Can you share your experiences .....

[puggylicious]

about self debarkation off the Pride? How much luggage did you carry off? Were the elevators crazy? I'm getting ready to pack and wonder if it's worth doing self debarkation.

[wareaglefan]

Not on your ship, but we have done it twice and it was so easy. We didn't use elevators, went down stairs. We each had 1 large, small, and booze boxes from ship. Not a problem. Up and out early. Also we are in our 60's.

 

Have fun on cruise.

[puggylicious]

Not on your ship, but we have done it twice and it was so easy. We didn't use elevators, went down stairs. We each had 1 large, small, and booze boxes from ship. Not a problem. Up and out early. Also we are in our 60's.

 

Have fun on cruise.

 

Thank your for your reply. That was just what I was hoping to hear :).

[KruznKel]

Never been on the PRide but have done self embarkaton on many other ships some have been painless others have been hell.. hard to say.. you take your chances.. some people think that 4 bags on top of each other is baggage they can handle.. go figure I dunno

[vacruizer]

We did regular debark. But it seemed like most of the ship opted for self debark - maybe because the time getting into port at 10am is so much later than most sailings and more people were in a hurry? The self debark process seemed organized but was VERY long - lasting until just before noon before they even started calling regular numbers. They would call a deck for self debark and it would be 20 minutes or longer sometimes before they called another. We had a low tag for regular debark - #7 - and were off the ship by around 12:15.

 

The Baltimore terminal is a bit different from others I've sailed from. Normally you debark straight into the terminal building and then can take an escalator or elevator down to ground level. In Baltimore it is a very steep exterior ramp from where you debark a few decks up down to the ground outside of the terminal. We did self-debark in Miami last year very easily, but I'd skip it in Baltimore mainly due to trying to roll your luggage behind you down that steep ramp without it running into you or someone else.

[cruisetobeaches]

We've done it a lot and have found that sometimes it is quick and organized and other times a real circus!

 

It helps a lot if people wait until their deck is called instead of all trying to get off at once. i've seen some real traffic jams!

[puggylicious]

We did regular debark. But it seemed like most of the ship opted for self debark - maybe because the time getting into port at 10am is so much later than most sailings and more people were in a hurry? The self debark process seemed organized but was VERY long - lasting until just before noon before they even started calling regular numbers. They would call a deck for self debark and it would be 20 minutes or longer sometimes before they called another. We had a low tag for regular debark - #7 - and were off the ship by around 12:15.

 

The Baltimore terminal is a bit different from others I've sailed from. Normally you debark straight into the terminal building and then can take an escalator or elevator down to ground level. In Baltimore it is a very steep exterior ramp from where you debark a few decks up down to the ground outside of the terminal. We did self-debark in Miami last year very easily, but I'd skip it in Baltimore mainly due to trying to roll your luggage behind you down that steep ramp without it running into you or someone else.

 

Hmmm this info is very helpful. Thank you.

[Barbados1999]

we were also on the Pride and it is MUCH different than other ships. you do not have the luxury of an elevator/escalator as you leave the ship and enter the terminal.

 

a previous poster described the ramp as being steep. he/she is correct. it's not only steep, it's not very wide, either.

 

DH and i found it to be very tricky maneuvering our luggage off the Pride. i had one suitcase in front of me and one behind me ... DH did the same. there wasn't enough room to pull them both behind/beside me like we usually do ... had to put one in front and push that suitcase while pulling one behind me.

 

we believe the fact that it takes each person a bit longer to maneuver all their luggage down this tricky ramp causes the entire debarkation process to back up.

 

when the cruise director explains self-debarkation and mentions that you have to be able to carry all your luggage easily .... he's not kidding.

 

my suggestion .... unless you have a very good reason why you have to carry all your luggage off the ship, it's a good idea to let them take most of your luggage the night before.

 

when you're boarding the ship as you arrive, check out the ramp and determine for yourself if you think you can manage all your luggage coming DOWN the ramp.

 

have a great cruise! .... you'll love the Pride !!!

 

here's a picture ... it's not a closeup, but you can see the ramp ... it's the blue tarp that runs diagonally along the side of the ship. hope this helps. (double-click on the picture to make it larger.)