FreeStyle Disembarkment on the Jewel

[vivian02]

Here is something that we got while doing the first Mediterean cruise on the Jewel last week. Norwegian offer "FreeStyle Disembarkmen" for those who did not have Cruise Air and had made travel arrangements independently. After two or three color codes were called anyone who filled out the proper paper work could disembark on their own. This meant that you had to hand carry all of your luggage off of the ship on your own. It was very benefical to us since we didn't have to go over to the luggage area and seach our luggage on our own for who knows how long. Since we had a hotel already booked in Barcelona we on the ship as long as possible. We were off of the Jewel by 9:00 AM. This is one of the positives I saw in sail the Jewel in the Mediterrean. Tim and Cathy

[lufc]

When can you register for freestyle disembarcation? Is this done during the cruise? This is interesting for us because we have an early flight to catch on our june 11 med cruise and would like to be off the ship by 9am.

[Crazyshopper]

Lufc,

 

It would take you forever to catch a taxi after disembarking. I recommend you taking the NCL transfer or try to get out early. The lines for the taxi would be at least 1.5 - 2 hour (around 9 am). We caught the bus to the bottom of the Las Ramblas for $2 Euros. Some people got a taxi from here to the airport. Since we were staying in Barcelona, we just took the Metro from this point.

[mcpepe]

They've been offering this for a while now. we did it on the Jewel on our Easter week cruise. But you don't have to leave when they announce freestyle. You have your bags; you leave when you're ready. We got off after we ate breakfast.

[johnql]

I'm pretty sure NCL now offers Express Disembarkation on all their ships. It's great for people who have early flight connections or some other reason to disembark early. You usually have to sign up for it a day or two before disembarkation. The only caveat is that you have to carry all of your own baggage off the ship by yourself. If you're traveling light, it shouldn't be a problem. Also, on my last two NCL cruises (Caribbean and Mexican Riviera), only Americans were allowed to sign up for Express Disembarkation. I'm not sure whether that applies on a Med cruise.

[vivian02]

Crazyshopper is correct. If you wait past 8:30 like we did the taxi line gets pretty long. Since we had time to kill we went to breakfast at 7:00 AM and took our time since we had time to kill. We were in the taxi line at 9:10 AM and had to wait 50 minutes to get a taxi. Here is something interesting for a party of 4. Once we got to the end of the taxi line we signaled the person keeping the taxis in order that we wanted a cab for 4 (4 fingers). We got into a min van and from the dock to the Forum the cost was 23 Euros. That comes out to 5.75 Euros per person. From the Forum to the Airport we did the same thing and the total came out to 37.50 Euros or 9.37 per person. Ask at the front desk of your hotel if they make cab reservations in our case it worked out real well. Tim and Cathy

[shadsf]

Hi Vivian et al,

What was the very first disembarkation time off the Jewel? We are traveling on her in July and have a 10:05 flight...

Would you suggest we pursue an NCL transfer to the airport or cab it?

How was your cruise?

 

Thanks

Shadsf

[garycarla]

10:05 flight?

 

Keep in mind that you need to be at the airport around 2 hours ahead of time (says the airlines), then add in the time to actually get off the ship, get a cab, take the ride and you would need to be off by 7am???

 

YIKES! !

 

Suggest you read the reviews of the NCL transfer and luggage issues from those on the 4/30 Transatlantic landing in Barcelona.

[lufc]

Thanks for the advice we live in the UK and have contacted NCL in London to enquire about NCL transfers from Barcelona airport to the ship. They told us they were not available to UK passengers. We are thinking of contacting NCL in the states to try and book transfers through them,as they are offered on the US website.

[garycarla]

Why not just take a cab? This page says around 30 Euros.

 

NCL will surely charge at least that per person, then make you wait around and treat you like sheep. (gee, think I have an opinion on group transfers?)

[MidtheNight]

On our last cruise (4/30 Transatlantic) the freestyle self-debark were actually the first people allowed off the ship. As for NCL transfers they are a nightmare (both in Miami and in Barcelona) and I will never do their transfers again. Give me a cab any day.