Disembarking at Southampton

[Essexlass2]

Would someone please be kind enough to tell me what happens when we dock at Southampton at the end of our cruise. What is the usual procedure for disembarkation? Is it possible to disembark ourselves? What timescales are usual for either? So many questions ........... sorry! :confused:

[davecttr]

Would someone please be kind enough to tell me what happens when we dock at Southampton at the end of our cruise. What is the usual procedure for disembarkation? Is it possible to disembark ourselves? What timescales are usual for either? So many questions ........... sorry! :confused:

 

You all get off :D

 

You all get disembarkation timeas according to your mode of travel. Self disembarkation is available if you are willing to tote your luggage.

 

On my last cruise we filled up the theatre at the appointed time and then they let everyone go in groups. this was to stop the almighty scrum which used to take place under the old system.

 

I was off the ship soon after 9am and i think self disembarkation was earlier.

[Brayman]

If you're in no particular hurry to get on the road you can ask for a later time to disembark and then not have the task of locating your luggage in amongst all the other bags in the baggage hall - they are at least left in deck order.

 

While waiting your time you can have a coffee in the buffet, read the paper and generally relax before the drive home.

[the english lady]

when we got off Aurora just before the Christmas cruise, we stayed in the cabin until about 8am (deck B) then we were called to disembark. Got the lift down eventually and when the doors opened on that deck there was a huge q to get off the ship, so maybe not quite so well.

I know the first card time we were given was too late for us, so we changed for an earlier one. Just would say, if you are going to do that, do it promptly, we had the last ones for our earlier ones. (you are given different coloured cards that match up with your disembark time-these are handed in as you leave the ship)

[jenny wren]

If you want to disembark yourselves then you keep all your luggage with you instead of putting your cases out the previous night....you have to be able to carry all your cases yourselves. You then go as soon as the ship has been cleared and you are ready.

 

Otherwise you put your large cases out the previous night just keeping hand luggage. You will have been given a coloured luggage tag (or use the coloured tags you had to embark) and will be given an approximate time for that colour tag. Having left your cabin before 8 am you then wait in the public areas for your colour tag to be called...then make your way to the baggage hall on the dockside where you find your cases and off you go!! :)

 

In our experience we have always been called earlier than anticipated :)

[Essexlass2]

Thanks everyone for all the comments. Presumably then, We have to be out of the cabin by 8.00am whichever way we decide to do it.

 

Are we entitled to a breakfast before we leave the ship and, if so, does that have to be from the buffet?

 

Do the calls to disembark start at 8.00am? What is the latest disembarkation time?

 

We're just trying to decide what will be the best course of action for us but presumably we will be notified on the penultimate day?

 

Is there a ship's paper every evening like we had before?

[Thejuggler]

Buffet is open. If you DIY you will be out of your cabin by 7am and off ship by about 7.30. If you want a quieter, quick getaway from the port and no hassle finding your luggage its the best way.

[tom_uk]

Thanks everyone for all the comments. Presumably then, We have to be out of the cabin by 8.00am whichever way we decide to do it.

 

Are we entitled to a breakfast before we leave the ship and, if so, does that have to be from the buffet?

 

Do the calls to disembark start at 8.00am? What is the latest disembarkation time?

 

We're just trying to decide what will be the best course of action for us but presumably we will be notified on the penultimate day?

 

Is there a ship's paper every evening like we had before?

 

I don't think there's any restaurant open for breakfast on the last morning - it's buffet only. We've self-disembarked from our last few cruises, so we can get away good and early - we'll have our car parked with CPS and once the cruise is over we like to get away on the way home as quickly as possible. The actual disembarkation process varies. On Ventura in 2011 it was delayed and we, and all the other self-disembarkers, stood in an ever-lengthening crocodile all round the atrium and down one of the passages; we had a thirty or forty minute wait before they could let us off. But disembarking from Arcadia last autumn was a doddle; we joined the self-disembarkation queue at 7:25, at 7:30 the queue started moving, we were stepping off the ship at 7:35 and driving out of the dock gate before 7:45.

 

There is a bit of hassle carrying all your bags in one go - you can't move one lot and go back, once you've stepped off the ship then that's it (you have to hand your ship pass back) - but it works for us. As I say, once it's over it's over, and we like to get home as quickly as possible.

 

Oh, the buffets are open very early that last morning - 6am, I think.

[tartanexile81]

I don't think there's any restaurant open for breakfast on the last morning - it's buffet only.

There is a bit of hassle carrying all your bags in

 

Actually there have been 2 sittings for breakfast in the main dining room on all the P&O cruises we've been on. We usually go to the second sitting but I think the first one is around 7:00 and the second 7:45 or thereabouts. The times will be printed in the Horizon. There is, however, no room service that day.

 

Essexlass, Yes, it's right that you have to leave the cabin by 8 so we just get ourselves organised, head down for breakfast then disembark at the appointed time.

 

The buffet tends to be the usual scrum and we've only done it once on the last morning. A lot of people seemed to be popping muffins, pastries, fruit etc in their bags for the journey home :)

[dsrdsrdsr]

If you're travelling by Eavesway buses, your disembarkation time will depend on which bus you're on. Passengers for the North tend to get off first.

[Josy1953]

Actually there have been 2 sittings for breakfast in the main dining room on all the P&O cruises we've been on. We usually go to the second sitting but I think the first one is around 7:00 and the second 7:45 or thereabouts. The times will be printed in the Horizon. There is, however, no room service that day.

 

Essexlass, Yes, it's right that you have to leave the cabin by 8 so we just get ourselves organised, head down for breakfast then disembark at the appointed time.

 

The buffet tends to be the usual scrum and we've only done it once on the last morning. A lot of people seemed to be popping muffins, pastries, fruit etc in their bags for the journey home :)

 

 

On the 3 P&O cruises that we did last year there was a restaurant breakfast on the last morning and it was open sitting as it had been every other morning pf the cruise. The restaurant used is not always the same one that has been used through out the cruise but the restaurant that was being used was clearly stated in the disembarkation information that we received.

[Mysticalmother]

Disembarkation from Artemis (what a lovely ship....shame P&O sold her) a few years ago was a breeze. We were not in a hurry so acquired a newspaper and had a fairly leisurely breakfast, then went and sat in one of the lounges and let everyone else rush off the ship and waited for the last call. We walked off with no crowds about 10 ish, along with Artemis' Godmother & husband, were able to find our cases in the luggage "barn" with ease (only our few were left!), there was no queue at the CPS car pick up point and we then missed all the rush hour traffic on the M 25. So relaxed!

So the moral is if you are not in a hurry to catch a train or coach I would recommend taking your time and enjoying those last few moments on board. Why end your holiday in a rugby scrum!:D

[annieuk]

Wehave always experienced two sittings for breakfast in the main restaurant on the morning we disembark. We have always gone to the second sitting, leaving our hand luggage in the cabin making sure that the cabin is free for the steward to get on with his cleaning etc. We have enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and very often by the time we have gone back to get our hand luggage the first passengers have been called to disembark. We've always thought that this was a good way to end a cruise - still hated leaving though!:)

[Eboracum_d]

O. Our last cruise on Aurora , just before Christmas we noticed that the previous practice of having two separate breakfast sittings in one f the Dining Rooms had been abandoned. There is now a continuous sitting and that applied on the last morning as well.

 

As other posters have said we have always been called to get off the ship earlier than the advertised time.

 

There was some slight difficulty on Aurora as the staff at the gate were requiring people to queue on a higher deck than that announced over the pa system !

 

On the plus side the various public rooms seemed to have plenty of space in which people could wait.

 

All in all it has always struck me that P and OS disembarkation arrangements are pretty good.

 

David

[tom_uk]

My apologies for misleading the OP about restaurants on the las morning - obviously they are open. Maybe I was thinking of room service...

 

Someone said that the buffets were very busy on the last morning. I'll be honest, I don't recall them being too busy. However, since we've been doing self-disembarkation at 7:30 we've generally been going for breakfast at 6:30, and the buffets haven't been too crowded then. So they may well be busier later.

[Essexlass2]

Thanks everyone for your help and advice. Given the choice, it would seem best to either disembark and go really early or leave it to a leisurely breakfast and leave the ship a bit later. If we go really early, we'd be catching the 'rush hour' on the motorways most of the way home so we think perhaps a later departure might suit us better. If they allocate us an early departure time, we'll try to change it for a later departure if possible.

 

Your comments and advice are appreciated very much. Thanks again!! :D

[Brayman]

It's normally no problem to change your departure card and time. But you still need to be up for early breakfast if you want to eat in the main dining room. The doors are open for only 15 minutes at the two times stipulated on the last day.

 

We find it best to avoid the throngs after breakfast and go up to the highest point to sit and watch.

[BrianI]

It's normally no problem to change your departure card and time. But you still need to be up for early breakfast if you want to eat in the main dining room. The doors are open for only 15 minutes at the two times stipulated on the last day.

 

We find it best to avoid the throngs after breakfast and go up to the highest point to sit and watch.

On our last cruise on Aurora last November they had done away with with the "two sittings" and the main restaurant was open as normal. You could enter any time during the opening hours. You could also stay in your cabin after 8am if you wanted to.

Brian

[Brayman]

On our last cruise on Aurora last November they had done away with with the "two sittings" and the main restaurant was open as normal. You could enter any time during the opening hours. You could also stay in your cabin after 8am if you wanted to.

Brian

 

They must have taken note of one of my suggestions! :)

 

We're on Oriana in May so hope it's the same on there. Haven't cruised since last June, looking forward to it!

[tartanexile81]

On the 3 P&O cruises that we did last year there was a restaurant breakfast on the last morning and it was open sitting as it had been every other morning pf the cruise. The restaurant used is not always the same one that has been used through out the cruise but the restaurant that was being used was clearly stated in the disembarkation information that we received.

 

Josy, I think my answer was a bit ambiguous. I said 2 sittings and you said Open Seating but is it not actually a mixture of both? The doors usually open first around 6:45 and close at 7, for the first batch of open seating then again from 7:45 till 8:00 for the last people came back from our last cruise a month ago now and went into the second open seating and couldn't believe how quiet it was.

[southwinds]

A few days before you arrive home you will find left in your cabin a letter from reception telling you everything you need to know.. Time slots for getting off. what restaurants are open and when .. We always have breakfast in the MDR on the last day...

And where to wait... last year they DID not call out groups for leaving the ship they called out in the ROOM where you waited .. so folks who ignored this and sat in the atrium or prom found that they didnt know when to get off and wondered why they couldnt hear the announcements.. So do read the letter left in your cabin... clearly people ASSUMED it was be done the same as previous years and it wasnt.

 

Although we had to vacate the cabin we could LEAVE one item each of hand luggage while we had breakfast and could return to collect it later by which time the cabin steward had remade the beds etc. no towels left but we could still use the loo etc

[Essexlass2]

A few days before you arrive home you will find left in your cabin a letter from reception telling you everything you need to know.. Time slots for getting off. what restaurants are open and when .. We always have breakfast in the MDR on the last day...

And where to wait... last year they DID not call out groups for leaving the ship they called out in the ROOM where you waited .. so folks who ignored this and sat in the atrium or prom found that they didnt know when to get off and wondered why they couldnt hear the announcements.. So do read the letter left in your cabin... clearly people ASSUMED it was be done the same as previous years and it wasnt.

 

Although we had to vacate the cabin we could LEAVE one item each of hand luggage while we had breakfast and could return to collect it later by which time the cabin steward had remade the beds etc. no towels left but we could still use the loo etc

 

Southwinds, that's very helpful. Thank you so much. :)

[cruisefan2012]

On my last cruise on Azura in November 2012 I self disembarked due to an early flight from Southampton Airport

 

I woke up about 6:30am and was out the cabin and on my way by 7:15am

 

Have to say that Self Disembarking was SO much easier - The only thing is you have to take your luggage off the ship yourself

 

From what I remember - Room service breakfast is NOT available on the last morning

[P&O SUE]

We were on Azura last year and I wanted to stay on the ship for as long as possible :) We booked a time of about 9.30. The buffet breakfast was not a scrum at all.

However it was smooth getting off but the queue to get out of the car park was a nightmare!! (Saturday in Southampton!) We were stuck for ages. So for my next cruise think I'll get off earlier....

[tom_uk]

...

We booked a time of about 9.30.

...

However it was smooth getting off but the queue to get out of the car park was a nightmare!! (Saturday in Southampton!) We were stuck for ages. So for my next cruise think I'll get off earlier....

 

I'd forgotten about all that! It's another argument in favour of self-disembarkation, in fact: we've never encountered any car-park queues or traffic congestion at 7:45, even on Saturday.