Self disembarkation question from a cruise newbie.

[PANIN36]

Hello everyone,

Is it doable for a solo passenger to do self-disembarkation with two roll-on suitcases (one medium size 69cm/27” and one carry on size 55cm/21”)? On previous land trips, I could manage these cases at airports and getting on/off trains, but this will be my first time on a cruise.

My disembarkation will be from the Apex at PTA (Amsterdam).

I will be grateful for any advice/tips from experienced cruisers on CC about this and about self-disembarkation in general. Ta

V.

[Torfamm]

Managing with bags for self-disembarkation from the ship should be not be harder than managing train travel. The only issue may be needing to allow extra time in case elevators are very busy. 

[Ferry_Watcher]

My suggestion would be to make sure any immigration/custom documents are easily accessible (like a pouch hung over your neck), and/or using a crossbody bag if you need one.  I would also strongly recommend that you avoid trying to get both your wheeled pieces of luggage on an escalator, and use the elevator instead - its much safer.  Hoping that the Dutch shoreside staff would direct you to the elevators, rather than the escalator.  

Travel safe!

[Jim_Iain]

I think that the real decision will be the weight of your bags and whether you are comfortable carrying them about the length of a football field.   You leave the ship, across a gangway, down an escalator and across the terminal. 

 

If you don't want to buy new luggage a good alternative is a foldable luggage Trolly.   I have one for a large suite bag and I also put my backpack on it.   They have them from about $30-90.    This one will hold up to 176 pounds and has 4 wheels so works like the 4 wheeled suit cases.   Get a sturdy one and it will last you for years.

 

[SueMo]

Another idea is to have one rolling suitcase and a backpack for the smaller items.  It allows you to have one hand free.

[DCPIV]

I would think that you should have no more trouble handling your bags debarking from the ship any more than you do in the other areas.  You'll have the lifts on board (although, as noted, they may be busy).  I do not know about that particular terminal, but I would be surprised if they also didn't have lifts or ramps.

 

I agree that a backpack helps a great deal!

[dreams_of_travel]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

If you don't want to buy new luggage a good alternative is a foldable luggage Trolly.   I have one for a large suite bag and I also put my backpack on it.   They have them from about $30-90.    This one will hold up to 176 pounds and has 4 wheels so works like the 4 wheeled suit cases.   Get a sturdy one and it will last you for years.

 

That looks good, but what do you do with it when you fly?  Do you carry it on as your personal item, or stow it in your large suitcase before checking luggage?

[sanger727]

I agree that that can be handled in self disembarkation. One thing to be aware of is that in some ports they will not allow you to take the escalator if you don't have a free hand. So you will have to stand in line for the elevators. Not a huge issue.

[Covepointcruiser]

Actually there is no charge to have Celebrity handle your luggage.   Passengers with bags large enough to require checking at the airport should not be trying to roll them off the ship.   Put your bags out after you return to your cabin the final evening.   Keep a carryon for electronics, toiletries and meds.    This is the way seasoned cruisers travel.

[sanger727]

1 minute ago, Covepointcruiser said:

Actually there is no charge to have Celebrity handle your luggage.   Passengers with bags large enough to require checking at the airport should not be trying to roll them off the ship.   Put your bags out after you return to your cabin the final evening.   Keep a carryon for electronics, toiletries and meds.    This is the way seasoned cruisers travel.

there’s no charge but there are still reasons not to do it. We have always carried off our luggage until our last cruise. We had an afternoon flight and figured why not take our time. We had breakfast in the MDR and then went to our designated waiting area…. And the waited… and waited…. There was some issue that pushed all the times back an hour. We decided that we would have much rather had our luggage and been off the ship than sit there and wait for hours. Never again.

[miched]

I have seen passengers line up before 5:30 in the morning for self disembarkation.  
 

It is a lot easier to let them handle your luggage and go off at your scheduled time.   As others have posted you are not allowed on the escalators without a free hand.   There is only one lift and the line can get fairly long because many are in scooters and wheel chairs. 
 

Unless you need to get off first to try and make a flight it is better not to get involved in that crowd.  
 

Think about this.  People are in a hurry to get on board  but can’t get off fast enough. Why??????

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[PANIN36]

Thank you so much for all your replies.

 

I will definitely take all these advice on board (pun intended) when doing more planning for my cruise. Finding CC forum has been invaluable for this.

 

@Jim_Iain, the foldable cart looks good but might be an issue as extra luggage on my flight to AMS. I am trying very hard to pack as little as possible, and failing, lol.

 

The escalators without a free hand situation, hence, the need to queue up for elevators, might be a problem. Is that a Celebrity rule or the port rule? I will also try to get more information about disembarkation procedure for PTA port at the Amsterdam destination forum. Usually on escalators, I would push one bag on a step in front of me and another bag on a step behind me so I could ride the escalator standing on a step between the two bags to hold onto them.

 

I was going to limit myself to one bag but recent posts regarding the hits and misses of the onboard laundering service had me thinking about packing to last my 19 days of B2B cruising.

On this cruise I will be committing one of the cardinal sins of cruising, catching an international flight before noon (11:15am) on debarkation day, due to limited days off work so I will have to try to leave as soon as allowed. The ship is scheduled to dock at 6am. Otherwise, I will have to cancel this cruise which I’m reluctant to do, as by that time it will be almost 3 years since I traveled anywhere overseas!

 

I am looking forward to this cruise as reading the posts on CC had convinced me to try out solo cruising. Hopefully, after the cruise, I will be able to contribute to this forum as you are all kindly doing.

 

Keep well everyone and carry on cruising.

 

V.

[Ferry_Watcher]

58 minutes ago, PANIN36 said:

Usually on escalators, I would push one bag on a step in front of me and another bag on a step behind me so I could ride the escalator standing on a step between the two bags to hold onto them.

This is exactly why you should take the elevator. 

At Pier 91 in Seattle there is staff at the top of the escalator and at the bottom of the escalator to assist passengers.  Staff will encourage passengers with lots of luggage to use the elevator, same if staff has concerns about someone's ability to get on and off the escalator without the potential of an accident.  Also, FYI,  absolutely no baby strollers allowed on escalators.

 

One of the toughest jobs that the staff member at the bottom of the escalator has is grabbing luggage that the passenger has placed in front of them.  It is impossible to push forward a piece of luggage because the escalator flattens out and then there is a tiny lip where the escalator step disappears.   You really can't push your suitcase one handed over that lip.  What happens is in a nano-second the suitcase gets caught at the little lip and stops moving forward. The passenger standing on the step behind it gets tangled up with it and begins to fall over the suitcase. 

 

Seattle staff members are trained to proactively grab the suitcase and pull it out of the way, but at the same time watching the out for the safety of the passenger.  If a passenger falls, the staff member hits the emergency STOP button while yelling out a warning about a sudden stop.  If an  emergency stop is activated there is a least a few minutes of waiting until a supervisor gets it going again.

 

Please just take the elevator.  :  )

Edited January 29, 2022 by Ferry_Watcher

[PANIN36]

Yikes!

Ferry_Watcher thank you for your explanation. I will now have to start taking elevators with these bags, even for my  land travels.

I'm so accustomed to using the escalators that way, that I did not know the consequence of a mishap.

V.

[Ipeeinthepools]

On 1/27/2022 at 8:15 PM, miched said:

I have seen passengers line up before 5:30 in the morning for self disembarkation.  
 

It is a lot easier to let them handle your luggage and go off at your scheduled time.   As others have posted you are not allowed on the escalators without a free hand.   There is only one lift and the line can get fairly long because many are in scooters and wheel chairs. 
 

Unless you need to get off first to try and make a flight it is better not to get involved in that crowd.  
 

Think about this.  People are in a hurry to get on board  but can’t get off fast enough. Why??????

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

When it's over, it's over.

[Jim_Iain]

On 1/27/2022 at 9:42 AM, dreams_of_travel said:

That looks good, but what do you do with it when you fly?  Do you carry it on as your personal item, or stow it in your large suitcase before checking luggage?

Never been questioned about it .   After checking my bag I have by backpack on in.   It folds up to about  4 inch thick  by about 12x12 inches   and put in overhead just next to my backpack or under the seat in front of me.

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, PANIN36 said:

@Jim_Iain, the foldable cart looks good but might be an issue as extra luggage on my flight to AMS. I am trying very hard to pack as little as possible, and failing, lol.

 

I've traveled with it all over the world including into and out of Amsterdam and never even been questioned about it.    What ever my personal item is after checking luggage i put on the the trolley  and they have considered it part of the personal item.

 

We flew BA from Glasgow to Amsterdam and you know how restrictive BA is.

I guess you could also just slip it into your checked bag also.

Edited January 29, 2022 by Jim_Iain

[chemmo]

On 1/27/2022 at 8:53 AM, PANIN36 said:

Hello everyone,

Is it doable for a solo passenger to do self-disembarkation with two roll-on suitcases (one medium size 69cm/27” and one carry on size 55cm/21”)? On previous land trips, I could manage these cases at airports and getting on/off trains, but this will be my first time on a cruise.

My disembarkation will be from the Apex at PTA (Amsterdam).

I will be grateful for any advice/tips from experienced cruisers on CC about this and about self-disembarkation in general. Ta

V.

Have you considered a backpack with wheels? There are several available which look as roomy as a carry on suitcase. This would give you the best of both options…wheel when appropriate and wear it when you need one hand free.

 

I have never used one myself but I saw someone with one last year…It also had zip pockets. Looked ideal for travelling when you had two bags to manoeuvre.

[PANIN36]

Hello everyone,

So sorry I could not update sooner. I was waiting to get an answer from work  for my request/beg to have an extra day off work.

 

It finally came through, and I’m happy to report that I will be able to fly home the day after disembarkation.  I now plan to enjoy a leisurely disembarkation morning in the retreat lounge and to stay there until they kick me off the ship, lol.

 

During my wait for work to reply, I managed to fall down the rabbit hole looking into @Jim_Iain’s luggage trolley and @Chemmo’s backpack with wheels,  for great travel bags and accessories that I really, really don’t need… Really.

 

Thank you everyone again for your kind advice.

 

V.

[daydreamer16]

On 1/28/2022 at 8:51 PM, Ferry_Watcher said:

 You really can't push your suitcase one handed over that lip.  What happens is in a nano-second the suitcase gets caught at the little lip and stops moving forward. The passenger standing on the step behind it gets tangled up with it and begins to fall over the suitcase. 

I saw this exact scenario on arrival in Shanghai a few years ago. I was on an adjoining escalator. People was falling like dominos, it was so scary.