RCI needs to do something about self disembark.

[fonekween]

mariapd719: Raj has left Indy & as of Monday (18th) has gone to Harmony. Felix (Enchantment) has taken his place.

[Bookish Angel]

Why should carry-on only, fit, efficient passengers be charged for not overpacking, never using the elevators, etc.?

[xmasteach]

Here is a thought, only those that carried all their luggage on, can carry all luggage off.

We have disembarked from other ships, much smoother, but Indy has you take luggage down two flights of stairs. People, including children, man-handling giant pieces of luggage. Even saw a videographer with a huge cart of cameras and tripods etc. trying to use the stairs, but seeking help. Even got upset, when he stopped the line, and people tried to get around him.

 

 

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[papaflamingo]

I think self disembark for short cruises should be eliminated. It's a short cruise and most of the folks are local. So they drove to the port and have no need to hurry and get off the ship to catch a flight.

 

I think it's time for the cruise lines to enforce and implement new disembark rules/technology. If the color blue is at 7AM they should make everyone carry their blue tags with them to exit. Have the tags stamped and numbered for each person in the party as folks meet and lineup to exit in say Studio B. As the line starts moving towards the exit and a person tries to skip the line and their tag is not stamped and numbered, they will be sent back to Studio B or their appropriate colored group to get stamped and numbered. I know sounds complicated but this would stop folks from skipping the line and just exiting before their group is called. I would increase the number of line monitors all over the ship checking for disembark tags.

 

O another thing program the set sail cards to their disembark time. Have numerous check points. Create a wand so the staff/hall monitors can wand their set sail pass and inform them if they're in the right or wrong line.

 

Galveston and NOLA are my home ports. I wait for the masses to clear and then I walk off whether I do a 4 night or 7 night. Easy Peasy. My next cruise out of FLL I selected a late flight so again I can wait for the masses to clear and then walk off the ship. NO STRESS for me on the last day of my cruise.

 

These are very good ideas! Although I'd still allow self-disembark, they too should have numbers. We never self disembark. But always get early numbers. I find it way faster as a porter will expedite you through Customs. But the problem is that they don't check the numbers. So if they call number 5 and someone is number 20, they can just walk off with the number 5's, thus creating more of a mess. We had a friend do that in Ft. Lauderdale. Problem was, their luggage was not out yet. So they ended up getting scolded by the people working the luggage area, and had to stand around, in the way, waiting for their luggage to show up. Anyway, having mandatory numbers or colors that are linked to your seapass would allow them to control the crowds, the availability of porters, and lines at customs. Great idea!

[LuCruise]

Too bad you had such a bad experience on Indy. We just did self disembark on Allure and it was quite smooth. On the ship we just had 2 flights to go down so my husband carried the luggage. In the cruise terminal, somenoe ahead of us happened to ask about any elevators so the rest of us followed and we got on with no issues. They seemed to have enough staff to direct everyone. Hopefully they'll improve things for Indy.

[vickiw0318]

I keep saying that at least one ship in the fleet knows how to do this. Don't know why the Indy doesn't implement the same sort of system. We were on the Navigator while it was sailing from Galveston. 1) You were required to sign up for self assist. 2) You were issued a letter corresponding to the time you signed up. (Think Southwest Airlines boarding process.) 2) Each letter met in a different location. 3) There was adequate staff to make sure (for example) that only the A's got off first. 4) Anyone without you a "letter" that appeared with their luggage was told to cool their heels. 5) You did have to show your letter before you were "dinged out" for the final time as a check to make sure you hadn't cut into line.

 

It can be done! Why the Indy doesn't use ramps in Ft. Lauderdale is beyond me. They use them for boarding. Even so, they could stage the groups and have the As go down the stairs first, then the Bs, etc.

[Havingfun2010]

Here is a new twist. I like self disembark. The more that will do it the better it is. Why. By the time I leisurely walk off the ship, with only a small bag for the two of us, all the lines, are gone, the people with huge luggage trying to manhandle it down steps and entrance ways have all but cleared out.

 

I don't understand self disembark, but lets face it. It's easier for RCCL and all other cruise lines. They don't have to load the luggage, and move it.

 

I have never had a problem, getting off the ship, looking a few minutes for my two suitcases, and moving on. The last thing I want is to unload my own luggage.

[SargassoPirate]

We disembark the easy way, whether it's with our luggage or not, by avoiding the herd mentality. We eat a leisurely but early breakfast. Then we return to our cabin, retrieve our bags, and find a comfortable spot to wait. Sometimes it's the concierge lounge, sometimes it's the pool deck, sometimes it's been the library. We keep an eye or ear out for the disembarkation announcements and when they are near the end or the last call, THEN we make our way to the gangway. There's nothing wrong with being the last ones off the ship.

 

The elevators are not crowded. The gangway is not crowded. The customs and immigration line is not crowded.

 

Let the unwashed masses, the groundlings, the herd, push and shove and fight to be the first ones off.

 

Slow down, relax, live longer.

[marci22]

As it is now, RCCL makes no money on self assist disembarkation. If they made money, they'd be managing it a whole lot better. So, kick me, hit me, toss me overboard, but I suggest $20 per person to self assist disembark.

 

The lines would suddenly drop like a falling suitcase.

 

I don't think they make money, but they have to be saving money.

 

I like the $20 fee, but maybe make it per cabin. People who really need to get off can pay it.

 

The problem is that they let everyone do it now (maybe not all ships) and it gets chaotic if all the planets are not correctly aligned.

[John&LaLa]

I don't think they make money, but they have to be saving money.

 

I like the $20 fee, but maybe make it per cabin. People who really need to get off can pay it.

 

The problem is that they let everyone do it now (maybe not all ships) and it gets chaotic if all the planets are not correctly aligned.

 

Kind of like First to the Fun

[MommaBear55]

Part of the problem with Royal Caribbean is that they make rules and don't enforce them. Part of the problem with people is that they believe that the rules don't apply to them. If you are going to limit self disembark to those who can do two flights of stairs carrying their bags, then program the elevators to stop at deck three. Create a line, direct people to the line, if they have bags they cannot handle, give them a departure number and have them go wait in that area until their number is called. (People in wheelchairs cannot do stairs, people cannot push strollers down stairs and carry luggage, children cannot carry suitcases that are as tall as them.) This is not rocket science. Royal Caribbean is so worried about insulting a few people that they end up making far more people angry. We have tried it different ways on different ships. Most organized was Quantum, worst was Indy.

[jezthepuff]

We were pleasantly surprised how easy self-disembark was on Anthem of the Seas on Monday. We were all set to wait around, but we caught an elevator right away, and literally just walked right off the ship. We were through customs and had our suitcases in our Jeep before 6:30 a.m.

 

People may wonder why we would want to do this ourselves and/or leave so early. Simple...we have a very long drive, and we do have to get back to work. Everyone has different circumstances.

[riredsox]

We just left Independence of the Seas in Fort Lauderdale on Monday. We carried our own suitcases. It was a MESS! One person to control a huge crowd, and it seemed most people just did what they wanted.

It was made clear that you had to be able to handle our own luggage down two flights of stairs. That did not stop people from tossing luggage, asking for help, even wheelchair people demanding to use this service.

No set line or time....people cutting in, and bad tempers.

Never experienced such a poorly planned disembarkation. Other lines that use self disembarkation, do assign letters and times for people to leave. Also various meeting places, and go by a certain order.

In the future I feel someone is going to get hurt by this policy. Witnessed suitcases literally flying down the stairs. Tempers flaring.

If you are going to continue with this policy......have more than one person to manage the crowd and the line. Have security there.

Studio B certainly could not handle the mess. People getting off elevator just cutting in line, and pretending not to understand English that the line forms there.

Yikes.

 

I'm convinced after many cruises you will never be able to stop those people that cut in line. They always feel like they are entitled to do that. You can't fix stupid! Or rude! It's much easier to just wait and leave after that. It's funny how people can't wait to board and then can't wait to get off! Happy cruising everyone!:D

[karena1]

Self Disembark is only bad in the terminal Indy goes out of. Allure/Oasis are fine

 

They are supposedly redoing the terminal Indy goes out of - it is BADLY needed. We have always said the worst self disembark is out of that terminal. Anywhere else, it is fine.

[vickiw0318]

Part of the problem with Royal Caribbean is that they make rules and don't enforce them. Part of the problem with people is that they believe that the rules don't apply to them. If you are going to limit self disembark to those who can do two flights of stairs carrying their bags, then program the elevators to stop at deck three. Create a line, direct people to the line, if they have bags they cannot handle, give them a departure number and have them go wait in that area until their number is called. (People in wheelchairs cannot do stairs, people cannot push strollers down stairs and carry luggage, children cannot carry suitcases that are as tall as them.) This is not rocket science. Royal Caribbean is so worried about insulting a few people that they end up making far more people angry. We have tried it different ways on different ships. Most organized was Quantum, worst was Indy.

 

That was what made the experience on the Navigator so wonderful. They made people stick to the rules!

[MommaBear55]

That was what made the experience on the Navigator so wonderful. They made people stick to the rules!

 

Where is my like button?

[ckfred]

The problem with self-disembarkation is that the number of people who use it vary from cruise to cruise. This was back in 2008. I was talking to a member of the cruise director's staff who said that the Majesty is a real crap shoot. One sailing, maybe 100 use self-disembarkation. The next cruise, it's half the ship. At that point, RC hadn't figured out how to estimate how many people might use self-disembarkation on any given cruise, the way airlines estimate the number of no-shows for calculating how much to overbook a flight.

 

The problem is that when far more than anticipated decide on self-disembarkation, it holds up the start of normal disembarkation.

 

Clearly, a cruise out of the U.S. has greater potential, because so many people will park at the cruise terminal. And, the shorter the cruise, the more likely that people will self-disembark, because of less luggage.

 

One other factor would be the number of people who are trying to get an early flight. We self-disembarked in Boston, because we needed to catch a 10:15 flight. Our airline discontinued its noon departure, leaving us with the choice of 10:15 and 2:30.

 

I know a lot of people disembark at Miami, because they want to catch flights leaving between 10am and noon.

 

I've also heard that sometimes, people initially decide to go through normal disembarkation, get their tags with a time that disembarks late, and then decide to self-disembark. So, the crew think X number of people are self-disembarking, but it's X+.

[Artemis908]

We've used self disembark for every cruise. We never make early flights and we try to stay on the ship as long as possible. Yes, it means we have to take our luggage down the stairs since the elevators are usually packed, but since we don't have kids we don't mind. For anyone with large luggage I would recommend the luggage valet. We had our luggage packed and gone by the evening before disembarkation and we didn't see it again until we got home. Since we fly Southwest, it didn't cost us anything to check two pieces of luggage under one name.

[SargassoPirate]

One thing we have discovered after cruising on both Royal and Princess is - if you want an orderly queue for everything, go with Princess. If you don't mind disorganized queues for most everything, go with Royal.

 

Princess disembarkation operations are orderly and have never been an issue with us. Royal, on the other hand, is generally a hot mess - so we wait until the pushing and shoving is over and try to be among the last off the ship. It works with late afternoon flights or a post-cruise stay.

[ColoradoGurl]

We loved self disembark at the beginning, when it was limited to a certain amount of people. Now not so much! We have reverted back to getting an early tag number and waiting in the Diamond Plus area until called.

 

I do have a question (now) ...... If we have a limited amount of luggage can we just keep our luggage and still just go off when our normal tag would be called? This would keep us from having to stand in that long line for self disembark! Just Wondering!

 

We took our luggage off a couple years ago, but the staff got super annoyed with us. Every time a new staff member would come into the room we were waiting in, they would act freaked out as if they didn't know what to do with us and gave us a lecture about how we should have put our luggage out the night before if we weren't gonna get off with the self-disembark group. One guy even got on a Walkie talkie and tried to figure out if he needed to take our luggage or send us off the ship in between groups. It was actually kind of embarrassing because they made us feel like we had really screwed things up in their process. In the end, it wasn't a problem at all, We got off the ship just fine and didn't have to go find our luggage before we got in line for customs, but I didn't do it again :)

[ThirstyCruiser]

On Harmony, they should make extensions for the Abyss and turn the bottoms towards the pier. Weeeeeeeeee! fastest way off the ship, land on a big mattress pad right by customs.

[DonnaK]

On our Princess and Celebrity cruises, we had to sign up for self-disembarkation. It was capacity limited, and once that capacity was reached, the option was "closed". On Celebrity, housekeeping came around on the last night with a master list - anyone who didn't sign up, or was not able to sign up due to capacity limits, were firmly told that they were expected to put their luggage outside the door that evening.

 

This was a couple of years ago, so I'm not sure that they still limit the number of people, and enforce that limit. But it worked like a charm!

[Desert Cruizers]

We have not done Self disembark yet, but did go and request earlier tags also last cruise getting off in FLL, we decided to stay over 1 night, this was mainly due to a real late arrival back to Calif had we flown out around 2:30 or 3 PM. We booked a 7 AM flight for the next morning and landed at our airport at 11:30 AM.

[Karma5]

I have done self assist many times. Some times it has been a mess. The best was on Anthem were I just walk off the ship…………..

[tugboat]

Simple way too many people doing self assist

 

Simple let the cruise do all the work.

 

Why are so,many in a hurry for their cruise to be over:confused: