Is HAL the only line that lets you wait in your room for disembarkation?

[Donny-Joe]

We have loved being able to wait in our stateroom on the final morning for our disembarkation number to come up, but that seems to be unusual. Disney, Princess and Royal Caribbean all asked us to vacate the room by 8 or 8:30. Are there any other lines that let you wait in your cabin? And while I'm asking, is that the standard across all HAL ships and itineraries, or have we just lucked out with the cruises we've taken?

 

I have to admit, I don't know how they do it. They let you wait in the cabin to disembark, and they generally have the rooms ready when you embark. The logistical complexities must be considerable.

[rkorchid]

Not only do we wait in our room, we order a room service breakfast.

 

They did come to collect the trays without being called as usual.

[Krazy Kruizers]

A couple of times everyone had to be out of their cabins by 8 AM when the ships had to have a deep cleaning due to the Noro Virus.

Other than those times, people could remain in their cabins.

Sadly we can no longer do that as I now require wheelchair assistance and have to report to a certain lounge between 8 and 8:15.

[DaveOKC]

We have loved being able to wait in our stateroom on the final morning for our disembarkation number to come up, but that seems to be unusual. Disney, Princess and Royal Caribbean all asked us to vacate the room by 8 or 8:30. Are there any other lines that let you wait in your cabin? And while I'm asking, is that the standard across all HAL ships and itineraries, or have we just lucked out with the cruises we've taken?

 

I have to admit, I don't know how they do it. They let you wait in the cabin to disembark, and they generally have the rooms ready when you embark. The logistical complexities must be considerable.

 

This is the relatively new standard for HAL - stay in your cabin on disembarkation and the cabin is ready for you when you board. They work their b****s off to make this happen and we love it.

[debsjc]

I am 95% sure we could also wait in our cabin on NCL.

[rkacruiser]

Carnival Liberty, Port Canaveral, January 26, 2017:

 

Very surprised, but allowed to remain in my stateroom until my disembarkation number was called. I even was able to order a Room Service Continental Breakfast (standard RS breakfast). Given my disembarkation time, I asked for delivery at 7:00 A.M. It arrived at 6:00 A. M. OK. I accepted it and, since the coffee is in a thermos-type pot and nothing else should be hot/warm, I went back to bed until 7:00 A. M. This was a major improvement for Carnival Cruise Line service in my limited history with Carnival Cruise Lines.

[dobiemom]

I disembarked NCL Dawn 3/26/17 (NOLA). We had to be out of our cabin by 9am. Not too bad.

[Happily@Sea]

We have loved being able to wait in our stateroom on the final morning for our disembarkation number to come up, but that seems to be unusual. Disney, Princess and Royal Caribbean all asked us to vacate the room by 8 or 8:30. Are there any other lines that let you wait in your cabin? And while I'm asking, is that the standard across all HAL ships and itineraries, or have we just lucked out with the cruises we've taken?

 

I have to admit, I don't know how they do it. They let you wait in the cabin to disembark, and they generally have the rooms ready when you embark. The logistical complexities must be considerable.

 

Well, one thing that helps, they have always remade my bed - ready for the next occupants - while I'm at breakfast, I don't know how they know that I went - maybe the final statement in my mailbox being gone??

 

If they can do that for most of the rooms, and the number that have to get off immediately - because of transportation schedules - the stuff left to do - where they need two stewards at once is greatly diminished. Plus they have extra help on that morning, but I don't know where they acquire them from.

 

Intransits can wait also for later - like during immigration and lunch.

[Crew News]

Sadly we can no longer do that as I now require wheelchair assistance and have to report to a certain lounge between 8 and 8:15.

 

It is our experience that wheelchair assistance is available throughout the normal disembarkation process. Joanie and I have always chosen late disembarkation, so we have waited in our stateroom until our color is called to report to the wheelchair assist location at our designated time which is usually around 9:20 AM.

[Tinknock50]

I am glad to hear we can stay in our room that long. It takes awhile to get my handicapped friend ready in the morning so appreciate the extra time. I will try and get in the last group to be called.

[Dismomx5]

I disembarked NCL Dawn 3/26/17 (NOLA). We had to be out of our cabin by 9am. Not too bad.

We were on the Escape in January and it was the same. That said, the cabin steward came and said we had to leave shortly after 8. I assured him that we would be out by 9, and we vacated the room slightly ahead of schedule. Our scheduled disembark time was 9:15, so we waited in the theatre until it was time to do so.

[kentuckycruiser]

Best Neptune suite perk - Neptune lounge worker personally escorted us and 4 others to front of line to disembark yesterday. We met at elevator on level 2 and she had us off before the hundreds of self disembark people.

We waited in room until 7:30 and then met her. I know people had been lined up for hours and we got to go ahead.

 

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[DaveOKC]

Best Neptune suite perk - Neptune lounge worker personally escorted us and 4 others to front of line to disembark yesterday. We met at elevator on level 2 and she had us off before the hundreds of self disembark people.

We waited in room until 7:30 and then met her. I know people had been lined up for hours and we got to go ahead.

 

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Were you in self-disembark also?

[kentuckycruiser]

Were you in self-disembark also?

 

 

Yes we were technically in self disembark group x but never had to actually get in that group. It was insanely busy day in port Everglades and my husband decided that the entire ship was trying to self disembark. Then only 2 customs agents going sooooo slow and then a ten minute wait for a cab. We were in first 20 off ship and I can't imagine the gridlock after we left.

 

 

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[summersigh]

It is our experience that wheelchair assistance is available throughout the normal disembarkation process. Joanie and I have always chosen late disembarkation, so we have waited in our stateroom until our color is called to report to the wheelchair assist location at our designated time which is usually around 9:20 AM.

We've had the same experience on HAL as well - the most recent being the Zuiderdam in December. The letter we receive says something about reporting to the assistance area (my term) according to our normal disembarking order. Since I always request a late disembarking time it works out great for us.

[Donny-Joe]

Well, one thing that helps, they have always remade my bed - ready for the next occupants - while I'm at breakfast,

 

Same here; on our most recent cruise we got packed up but left our luggage in the room while we were at breakfast. When we came back, the room had been tidied and the beds were set for the next set of passengers (who apparently wanted split twin beds). The luggage had been moved a tiny bit to make room to maneuver. We were impressed, actually, at the efficiency.

 

I guess there's no real secret to getting the rooms done during disembarkation, other than "do whatever you can as early as possible." That means instead of methodically working their way down their section, the attendants have to bounce around as people leave the ship, go to breakfast, etc. I suppose they might have a printout of when HAL expects each room to be empty, and then they just keep an eye out for people leaving their room. Or maybe they can see when people take the card out of the slot near the door.

 

In our experience, waiting in a lounge for your number to come up is a terrible, mind-numbing way to end your cruise. I don't know why cruise lines don't put more effort into making that process as pleasant as possible. It's the guests' last impression of the cruise and the company. On our recent Princess cruise, the lounge we were scheduled to wait in was full to the brim, with people standing around because they couldn't get a chair. That's poor planning; don't send guests to a room that can't hold them.

[iancal]

I think we waited in our cabin once on an NCL cruise.

 

It has never really been an issue or an inconvenience. Not a feature we really care about.