Disembarkation

[TheChiefNL]

Called HAL today here in the Netherlands, the women couldn't give me a lot of information about this issue.... She said on the ship we will get information about disembark... If I know more I will post it here! 

[latebuyer]

Just glad i don't have to get up at 7! I'm on the noordam sept 29th before they dry dock so they shouldn't be in a rush.

[RuthC]

2 hours ago, christinand said:

Just glad i don't have to get up at 7! I'm on the noordam sept 29th before they dry dock so they shouldn't be in a rush.

Don't be so sure about that.

I was stuck on a ship that was going into dry dock. Workers were being moved into the vacated cabins, and the crew was trying desperately to get us off so they could get started, and get going.

[TheChiefNL]

On 8/15/2019 at 5:12 PM, TheChiefNL said:

Called HAL today here in the Netherlands, the women couldn't give me a lot of information about this issue.... She said on the ship we will get information about disembark... If I know more I will post it here! 

 

Just a back from our wonderful cruise to Norway! I will post a full review later with pictures.
 

About our disembarkation, first disembark time was 0700AM and later we got an email with he announcement it changed to 0530AM.
 

But thank god we had a lot of time. The Nieuw Statendam docked VCK Waterland Terminal at about 0530 AM and 0700AM they started disembarking passengers in groups. On day 2 in our cruise we got an envelope with disembarkation information and a from that we needed to fill in. There where a few option like to the City of Amsterdam, Schiphol Airport and Train Station Sloterdijk. We choose the last option because we needed to get on the train to our hometown. We could choose from 3 timeframes, 07:45/08:00, 08:15/08:30 and 08:45/09:00 am. We chose for the last one so we had enough time  onboard to go and get breakfast. Breakfast time for our disembarkation day where from 06:00 till 09:00am in the Lido and in the MDR from 06:30 till 08:00am.

They announced the group we where in (Black 3) at 09:05 and we went to the gangway and disembarked the ship for the last time…… In the hall on the dock our luggage was ready to pickup and we walked to the busses that drove us to the station.

Everything was well organized by HAL!

 

 

 

Edited August 26, 2019 by TheChiefNL

[Randyk47]

On 8/15/2019 at 2:10 PM, RuthC said:

Don't be so sure about that.

I was stuck on a ship that was going into dry dock. Workers were being moved into the vacated cabins, and the crew was trying desperately to get us off so they could get started, and get going.

 

We were on the  Maasdam that was going into dry dock after our cruise.  Never again.  Same experience as RuthC plus they started prep work with two days left on the cruise.

[latebuyer]

I'm going to look at this positively. Since i'm from the disembarkation port, it may be nice to get in early as i work the next day. And there is a starbucks a few steps away. A little concerned about drydock starting early. Sounds organized anyways.

[RuthC]

1 hour ago, christinand said:

A little concerned about drydock starting early. Sounds organized anyways.

It is well organized. 

I've been on two final cruise before a major overhaul type dry dock (including public rooms ripped out and replaced, and a swimming pool removed), and found nothing to interfere with my fun. 

On one, the crew had started taking things down while we were at HMC---our final day. We returned to find little changes. That night the shops were packing up, and the elevators were padded to prevent damage to them. 
Other than that, there was no indication that a dry dock was rapidly approaching. 

On the other ship there were workmen aboard for the last several days, at least. They worked in non-passenger areas, though. The only way to tell they were on board was to notice them in the Lido. They had steel-toed shoes, and brought their dirty plates to a pick-up station, instead of leaving them for the stewards to pick up. 
That was the cruise where workmen were boarding as passengers were disembarking. They worked on the renovations as the ship sailed to the dry dock facility. 

[Copper10-8]

On 8/14/2019 at 11:05 PM, TheChiefNL said:

This is from my boarding pass..... 

 

A few months ago we received a email that disembark location was changed from Passengers Terminal Amsterdam (PTA) to VCK Waterland Terminal. 

 

If I look at the cruise calendar of the PTA for our disembark day the Nieuw Statendam would be there from 0700AM till 0500AM. 

 

Maybe the ship let's people disembark at VCK and then sets sail to PTA to let new travelers embark???? 

 

VCK Waterland Terminal is located in an industrial part of the huge port of Amsterdam (Elbaweg 10). 25 AUG 19 (yesterday) showed three cruise ships in Amsterdam; Celebrity Reflection, Braemar and Nieuw S. Reflection and Braemar got the prime spot (two berths) Amsterdam Cruise Terminal and Nieuw S went to the Waterland Terminal where she stayed until departure. No idea why they would schedule pax disembark at the ungodly hour of 0530 hrs.

 

 

 

 

 

[przyk]

Not sure this has been said, but I would definitely let my cabin stewards know if I intended to sleep in on disembarkation day. Being the kind of person I am I would actually consult with them about the latest time they would like me to vacate the cabin.

 

On my recent cruise out of Vancouver I was up early on embarkation day and I walked to the dock to have a look around.  I saw some people loitering on the decks around 8:30 or 9 and I said to myself, hey get off the ship some of us are waiting to board, lol.

[*Miss G*]

46 minutes ago, przyk said:

I saw some people loitering on the decks around 8:30 or 9 and I said to myself, hey get off the ship some of us are waiting to board, lol.

 

They were waiting to have their disembarkation number called.  You can’t disembark until then.

[Copper10-8]

The goal is to have disembarking pax off the ship by 0930 hrs. That gives roughly two hours without pax to get them turned around by hard-working HK/Bev and Guest Services staff. 

[awhcruiser]

On 8/6/2019 at 12:58 PM, CruiserBruce said:

Wow...lots of misinformation here.

 

First of all, port involved would be important info. But generally, the ship will dock before 7am...maybe 1-2 hours, again, depending on port. But it is quite common for HAL to start disembarking by 7:15 or 7:30...but this is also influenced by Immigration and Customs procedures.

 

You may stay in your cabin until final call for disembarking, which will be around 9:30. Holland America is known for this feature...not all cruise lines allow it. You may eat breakfast...there will be a couple options for breakfast, they start earlier than normal...they don't shut down before 9am.

 

All of the above applies to your final port, when you go home. At stops along your cruise, you will be able to get off within 30 minutes of docking, in most cases.

Bingo.  Some people just assume without having all the facts.

[RevNeal]

On 8/15/2019 at 2:10 PM, RuthC said:

Don't be so sure about that.

I was stuck on a ship that was going into dry dock. Workers were being moved into the vacated cabins, and the crew was trying desperately to get us off so they could get started, and get going.

But wasn't that the time when you got to take a bit of the ship home?  😉

 

 

[RevNeal]

Other than on cruises where I'm continuing on a b2b or another segment, I'm usually off the ship before 9am so I can make it to the airport for my flight home.  On those rare occasions when I'm staying in-port for a day before flying home (as I will in January 2020), I usually ask the Front Desk for arrangements that allow me to stay aboard until the last-call to disembark the ship (usually 9:30 am).  I've done it before and it makes things easier: finding bags is a snap, taxies to get to the hotel are easy ... and it makes the wait at the hotel less annoying for check-in (I usually can get an early check-in arrangement at a Hilton Property).

[RuthC]

2 hours ago, RevNeal said:

But wasn't that the time when you got to take a bit of the ship home?  😉

 

 

No, this was another cruise, on the Volendam. I disembarked in Singapore, and it was taking an hour for a wheelchair pusher to take someone off and return to pick up the next passenger. Final call to disembark had been called an hour before I was able to get assistance. In the meantime, 'final call' was called three times. The last announcement had a certain amount of aggravation in the tone with the statement "Will any remaining passengers please disembark the ship!" 
Hey, I would if I could! My friends were the last ones off; I was the one before them. 

But the one you're referring to, Rotterdam in 2009, I was also delayed for an hour after I should have been wheeled off. I finally gave up in disgust and dragged my sorry self down the gangway. I didn't want to hold you up any longer. 
Besides, YOU were carrying my piece of the ship for me! I wanted it back!!! 

[Himself]

23 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

The goal is to have disembarking pax off the ship by 0930 hrs. That gives roughly two hours without pax to get them turned around by hard-working HK/Bev and Guest Services staff. 

That has been my experience in the many years I have been cruising

[RevNeal]

24 minutes ago, RuthC said:

Besides, YOU were carrying my piece of the ship for me! I wanted it back!!! 

 

I WAS your partner in crime in that heist!!!  Hard to believe it was that long ago.