Embarking and disembarking

[Hibiscus13]

Hi all -

 

Only 5 months to go until our first cruise, and while I've found so much information here on CC, I have some questions about getting on and off the ship.

 

We are leaving San Juan on Summit on November 27 - I believe we sail at 8:00pm. What time should we be at the pier? Will there be lines according to state rooms (we are in a Sky Suite)? How long should we expect to wait to board the ship, rather, from the time that we arrive at the pier to the time we are on the ship - how long will it take?

 

When we arrive back at San Juan, what's the reverse process like? We are in no panic to get off the ship as we are staying a few days in SJ. I have read that you leave your luggage out the night before - do you have to do that? Can you take it off the ship yourself?

 

Thanks as always for any insight.

[cruisestitch]

Info on what time to board comes with your cruise documents. Also be sure to note which pier you will be sailing from as there are two in use in SJU, so know which one to tell a taxi driver to take you to.

 

You can carry your luggage off with you, but it's not really a bother to put it out the night before and pick it up in the terminal before you go through customs/immigration as it forces you to pack rather than throwing stuff in willy nilly in the morning. Cabs will be plentiful at the pier.

[Lsimon]

Our experience is regardless of the time stated in your cruise documents, boarding will begin by noon unless there was a very unusual problem in the preceding cruise. Sometimes it starts as early as 11. It has taken around 30 - 45 minutes from drop off at the pier to getting on board. There has been a line for baggage check in, one for cruise line check in, one for security screening and finally a short one to get your picture taken as you board. There will be lines for those in Suites, a couple different Captains Club (frequent cruiser club) lines, a line for those with xpress passes (print yours from the Celebrity website after final payment) and one for everyone else. Often we qualify for 3 different lines and it is a tossup as to which line is fastest and the differences are not usually great.

 

If you do board early, your stateroom will probably not be ready until 1PM. You'll be directed to buffet area for lunch but can explore any public area on the ship.

 

You can take your luggage off the ship yourself but if you have more than one bag each it might be difficult handling the gangway and such. There will not be porters available until you get to the area where those who put their luggage out go to claim it. As a suite holder you'll have some priority for certain times but they generally assign times based on airline flights more or less. When we're not in a rush we usually take our time disembarking and have breakfast in the main dining room about 20 or 30 minutes before their closing time, then clear out our room and head to the waiting area for our area to be called, if it hasn't already. As a suite holder you'll likely have a nicer disembarkation waiting area.

 

Also - Celebrity and RCL always do their initial disembarkations from the Pan Am Pier in San Juan - a short cab ride accross the bay from Old San Juan. They only use the ports in Old San Juan for port of call stops.

[CathyCruises]

One point--be sure to bring a small bag to pack your overnight things in for the last night. And save something to wear on the last day before putting your bags out! Always funny stories about people having to disembark in their skivvies. We usually put our bags out after changing from dinner so we can out our nicer clothes in the suitcases.

[Denny01]

Normally, I'd agree that getting there at 11am or so works just great. The directions given in the documents usually say 1 or 2pm, but it starts at 11am or so. But, if your cruise is departing at 8pm, that may be too early. For a later departure at 8pm, I'd get there at 1-2pm, double check your departure time.

 

Agree, Celebrity uses the Pan American Pier at Isla Grande, not the Pier right at Old Town. The taxi driver will know which pier to go to. Very common. We didn't have a line for luggage, we had a porter meet us at the taxi, to take our info and took our luggage in for us..no lines. Took 15min from arrive to walkon and we weren't Elite or Suite on that cruise...very smooth and quick.

 

For departure, I kind of agree with the other posters, I'd pack (except what you need that night and the next day!) the night before and let Celebrity take it off the ship for you since you aren't in a huge rush. Very relaxing and easy way to disembark. Even with a few pieces, you'll have to use the elevators and that can be a challenge on departure time. Just keep one roll-on with you, and walk on down and off the ship. The luggage will be lined up by color coding waiting for you. You can grab it or have a porter get it, go through security and off you go!

 

Enjoy, and remember, this is your vacation and we are just giving our advice on how we'd do ours, do as you wish.

 

Denny

[Hibiscus13]

Thanks for the responses. I take it then, that the pier where we will embark and disembark from is not the one right across the street from the Sheraton in Old San Juan? I thought it would be cool to just walk on over to the cruise ship...

 

Is the luggage area secure? I hate the idea of leaving luggage out in the hallway overnight - even if it's locked, it's unattended and that freaks me out a bit.

 

I also don't know if I want to take an 'extra' bag to pack things into for the last night....can anyone who has taken their own luggage off the ship comment on their experience?

[lasella]

Different cruise line - msc - but we had stuff stolen from end pockets of our luggage somewhere along the line. Between putting cases out the night before cruise docked to getting back to UK. We will be taking our own bags off next time!

[celebritydave]

We have always put our luggage out the night before, and have never had a problem with anything missing. Taking your luggage yourself can be a real hassle. You may not even be able to get on the elevator right away.

 

You don't need to keep an extra bag before you get off the ship, just make sure you have kept out all the clothes and shoes you need for the next day. A friend of ours packed all her shoes and had to get off the ship barefoot.

 

Dave

[bubbie617]

On a cruise, we always shower before we dress for dinner. On the last night of the cruise, we wear whatever clothing we're going to wear the next day to travel home. Although they don't like jeans in the dining room, they look the other way on the last night. We've never been refused service because we were wearing them (that last night.) We just keep some fresh underwear for the morning and everything else can get packed.

 

We always leave our locked luggage out at night and have never had a problem. We keep valuables like jewelry and medicines with us and put them in our carry-on.

[txsloth]

Is the luggage area secure? I hate the idea of leaving luggage out in the hallway overnight - even if it's locked, it's unattended and that freaks me out a bit.

 

 

The hallways are all monitored--both by security personnel and the "eye in the sky." Just keep valuables with you in a carry on bag.

[txsloth]

Also - Celebrity and RCL always do their initial disembarkations from the Pan Am Pier in San Juan - a short cab ride accross the bay from Old San Juan. They only use the ports in Old San Juan for port of call stops.

 

Is this relatively new? I'm fuzzy on the details, but I swear for our one cruise out of San Juan (back in '04) we sailed in and out of the pier by Old San Juan. In fact I'm pretty sure we stepped off the ship and stored our bags across the street at a hotel/casino and walked to the fort.

[2theship]

I also don't know if I want to take an 'extra' bag to pack things into for the last night....can anyone who has taken their own luggage off the ship comment on their experience?

 

We usually have an extra soft bag that we pack along to take to the beach or whatever. It's handy to have on the last night to put a make-up bag and shaving kit into along with jammies, etc. After we reclaim our luggage we can stuff the overnight things in with everything else.

 

I agree about taking your time at disembarkation. We've only used the express walk off option when we've had an early flight. Make yourself comfy and enjoy your breakfast. A couple of days before the end of the cruise, you'll get a questionnaire about your post cruise plans and that will determine your order to get off the ship. If you're staying in San Juan, you'll probably be among the last.

[dzcruisers]

 

Is the luggage area secure? I hate the idea of leaving luggage out in the hallway overnight - even if it's locked, it's unattended and that freaks me out a bit.

 

I also don't know if I want to take an 'extra' bag to pack things into for the last night....can anyone who has taken their own luggage off the ship comment on their experience?

 

We have never had anything stolen when we've left our bags in the hallway and we've done it every cruise. Each of us taking a carry on is enough of a hassle. I would not attempt to take my own bags. We always get a porter who gets our bags, escorts us through customs and right to a cab for our hotel.

We, too, wear to dinner the last night what we're going to wear off the ship. We don't bring an extra bag because my makeup and medications go in my carry on anyway. We put all valuables in our carry on when we fly and when we cruise. I think the bags are probably as safe or safer than when you check them to fly.

We enjoyed staying over in San Juan and it was easier to fly out two days later because of the lack of other cruise passengers.

Have a great cruise! We had lunch on the ship because we were there a couple of days before. Otherwise you can look around San Juan that day and get on the ship later.

[CathyCruises]

I have done it both ways. It was very nice to do the walk-off with luggage; however, that generally means you have to be off the ship by 6:30~!!! I had to catch a train so it was my only option. In many, many cruises I have never had anything go missing from my bags, but I always carry the real valuables with me anyway--jewelry, camera, etc. If someone wants to dig around in my dirty clothes for buried treasure, have at it!

 

If you are not in a hurry as you say, please consider the slower, more relaxed option. ALL cruise lines do it that way, asking for luggage to be out by 11PM or so; if it was a real problem, they would have stopped that practice long ago!

[Hibiscus13]

I was thinking about booking dinner at a the specialty restaurant on our last night - is this even an option? It's our only at sea day and I thought it would be nice to go when we weren't in a rush to get back to the ship and then dress for dinner. What time is luggage picked up from the hallway? I am not keen on putting our dressier clothes in our carry ons if possible.

[Denny01]

I understand being a bit nervous about leaving luggage sitting in a hall, but the cruise ship isn't like a hotel and is very secure. And realize, the great majority of the cruisers are leaving their luggage out. Most people who are walk-offs do so to get off quickly. Done it and it works OK, but you need to be ready to navigate through crowds, down stairs or wait for elevators usually packed with older people who don't use the stairs, and in a timeframe where there are 2000 people getting off in the same general timeframe.

 

Personally, if not in a rush, we let them take our luggage off. But if you want to, do so. Not a big deal. But leaving your luggage out in the hall is about the same exposure to being taken or rifled as it is when you hand it over to a porter at the port, check it in at an airport and so on. Sitting out in a hall with hundreds of other luggage pieces is not a high, med or even low risk.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

Denny

[Lsimon]

Is this relatively new? I'm fuzzy on the details, but I swear for our one cruise out of San Juan (back in '04) we sailed in and out of the pier by Old San Juan. In fact I'm pretty sure we stepped off the ship and stored our bags across the street at a hotel/casino and walked to the fort.

 

That's been our experiance on the Galaxy in 2008 and 2007, and the Millennium in 2010 and what I've read on these boards over the past few years. Other cruise lines, including Princess and Carnival, still use the Old San Juan docks for initial embarkation of cruises but from everything I've seen Celebrity and RCL has used the Pan Am Pier since at least 2007.

[txsloth]

I was thinking about booking dinner at a the specialty restaurant on our last night - is this even an option? It's our only at sea day and I thought it would be nice to go when we weren't in a rush to get back to the ship and then dress for dinner. What time is luggage picked up from the hallway? I am not keen on putting our dressier clothes in our carry ons if possible.

 

Yes, you can dine in the specialty restaurants on the last night. You'll be asked to have your bags in the hall "before retiring for the evening." We always put them out after our late seating, but they've always still been there when we return from the casino hours later.