Disembarkation - Serenade in Boston

[artvlay]

Trying to make plans. On average, what time do they normally clear the ship for guests to depart? This will be a Bermuda cruise.

[138east]

Why are you asking? Where do you have to be and when?

 

I'm sailing Serenade just after you. I expect to self disembark and be off the ship to be picked up at 7:30 am.

[nicstress]

Why are you asking? Where do you have to be and when?

 

I'm sailing Serenade just after you. I expect to self disembark and be off the ship to be picked up at 7:30 am.

Why do they need to tell you that? Good grief!

 

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[Langley Cruisers]

Why do they need to tell you that? Good grief!

 

Not really good grief. People usually ask for a specific reason - flight time, cab availability, getting a ride, all kinds of things. As well, sometimes disembarkation can be a little longer than expected after a trans-Atlantic or -Pacific cruise, or a repo cruise. She was just asking in order to better answer the question.

[138east]

Not really good grief. People usually ask for a specific reason - flight time, cab availability, getting a ride, all kinds of things. As well, sometimes disembarkation can be a little longer than expected after a trans-Atlantic or -Pacific cruise, or a repo cruise. She was just asking in order to better answer the question.

Thank you! You expressed exactly what I was thinking better than I could have! More details can only improve the quality of the advice.

[nicstress]

Again, not sure why that really affects what time the ship normally clears and starts letting people off? What am I missing? The OP said it was a Bermuda cruise. The reason they need to know is irrelevant and won't affect that one bit. If you knew you should have just said when I sailed it was 7 am. Done.

 

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[artvlay]

I am meeting a friend after dismbarking, and attemping to coordinate time. I am self-embarking, and wondering will I be off ship by 7:30.

[Clarea]

I am meeting a friend after dismbarking, and attemping to coordinate time. I am self-embarking, and wondering will I be off ship by 7:30.

The first self-assist guests are usually getting off in US ports around 45 minutes after arrival. If you want to be one of the first off the ship, get into the self-assist line at least 30 minutes early.

[138east]

I am meeting a friend after dismbarking, and attemping to coordinate time. I am self-embarking, and wondering will I be off ship by 7:30.

It sounds like you could be on my 9/23 cruise! I'm targeting a 7:30 pickup by my husband so we can attend a breakfast in Maine! If the ship is on time, I think it's doable. I did something similar on another Radiance class ship last year in Vancouver and it was just fine. The secret is to get to the staging area before the appointed time.

[artvlay]

It sounds like you could be on my 9/23 cruise! I'm targeting a 7:30 pickup by my husband so we can attend a breakfast in Maine! If the ship is on time, I think it's doable. I did something similar on another Radiance class ship last year in Vancouver and it was just fine. The secret is to get to the staging area before the appointed time.

 

Yes, 138east, we are on the cruise with you. Thanks for the information.

Marshall

[Pitbull1130]

Yes, 138east, we are on the cruise with you. Thanks for the information.

Marshall

 

 

The 9/23 cruise has been labeled Awesome due to great passengers.................I see some in this post.............

[Gr8scotty]

Just a follow up after disembarking the Serenade in Boston yesterday; hopefully not the norm but it was terrible. We showed up at 7:40 AM at the directed location (tropical theater) for self disembarkation at 8:15 AM. The crew was directing traffic against one another after separating passengers from their luggage resulting in total gridlock.

 

I am not sure what the problem was but it was everyone around us was complaining that it was the worst they had ever seen with a nearby fireman (passenger) commenting on what a potentially unsafe situation it was. Sadly a blemish at the end of a wonderful cruise with us finally getting off the ship around 9:10 AM. :(

[LadyBerard]

We also just returned from the 9/23 Bermuda sailing, and we also carried off our own luggage. It was about 9:30 when we finally got off the ship. We're cruising on the Jewel of the Seas out of Miami on 1/18, and our flight is 11:50 a.m. out of Fort Lauderdale. We plan on carrying our luggage off on that trip too. I sure hope that disembarking isn't a fiasco like this past trip was.

[Gr8scotty]

We also just returned from the 9/23 Bermuda sailing, and we also carried off our own luggage. It was about 9:30 when we finally got off the ship. We're cruising on the Jewel of the Seas out of Miami on 1/18, and our flight is 11:50 a.m. out of Fort Lauderdale. We plan on carrying our luggage off on that trip too. I sure hope that disembarking isn't a fiasco like this past trip was.

 

The very best of luck in Miami, hopefully this one was an anomaly.

[138east]

I also had a delayed disembarkation yesterday. This is what I found out.

1). Folks who spent over the customs limit of $800 (ship store purchases only) were required to show up at 6:45 am with their receipts to declare their purchases and pay duty if applicable. Don't know how long that took, but I might have more info on that later this week (Someone I met spent over that limit).

2). I was in group 1 for disembarkation. We met in the Safari lounge at 7:20 and were escorted down to deck 5 at about 7:40. We then stood in an unmoving line until about 8:20. Ugh! Once the line started to move, it was quick and seamless - ding your Seapass card, show the immigration guy your passport, walk outside, ding your Seapass again, and walk off the ship.

 

The word was that they are trying out a new procedure in Boston. I have no idea why we waited 40 minutes in line unless the immigration folks just didn't start until 8 am or the customs check took longer than expected. After reading the other posts, I feel I was very lucky to only stand in line 40 minutes. My husband was there to pick me up and we made it to the wedding brunch a bit late but not too late.

[luvscruising2007]

Our worst debarkation was in Boston after a trans atlantic. I always blamed it on customs but now I wonder.``

[njkruzer]

Disembarked 2x in Boston after TAs, the last time on 9/11 this year. Terrible both times.

[artvlay]

This nightmare disembarkation yesterday was due to the totally incompetent RC staff. We were the very first people who got to the Tropical Theatre at 6:30. There had to be in excess of 800 people self embarking sent to the theatre at one time. What genius on the ship thought it was smart for all these people to be crammed into a theatre with steps with all their luggage, liquor boxes and other miscellaneous packages? The walkway into the theater was lined with luggage and their owners at the instructions of staff.

It was very lucky that there wasnt a dangerous incident. Once they began having people start the trek to the dining room at the total opposite end of the ship it only got worst. It totally clogged the hallway from the theatre to dining room.

Corporate needs to review thought process of these officers.

[luvscruising2007]

This nightmare disembarkation yesterday was due to the totally incompetent RC staff. We were the very first people who got to the Tropical Theatre at 6:30. There had to be in excess of 800 people self embarking sent to the theatre at one time. What genius on the ship thought it was smart for all these people to be crammed into a theatre with steps with all their luggage, liquor boxes and other miscellaneous packages? The walkway into the theater was lined with luggage and their owners at the instructions of staff.

It was very lucky that there wasnt a dangerous incident. Once they began having people start the trek to the dining room at the total opposite end of the ship it only got worst. It totally clogged the hallway from the theatre to dining room.

Corporate needs to review thought process of these officers.

 

The horrendous line from the theater to the dining room was what happened on our cruise. After awhile they stopped calling numbers and it was more chaotic. That was almost 10 years ago on the Jewell.

[BallofGoof]

It was a cluster on Sunday. We showed up at the theater around 7:40 as well, and when we saw that people were being told to leave their luggage in the hall and form a line, we said "nope!". Went outside on the deck (port side) and enjoyed the sunshine for a bit - even took a deck chair down to catch up on emails :-) Once the line started at a pace that was slightly more than glacial, we got back in line, and that still took about 30-35min.

[ticketsunlimited]

I also had a delayed disembarkation yesterday. This is what I found out.

1). Folks who spent over the customs limit of $800 (ship store purchases only) were required to show up at 6:45 am with their receipts to declare their purchases and pay duty if applicable. Don't know how long that took, but I might have more info on that later this week (Someone I met spent over that limit).

2). I was in group 1 for disembarkation. We met in the Safari lounge at 7:20 and were escorted down to deck 5 at about 7:40. We then stood in an unmoving line until about 8:20. Ugh! Once the line started to move, it was quick and seamless - ding your Seapass card, show the immigration guy your passport, walk outside, ding your Seapass again, and walk off the ship.

 

The word was that they are trying out a new procedure in Boston. I have no idea why we waited 40 minutes in line unless the immigration folks just didn't start until 8 am or the customs check took longer than expected. After reading the other posts, I feel I was very lucky to only stand in line 40 minutes. My husband was there to pick me up and we made it to the wedding brunch a bit late but not too late.

 

 

138, my wife and I are getting the ship Sunday for the same cruise. Any tips you can think of before we head out? We live in Maine and will be driving down early Sunday morning. Did you get a pass at Bermuda for Transportation? Dan

[138east]

138, my wife and I are getting the ship Sunday for the same cruise. Any tips you can think of before we head out? We live in Maine and will be driving down early Sunday morning. Did you get a pass at Bermuda for Transportation? Dan

This was a very laid back cruise for me. I only went to Tobacco Bay and the Kings Wharf area, so no bus pass. Hopefully they will improve the disembarkation. Tons of folks were from the Boston area and it sounds like they all decided to self disembark.

[Tricia724]

This disembarkation was an utter mess, and I put the blame squarely on the heads of the cruise line. As others have said, they had a huge number of people carrying off their own luggage, and there was no game plan in place to manage the disembarkation.

 

Every other line I've sailed has sent out a questionnaire early in the cruise asking about your plans to disembark....whether you are taking a cruise line transfer, flying out independently, planning to carry off your own luggage, etc. Since we had a noon flight out, I went down to the information desk and was told that RC "doesn't do that" (send out questionnaires) and has a "general disembarkation." What is that? Eventually I learned that we had been assigned baggage tags #41, which was the last group scheduled to get off at 9:40 AM, and I was able to get that changed to tag #14 for departure at 8:40 AM.

 

We were on the 9th floor and were supposed to go to the theater to wait for our numbers to be called. We couldn't get there. We attempted to walk down with our carry-ons but got stuck on the landing of the 6th floor, buried in a sea of people trying to carry off their luggage. Cruise line people were out in the hall shouting that people NOT carrying off their luggage should proceed to the theater and take a seat. How? It was wall to wall people, and some self disembarkers were frustrated and if anyone tried to move in any direction, they thought people were cutting in front of them and it was starting to get ugly where we were. It was a good half hour before we could even get into the theater which was also packed with people.

 

Bottom line.....Tag #14 got off the ship at 10 AM. Fortunately we found our bags quickly and got to the airport with time to get to the gate before it closed 15 minutes prior to departure. Big relief.

 

We were on this ship the previous week for their New England cruise, and disembarkation was much smoother. Not nearly as many people carrying off their own luggage. But, if the cruise line doesn't know what to expect, how can it control the outcome?

[ticketsunlimited]

We are on this cruise, leaving Sunday. We are from Maine with no flights needed. In saying that we just planned on our son picking us up and just walking off with our Luggage. We do that most of our cruises regardless of needing to fly.

Hearing what you are saying would it just be as easy to put our luggage out the night before and taking our time getting out of there? Please give me your thoughts. Dan

[artvlay]

We are on this cruise, leaving Sunday. We are from Maine with no flights needed. In saying that we just planned on our son picking us up and just walking off with our Luggage. We do that most of our cruises regardless of needing to fly.

Hearing what you are saying would it just be as easy to put our luggage out the night before and taking our time getting out of there? Please give me your thoughts. Dan

 

 

I think putting your luggage out the night before and taking your time getting off.

I don't trust the Royal Caribbean BUFFOONS to do it properly.

The procedure reminded me of the end of Animal House with Kevin Bacon screaming.