Self disembarking - first time experience-Equinox 5-14-18

We self disembarked for the first time Monday from Equinox. I never book a flight home before noon but the only non-stop options from Miami to Philly were 9:45am or 2pm. I had to get back to work early Tuesday so I decided to book the early flight home. The ONLY reason I booked the 9:45am flight home was Key West was our port the day before and knew since it was so close we would probably be back to Miami early.

It was so nice not having to have our luggage packed up and out in the hall the night before. We got up at 5:30am, got ready and headed to the Ensemble Lounge to wait at 6:45am. There was no wait for an elevator. We got to the Ensemble Lounge and there were already a lot of people waiting in line. The posted time for self disembarkation was 7:00am to 7:15am. We were only in line for 5 minutes when they opened the doors and we walked off. We walked off the ship and had to wait for an elevator as we had 3 suitcases. If you only have 1 suitcase and a free hand you are allowed to take the escalator. We only waited for the elevator a few minutes. We were curbside and in a taxi by 7:05am. There was some Monday morning traffic on the highway and at the airport but it moved along. We checked our bags curbside, were through security and having breakfast by 7:50am.

We loved how easy the process was. I personally wouldn't risk it with a flight any earlier but it worked out great for us.

We also self disembarked on this cruise! All straight forward however the elevator situation got pretty bad further down the queue! We waiting approx 10-15mins which was frustrating as the elevator was so small there was no other option!

But all in all very straight forward process! Would definitely do this again!

We always self disembark and decided to go for breakfast this time since our flight wasn’t until 10:05. We walked out of Blu at 7:33 and was through security at the airport by 8:10. We did get the TSA precheck and only had a bag each to use the escalator. Last month we waited in a long line and didn’t get off until 7:30. When we came down around 7:00 this time, the line was already off the boat. I’ll be going again in 4 weeks and I’ll see how that one goes.

I'm glad things went well for you, but a few years ago when we did self disembarkation on Eclipse, we had a much different experience. There was a very long delay, and those of us who were carrying off our own luggage did not get off at the scheduled time. So we stood and we stood and we stood and more and more people crowded into the disembarkation area. When we finally did get off, the taxi line was overwhelmed, and there was more waiting time involved. We had a 10:45am flight and just barely made it. Sometimes you just fly through the lines and get to the airport with time to spare, and sometimes you don't. Every cruise is a different experience.