Self Assist Debarking Time

[jefffrompawpaw]

If my cruise itinerary says that we arrive at 8:00 what time to we stat to exit the ship. Or is the 8:00 am the time we start to exit. I plan on arranging to self assist to be off as soon as I can.

 

I have a very early flight. So early, if I told you my flight time I believe half the members here would start having sympathy anxiety :D

 

Thanks, Jeff

Edited March 24, 2016 by jefffrompawpaw

[SadieN]

There will be a notice in your cabin the day or two before where all the self assist pax will meet. Plan step off the ship around 8:30. CBP can take a while.

 

 

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[KirkNC]

If all goes as planned it should be around 8:00.

[jamesr3939]

At Galveston in January self assist was called by deck. The day before they gave us a schedule of when to expected to be called. They started at the highest decks, luckily we were on 12 and were to be first. The schedule said around 8:15 AM.

 

They started calling self assist at 7:45 AM and called 12 - 11 - 10 at the same time.

 

We parked across the street and were in the car on the road by 8:20 AM.

 

That being said, a few years ago (at Galveston) CBP came to work late and it took us forever to get off the ship. I recall we weren't out of the terminal until 10:00 AM. We didn't do SA that time so we weren't in a big hurry, just stood in line a long time.

[riclop]

It varies from cruise to cruise.

[jefffrompawpaw]

Thanks for the responses. I would hope that I could be out of the terminal by no later than 9:30, then I can have a chance of being the guy running through the terminal to catch a plane.

[sft429]

Thanks for the responses. I would hope that I could be out of the terminal by no later than 9:30, then I can have a chance of being the guy running through the terminal to catch a plane.

 

I get the impression that you are gleefully anticipating the challenge of making your early flight rather than being worried about it. :D

[jefffrompawpaw]

I get the impression that you are gleefully anticipating the challenge of making your early flight rather than being worried about it. :D

 

 

Yeah, kinda. If I make the plane great! Like I said , If I'm off the plane by 9:30 I should make the flight. If not I'll rent a car and drive back home for 16 hours New Orleans to Michigan.

 

Now missing the ship and my vacation would suck!

Edited March 25, 2016 by jefffrompawpaw

[k2excursion]

It does vary from sailing to sailing. If all goes according to plan, the ship could actually be docked shortly after 6am, and self-assist could begin before 7am. I have had that happen before. On all my cruises, it seems like self-assist has always began before 8am. In fact, as platinum, they send a letter the day before stating when platinum self-assist will begin. And on my cruises, regular self-assist always begins before that stated time for platinum. However, there could always be delays.

[TexasRed]

Yeah, kinda. If I make the plane great! Like I said , If I'm off the plane by 9:30 I should make the flight. If not I'll rent a car and drive back home for 16 hours New Orleans to Michigan.

 

Now missing the ship and my vacation would suck!

 

Why risk missing your flight? Why not book an afternoon flight and not have to worry about it.

[jefffrompawpaw]

Why risk missing your flight? Why not book an afternoon flight and not have to worry about it.

 

 

We fly into a smaller airport in Michigan that there is literally 1 flight into it from NOLA. After researching that the ship will arrive at 8 and the plane leaves at 11:30 we decided to take the risk. NOLA's airport is 17 miles away and on a Saturday morning traffic will be minimal.

 

I read on Carnivals site that if you would like to do self assist and go to the ships help desk with your flight itinerary they would get you off first. I just wanted to know if arrive at 8:00 means departing at 8:00 which most posters say yes or even earlier.

 

On my last cruise we had a late flight and stayed on the ship till they kicked us off (not really). I didn't pay attention to when they started letting people off the ship so I decided to ask here.

[simplelife]

My last cruise was a short one and we had so many self-assist there were still long lines and congestion.

[DallasGuy75219]

We fly into a smaller airport in Michigan that there is literally 1 flight into it from NOLA. After researching that the ship will arrive at 8 and the plane leaves at 11:30 we decided to take the risk. NOLA's airport is 17 miles away and on a Saturday morning traffic will be minimal.

 

The ship's actual arrival time varies from sailing to sailing but is usually at least an hour before the the scheduled on the itinerary. In any event, though, the time Carnival begins debark is completely dependent on when CBP clears the ship.

 

Provided nothing unusual like a late arrival or CBP delay, an 11:30 flight out of MSY is definitely doable if you do self assist debark as soon as your floor is called. I would recommend a taxi to the airport vs. Carnival shuttle. For two or more passengers, a taxi is cheaper than Carnival's shuttle. You'll also be able to leave when you're ready vs. waiting for Carnival to fill a bus up.

[erinmarie424]

I think you'll be ok. I've flown in and out of MSY several times and lines are short.

Edited March 26, 2016 by erinmarie424

[mizzoufinal4]

Just get down there early and as soon as you see the diamonds and platinum passengers leaving the theater to disembark just jump in line with them. That's what we did today and no-one said a word. They just want you off-the-wall ship don't really care what order you're in. They just try to keep an order so it's not total chaos. Shhhh.... Keep it a secret though and don't tell everyone! 😉

[Micahs Grandad]

Just get down there early and as soon as you see the diamonds and platinum passengers leaving the theater to disembark just jump in line with them. That's what we did today and no-one said a word. They just want you off-the-wall ship don't really care what order you're in. They just try to keep an order so it's not total chaos. Shhhh.... Keep it a secret though and don't tell everyone! 😉

 

Not a very nice thing to do.

[mizzoufinal4]

Then 2000 other people weren't being very nice either! Lol

[almitra]

We were onboard the Carnival Freedom 2 weeks ago & did self assist on debarkation & have always been off by 9 or 9:30. But they didn't even begin calling self assist til 11:20 on March 12 (Galveston). It was bad. REALLY bad. Hope it isn't that way for ya'll.

Edited March 26, 2016 by almitra

[cynalan]

If the ship is scheduled to arrive at 8:00, disembarking should start within 30 - 60 minutes. However, one can never be certain. Give yourself a grace period should there be a delay. On one of our cruises, we were delayed two and half hours. No reason was ever given to us. So... moral of the story is to not cut things too closely.

[DallasGuy75219]

Then 2000 other people weren't being very nice either! Lol

 

And that's why debark comes to a complete halt when 2,000 people try to debark at the same time, all before they are called.

[mizzoufinal4]

Well it worked just fine yesterday! Line moved well and all the people in line were orderly. Problem was all the people going down into the elevator lobby waiting for there deck to be called. Get in line people and move and there would be so much less congestion.

[clhayes]

And that's why debark comes to a complete halt when 2,000 people try to debark at the same time, all before they are called.

 

 

Correct, because the rules are for somebody else. Can't follow simple instructions. I've watched so many people get sent back more times than not. The look on their face is priceless!

 

 

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[jefffrompawpaw]

Here's the update. We made it to the airport with plenty of time. The day before we arrived to port they announced we would be in NOLA at 7 and debark at 7:30. Everything was right on time. We stepped off the ship at 7:45 through customs by 8:05 and at the airport by 8:30 for our 11:15 flight. Super easy and no worries at all. All in all it was 45 minutes from stepping off ship to airport.

 

The day before we arrived in port we went to guest services and explained our situation and the service rep told us to get in line as soon as they announce self assist.

[TexasRed]

That's great news Jeff. Thanks for reporting back, and welcome home.

[crusinpsychRN]

Notify GS of early flight. Just off Sunshine. We diverted to Nassau for medical evac so got to port late. If people who need to report to customs do so it helps but often they don't which delays debarkation.