First time early walk off disembarkation question ?

[Orangefan]

On the Emerald 11/8/11 cruise I will be walking off early at disembarkation . When assigned to the waiting area will it be on the same floor as we exit the ship ? If not, are the passengers all crowding the elevators to get to the disembarkation point ? Also when I wait in the assigned area , will you exit from a different part of the room ?

Thanks.

Sali

[1 HappyCruiser]

Passengers who self disembark will be waiting in one of the areas on deck 7. People are asked not to crowd the disembarkation area on deck 5 and the elevator areas, but they still do. There is always a jam up of people trying to use the elevators with luggage and if you can use the stairs it's usually quicker.

You will be off the ship EARLY- sometimes as early as 7 to 7:15 AM.

[Stevesan]

Your meeting point will be on Plaza Deck, either in the Da Vinci dining room or the casino. You will leave the ship from that deck.

You may enter/exit from different doors. That's not a problem.

I don't recall any difficulty accessing elevators, even from Riviera Deck.

 

The process goes quite smoothly. I've used express at Fort Lauderdale my last two cruises, and was at FLL between 8:30 & 9:00AM.

[katisdale]

I am pleased with the "silent" disembarkation procedures and have thankfully not experienced any crowding/pushing etc. that used to happen. Since people are assigned different gathering points and the only way to know you are cleared to leave is to be at your assigned place - lounge, casino, etc. I have seen no crush near the exit point, no people sitting on stairs. It seems so civilized and polite now. Except for the cruise ending I like it.

[5fathom]

On our recent Sapphire cruise we were issued pass "A" due to a very early flight from LAX. We waited in the Explorers lounge on deck 7 until our letter was called and walked off. Debarkation was on Prominade, deck 7. Princess controls this well. We were off the ship before 8:30. We could not chance the Blue Super Shuttle because it waits to fill up and may make stops along the way. Princess would not give us transfers because they could not guarantee getting us to the airport on time. We finally took a cab and for $58 were at the airport with time to spare.

[Psychedout]

We also do a walk off for the first time on the Sapphire Oct.1 it was smooth no problems.

 

Hugh

[Orangefan]

Thank you for all your input. Since I have a very early flight, I will make sure I have the first color being called off the ship and will be at holding area before 7. The plans are to take a taxi which will be the fastest.

Sali

[Princess Patches]

On my recent Sapphire cruise the assigned waiting area for express walk off was the Explorer's Lounge on Deck 7 and the disembarkation exit was also on Deck 7 midship. However, I did not find it necessary to even use the assigned waiting area. We could stay in our cabin until 8:00 a.m. and express walk off also began at 8:00 a.m., so we just walked directly from our cabin to the exit on Deck 7 midship.

[regnig]

Thank you for all your input. Since I have a very early flight, I will make sure I have the first color being called off the ship and will be at holding area before 7. The plans are to take a taxi which will be the fastest.

Sali

 

Just remember that each passenger MUST have a hand free to use the escalator inside the terminal. If not you will be turned away and told to use the elevator that normally, and rightly so, has a line of handicap folks waiting for it.

[highheel girl]

On the Emerald 11/8/11 cruise I will be walking off early at disembarkation . When assigned to the waiting area will it be on the same floor as we exit the ship ? If not, are the passengers all crowding the elevators to get to the disembarkation point ? Also when I wait in the assigned area , will you exit from a different part of the room ?

Thanks.

Sali

 

On the Emerald we met in one of the main DR's.

We were in the first group off at 6:55 am. ;)

We will do the same at the end of this month.

[1 HappyCruiser]

Just remember that each passenger MUST have a hand free to use the escalator inside the terminal. If not you will be turned away and told to use the elevator that normally, and rightly so, has a line of handicap folks waiting for it.

 

If the elevators are that crowded and you have 2 bags, just go down the escalator with 1 bag, leave it at the bottom & go back for the 2 nd one. It beats waiting for 10 minutes. ;)

[Orangefan]

On previous posts one person said self disembarking passengers waited on Deck 7 DR and another said Deck 5. With my 11/8/11 cruise just 2 weeks away, I was hoping some recent returning cruisers on the Emerald Princess could answer a question. Where were the early self disembarking passengers told to wait ?

Sali

[DrivesLikeMario]

Just remember that each passenger MUST have a hand free to use the escalator inside the terminal. If not you will be turned away and told to use the elevator that normally, and rightly so, has a line of handicap folks waiting for it.

 

We've never been turned away, although the old biddies in the terminal freak out a bit when they see that we don't have a free hand. We just walk right past them and onto the escalators. Never had a problem getting on or off, but I agree that is not the norm - most people need to hold onto it for their own safety. We were just on 2 cruises a few weeks ago and the amount of ground crew they have in the terminal is incredible. Never seen so many idle people in my life.

[satxdiver]

Sailed out of FLL twice now and both times did the early self disembarkation without any problems. Both times we were in front of the terminal getting a taxi by 8:00 AM. Customs is not all clogged up yet since you are the first and you don't have to wait for your bags to go through. I have a large rolling suitcase and a small carryon that has rollers. I just put one of them on the step in front of me and the smaller one behind me on the escalator. I have never had a problem nor has anyone ever said anything to me. When I got to the curb the taxis were all waiting so I got one immediately. The other advantage was that we did not complete packing until early that morning before leaving the stateroom.

[1 HappyCruiser]

We've never been turned away, although the old biddies in the terminal freak out a bit when they see that we don't have a free hand. We just walk right past them and onto the escalators. Never had a problem getting on or off, but I agree that is not the norm - most people need to hold onto it for their own safety. We were just on 2 cruises a few weeks ago and the amount of ground crew they have in the terminal is incredible. Never seen so many idle people in my life.

 

Last April I was on a B2B getting off the ship early with the first 10 people leaving & didn't have any luggage. One of the terminal crew was stationed at the top of the escalator waving off people who didn't have a free hand. The guy in front of me was in a big hurry to get to a plane & had two suitcases one in each had & they were adament about not letting him use the escalator. They started to argue about it so I just grabbed of of the guys suitcases till we go to the bottom. That was the first time I've seen them so aggressive about checking.

[gerryl12]

We try to get to the diembarkation lounge early and station ourselves just inside the door ready for a fast break so that we can be near the beginning of the line when called for. We only have one carry-on and a small pack each so have no problem with luggage.

Hate wasting our time standing in lines when there is so much to do.

 

We will be the ones jostlng for position with you. See you on the cruise.

[4cats4me]

We try to get to the diembarkation lounge early and station ourselves just inside the door ready for a fast break so that we can be near the beginning of the line when called for. We only have one carry-on and a small pack each so have no problem with luggage.

Hate wasting our time standing in lines when there is so much to do.

 

We will be the ones jostlng for position with you. See you on the cruise.

 

We have also done this in the past, only to be surprised when they take us out of the OTHER door on the other side of the waiting place! LOL

Some venues only have one way in and out, but others have a couple;)

[t60]

We hope to try early walk off from Star Princess in San Francisco next March as we are staying a few days in the city. Has anyone any hints, tips or experiences they can pass on please? we will also need to go thro immigration. On previous cruises where we have arrived in US territory for the day (Hawaii) immigration process has happened on board, but on this occasion San Francisco is our only port in USA. Our last but one port of call will be Caba San Lucas

Sandy in Spain