Newbie Disembarkation Questions

[Sersee]

Well I just  disembarked lol . Thank you for all your advice!!

 

We chose to self assist. We got in early so they were allowing people off early. We did go when our floor was called . 

 

I see see why the elevators are annoying. I don’t understand why they don’t shut them off to other floors and have an attendant go up to the floors being let go. Would make for a much smoother process. Luckily we did end up getting an elevator with a staff member and went from 11 (our deck) to 3.  It’s annoying because I’m a rule follower and it was obvious a lot aren’t. Elevators were always full bu the time it got to 11. 

 

But we we got lucky. The rest of the process was very organized and quick. We went right through the lines and had no problems with the escalators.  I will be at the airport by 9:30 am.

[bbtbear]

Check the arrival city excursions that Carnival has available for the day of your return. When we returned to New Orleans in March, my sister got a late airport transfer. They took her bags and held them for her, then she met up with a bus in the city later in the day for her transfer. If that's available, you would certainly save some money over renting a car and could still walk around the port.

[bbtbear]

doh! I just saw you were already off the ship. Sorry I'm Johnny come lately lol

 

[jdemps]

We typically leave our room at 8:30ish and take our own bags to head for breakfast on lido deck.  We pack one spinner rolling bag for each person so very easy to manage.  We have breakfast and relax until they announce that everyone must leave.  There is some pretty good people watching the last morning of the cruise with everyone trying to be first off and stand in a line for an hour with too many bags tryn g to make an early flight...lol

Most of the lines are very short by the time we get into them so it takes about 20 minutes to get off the ship if you wait it out. 

 

From there, we head to the uber or taxi area depending on how far the port is away from the airport.  By that time it's usually around 10am - 10:30am so we either head to the airport or hand our bags over to some kind of luggage storage company that takes them to the airport for us while we explore the city.  It all depends on what time flights are.  Bags aren't permitted to be checked in until 4 hours before a flight so we don't head to the airport outside of that time frame.

 

Good luck with your trip.  

[Sersee]

Next time I probably will wait. Although we got out pretty quick since we got lucky with an elevator. 

 

My flight isn’t until 3 so we got to the airport fairly early. We just had breakfast and will be able to check our bags soon. I hate hanging around the airport because it gives me anxiety . 

 

I think next time I would be more comfortable with an earlier flight or making it even later and renting a car 

[Organized Chaos]

1 hour ago, Sersee said:

Well I just  disembarked lol . Thank you for all your advice!!

 

We chose to self assist. We got in early so they were allowing people off early. We did go when our floor was called . 

 

I see see why the elevators are annoying. I don’t understand why they don’t shut them off to other floors and have an attendant go up to the floors being let go. Would make for a much smoother process. Luckily we did end up getting an elevator with a staff member and went from 11 (our deck) to 3.  It’s annoying because I’m a rule follower and it was obvious a lot aren’t. Elevators were always full bu the time it got to 11. 

 

But we we got lucky. The rest of the process was very organized and quick. We went right through the lines and had no problems with the escalators.  I will be at the airport by 9:30 am.

 

Good to hear debark wasn't too painful for you. We had a nightmare debark a few years ago. No one was following the rules, people in lines they weren't supposed to be in, completely packed in the stairwells when clearly told not to...it was complete chaos (as opposed to "organized chaos" 😉). We even overheard crew members & Fun Squad members calling over their radios saying they had lost control. There are plenty of horror stories just like that. So look at the bright side, it could've been worse...much worse.

 

Other than that, how was your cruise? We look forward to hearing more about it.

[Sersee]

Yes I heard people were sitting in the stairwells. One guy was very angry and security was talking to him. It just seems they could make it much simpler. People just don’t care about the rules and do what they want which is annoying to rule followers. These were the same people who cut int line at every poet and excursion we went on. I was proud of myself for keeping my mouth shut lol 

 

It was so wonderful! I can’t wait to go again!  Wasn’t nuts about Amber Cove and Grand Turk but St Thomas and Puerto Rico were phenomenal . My next cruise will definitely be a southern one! 

[Organized Chaos]

6 hours ago, Sersee said:

Yes I heard people were sitting in the stairwells. One guy was very angry and security was talking to him. It just seems they could make it much simpler. People just don’t care about the rules and do what they want which is annoying to rule followers. These were the same people who cut int line at every poet and excursion we went on. I was proud of myself for keeping my mouth shut lol 

 

It was so wonderful! I can’t wait to go again!  Wasn’t nuts about Amber Cove and Grand Turk but St Thomas and Puerto Rico were phenomenal . My next cruise will definitely be a southern one! 

 

Glad you had fun. Sounds like you've caught the bug.

 

Amber Cove is a nice port complex for what it is. I'm not the type of person who enjoys sitting around a pool, but if we ever went back there, I might give it a try because the pool area is pretty nice. We took a taxi to the Teleferico (cable car) that went to the top of Mt. Isabel. It's about 15 minutes from the port. It's an amazing ride up/down and it's beautiful at the top of the mountain. There's a smaller replica of the "Christ the Redeemer" statute that's in Brazil. There's also hiking paths up there that go all around the gardens and jungle areas. We love the mountains and hiking in wooded areas, so it was right up our aisle. It wasn't a strenuous hike, so there's no need to prep ahead of time. There's also several vendors inside the building under the statue. One of them greeted us outside and asked us to come to his shop when we were done with the tour of the area, which we did. He wasn't at all aggressive and we bought a few nice things. None of the other vendors bothered us. We'd like to go back there again and would have no problem doing the cable car again.

 

Grand Turk is a pretty small island. I think a majority of cruisers hang out at Margaritaville, the beach right out in front of it, and Jack's Shack. So those places tend to be crazy crowded. We always go to the right of the pier (as you're getting off the ship), which is to the south. There's an area just to the right that's usually a lot less crowded. Last year, we walked even farther down to the southern end of the island, about a third of a mile. Only a few people venture down that far and it was decent snorkeling. We're novice snorkelers, so we had a good time. You can take taxi tours of the town or go to the northern end of the island to the lighthouse. I think a lot of people rent a golf cart for the day. Next March will be our third time there, it's definitely our snorkeling stop.

[PaperSniper4]

Anyone know and have experience with "express" or "valet" service where the ship will have your bags sent directly to your final airport? That's a very convenient alternative for those who cannot easily handle all their baggage them selves.

 

We have used that on Celebrity, RCI and Princess, but never on Carnival. If they do have it, the cost will be about $25 per bag. The ship picks up your luggage the night before, and you will not see it again until your collect your other bags (or that one<s>) at the airport terminal. I was nervous about using that service the first time, but so far after 3 times I've not had a problem yet. We usually use that service for only 1 bag (my wife's!) as it's the heaviest/biggest and the rest we can handle ourselves for the self-debarkation.

[coevan]

where will they leave your bags? Obviously you can't check them without a boarding pass and ID. 

[FTLCruiseGal]

5 hours ago, PaperSniper4 said:

Anyone know and have experience with "express" or "valet" service where the ship will have your bags sent directly to your final airport? That's a very convenient alternative for those who cannot easily handle all their baggage them selves.

 

We have used that on Celebrity, RCI and Princess, but never on Carnival. If they do have it, the cost will be about $25 per bag. The ship picks up your luggage the night before, and you will not see it again until your collect your other bags (or that one<s>) at the airport terminal. I was nervous about using that service the first time, but so far after 3 times I've not had a problem yet. We usually use that service for only 1 bag (my wife's!) as it's the heaviest/biggest and the rest we can handle ourselves for the self-debarkation.

I don’t believe Carnival has luggage valet.  Wish they did.  Had it once on Royal — best $25 I spent that trip!

[Banditswife]

I didn't read this whole thread, but thought I'd add my 2 cents.  With a 3 PM flight, you will have plenty of time to get to the airport.  We like to set our bags out the night before,  keeping whatever we need for the next day along with a carry on bag or backpack.  This way we only have a small bag to lug around the ship while waiting to debark.  We go to the main dining room  for a relaxed breakfast carrying our small bag.  Remember to keep your flight paperwork, drivers license/passport & anything you need to get on your flight in your small bag or backpack.  Then leave the ship when your zone is called & pick up your bags that you left out the night before in the terminal.  Any makeup or liquids not allowed on the plane, we switch over to our checked bags. 

Enjoy your 1st cruise, if you have questions while on the ship, most cruisers are always willing to help out a newbie.  Just ask one of your fellow passengers for any info you might need.  We enjoy observing new cruisers reactions to everything.  We experienced cruisers have lost that 1st ahhhh moment when we 1st boarded a ship.  Good luck & don't forget to relax.  

[PaperSniper4]

19 minutes ago, FTLCruiseGal said:

I don’t believe Carnival has luggage valet.  Wish they did.  Had it once on Royal — best $25 I spent that trip!

Oh that is bad news. We don't have a Carnival cruise booked, and even if we did, we use Carnival out of NOLA since it's a day's drive for us. So valet service is not required for us.

 

But, you never know. We may end up on Carnival in the future for a cruise elsewhere.

[PaperSniper4]

1 hour ago, coevan said:

where will they leave your bags? Obviously you can't check them without a boarding pass and ID. 

When you  sign up for the valet service (on Princess, Celebrity and RCI in my case) you provide info on your flight home. I don't know how they do it, but it has worked well for us.

[Organized Chaos]

1 hour ago, Banditswife said:

I didn't read this whole thread, but thought I'd add my 2 cents. 

 

Enjoy your 1st cruise, if you have questions while on the ship, most cruisers are always willing to help out a newbie.  Just ask one of your fellow passengers for any info you might need. Good luck & don't forget to relax.  

 

The OP returned from the cruise yesterday. 😉

[hotsauce126]

On 7/22/2019 at 4:46 PM, Sersee said:

How crazy is it taking your own luggage?  I will look for the talks. So if you take your own luggage, they call you down by decks..? What about if you set up the night before? Do you get whatever is on your ticket called?

 

Its not crazy at all. I've never not taken my own luggage

[Sersee]

It was crazy... hard to get an elevator lol

[Shaded Lady]

We did self-disembarkation last month on the Vista and it was a bit crazy- they loaded all of us who had our own luggage into the theater and had us put our suitcases in lines... then they were supposed to let people go according to the lines of luggage... except the jerks who just piled into the theater and then crowded into the line... or the people who didn't follow directions and just dumped their suitcases at the door, causing jams and allowing them to just move in, pick them up and get off the ship- like the rest of us hadn't been patiently waiting for the last 30 minutes!

 

The good news was the elevators though- they had them all controlled and staffed to only stop at the 4th floor (where the theater is) and would go down to the 3rd floor (where the exit is) so once we got out of the theater, everything moved pretty quickly.

[coevan]

1 hour ago, PaperSniper4 said:

When you  sign up for the valet service (on Princess, Celebrity and RCI in my case) you provide info on your flight home. I don't know how they do it, but it has worked well for us.

 

 

OK, where do they leave your luggage? No, they can NOT check it if the ticketed passenger is not physically there with a boarding pass and ID. 

[keywest1]

7 minutes ago, coevan said:

 

 

OK, where do they leave your luggage? No, they can NOT check it if the ticketed passenger is not physically there with a boarding pass and ID. 

We had luggage express on our first Carnival cruise out of FLL.  Worked like a charm.  On our next cruise, they had discontinued the service.  IIRC, it was $20 per bag (in addition to the fees charged by the airline)and worth every penny.  We left our luggage out in hall the night before disembarkation with the special tags provided for Luggage Express (Carnival tags, not airport).  We didn't see them again until we arrived in Nashville the next evening.  

I don't know how it works or why it works, but I know from my own experience that it did.

Edited August 4, 2019 by keywest1

[PaperSniper4]

14 hours ago, coevan said:

 

 

OK, where do they leave your luggage? No, they can NOT check it if the ticketed passenger is not physically there with a boarding pass and ID. 

As I said, each of those three times they did check it for me, and it was waiting for me at the final destination airport. Don't ask me how they do it.....I am just saying it has worked for me and thousands of others passengers. Maybe if something suspicious is detected in a bag it might NOT be checked, but that has not happened in my limited experience.