Can you do a walk-off at any time?

[Wilde_37]

Do you have to leave the ship at the exact time they call "walk-off's" or can you leave anytime after that, carrying your own luggage?

 

Our ship arrives in Civitavecchia at 5:00am so presume they will start with walk-off's around 6:00am. I am hoping to organise a private transfer to the airport for collection at about 7:30am.

 

I know I could arrange to be one of the first groups off by selecting an early departure. But I prefer to do a walk-off - Celebrity have lost my luggage before (between the ship and the baggage hall!!).

[Barwick Cruiser]

We did exactly that in June off the Silhouette in Venice. It was the first time we did the self-disembark and I think we'll do that from now on. We arranged a pick up for 7:15am, walked off with our luggage and right into the waiting cab. It was nice not having to repack the luggage with the toiletries that we would've kept in the cabin overnight and have to put into the checked luggage for the flight. Also nice not to have to search for your bags in the terminal...have previously found our bags in two separate areas!

 

Good luck and enjoy your cruise!

[goodycruising]

We walked off at 9.30am at Auckland last cruise after the time for self debark was at 7am. It is the same on Royal Caribbean, they make out like that is the time you must walk off, but we have walked off when we feel like. You can get caught in some lines a bit later, so allow that when you are working out your timings.

 

We don't like putting our luggage out either. We seem to be a bit unlucky with the airlines, and if we have the opportunity we hold onto anything we can. We figure if we can't drag it off the ship, then we are going to struggle walking to the station and getting on the train.

[dodger1964]

They want u to leave in the time frame listed, but I would call it more of a suggestion. I think they worry that if everyone (or many anyway) do self-disembarkation and stay on ship past early departure time, that there will be a lot of suitcases taking up space in the public areas (especially in the elevators).

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[gopro63]

Have you asked for your zone to be changed?

[phoenix_dream]

Walking off a little later is fine. IMHO walking off as late as 9:30 is very inconsiderate to other passengers. Elevators are very crowded by then, as are hallways. A good portion of the passengers are in the process of heading to the airport and planned their disembarkation accordingly. To clog up their departure because you prefer to bring your own luggage off is just not right in my opinion. The purpose of staggering the disembarkation and the purpose of arranging the luggage on the pier is to provide the most smooth process for everyone. It is out of consideration for early flight passengers that they even allow self-disembarkation. Years ago they did not. If too many passengers take unfair advantage of it, there is a risk that they will go back to the past and eliminate it entirely.

[floridaglen]

Walking off a little later is fine. IMHO walking off as late as 9:30 is very inconsiderate to other passengers. Elevators are very crowded by then, as are hallways. A good portion of the passengers are in the process of heading to the airport and planned their disembarkation accordingly. To clog up their departure because you prefer to bring your own luggage off is just not right in my opinion. The purpose of staggering the disembarkation and the purpose of arranging the luggage on the pier is to provide the most smooth process for everyone. It is out of consideration for early flight passengers that they even allow self-disembarkation. Years ago they did not. If too many passengers take unfair advantage of it, there is a risk that they will go back to the past and eliminate it entirely.

I totally agree, well said :)

[bvocruise]

We will be on the Reflection returning to Civitavecchia on 5/29/2015. We have a 11:15 flight out of FCO on AA.

 

Does anyone know when the ship is normally cleared for people to walk off? Also, we are in Aqua Class and could try to get off normal way in a early group. We would like to meet the private shuttle around 7:00 to 7:15 am as terminal three check in at FCO can be a complete zoo.

[Happy2cruise]

Walking off a little later is fine. IMHO walking off as late as 9:30 is very inconsiderate to other passengers. Elevators are very crowded by then, as are hallways. A good portion of the passengers are in the process of heading to the airport and planned their disembarkation accordingly. To clog up their departure because you prefer to bring your own luggage off is just not right in my opinion. The purpose of staggering the disembarkation and the purpose of arranging the luggage on the pier is to provide the most smooth process for everyone. It is out of consideration for early flight passengers that they even allow self-disembarkation. Years ago they did not. If too many passengers take unfair advantage of it, there is a risk that they will go back to the past and eliminate it entirely.

Very well put......totally agree and feel it is unfair to the other passengers scheduled behind you. If you sign up for walk off disembarkation be responsible and leave at your assigned time.....

[goodycruising]

We found the elevators are crowded from 7.30 to 8.30 with all the people that have to leave their room by 8am. We we told at the service desk that we could go off whenever we wanted. I would have thought a little later would be the rudest thing to do as people that have asked for early slots would then be imposed upon. We stay ín the elite breakfast area, which is not crowded, and go when the crowds thin out. I shall ask about this next trip as this idea that you must leave early is not what we have been told at all. The luggage being arranged on the pier is so unsupervised that there is not a chance I would ever do that again. I have come out at my allotted time to a sea of cases and no real checking of who is taking what. That is what needs to be changed.

Edited January 13, 2015 by goodycruising

[cle-guy]

What I find amusing in this thread, is consensus is "follow the guidelines".

 

Then there's the thread about following EMBARKATION slotted boarding by deck, and concensus is "Board whenever you want".

 

:confused:

[az_tchr]

You are asking for the impossible as to a time. The time depends on if the ship arrives on time - likely - and if the Italian authorities clear the ship immediately - less likely. If that happens perfectly you can be off by 6:05 if you carry your own bags. If you are Elite you can be first in line for passport clearance. Also remember traffic to the airport can be terrible. You should be fine but again you never know.

[phoenix_dream]

What I find amusing in this thread, is consensus is "follow the guidelines".

 

Then there's the thread about following EMBARKATION slotted boarding by deck, and concensus is "Board whenever you want".

 

:confused:

 

Interesting observation - a lot depends on who is talking I guess. But at the same time I do think there is a difference. If you don't board at your recommended time, at worst you might contribute to a crush of people slowing down the boarding and aggravating some. If you don't disembark at the agreed upon time, you might contribute to a crush of people slowing down disembarkation, which could cause some people to miss their flights, perhaps costing them quite a bit of money, and definitely some serious inconvenience.

[fleckle]

Interesting observation - a lot depends on who is talking I guess. But at the same time I do think there is a difference. If you don't board at your recommended time, at worst you might contribute to a crush of people slowing down the boarding and aggravating some. If you don't disembark at the agreed upon time, you might contribute to a crush of people slowing down disembarkation, which could cause some people to miss their flights, perhaps costing them quite a bit of money, and definitely some serious inconvenience.

Very good points!

 

Also, the congestion at disembarkation is a much greater problem than at embarkation because everyone leaves the ship within a tight time frame of only a few hours.

 

By contrast, the passengers arriving for embarkation are spread out throughout the day.

 

Unless boarding is delayed, the mob scene at embarkation usually affects only those passengers who arrive early, before boarding begins or during the initial boarding process.

 

When arriving later in the day, we have been able to pass through security with only a few people in line ahead of us (or sometimes none at all), check right in and board the ship immediately with no need to sit around in a waiting area.

 

But now we see that they are starting to use staggered boarding times and encouraging more people to arrive later.

This change in policy is a big mistake. :eek:

 

Instead, they should be encouraging everyone to arrive as early as possible, so that the crowds are cleared out by the time we show up. ;)

 

[cle-guy]

Interesting observation - a lot depends on who is talking I guess. But at the same time I do think there is a difference. If you don't board at your recommended time, at worst you might contribute to a crush of people slowing down the boarding and aggravating some. If you don't disembark at the agreed upon time, you might contribute to a crush of people slowing down disembarkation, which could cause some people to miss their flights, perhaps costing them quite a bit of money, and definitely some serious inconvenience.

 

So OK to inconvenience those embarking, not OK to inconvenience those disembarking. Got it.

Edited January 14, 2015 by cle-guy

[az_tchr]

Very good points!

 

Also, the congestion at disembarkation is a much greater problem than at embarkation because everyone leaves the ship within a tight time frame of only a few hours.

 

By contrast, the passengers arriving for embarkation are spread out throughout the day.

 

Unless boarding is delayed, the mob scene at embarkation usually affects only those passengers who arrive early, before boarding begins or during the initial boarding process.

 

When arriving later in the day, we have been able to pass through security with only a few people in line ahead of us (or sometimes none at all), check right in and board the ship immediately with no need to sit around in a waiting area.

 

But now we see that they are starting to use staggered boarding times and encouraging more people to arrive later.

This change in policy is a big mistake. :eek:

 

Instead, they should be encouraging everyone to arrive as early as possible, so that the crowds are cleared out by the time we show up. ;)

 

The embarkation change has been suggested (not manditory) because of changes by US customs in clearing the ship first when returning from a cruise starting outside the USA and then clearing all passengers and crew. Doing that takes time and on a return from overseas a USCG inspection prior to any boarding.

 

Fleckle - hope you post is in jest as those arriving early afternoon on those cruises will be in for a very long wait. you are correct that arriving early if Elite or with a suite or late will result in a rapid boarding. We cleared our check in on RCCI in november by noon only to wait 2 hours for the USCG to clear the ship. Not Celebrity or RCCIs fault.

[Hlitner]

The problem with "walk offs" is you will often have folks trying to drag lots of luggage down a relatively narrow (and sometimes steep) gang plank. When many others are trying to get off the ship at the same time, these folks (with all their luggage) become a hazard to others, and also slow down the process. Hence, the cruise lines try to get the walk offs (with luggage) off the ship early so that they do not interfere with the majority of passengers who are simply walking off the ship to retrieve their luggage in the tend/building on the pier. That being said, if you decide to leave late with your luggage...nobody is going to stop you.

 

Hank

[cle-guy]

The problem with "walk offs" is you will often have folks trying to drag lots of luggage down a relatively narrow (and sometimes steep) gang plank. When many others are trying to get off the ship at the same time, these folks (with all their luggage) become a hazard to others, and also slow down the process. Hence, the cruise lines try to get the walk offs (with luggage) off the ship early so that they do not interfere with the majority of passengers who are simply walking off the ship to retrieve their luggage in the tend/building on the pier. That being said, if you decide to leave late with your luggage...nobody is going to stop you.

 

Hank

 

Do these same people not drag those bags onto the ship and tie up the spots on the elevators at the gangplank thus slowing down embarkation? :confused:

 

Embarkation lasts from 11:30 to 4:00, disembarkation 7 am to 10:30 - 4.5 hours versus 3.5 hours, not REALY that much different. 444 people per hour embarking versus 571 per hour disembarking, assuming 2000 pax. And disembarking, people can use ALL elevator banks to get down to the disembarkation deck, versus EVERYONE needs to use the exact same single elevator bank to go up.

[goodycruising]

The problem with "walk offs" is you will often have folks trying to drag lots of luggage down a relatively narrow (and sometimes steep) gang plank.

 

Hank

 

They do say if you can easily carry the luggage unassisted for self debarkation. I think this is an exaggeration but maybe there are "some" that would do this. Not something that would happen "often" unless maybe a Trans Atlantic. Never seen it on a South Pacific or New Zealand cruise we have been on.

 

The gang way at Sydney is by no means narrow or steep.

 

Keep trying to reason as to why we are horrible people, but I think you are really clutching at straws.

 

I will be asking for clarification on this as stated before. I have only done what I have been told is correct. I am not a person that does what I want and doesn't care about others.

[Tara Jane]

We book flights for early afternoon so try to stay on the ship as long as we can. I always considered I was being kind to those who absolutely have to get off and to the airport for early flights. As I am in no hurry I leave with the last or 2nd last group, last cruise was around 8.45 am, but I do only have hand luggage so am not holding others up. I also request the latest departure when filling in the departure info.

[floridaglen]

We book flights for early afternoon so try to stay on the ship as long as we can. I always considered I was being kind to those who absolutely have to get off and to the airport for early flights. As I am in no hurry I leave with the last or 2nd last group, last cruise was around 8.45 am, but I do only have hand luggage so am not holding others up. I also request the latest departure when filling in the departure info.

You are being kind and considerate of others, if only everyone could be the same. Most passengers carry off hand luggage and that's not the problem, it's when others with many large cases decide that they will do a "walk off" but not at the allotted times which in my opinion is not fair to other passengers.

[fleckle]

........ We cleared our check in on RCCI in november by noon only to wait 2 hours for the USCG to clear the ship. Not Celebrity or RCCIs fault.

Know what you mean.

The last time we took a Celebrity cruise that delayed boarding for a coast guard inspection, we were lucky that Celebrity notified us about it in advance, telling passengers not to arrive at the pier early.

 

That was fine with us, having a comfortable hotel room as we like to arrive at the embarkation port at least a day in advance anyway, especially if we are taking a flight where we check luggage.

 

We requested a late check out that morning, slept in, had a leisurely brunch and enjoyed the hotel pool area.

 

By the time we showered, packed up and headed over to the pier, the coast guard inspection was long over and the early crowds were gone.

We were able to check in and board right away with no waiting.

 

It was rough on the passengers who came in on early flights that morning though.