Dis embarkment Day? Do we carry cases off what time to leave ship?

Hi getting ready for our first cruise Sunday can you answer a few questions please

Do we take our cases of the ship?

Do we have to be off the ship early?

Do you get time for breakfast?

When do we sort out paying our bill?

Thanks for any advice

Hi,

By arrangement you can self disembark which involves taking your own cases usually between 7.30-8am, otherwise you leave your cases out the night before, get a given time usually 8.00-10.30am (which you can ask to change) and your cases will be in the baggage hall in the port for collection when you get off. It's sometimes difficult to spot your case so you may want to tie something bright to the handle.

I think breakfast in the buffet opens from 6.00 on disembarkation day.

Your bill is automatically deducted from your credit card which is pre-authorised when you board, you can get an update of what you've spent from reception.

Have a great trip!

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You can self disembark at 07:30 if you want to get off very early but you have to carry off all your own luggage. If you do normal disembarkation you leave your luggage outside your cabin the night before and they take it and carry it off for you. You are given a disembarkation time and you can have breakfast before you leave. They also give you a venue to go on your disembarkation time, you have to go there and they slowly let people get off in groups.

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That's a great help had no idea how it worked,we won't need to rush off, and will leave cases out,

Thank you for your quick replies

As well as the buffet, the main restaurant is also open for breakfast. Opening times will be advised in your disembarkation information.

Brian

We like the self disembarkation but was a bit shocked last week on Britannia our time was 7am!! Sure it was 8am on other ships...

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We like the self disembarkation but was a bit shocked last week on Britannia our time was 7am!! Sure it was 8am on other ships...

 

 

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I think we have had 7am on occasions. Hope you had a lovely time!

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We like the self disembarkation but was a bit shocked last week on Britannia our time was 7am!! Sure it was 8am on other ships...

 

 

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Do you have to be off at that time? Or would you be allowed 30min .

During the last few days of the cruise a letter will arrive in cabin regarding precise options of disembarkation. An opportunity to request a disembarkation time slot is an option. If you fail to make a request you will be allocated one of the time slots randomly.

Overnight the non-self disembarking passengers leave the bulk of their luggage outside their cabins retaining only overnight morning requirements in a small self carry off bag. Self-disembarking passengers carry ALL their suitcases etc. off the ship in the morning unaided. Not very convenient in my opinion. You simply choose the sysytem you wish to follow.

In the morning cabins must be vacated by 8am, most people leave that final carry off little hand luggage bag separate in the wardrobe to allow cabin steward to prepare cabin for new occupants but not have to carry round to breakfast. Note that on the final day lifts become a premium as everyone seems to need them due to excess luggage carrying if they have not got most collected. I minimise the small bag as much as possible with stairs in mind.

Breakfast times are ultra early Buffet does open but is busy, I recommend the waiter service breakfast on the final day. This is a two sitting affair, on last day only, opening at two set times with a "lock out" 15 minutes after the start times.

You should have registered your credit card against your onboard cruise card account. This is charged to your credit card automatically, you just leave the ship and forget about it. The figure will be the same as was given to you on your cruise card account statement sent to your cabin. In the morning if you can find somewhere to use your cruise card a second charge will be made to credit card company e.g. £4.65 for costa coffe which keeps selling last day.

Once you have followed the printed disembarkation arrangement and got to the disembarkation waiting area you will be told at the correct moment you are clear to leave and make your way to the gangplank. Off yo go with your small hand luggage down to Southampton luggage hall. Look for the appropriate pile of cases arranged deck by deck. Put your case on the trolley you got from the entrance to the baggage hall. Alternatively grab a porter at the bottom of the stairs and give him a tip at your car.

Simple and it is all explained on the printed material delivered to your cabin and it will be straight forward.

Regards John

When we got our disembarkation information on Ventura last January it actually said that it was fine to leave hand luggage in the cabin until we had finished breakfast. This was the first time I'd seen that. We've always asked the cabin steward if it's ok to leave our hand luggage on the settee while we have breakfast and it's never been a problem. We always choose to have that final breakfast in the main restaurant - a nice leisurely way to finish the cruise rather than the scrum in the buffet. One thing that was lovely was when we've had a suite and able to have breakfast in The Epicurean or wherever was the allotted place for suite passengers to have breakfast, we could also have breakfast there the day we left.

We've done self-disembarkation several times, and we've found it increasingly hard. This was especially so on long cruises (14 nights, say), simply because of the amount of bags that we had to handle ourselves. It's also been the case that on some summer cruises to the Med, perhaps with an overall younger demographic, there were a lot of passengers opting for self-disembarkation which lead to congestion at the due time. Lots of people, snaking all around the Atrium, away from it and back into it - and then some late arrivers not understanding how long the queue was and deciding just to insert themselves into it lead to some tension. It was also hard to get lifts - they were all full of other self-disembarkers coming down from the high desks! When we boarded our most recent cruise we wondered seriously about doing regular disembarkation.

In the event, however, we did self-disembarkation and it was easy - probably the easiest we've ever experienced. Although it was a 14 night cruise we noticed that the passenger demographic seemed quite old - the cruise was to Norway and Iceland - and we guessed that not many people would opt for self-disembarkation. This turned out to be the case, and the queue was cleared within just a couple of minutes. We turned up about 10 minutes after self-disembarkation was due to start and just walked straight off. So it all depends.

Do you have to be off at that time? Or would you be allowed 30min .

Self-disembarkation probably starts at 7 on Britannia, as it is the largest ship and it does depend on what time they reach the port. We joined the queue on Aurora (not a large ship) at 8.00 a.m. and we waited over 30 minutes, so I would advise if you are not in a hurry to leave it a while for the rush to go. They do ask for you to be out of your cabin by 8.00 (I think that is all ships whether you self-disembark or not).

Don't use a credit card if you can help it as they charge 2% or something. Use a debit card.

Don't use a credit card if you can help it as they charge 2% or something. Use a debit card.

We always use a credit card for on board spend and have never had any charge added. I know that they charge if you pay for your cruise with a credit card which is why I always pay with my debit card.

Don't use a credit card if you can help it as they charge 2% or something. Use a debit card.

P&O do not charge anything for using a credit card for your on board account.

Using a debit card can give some people problems due to a reservation put on it which can take a few days to clear. This may stop some regular payments going out if you run a tight balance.

Brian

We always use a credit card for on board spend and have never had any charge added. I know that they charge if you pay for your cruise with a credit card which is why I always pay with my debit card.

I agree they only make a charge if you use a CC to pay for your cruise. We always pay the deposit for a cruise on CC in order to qualify for the extra benefits if something goes wrong, but pay the balance on debit card to avoid charges. Once onboard we pay by credit card again in case of dispute and incur no charges.

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