Self Disembarking - is this allowed?

[Muffinz]

Do Princess allow passengers to  'self-disembark' with their own luggage on arrival into port?

The reason for asking is our cruise docks in Sydney (Australia) in March 2023 and we are looking at booking a return flight to New Zealand that leaves Sydney at 11:45am - this means we'd have to be at Sydney Airport by about 9am and we'd probably have to disembark by 8am to get a taxi / shuttle or train to the airport.

 

does anyone know if it is possible to do this?

 

any advice would be appreciated

[wowzz]

Yes it is possible, and usually (note the word usually) you can disembark from about 7:30 onwards.

But, the ship can be late arriving,  clearance by the authorities can take longer than anticipated etc.

Personally I would want a later flight, or at the very least,  a robust Plan B ! 

[Sea Hag]

Be sure and supply Princess with your flight details and make sure they give you the first walk-off group. If you get your debarkation info and you're not in the first group, go to customer service and ask to switch.

[Rick&Jeannie]

We have done this on several occasions.

[Steve&Karen]

We walked off with our luggage at 730 am ! so much easier before the crowds and also the 9000 cruisers in Seattle Airport going through security. 

[robncruise]

9 hours ago, Muffinz said:

Do Princess allow passengers to  'self-disembark' with their own luggage on arrival into port?

The reason for asking is our cruise docks in Sydney (Australia) in March 2023 and we are looking at booking a return flight to New Zealand that leaves Sydney at 11:45am - this means we'd have to be at Sydney Airport by about 9am and we'd probably have to disembark by 8am to get a taxi / shuttle or train to the airport.

 

does anyone know if it is possible to do this?

 

any advice would be appreciated

You might want to consider booking EZair flexible rate.   They are offering a flight at 11.45 Sydney - Auckland for the cruise I think you are on . For a slightly higher initial  cost Princess will change your flight at no additional cost if the ship is late arriving back in Sydney. Another advantage is you do not have to pay for flexible fares until final payment for the cruise is due and you can change flights and I think cancel up to 45 days before sail date.  Quite a few advantages 

[Muffinz]

39 minutes ago, robncruise said:

You might want to consider booking EZair flexible rate.   They are offering a flight at 11.45 Sydney - Auckland for the cruise I think you are on . For a slightly higher initial  cost Princess will change your flight at no additional cost if the ship is late arriving back in Sydney. Another advantage is you do not have to pay for flexible fares until final payment for the cruise is due and you can change flights and I think cancel up to 45 days before sail date.  Quite a few advantages 

Thanks but we’ll probably book directly with the airline (Air New Zealand)

the 11:45am flight works best with the arrival time in New Zealand 

there is another flight at 3:30pm but that would mean sitting around in the airport lounge in Sydney for a few hours....

[SargassoPirate]

2 hours ago, Muffinz said:

Thanks but we’ll probably book directly with the airline (Air New Zealand)

the 11:45am flight works best with the arrival time in New Zealand 

there is another flight at 3:30pm but that would mean sitting around in the airport lounge in Sydney for a few hours....

Different strokes for different folks.  The older I get, I find myself getting in less of a hurry about most things.  I would choose the later flight, have a leisurely disembarkation day breakfast and try to be among the last off the ship.  On my most recent two cruises, I even booked a hotel near the airport for that evening and took a mid-morning flight the next day.  Princess transfers makes it easy beezy.

 

I recognize that my leisurely approach doesn't work for everybody, but I spent too many years trying to cram vacation time into the weeks allotted and then rush back to be at work on Monday morning.

 

Have a wonderful cruise.

[wowzz]

3 hours ago, Muffinz said:

Thanks but we’ll probably book directly with the airline (Air New Zealand)

the 11:45am flight works best with the arrival time in New Zealand 

there is another flight at 3:30pm but that would mean sitting around in the airport lounge in Sydney for a few hours....

Depends on your stress levels.  I'm with Mr Pirate on this one. Ask for the  latest disembarkation group, relax over breakfast, and no struggling with your suitcases trying to find an empty lift.

You are talking about saving three hours - surely it is not worth the stress for such a short period of time? 

[Muffinz]

7 hours ago, wowzz said:

Depends on your stress levels.  I'm with Mr Pirate on this one. Ask for the  latest disembarkation group, relax over breakfast, and no struggling with your suitcases trying to find an empty lift.

You are talking about saving three hours - surely it is not worth the stress for such a short period of time? 

thanks for the reply.... yes the more I talk about it with the wife the more we think it might be a good idea to get the later flight.... for piece of mind really

We do have friends here that are on the same cruise and they have booked the earlier flight back to NZ

 

I would however like to be able to walk off with my own luggage though if possible....

I don't know if Princess do this but on Celebrity we had to pack our suitcase the night before disembarking and leave it outside the stateroom door, so we were left with just an overnight bag to disembark with and had to collect our suitcases at the pier after disembarking... this was a bit of a pain.

 

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, Muffinz said:

I would however like to be able to walk off with my own luggage though if possible....

You can do that, but, as you probably know, the lifts will be rammed.  

Why is it a pain to collect your luggage?  It takes no time at all to pick up your suitcases at the pier.

[Muffinz]

2 minutes ago, wowzz said:

You can do that, but, as you probably know, the lifts will be rammed.  

Why is it a pain to collect your luggage?  It takes no time at all to pick up your suitcases at the pier.

that's true, but if we are getting a taxi / shuttle to the airport straight after the cruise I'll have to find a spot at the pier somewhere to re-pack our suitcases as I'll need to pack what is in our overnight bags back into our suitcases.... we had to do this last time and it was a bit of a pain really - repacking your suitcase in front of everyone else walking past staring at you....

[wowzz]

Just now, Muffinz said:

that's true, but if we are getting a taxi / shuttle to the airport straight after the cruise I'll have to find a spot at the pier somewhere to re-pack our suitcases as I'll need to pack what is in our overnight bags back into our suitcases.... we had to do this last time and it was a bit of a pain really - repacking your suitcase in front of everyone else walking past staring at you....

We had this situation in Athens.  We just waited until we got to the airport,  found a quiet spot, and repacked there.  No body stared, and, in fact,  lots of people were doing similar activities. 

[Muffinz]

6 minutes ago, wowzz said:

We had this situation in Athens.  We just waited until we got to the airport,  found a quiet spot, and repacked there.  No body stared, and, in fact,  lots of people were doing similar activities. 

Yes - but if I'm getting in a taxi / shuttle I don't want to have to fumble about with a suitcase and an overnight bag....

Sure it's not the end of the world, but I did find it a bit of a pain

[wowzz]

4 minutes ago, Muffinz said:

Yes - but if I'm getting in a taxi / shuttle I don't want to have to fumble about with a suitcase and an overnight bag....

Sure it's not the end of the world, but I did find it a bit of a pain

Suitcase in the boot (trunk) of the taxi, and overnight bag in the boot as well, or in the car with you. How is that a pain ? Millions of pax do it every day.

And what do you do with your overnight bag,  once you have placed the contents in your suitcase, if that is your plan ?

You are over thinking this.

Edited August 30, 2022 by wowzz

[leck57]

5 hours ago, Muffinz said:

Yes - but if I'm getting in a taxi / shuttle I don't want to have to fumble about with a suitcase and an overnight bag....

Sure it's not the end of the world, but I did find it a bit of a pain

 

I agree with you. Having to leave your bag out the night before is the real pain for me. We are reasonably healthy so lugging our suitcases around is no big deal. I just wait for a lift, if we have to.

 

[SargassoPirate]

13 hours ago, Muffinz said:

Yes - but if I'm getting in a taxi / shuttle I don't want to have to fumble about with a suitcase and an overnight bag....

Sure it's not the end of the world, but I did find it a bit of a pain

It would also be a good idea to confirm, if you can, that your ship will actually dock in Sydney.   The itinerary for my next cruise in and out of Sydney shows that they will be tendering - both for embarking and disembarking passengers.  In that case they probably won't allow self-disembarkation.