Debarkation- self assist or no?

[hpugirl27]

Hi! I am leaving for my cruise in 2 weeks and was wondering which option to choose for debarkation. We will be driving to the port, so no planes or buses to catch. Can someone explain the options better to me? Self assist means we would keep all of our luggage and take it off ourselves and leave when they call our "group", right? Ideally, we would want to put our suitcases out the night before and then not rush off bright and early. I've only been on one cruise before a couple of years ago and I completely forgot the details for leaving the ship (must have blocked it out, ha!), plus we had a plane to catch last time.

[AdrenalineRush]

You can do self assist and not rush to leave the ship.

[Vitamin_Sea]

We do self. Pack everything up and bring bags to lido deck with us.

Then eat breakfast

 

I try to be off by 930am

[SadieN]

When you self assist you can debark when you want. We usually wait towards the end.

[riffatsea]

Self assist means you carry all your luggage off the ship yourself! You do NOT put luggage outside your door the night before to be taken off the ship!

 

[CruisersNC]

We used self assist on our last cruise for the first time. It was a chore dealing with all the bags on the elevator and escalators getting off the ship in Tampa. But it got us to our car and on the road a lot earlier than if we hadn't used self assist.

[Sweet Dutch Girl]

Even though Carnival gives you a debark # based on the location of your room you can debark anytime after your # is called. We like to have our bags picked up the night before and just carry around a small backpack or carry-all w/ our morning essentials and our valuables. We ear at the buffet for breakfast and then find a quiet spot where we visit as a group or play some table games or finish our books and then we exit when the final group is called. Our luggage is waiting in isolated splendor in the luggage room (so easy to find) and our journey through customs takes about 5 minutes. We have been off the ship anywhere between 9:30 and 10:00.

[h_blond2]

We always choose the self-assist option and never have any trouble. They will call the self-assist passengers off by deck, but if you don't want to get off when they call your deck, you can just get off at a later time. We choose to do self-assist because we have a long drive home and like to get off the ship early.

[skrufy]

The self assist is called at the beginning of the debarkation processes, but you do not have to leave at that time. You keep all your luggage with you. If you dont care what time you get off the ship, put your luggage out the night before, and the next day leave when your number is called. Either way you can stay on the ship until they kick you off around 9:30am. Basically, you cant leave before they call you, but you can leave anytime after they call you.

[JCJR]

Just off a cruise where we were the last group off and we were waiting in a public area over 2hours. I wanted to do self assist but we had a lot of luggage and thought it would be too much trouble to carry. Next time I will do self aasist regardless of how much luggage we have.

 

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[Nic6318]

If you do self assist you can hang around the ship as long as you wish, but they do try to get everyone out of the cabins by 08:30. So you would have to drag you luggage around with you.

If you are not in a rush it is easier to put your luggage out and keep a smaller bag with valuables then after leaving your cabin you aren't weighed down. You can have breakfast then wander around the ship until you want to leave. If you choose regular debarkation you may get a later time like JCJR, but remember they are trying to get everyone off the ship as quickly as possible so the wait is usually reasonable.

 

have a great cruise

[hartsnvt]

We always do self assist. We get up early and go to eat breakfast, come back to the cabin and when we are called we get right off. (Short lines at customs when you are some of the 1st off). I live 30 minutes from the port (Canaveral) and am home by 8:30am every time!

[Jay Sam]

Have done self assist all but one time, the first time. For me the only way to go. I don't like having to decide what I may need in the morning the night before and having to pack accordingly. And having luggage with wheels makes it quite easy to take my things with me in the morning. Plus not packing heavily is a plus. As I have taken more cruises I try to pack only what I need. My goal is to have everything worn that I bring. Maybe a couple extra pair of underwear and sox un worn is my goal.

[coevan]

Even though Carnival gives you a debark # based on the location of your room you can debark anytime after your # is called. We like to have our bags picked up the night before and just carry around a small backpack or carry-all w/ our morning essentials and our valuables. We ear at the buffet for breakfast and then find a quiet spot where we visit as a group or play some table games or finish our books and then we exit when the final group is called. Our luggage is waiting in isolated splendor in the luggage room (so easy to find) and our journey through customs takes about 5 minutes. We have been off the ship anywhere between 9:30 and 10:00.

 

A big +1 on this. We usually stay in our debarkation port overnight, so we are no hurry to get off the ship. We usually wait until we are kicked off as in last call for debarkation.

[islandatsea]

You can do self assist with all your luggage and then can take your time getting off the ship if you are not in a hurry to leave.

[Rosefloater]

Just make sure you can handle all of your luggage. I have seen people with taking off multiple pieces of luggage have problems. They held up the lines and then got mad at people who tried to go around them.

 

FYI - if you do opt to put out your luggage the night before, you can disembark the ship anytime after your number has been called.

[hpugirl27]

Perfect! Thank you all so much for clearing that up for me. So, I want regular debarkation. That will allow me to put my suitcases out the night before and just keep a little carry on and stay on the ship a little longer. It's always a sad day ending vacation, it's nice to have a little longer for breakfast, etc!