luggage people try to do it with.

 

The reason the ship starts embarkation late is because it gets in later then other ships. In Baltimore the ship gets in at 10:00 and other ports it is 8:00 or earlier. The reason the ship gets in late is because of the distance it has to travel. They do tell you to arrive at the port around 1:00pm.

 

No matter what. These things are part of the cruise. Be prepared. Don't let it get to you and ruin your cruise.

 

Enjoy andhave a great time,

Kevin

[BeachyLisa]

Thanks for the info Kevin and I agree that the hold-up is due to large amount of people doing self-debark. I think at one point it took a good hour between calling one deck and the next. I guess it's really just the luck of the draw -there are plenty of people who get off quickly and painlessly but I just wanted to give people a heads up to those who choose not to self-debark that it takes a while so sit back, relax and enjoy your last day!!

[dan40]

We live in Fl. so no pressure to get off the ship and on the highway. We relax and are the last off the ship. When we fly to a cruise, we fly in the day before and fly out the day AFTER at the earliest. Again, no get off NOW! pressure. We wait, relax and wander off when forced!:D

The philosophy is that the cruise isn't over until we disembark. And no, it doesn't make the cruise seem longer, disembarkation IS hateful.:mad: