earily off with your own bags

[Hawaiidan]

Other lines offer the option of carrying off your own bags... which my wife and I do because we pack right and can carry all the styff for a 30 day cruise in 3 med suit cases and a back back.
Is is possible if you carry your own stuff to debark as soon as the ship is clerared... we could do this on Regent, NCL etc.....

I see no point to waiting till 9 to 10 to get off whe the ship is cleared at 7-8 am.... It is noi deal to the crew or the baggage handeling as we have it all..... I prefer to do it this way after trying it.... no seting out stuff at 12, no digging through piles of bags, in 10 min cabin to curb ...

Will HAL me do it

[maxout]

Yes.

[LoveMyBoxer]

Other lines offer the option of carrying off your own bags... which my wife and I do because we pack right and can carry all the styff for a 30 day cruise in 3 med suit cases and a back back.
Is is possible if you carry your own stuff to debark as soon as the ship is clerared... we could do this on Regent, NCL etc.....

I see no point to waiting till 9 to 10 to get off whe the ship is cleared at 7-8 am.... It is noi deal to the crew or the baggage handeling as we have it all..... I prefer to do it this way after trying it.... no seting out stuff at 12, no digging through piles of bags, in 10 min cabin to curb ...

Will HAL me do it

We just did it when get got off the Veendam. We were off the ship by 7:30 a.m.

[ninkb]

. . . on our Noordam cruise was the self disembarking group. Works out very well for those of us who can handle our own luggage.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Yes you can do this.

Early in the cruise you will get a form to complete indicating your plans at the end of the cruise. This is where you mark that you want to do self-disembarkation.

The last full day of the cruise you will get a letter indicating the time and place to report to the next morning to leave the ship. If everything goes well you should be off the ship by 8 AM.

[pizzalady1]

The last full day of the cruise you will get a letter indicating the time and place to report to the next morning to leave the ship.

Why do you have to report somewhere at a certain time? Can't you just walk off the ship with your stuff?

[Mary Ellen]

Why do you have to report somewhere at a certain time? Can't you just walk off the ship with your stuff?It is easier if those hauling their own luggage off the ship do it before the masses are disembarking. Thus the 'self-disembarkation' is scheduled to go first. It keeps things neat and orderly. Everyone has a scheduled time.

[Hawaiidan]

:cool:
Ever since I did it years ago..I love it. Thankyou all... carrying my bags off and having the whole day to have fun is like another cruise day. and I loathed the terminal-maddness playing find the bag... one here another there... I will always opt for the carry off the bag option
1. its faster than any way off
2. your the first off
3. your first at the curb.. no lines for taxi or rental car...
On my last Alaska cruise the ship arrived at 0600, cleared at 0700 and I was in a cab heading to the Amtrack station for a 0930 Coast Starlight trip to Santa Barbara.....
Really good to hear that Hal will let you do it.. that way I can be at Epicot in Orlando before 1100 !!!....YES

Thank you all for the help (I will be trying it NOV 14 in Ft Lauderdale on the NEWT Amsterdam in in prep for next years 30 day Venice to Ft Lauderdale... checking out the ship and cabin and terminal in advance.

[Typhoon1]

We do it on every cruise. We are normally walking off the ship at 7:15 or 7:30.

[TracieABD]

We allowed HAL to take our bags off, and we were in the first group to disembark. We were off the ship and had our bags by 8 am. It was nice to just walk off the ship and collect our bags.

[dockrocker]

Self-disembarkation is great, but be sure you're able to carry your bags down several flights of stairs if necessary. Our self-disembarkation efforts have more than once been thwarted by elevator after elevator completely packed with bovine-faced slack-jawers who couldn't be bothered to walk downstairs after eating the equivalent of six meals each at the buffet.

[Hawaiidan]

Thats why I get a cabin on the main deck with the gangway a 3 min walk.

To me waiting an hour after the ship is docked and cleared is a wasted hour just to have someone carry my bag..... We most times can do 2 weeks with 1 bag and 4 weeks with 2 bags total..... thats one each

I agree on the elevators and the folks trying get that one last free meal

Main deck for ever.....

[Boytjie]

Thats why I get a cabin on the main deck with the gangway a 3 min walk.

To me waiting an hour after the ship is docked and cleared is a wasted hour just to have someone carry my bag..... We most times can do 2 weeks with 1 bag and 4 weeks with 2 bags total..... thats one each

I agree on the elevators and the folks trying get that one last free meal

Main deck for ever.....

Seriously? You book your cabin based on a quick disembarkation? Well, I never... :)

[Boytjie]

Our self-disembarkation efforts have more than once been thwarted by elevator after elevator completely packed with bovine-faced slack-jawers who couldn't be bothered to walk downstairs after eating the equivalent of six meals each at the buffet.

Wow... I hope that was meant tongue-in-cheek.

[KirkNC]

We always do self disembarkation. We are well on our way while ours are still looking for their luggage.

Kirk

[Typhoon1]

We always do self disembarkation. We are well on our way while ours are still looking for their luggage.

Kirk

Not to mention, there is no one fighting for cabs after disembarking.

[dockrocker]

Not to mention, there is no one fighting for cabs after disembarking.

That's really the best part!

[KirkNC]

Not to mention, there is no one fighting for cabs after disembarking.

Good point, you have first shot!

Kirk

[mindydaile]

While it would definitely be nice to avoid the crowds getting off I can never resist the allure of one last leisurely room service breakfast before I head off to the chaos of the airport.

[RetiredMustang]

OK, I have to apologize to OP up front, because it is the CC policy not to comment on misspellings/typos (and lord knows I done many), but this is not about the OP, it's about me. When I saw the thread title, I initially thought it said "eerily" off with your own bags, and I definitely wanted to see that thread!

But, to answer the OP's question, we've dragged our own bags twice now in Fort Lauderale, and have much enjoyed getting to our car in the parking lot and being north of Port St. Lucie by the time we would be searching for our bags in the terminal if we had done the usual debarkation routine. If you are up to humping your stuff up/down the staircases and through the terminal, go for it!

Dave

[jjb415]

Early or Express disembarkation is great for those that are able to handle all of their bags in an orgaized fashion and are able to walk without assistance. Many times I have seen people who are unable to control their luggage AND walking with canes and walkers. No joke.

[Palmetto Lady]

Self-disembarkation is great, but be sure you're able to carry your bags down several flights of stairs if necessary. Our self-disembarkation efforts have more than once been thwarted by elevator after elevator completely packed with bovine-faced slack-jawers who couldn't be bothered to walk downstairs after eating the equivalent of six meals each at the buffet.
Some people have disabilities that cannot be seen. It is painful for my husband to walk down stairs. There is no reason to be insulting. (We almost never go to the buffet, by the way.)

[Mary Ellen]

While it would definitely be nice to avoid the crowds getting off I can never resist the allure of one last leisurely room service breakfast before I head off to the chaos of the airport.As we stayed overnight in Amsterdam after our last cruise, we were among the last to disembark. We had a nice, leisurely room service breakfast and then walked off the ship at our appointed time, NO crowds, our luggage was very easy to locate, and NO taxi line. Worked like a dream for us. :D

[jjb415]

Some people have disabilities that cannot be seen. It is painful for my husband to walk down stairs. There is no reason to be insulting. (We almost never go to the buffet, by the way.)

Passengers with disabilities, pure and simple, should not be using Express or Early disembarkation. It isn't safe for them or the others.

[Hawaiidan]

To boytjie.... yes amigo taken in jest.... and I doo pick my cabins for ease of navigation... I have had everything from a butler and a penthouse to the bilge..... Have started to really enjoy the ship rather than the cabin and getting a spot that will facilitate.... plus with an atlantic crossing in november... I want to be low down ( no cabin in the engineering spaces were offered)
My wife after having all the posh now loves to be inside and we always schedule another vacation at the end of the cruise... so no need to linger.. on to the next adventure. being gainfully unemployed allows such antics
Getting the cheap diggs means more for adventure and more cruises....

So you are correct... I choose my cabin for quick on and off.. which works for shore trips too by the way

And yes aint it grand to be the only person in the taxi line... with 40 taxies waiting on you !!!!!

[Mary Ellen]

Passengers with disabilities, pure and simple, should not be using Express or Early disembarkation. It isn't safe for them or the others. :confused: Other passengers ride the elevators, besides those with early/express disembarkation. Palmetto Lady was quoting someone who couldn't use the elevators to self dis-embark because the elevators were clogged with passengers returning from breakfast at the buffet. I have no clue as to how dockrocker knows how much they consumed while there.Our self-disembarkation efforts have more than once been thwarted by elevator after elevator completely packed with bovine-faced slack-jawers who couldn't be bothered to walk downstairs after eating the equivalent of six meals each at the buffet.

[champagnepiano]

:cool:
Ever since I did it years ago..I love it. Thankyou all... carrying my bags off and having the whole day to have fun is like another cruise day. and I loathed the terminal-maddness playing find the bag... one here another there... I will always opt for the carry off the bag option
1. its faster than any way off
2. your the first off
3. your first at the curb.. no lines for taxi or rental car...
On my last Alaska cruise the ship arrived at 0600, cleared at 0700 and I was in a cab heading to the Amtrack station for a 0930 Coast Starlight trip to Santa Barbara.....
Really good to hear that Hal will let you do it.. that way I can be at Epicot in Orlando before 1100 !!!....YES

Thank you all for the help (I will be trying it NOV 14 in Ft Lauderdale on the NEWT Amsterdam in in prep for next years 30 day Venice to Ft Lauderdale... checking out the ship and cabin and terminal in advance.

We are coming off a ship at San Pedro in October and then hustling to the Amtrak in Anaheim (we're going south to SDG) to board a HAL the next day. Our plan is to carry our bags off first as we would like to make the earliest train in order to have more time in San Diego. Ours is the only ship in port that day but it's hard to picture the logistics in order to determine if we should pre-book a ride with a shuttle or cab or if it's much simpler to get a cab when we exit the terminal. Is there a base price for a cab to the Amtrak (we are told that Anaheim and LAX are the same distance from the port)? We're fine with paying the norm but we have earned our fair share of "being had" by cab drivers, etc. that if we can ask folks who are lookingout for each other then why not? Any info or tips you might have would be very appreciated.

[Kay240]

but not as "light" as some.

Last April, we cruised to/from San Diego where the airport is very close to the cruiseport. If we didn't take the early flight we would have had to travel during the night and further upset "our internal clocks" which had passed through several time zones and crossed the International Date Line- twice. Of course staying another day was a possibility, but we had already been away 5 weeks and DH was due to have surgery in a few days.

Being worried about getting to the airport on time, we chose to "walk off", which we had never done before. We usually stay on the Dolphin deck where the sea feels calmer... DH wanted to take our suitcases down the one flight of stairs, but the stairs were packed with like-minded cruisers and I am too short to carry a big suitcase, assuming I could lift it.;) I felt DH wouldn't make it off the ship alive if he attempted to carry both suitcases and not have access to the railing.:eek: The ELEVATORS WERE PACKED with cruisers who also wanted to "walk-off". The only solution was to press the elevator for "UP", and then enjoy the ride down to "A". (I realize that disembarkation can occur from different decks, depending on the situation; the point is to take the elevator in the reverse direction)! We walked off the ship, gave our Customs form to a person standing at the end of the gangway, and into a cab with plenty of time for our flight. :D

[surfergirle]

We have our check in at 3 or 4 at our hotel, and hopefully we will get an early check in at the Ritz Carlton.
So might as well stay on the ship.

[Hlitner]

We have always wondered why a lot of folks want to be the first off a ship. We can understand that some need to catch an early flight which means they must get off early. But we keep meeting folks that are not in a hurry to go anywhere but want to be off the ship early. For us, unless we have an early flight we prefer to be the last off the ship. Why not enjoy the ship as long as possible? While others are waiting in long lines to get off the ship, dragging their own luggage, or trying to find their luggage among thousands of other pieces, we are usually relaxing in a deck chair on the pool deck with a cup of coffee. Assuming the weather is good, we can just relax, enjoy the harbor views, and read a book ...just like a day at sea. Then sometime about 9:30 or 10 when just about everyone is off the ship we simply take an elevator down to the correct deck, walk off the ship, grab our luggage (very easy to find at this point) and walk out of the terminal to the waiting taxis (no lines at this point). No sweat, no hassles, no lines....what could be better?

Hank

[vbmom87]

We have always wondered why a lot of folks want to be the first off a ship. We can understand that some need to catch an early flight which means they must get off early. But we keep meeting folks that are not in a hurry to go anywhere but want to be off the ship early. For us, unless we have an early flight we prefer to be the last off the ship. Why not enjoy the ship as long as possible? While others are waiting in long lines to get off the ship, dragging their own luggage, or trying to find their luggage among thousands of other pieces, we are usually relaxing in a deck chair on the pool deck with a cup of coffee. Assuming the weather is good, we can just relax, enjoy the harbor views, and read a book ...just like a day at sea. Then sometime about 9:30 or 10 when just about everyone is off the ship we simply take an elevator down to the correct deck, walk off the ship, grab our luggage (very easy to find at this point) and walk out of the terminal to the waiting taxis (no lines at this point). No sweat, no hassles, no lines....what could be better?

Hank

We got off early on our Alaska cruise because we had an early excursion we were booked on. As you said, some have early flights or a full day planned in their disembarkation port. Otherwise, I would just relax and enjoy whatever time I was allowed to stay on board. That is what we did in Hawaii.