Best time to disembark

[megs193]

My son and I are going on Liberty of the Seas in less than 2 weeks and I keep hearing stories of how bad the lines to get off the ship are. We are staying in Florida at a hotel on the beach so we don’t have to rush to get anywhere. Is it better to walk off our luggage early or wait until most people have left the ship?  If we waited until the end, any idea about what time that would be?  Thanks!

[Ashland]

More than likely you'll need to be off around 9am. Personally we find it less crowded to do self assist.

[shipgeeks]

Assuming Liberty is similar to Enchantment, you will be asked to vacate your cabin no later than 8am. Whether you are okay with staying longer, while lugging around at least your carryons, is up to you. But then you will most likely be expected to leave the ship around 9 or so, at the latest, if I recall.

[steveru621]

There is no need to walk off your luggage if you are not pressed for time.

[George C]

Everyone will be asked to leave at 9 :30 at the latest, that’s when we leave unless we have a early flight .

[hotsauce126]

The easiest way if you’ve got nowhere to be is to wait until the end. This was an extreme example but when I was on the independence in august we did self assist debarkation and stood in line for over an hour and a half trying to get off the ship

Edited February 13, 2023 by hotsauce126

[fredflint]

last cruise we walked off and used some extra point to book the room for the day before, ship docks on Sunday we booked room for Saturday and Sunday so we could walk off the ship avoid the hassles and then  check into out room at 10:30 and enjoy the beach for the day with no hassles at all!

[megs193]

2 hours ago, George C said:

Everyone will be asked to leave at 9 :30 at the latest, that’s when we leave unless we have an early flight .

I see that breakfast ends at 8am. If you are seated by then can you enjoy a leisurely breakfast until 9:30 or do they need you out before then?

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, megs193 said:

My son and I are going on Liberty of the Seas in less than 2 weeks and I keep hearing stories of how bad the lines to get off the ship are. We are staying in Florida at a hotel on the beach so we don’t have to rush to get anywhere. Is it better to walk off our luggage early or wait until most people have left the ship?  If we waited until the end, any idea about what time that would be?  Thanks!

Please understand that there is not much time difference between first and last. 
 

Send your bags down to the baggage hall. Enjoy your breakfast. And leave. Be aware that some hotels won’t let you check in until the afternoon. 

[Mum2Mercury]

3 hours ago, steveru621 said:

There is no need to walk off your luggage if you are not pressed for time.

Unless you want to skip the chore of searching for your luggage in a sea of bags.  

Assuming you're able-bodied, wheeling a suitcase off is no difficulty.  

3 hours ago, hotsauce126 said:

The easiest way if you’ve got nowhere to be is to wait until the end. This was an extreme example but when I was on the independence in august we did self assist debarkation and stood in line for over an hour and a half trying to get off the ship

I'm curious:  At what time did you join this long line?  

 

When we leave the ship, we have an 8-hour drive ahead of us, so we want to get off as early as possible.  We join the line 7:00-7:15ish ... and it tends to take 30 minutes to reach our car.  

[mscinmia]

Just curious are you on the 4 night or 3 night?  If you are on the 3 night you will debark at T18 which has facial recognition.  But the 4 night MAY debark at T19 which is face to face ( no facial) and that is where the lines build.  If at T19, I would plan to self assist and get off early.  T18, take your time....

 

[mjkacmom]

19 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Please understand that there is not much time difference between first and last. 
 

Send your bags down to the baggage hall. Enjoy your breakfast. And leave. Be aware that some hotels won’t let you check in until the afternoon. 

I’ve never stayed at a hotel that wouldn’t let me check in until the afternoon. Rooms usually weren’t ready but they stored luggage.

[DaKahuna]

On 2/13/2023 at 5:37 PM, megs193 said:

My son and I are going on Liberty of the Seas in less than 2 weeks and I keep hearing stories of how bad the lines to get off the ship are. We are staying in Florida at a hotel on the beach so we don’t have to rush to get anywhere. Is it better to walk off our luggage early or wait until most people have left the ship?  If we waited until the end, any idea about what time that would be?  Thanks!

 

 My recommendation would be go have a nice leisurely breakfast in the MDR, go back to your room, double check that you have not forgotten anything, take your belongings and go find a comfortable place to hang out and wait until you hear the announcement that all baggage tags have been called and proceed to the gangway in a leisurely manner.   You will need to be out of your room not later than 8 - 8:30 AM usually so that has to be taken into consideration.  

 

 Unfortunately, as @mjkacmomsaid, most hotels, especially around cruise ports are busy on debarkation/embarkation days and rooms are not ready until the afternoon.   We normally have a flight that arrives in Fort Lauderdale around noon and what we do is go to the hotel, drop our bags off with the bell desk, and then go do what we want to do for a couple of hours and then come back to the hotel and wait until our room is ready.  We find grabbing a nice lunch a good way to pass the time.  Taking a walk in warm weather is also nice for us since we live in Virginia where it is currently in the 30 - 55 degree range. 

 

[fredflint]

last cruise we walked off and used some extra point to book the room for the day before, ship docks on Sunday we booked room for Saturday and Sunday so we could walk off the ship avoid the hassles and then  check into out room at 10:30 and enjoy the beach for the day with no hassles at all!

 

I will always be booking that early night if I want to get to the hotel when I get off the ship.   We usually just like to wind down and then plan our day the cost for one more day of a room is not that much and if you have points it is even less of an issue.

[DaKahuna]

@fredflint I love that idea but my DW can think of nothing else but getting home.  

 

[megs193]

6 hours ago, mscinmia said:

Just curious are you on the 4 night or 3 night?  If you are on the 3 night you will debark at T18 which has facial recognition.  But the 4 night MAY debark at T19 which is face to face ( no facial) and that is where the lines build.  If at T19, I would plan to self assist and get off early.  T18, take your time....

 

We are on the 3 night so that is good to hear. I took my other son on a 3 night cruise last year and loved how easy it was to get off the ship with the facial recognition.