Ignore Walk Off Announcements At End Of Cruise

[CruisingWalter]

16 hours ago, groundloop said:

 

I couldn't agree more.  Folks showing at the terminal for embarkation before their appointed time clog things up for everyone, and selfish people ignoring debarkation instructions makes a mess for everyone else.

 

 

Well, I have no problem with skirting the rules for embarkation and disembarkation, so many people do it and in this case, having our luggage ready to go but being held back for an hour was silly. So we broke that rule and I encourage anyone else who is doing a self-disembark to simply move to the gangway when the first group is called. If you have checked luggage, you should wait for your zone call because your luggage won't be ready for you anyway.

 

Now rules I DO care about such as wearing shirts and dry clothes in the buffet and other food establishments, no bare feet in the food establishments not being enforced and ignored by the Carnival staff. Also not enforcing any sort of sanitizing by passengers upon entering the buffet, THOSE are things that concern me much more than whether or not folks follow the rules for leaving the ship. But that's another discussion for another day. 🙂 

[CruisingWalter]

7 hours ago, matymil said:

Man oh man did you open a can of worms

 

Worms can be good if you know how to prepare them properly. 🙂 

[kdr69]

On our Panorama Cruise Debarkation went smoothly i thought.  First off were Platinum Diamond early debark along with those people who could show they had early flights.  Then they went by muster station.  No issues at all.

[CruisingWalter]

8 hours ago, ray98 said:

I experienced a similar cluster **** on the Spirit last month that seems to have been caused by those who decided the rules did not apply and to just exit when they want.  It was the worst debarking process I have been involved in.  They actually stopped debarking for about 45 minutes and we just stood in line.  The CD said the terminal was full of people who exited before their tag was called.  That led to the terminal being full of people just standing there because their luggage was not out.  The people whose luggage were ready were stuck on the ship.

 

Yep, if you have checked luggage you have to wait till they call your zone because the luggage won't be ready. Which is why the title of this thread is 'ignore walk-off announcements' because my thoughts only apply to self-disembark, walk-off guests. This is precisely WHY all the other cruise lines we have sailed let us off first. To get us out of the way because we have no need to clog up the gangway for the folks who have to go through the luggage corral to get their stuff. 

[CruisingWalter]

14 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Part of the problem is the expectation that Carnival creates by selling self assist debark as a time-saving, first-off-the ship option to get people to handle their own luggage so Carnival can pay fewer baggage handlers.

 

From Carnival's website: "Express Debark: In order to be cleared off the ship shortly after arrival in the homeport, guests have the option of participating in our Express Debark Program if they elect to carry off their own luggage. ... Express Debark is a great option for anyone with an early flight back home."

 

People have right to be frustrated when they elected to carry their own bags off so they could debark earlier, only to find out that people with checked luggage still get called to debark before they do.

 

That's exactly how it is supposed to work. Express Debark is 'first one off the ship because we don't have to deal with your bags. So please get off our ship so we can deal with everyone else.' All the other cruises we have sailed with Self Disembark they have brought us together in one location and as soon as the gangway was open, we were free to leave. It's a very orderly procession because none of us has to leave the line to get our luggage. Self Disembark generally takes no more than 30 minutes and then the process is clear for all the checked luggage zones. 

[rebeccac]

 I think the process would have been less frustrating (I was also on this cruise) if they hadn't been so slow to call muster stations and so quick to call luggage tags.  It had to be three or four luggage tag groups to every one muster station group.  We were waiting in the Blue Iguana area and the announcements were pretty clear, so I am fairly certain we did not miss an announcement.  They started disembarking people at 7:30am and by the time we finally just left at about 9:15am, only 3 muster stations had been called.  And I agree, if they want it done this way, they should not "advertise" the self-disembarkation as a quicker/easier way to exit.  I felt really bad for my sister and her family as they were driving back home to north of Atlanta and being one of the first ones off would have been very helpful to them.  

[Purvis1231]

Several years ago while disembarking on Thanksgiving day, we had the early zone with Faster to the Fun but it seemed that everyone disregarded the noticed an headed for the exit at one time. It was a mess and it took us well over an hour to get to the exit even though we had a cabin barely 100 feet from the exit on deck 7.  So I wish everyone would follow the procedures for a smoother exit. ( We decided to wait until the last to leave the ship.)

[atakkat]

Oh my gosh! Galveston is the worst at disembarkation.  Our last Galveston cruise it took 2 hrs to get off. What is the breakfast time in the MDR? I am local so no one has a flight or anywhere to go fast. I’ll let the masses go for it!😀

[Joebucks]

I honestly don't get the allure of needing to be off the ship asap and fighting with hordes of people. I get the early flights, but still people overdo it. I don't book early flights home because too much can get in the way of that. I believe some people just don't know how to live stress-free. The last day for us is usually getting off as late as possible. One last breakfast, enjoying our last few moments there, and reminding ourselves of the fun times we just had. 

[jimbo5544]

Love people who ignore rules and then call it a cluster because people are breaking the rules.  

[jimbo5544]

17 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Part of the problem is the expectation that Carnival creates by selling self assist debark as a time-saving, first-off-the ship option to get people to handle their own luggage so Carnival can pay fewer baggage handlers.

 

From Carnival's website: "Express Debark: In order to be cleared off the ship shortly after arrival in the homeport, guests have the option of participating in our Express Debark Program if they elect to carry off their own luggage. ... Express Debark is a great option for anyone with an early flight back home."

 

People have right to be frustrated when they elected to carry their own bags off so they could debark earlier, only to find out that people with checked luggage still get called to debark before they do.

Ummmm how are the selling anything? They give options, more people like self debark.  The two processes are totally independent. Self debark does get off sooner….fact.   Some zones for regular debark get called before others….fact.  Just doing what you want screws it for the whole ship, but IT IS YOUR vacation…right?

Edited April 3, 2022 by jimbo5544

[rebeccac]

8 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Ummmm how are the selling anything? They give options, more people lie self debark.  The two processes are totally independent. Self debark does get off sooner….fact.   Some zones for regular debark get called before others….fact.  Just doing what you want screws it for the whole ship, but IT IS YOUR vacation…right?

 

It is absolutely NOT a fact that self debark gets off sooner, at least this past week on the Mardi Gras.  At least 9 zones for regular debark had been called and only 3 for self debark when we gave up.   I would have had less of an issue with the "rules" if the ratio had been reversed.  There is absolutely no reason that any self debark person should be waiting almost two hours into the process and still not have been called to leave the ship which is what happened to us.  And there were no long lines of people waiting to get off the ship, so I am unsure how we "screwed" anybody else on the ship. 

[Lane Hog]

For years, self-carry has been pushed for those who have early flights or long drives.  To try and rein it in now is a bit difficult if not disengenous... 

On our last Galveston cruise, we had a 20 hour drive afterward.  Sitting around until 9 or 10 wasn't an option.  Fortunately we were able to be off at 0725 and in the car by 0745.  Any later and we'd have had to stop somewhere overnight.  

[DGNewton]

• We believe you may of missed a call and or they knew they messed up and posted the message to leave -- so you didn't break the rule.

What I take exception to is your position it is okay to break rules and then want others enforced.

Seem to be a whole can of you being a Hippocratic.

 

Nonetheless, hope you enjoyed your cruise and others too come.

[kwokpot]

13 hours ago, 2wheelin said:

It’s called zipper merge. Get with the times. You are not supposed to form a single line until immediately before the merge. So if you are one of those, stop complaining about those who do it properly.

You're absolutely correct. In fact it has been shown time after time in traffic studies that the Zipper Merge actually SHORTENS the amount of time for cars to exit and is considered the proper way even though intuitively it seems wrong, rude, and inconsiderate. 

[Elaine5715]

17 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

Reminds me of people who know there is a lane closed up ahead, but speed up, pass as many people as possible, then force their way into the open lane. It doesn't make them smart, it makes them jerks, and slows everyone else down. But, of course, they only think of themselves.

 

13 hours ago, 2wheelin said:

It’s called zipper merge. Get with the times. You are not supposed to form a single line until immediately before the merge. So if you are one of those, stop complaining about those who do it properly.

The research supports 2wheelin https://www.wbur.org/news/2019/08/19/driving-traffic-lane-closure-construction-maneuver-safety

[Elaine5715]

2 hours ago, Purvis1231 said:

Several years ago while disembarking on Thanksgiving day, we had the early zone with Faster to the Fun but it seemed that everyone disregarded the noticed an headed for the exit at one time. It was a mess and it took us well over an hour to get to the exit even though we had a cabin barely 100 feet from the exit on deck 7.  So I wish everyone would follow the procedures for a smoother exit. ( We decided to wait until the last to leave the ship.)

I can't think of a single cruise that when at the priority meeting area with luggage that there wasn't other guests already exiting with their luggage.  The good CDs stop that line to let priority guests go but the bad ones let guests duke it out.  

[jimbo5544]

51 minutes ago, rebeccac said:

 

It is absolutely NOT a fact that self debark gets off sooner, at least this past week on the Mardi Gras.  At least 9 zones for regular debark had been called and only 3 for self debark when we gave up.   I would have had less of an issue with the "rules" if the ratio had been reversed.  There is absolutely no reason that any self debark person should be waiting almost two hours into the process and still not have been called to leave the ship which is what happened to us.  And there were no long lines of people waiting to get off the ship, so I am unsure how we "screwed" anybody else on the ship. 

Not sure how that could be UNLESS a vast majority of people selected. Regular debarkation, but I will repost, THE VAST majority of times.  IF YOU DID NOT FOLLOW THE RULES, you know the rules that the experts, the cruise line itself makes, then you are screwing up the process.  If you think that if they decide one way and a large group decide differently and it does not screw things up then we can stop talking.  When cruisers start deciding what is right and what things they will follow, chaos will result.  So since you are the expert, what is the correct time people should wait?  1/2 hour 45 minutes?  THEY decide which is right and you follow…period.  

[jimbo5544]

12 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

I can't think of a single cruise that when at the priority meeting area with luggage that there wasn't other guests already exiting with their luggage.  The good CDs stop that line to let priority guests go but the bad ones let guests duke it out.  

Me either

[1kaper]

2 hours ago, Joebucks said:

I honestly don't get the allure of needing to be off the ship asap and fighting with hordes of people. I get the early flights, but still people overdo it. I don't book early flights home because too much can get in the way of that. I believe some people just don't know how to live stress-free. The last day for us is usually getting off as late as possible. One last breakfast, enjoying our last few moments there, and reminding ourselves of the fun times we just had. 

That’s assuming you have the luxury of numerous flight options. 
Not all of us do. 

[CruisingWalter]

3 hours ago, Joebucks said:

I honestly don't get the allure of needing to be off the ship asap and fighting with hordes of people. I get the early flights, but still people overdo it. I don't book early flights home because too much can get in the way of that. I believe some people just don't know how to live stress-free. The last day for us is usually getting off as late as possible. One last breakfast, enjoying our last few moments there, and reminding ourselves of the fun times we just had. 

 

It's not the 'allure of needing to be off first.' It's the convenience that we live within driving distance, so we opt to walk off with our luggage for the convenience of getting off the ship before the masses need to go down for their luggage. We're kicked out of our rooms at 8:00am anyway so might as well get off the ship and on our way back home. 

[CruisingWalter]

1 hour ago, Elaine5715 said:

I can't think of a single cruise that when at the priority meeting area with luggage that there wasn't other guests already exiting with their luggage.  The good CDs stop that line to let priority guests go but the bad ones let guests duke it out.  

 

Every other cruise we've done self-debarkation it was a smooth process and we've sailed 7 different cruise lines. This was our first time on Carnival and the first time experiencing this process. The priority guests were never called, I assume they were all directed to a specific gathering spot and were notified in that spot to go. No public announcement was made for the priority guests and I'm assuming that is by design. The first public announcement was for the first Muster Station and Luggage Zones. By the time we walked off, an hour after debarkation started, they had called three Muster Stations and 10 Luggage Zones. It was a very orderly process when we got down there so we were not causing any sort of an issue.

 

As for a CD stopping lines, the ship was so understaffed there was nobody down there to stop anyone. Security was just scanning everyone's cards as we left. 

[ontheweb]

4 minutes ago, creativegenius said:

 

It's not the 'allure of needing to be off first.' It's the convenience that we live within driving distance, so we opt to walk off with our luggage for the convenience of getting off the ship before the masses need to go down for their luggage. We're kicked out of our rooms at 8:00am anyway so might as well get off the ship and on our way back home. 

And for those with early flights it is not just a convenience, but a necessity. Yet there are those who think passengers in a suite should have priority in disembarking over those with early flights.

[CruisingWalter]

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

Not sure how that could be UNLESS a vast majority of people selected. Regular debarkation, but I will repost, THE VAST majority of times.  IF YOU DID NOT FOLLOW THE RULES, you know the rules that the experts, the cruise line itself makes, then you are screwing up the process.  If you think that if they decide one way and a large group decide differently and it does not screw things up then we can stop talking.  When cruisers start deciding what is right and what things they will follow, chaos will result.  So since you are the expert, what is the correct time people should wait?  1/2 hour 45 minutes?  THEY decide which is right and you follow…period.  

 

If you are Self Debarking, that is you have ALL of your luggage and the cruise line does NOT have to assist you in any way with your luggage, you should walk off as soon as the gangway is cleared and ready for guests. The Mardi Gras had two gangways so one would be the Priority Guests to walk off at the start of debarkation and the other can be for the Self Debarkation guests. 

 

Since the cruise line is out of the equation and has no responsibilities when it comes to the luggage, there is no reason NOT for Self Debarkation to leave the ship first. Typically it takes 15-30 minutes for the Self Debark guests to leave the ship depending on how many people that is. If that starts at 7:15 am, the first Luggage Zone would be called about 20 minutes later the rest proceeds from there. 

[CruisingWalter]

11 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

And for those with early flights it is not just a convenience, but a necessity. Yet there are those who think passengers in a suite should have priority in disembarking over those with early flights.

 

For early flights it's a must. That's why if we do have to fly, we never book an early flight to be honest. It's always an early afternoon or evening flight so if there are issues with getting to the port or away from the port, we've built in some time. 🙂