Self Disembarkation - Why doesn't everyone do it?

[wwcruisers]

A

 

- No wasting time the night before having to pack. There are still lots of activities going on, and we like to enjoy our last night on board. The ship is dead the next morning, so I don't mind spending the time packing in my cabin. Well, packing is like unpacking -- you have to do it sometime. We do the opposite -- pack a little at a time, over the last day. That leaves plenty of time to do other things, and we are done with that chore before dinner.

 

- No worries that we'll accidentally pack some necessity we'll need the next morning. Our first step in packing is to separate out everything we'll wear (or need) the next day.

 

- No worries about our suitcases sitting out unprotected in the hall. Simple solution -- lock them (and don't pack your valuables in any checked luggage).

 

- No worries about our suitcases walking off from the pier before we manage to disembark. Just like an airport carousel, there's always the chance that someone else will grab your bag by mistake. We've been lucky -- nothing's gone missing in 12+ years of cruising.

 

- No wasting time trying to locate our suitcases at the pier. Some ports are definitely easier than others, when it comes to locating your luggage -- but, it usually only takes a few minutes to spot your bags, if you're paying attention to your luggage tag colors/numbers.

 

- Freedom to walk off whenever instead of being assigned a disembarkation group time which may be earlier or later than we'd prefer. I realize one can get around this assigned time, but I don't even have to think about it. Just so we're off by the time the cabin steward needs to start on our cabin. We get the earliest tag number that we can. By the time we finish breakfast, and head off to our departure lounge, our numbers are usually being called.

 

Replies are in red above. You make some very good points. Most importantly, self disembarkation is working well for you. Sadly, I've never learned to travel light, so getting all of our luggage off the ship -- at the crack of dawn -- would be much more hassle than it saves us. ;)

[Ozzmund]

Scott, we will just have to linger a bit together with you and Sue at breakfast on Nov 30th then!

See ya in 31 days!

 

EW,

 

They will have to kick us out of Blu.;)

[gwesq]

 

The line up will start about an hour before the official time...so if you really need to be the first off the ship get there at least an hour early (we were first in line in San Juan two years ago so we could make 830am flight...no problem!)...if you get there at the assigned time, there will be a long line, but still will go fairly quickly!

 

LINE? There's a LINE to get off? Sheesh - it's been many years since I've been on Celebrity (Zenith about 20 years ago), and in about 20 cruises since then I had a line to get off only once - and that was because someone fell ill on the gangplank so they held people up for a while.

 

I've never cruised on a ship this large (largest being about 1800 passengers, on HAL, and we just walked right off at our assigned time), but it was my understanding that Celebrity had it down to a science so that there were no long lines.

[beettruck]

we have self disembarked a couple of time when we have an early flight, however, lately with longer cruises, more luggage, and usually a later flight home also. we now stay on the ship as long as possible, when you are the last to leave it gets pretty easy to find your luggage when its the last ones standing in your assigned area

[OCruisers]

Sadly, we've seen people struggling to do "self disembarkation" when they were not physically able to do it. :(

 

LuLu

[stratixman]

We only do self disembarkation if we are really concerned about making an early flight and we don't have more than 1 carry on suitcase apiece to wrestle with. We try not to book flight times that would motivate us to do the self disembarkation. The self disembarkation is getting more and more inconvenient. The lines seem to start forming much earlier and earlier and it can be a mad house just making your way to tail end of the ever increasingly queue that snakes throughout the ship, then only to stand around for however long before they start it moving off the ship.

[hcat]

We're not planning on much luggage, and we'll have our car parked at the Miami port, so this sounds like a good idea for us. Wasn't aware of it. Do you get an assigned time to disembark, or do you just leave whenever you want to? THe earlier the better for us - will be anxious to pick up our pooch! :-) (the only negative about cruising - missing our doggie)

 

We must be neighbors somewhere...we live in Suffolk and have a place in Venice, Fl....also noticed the esq.

 

You fill in "self disembark" on the form you are given .....this group goes off the ship first...line up very early to avoid long lines........esp on shorter cruises or larger ships...we did it on Connie at FLL & Reflection in Miami..

[hcat]

We only do self disembarkation if we are really concerned about making an early flight and we don't have more than 1 carry on suitcase apiece to wrestle with. We try not to book flight times that would motivate us to do the self disembarkation. The self disembarkation is getting more and more inconvenient. The lines seem to start forming much earlier and earlier and it can be a mad house just making your way to tail end of the ever increasingly queue that snakes throughout the ship, then only to stand around for however long before they start it moving off the ship.

 

Fully agree that it is a hassle doing this last day of vacation, but retrieving and hunting down luggage has also become an ordeal esp at some terminals in FLL ... very disorganized and over crowded.....bedlam!

 

Have had one incident when X sailed out of NY where I had to literally run after someone who was about to put my bag in his limo...he gave me a hard time til he finally realized his error....guess he was in a big rush!

 

Also had a missing bag on Royal...they do not help you much locating it!

Edited October 19, 2015 by hcat

[POA1]

Why not self-disembark? :)

 

[neverbeenhere]

And that's for a three night cruise.

[Rob the Cruiser]

EW,

 

They will have to kick us out of Blu.;)

 

Table for six, please!

 

:)

[Queen of Oakville]

One example: say you are a family of six with more luggage than two parents can handle while trying to control rambunctious toddlers/teens?

 

Another: let's say you are elderly or have limited mobility making handling your own luggage a challenge.

 

The list could go on.

 

For some, self-debarkation works. For others it doesn't. Simple as that.

 

We knew we hit that "sweet spot" in travelling when we outgrew the need for strollers and car seats; and the kids were able to roll their own luggage :D

[kitty9]

OP, you're missing a lot of stuff. There are the elderly or disabled who cannot handle their luggage. You have families with babies and toddlers who can barely handle their kids. You have those who don't want the hassle of standing in a long line inside the ship starting at 6am in order to be off the ship in the first wave of selfers. You have the over packers who have too many bags to haul off. And you have those who just don't want the hassle of lugging huge bags.

 

Another problem is getting to the Customs line when they don't allow you to use the elevators. Most times, there are people standing at the elevators in the terminal and they will only allow those in wheelchairs or scooters or parents with buggies to use the terminal elevators, so that means you have to lug your bags down stairs or onto a escalator. Not fun with big bags.

[Blondie008]

Because after 25 years of cruising, my wifester still is worried she wont pack something she thinks she may want to wear!

 

Aside from that, if all 2500 passengers did it, what would be the benefit?

 

We would still have to get off in the same waves as we do now.

 

Bwahahahahahahaha - women in all corners of the globe - we are the same - I am in a wee cottage in Scotland right now, and my spare guest room is like a Jimmy Choo war zone - I am packing right now for two weeks on celebrity followed by a week on ncl (hubby flies home from Miami whilst I board ncl with my daughter) - I have 3 x 23kg plus 2 x 10kg plus two x laptop size allowance - we have to fly from Scotland to Amsterdam to Barcelona - then home from Miami via LHR -

and here I am ...

thinking..

I MIGHT WANT TO WEAR THAT!! :D

Self disembark - I need a CRANE!

[Velvetwater]

I think it depends on what type of person you are also and how physical you are.

 

Good travelers only pack what they can move/carry.

 

I have always done self disembark (hubby also) and my suitcase is the max allowed on airlines. It weights just under plane baggage limits, often has 10+ shoes in it and we have never done a cruise shorter than 12 days so you can imagine how massive it is. It has also been wheeled, lifted, dragged around train stations, ports and airports in various locations.

 

As a tall strong lady in her youth its fine to do the above to ensure my stuff is safe and I am with it. My husband is the same even if his bag is lighter. When my strength and stamina wain in will be a smaller bag.

 

I agree with everything the OP said...although I do not worry about packing clothes I have to wear too much.

[NorbertsNiece]

I exacerbated a slipped disc when self-disembarking once...... never again....

[Fouremco]

We knew we hit that "sweet spot" in travelling when we outgrew the need for strollers and car seats; and the kids were able to roll their own luggage :D

No, the true "sweet spot" is when the kids grow up and take care of your luggage for you! :)

[gwesq]

No, the true "sweet spot" is when the kids grow up and take care of your luggage for you! :)

 

HA! You think that's EVER going to happen????? :D

[gwesq]

We must be neighbors somewhere...we live in Suffolk and have a place in Venice, Fl....also noticed the esq.

 

You fill in "self disembark" on the form you are given .....this group goes off the ship first...line up very early to avoid long lines........esp on shorter cruises or larger ships...we did it on Connie at FLL & Reflection in Miami..

 

There's lots of us smart enough to do have that living arrangement! :-)

We're in Nassau, but I'm in West Hills several days a week at dog park.

 

Do you know Cassariano's restaurant in Venice? They just opened a place on Jericho Tpk in Mineola. Good

[RocketMan275]

No, the true "sweet spot" is when the kids grow up and take care of your luggage for you! :)

 

No, the true "sweet spot" is watching the kids struggle with their kids and their strollers and their luggage.

[Fouremco]

No, the true "sweet spot" is watching the kids struggle with their kids and their strollers and their luggage.

We have a 3 generation family cruise booked, so that "sweet spot" is coming up all too quickly! :)

[varoo]

.........The only negative I can think of is having toroll our own suitcases down the gangplank. To me, that's less of a hassle than rolling it through the airport.

 

So, what am I missing? Why do the vast majority of cruise passengers go with regular disembarkation?

While rolling down may not be bad, at some ports it has been necessary to first roll suitcases uphill when disembarking.

It depends on how the ramps are positioned that day at that port.

Not easy if one is not physically fit and has a rollaboard strapped to a 50 pound suitcase, especially with a line of impatient people behind you who are rushing to get off and don't want anyone in their path slowing them down.

 

 

Unless absolutely necessary, such as needing to be first off to catch an early flight, I see no advantage to lugging suitcases off the ship myself when the cruise line provides the service to do it for me, free of charge.

 

 

It is the same way that most passengers also give their large bags to the porters at embarkation and let the ship deliver them to their staterooms for them.

 

Although there are some passengers who insist on carrying everything on board themselves as well.

 

[MAHA]

We take longer cruises with quite a few days pre-cruise as well. There is no way to take all of our clothes that we need for the different things we need them for - daytime touring the Mediteranean, daytime on ship, casual dinners and formal nights in a carryon and backpacks. We also have the tablets, cameras, hairdryer (don't like the ones provided), electric razor for husband, toiletries, medications, etc. We do rewear clothes more than once, but I take a few bathing suits so there is always a dry one. There is no way we can do self debarkation, not even for a 7 night cruise.

[GUT2407]

We've done t, doubt ll ever again.

 

We aren't in a hurry to get away from the ship as a general rule.

 

A leisurely breakfast and disembark about 8:30 or so is our preference, last thing I need is to have to cart all the bags around with us while having breakfast.

[villauk]

last thing I need is to have to cart all the bags around with us while having breakfast.

 

Why do people do that? I can never understand why they bring their carry-ons/luggage/small cases to breakfast. It's before 9am and their cabins are still open, so why do pax feel it's necessary to clog the walkways in the Oceanview :confused:? I ask myself the same question on every cruise.