Disembarkation Procedure

[swdke]

I have read on some of these forums that Princess offers an express check out or disembarkation. Can anyone confirm or provide further detail on this? I don't mind carrying out my own luggage, and like the idea of getting off early and not having to place luggage in hallway at a certain time. It always seems like a rush to pack to get the luggage in the hallway. We will be overnighting in NYC two nights after the cruise, and anxious to get off the ship early or at my leisure.

[Colo Cruiser]

I have read on some of these forums that Princess offers an express check out or disembarkation. Can anyone confirm or provide further detail on this? I don't mind carrying out my own luggage, and like the idea of getting off early and not having to place luggage in hallway at a certain time. It always seems like a rush to pack to get the luggage in the hallway. We will be overnighting in NYC two nights after the cruise, and anxious to get off the ship early or at my leisure.

 

Yes Princess offers express disembarkation, sign up at the pursers desk. :)

You must be able to carry all of your luggage without assistance.

[paul929207]

Yes, with self debarkation, you carry off all of your luggage. You do not put anything out the last night. You can be the first person off the ship.

[Clutterlady]

We always do express disembarkation, very easy. Just sign up for it, walk off carrying all your luggage. They will tell you where you are to meet. It does get a bit congested between passengers and all the luggage!

[-Lew-]

We will be overnighting in NYC two nights after the cruise, and anxious to get off the ship early or at my leisure.

You might want to make arrangements for transportation prior to embarking on your cruise if you don't have a vehicle. If I remember correctly, there weren't any taxis in sight when we exited the terminal at about 7:30am.

 

Lew

[EGG]

If you take express embarkation you do get off early but not at leisure. You still have to have your luggage packed the night before anyway because you will want to have breakfast before you leave the ship, usually 7:15 - 7:30. It is especially worthwhile if you have an early flight.

[Pam in CA]

I have read on some of these forums that Princess offers an express check out or disembarkation. Can anyone confirm or provide further detail on this? I don't mind carrying out my own luggage, and like the idea of getting off early and not having to place luggage in hallway at a certain time. It always seems like a rush to pack to get the luggage in the hallway. We will be overnighting in NYC two nights after the cruise, and anxious to get off the ship early or at my leisure.

Yes, you can opt for Express Check-out and as has been said, you'll have to carry your own luggage off the ship. Two things to be aware of: one is that you'll be among the first to leave the ship, you won't be able to stay onboard; the second is that there will be hundreds of others doing the same thing at the same time so it'll be crowded and people pressing behind you to move faster to get off.

[paul929207]

If you take express embarkation you do get off early but not at leisure. You still have to have your luggage packed the night before anyway because you will want to have breakfast before you leave the ship, usually 7:15 - 7:30. It is especially worthwhile if you have an early flight.

When you get off will depend on when the ship docks and how long it takes for the local authorities to clear the ship. On the Pacific in Fort Lauderdale in March, seld-debarkation started about 10 minutes to 8.

[badgerdee]

We signed up for the express embarkation on our recent Sea Princess Alaska cruise. We were due to walk off with our bags at 0815.

 

All went well until (out of 100 foreign nationals aboard) three Chinese passengers failed to show up for the Customs procedures. The whole ship was held until they were located and cleared - disembarkations started at 0945 :eek:

 

By then, chaos ensued as people turned up every 15 minutes at their scheduled disembarkation stations, only to discover everyone else who was scheduled to leave before them was still there.

 

So, what sounded like a quick and easy way to disembark turned out to be a loooong wait, not only for us, but for the rest of the ship as well.

 

I don't mean to put you off, just letting you know what can happen. So, if you're booking a flight based on early disembarkation, be sure to leave some time for hiccups such as the one we experienced.

[rkmw]

in Australia with princess we do not have the option for express disembarking, i have cruised a lot out of Sydney and i have not seen or heard of anyone asking to go off early........we have to leave our luggage out on the last night and we are colour coded and leave the ship as normal

 

rkmw

[Toto2Kansas]

in Australia with princess we do not have the option for express disembarking, i have cruised a lot out of Sydney and i have not seen or heard of anyone asking to go off early........we have to leave our luggage out on the last night and we are colour coded and leave the ship as normal

 

rkmw

 

We have never been allowed to do this in AU. I would guess because all luggage goes through a through x-ray and screening process before it is taken off the ship. Over half the bags had the flags on them to be checked before being removed from the port building. It seemed that wood products (of any kind), food stuffs, etc, had to be double checked before being allowed into the country.

[1 HappyCruiser]

We signed up for the express embarkation on our recent Sea Princess Alaska cruise. We were due to walk off with our bags at 0815.

 

All went well until (out of 100 foreign nationals aboard) three Chinese passengers failed to show up for the Customs procedures. The whole ship was held until they were located and cleared - disembarkations started at 0945 :eek:

 

By then, chaos ensued as people turned up every 15 minutes at their scheduled disembarkation stations, only to discover everyone else who was scheduled to leave before them was still there.

 

So, what sounded like a quick and easy way to disembark turned out to be a loooong wait, not only for us, but for the rest of the ship as well.

 

I don't mean to put you off, just letting you know what can happen. So, if you're booking a flight based on early disembarkation, be sure to leave some time for hiccups such as the one we experienced.

 

This is a good example of why self disembarkation is always a good idea. It guarantees you being among the first to leave the ship in case something delays the whole procedure.

[msmoger]

This is a good example of why self disembarkation is always a good idea. It guarantees you being among the first to leave the ship in case something delays the whole procedure.

 

One of us is confused. I understood Badgerdee's post to say that self disembarkation in their instance did not go smoothly. Did I read that post incorrectly? :confused:

[paul929207]

This is a good example of why self disembarkation is always a good idea. It guarantees you being among the first to leave the ship in case something delays the whole procedure.

I don't see how this shows that self-debarkation is always a good idea. In this case it put people in the middle of a mess. Besides, many people are not in a hurry to get off. Why should they lug their luggage off the ship?

[caribill]

One of us is confused. I understood Badgerdee's post to say that self disembarkation in their instance did not go smoothly. Did I read that post incorrectly? :confused:

 

 

 

You read the post correctly.

 

1 HappyCruiser was saying that in case of a delay, self-disembarkation ensures that you will be among the first to finally leave the ship and thus have a better chance of making any flight you have.

[1 HappyCruiser]

One of us is confused. I understood Badgerdee's post to say that self disembarkation in their instance did not go smoothly. Did I read that post incorrectly? :confused:

 

I don't see how this shows that self-debarkation is always a good idea. In this case it put people in the middle of a mess. Besides, many people are not in a hurry to get off. Why should they lug their luggage off the ship?

 

They would have been in the middle of a mess either way but at least there on their way & not sitting there waiting for their color to be called.

 

You read the post correctly.

 

1 HappyCruiser was saying that in case of a delay, self-disembarkation ensures that you will be among the first to finally leave the ship and thus have a better chance of making any flight you have.

 

Obviously self disembarkation is not for everyone but if you can handle your own luggage it gives you the opportunity to get off the ship & make any flight if there are problems. If you choose the regular disembarkation & there are problems you'll be sitting there waiting for your color to be called in a specific order and if the whole procedure just happens to go very slow that particular day, you'll be among the first to leave.

Also self disembarkation allows you to keep all your luggage with you & not have to worry about anything being stolen, broken or the bags being damaged.

[Pam in CA]

Obviously self disembarkation is not for everyone but if you can handle your own luggage it gives you the opportunity to get off the ship & make any flight if there are problems. If you choose the regular disembarkation & there are problems you'll be sitting there waiting for your color to be called in a specific order and if the whole procedure just happens to go very slow that particular day, you'll be among the first to leave.

 

Also self disembarkation allows you to keep all your luggage with you & not have to worry about anything being stolen, broken or the bags being damaged.

You make some good points but I don't agree with them. I've often seen overlapping of self-disembarkation and "regular" disembarkation; I've often seen people doing self-disembarkation having problems with their luggage and people behind them getting testy; I would never, ever book a flight that put so much pressure on me that I had to be among the first off the ship; and finally, at the very most, people doing self-disembarkation are saving 5 minutes yet they have a lot more inconvenience, particularly having to go down escalators with all their stuff.

 

Last April, I had an AD balcony and watched as the self-disembarkation people schlepped off the ship with all their luggage and stuff. I thought it was hysterical that they'd put themselves in that position to be pushed and shoved, having to deal with everything they were carrying and everyone else carrying so much stuff. There were very long lines and very frustrated people. I disembarked right after the self-disembarkation people and was off the ship, through Immigration, got my luggage and in my limo in 15 minutes.

[paul929207]

I don't understand why, at the of a relaxing vacation, people feel the need to race off the ship, dragging everything they own to make an early flight.

[swdke]

You might want to make arrangements for transportation prior to embarking on your cruise if you don't have a vehicle. If I remember correctly, there weren't any taxis in sight when we exited the terminal at about 7:30am.

 

Lew

 

This brings up a good point, thanks for sharing. I am not wanting to get off at 7:30 am, but what time do taxi become available, and is there a fair amount of taxi available to pick up passengers?

 

I started this thread becasue I was not aware of express check out. I don't have an early morning flight, and will be staying overnight two nights following the cruise. So, I don't have an early flight to catch. I just like the idea of not having to be packed by a certain time the night before. I want to enjoy my last night and not feel pressured or rushed to pack. Granted, I'll have to pack eventually, but it will be on my time, and not at at Princess's schedule. Also, I do desire to get off somewhat early as I wish to continue being a tourst in New York and will have a hotel to get to, etc. I'd like to avoid being in a situation where mhy color states I get off at 11, when I am actually ready at 9. Also, we don't plan to overpack and hope to be smart packers. Therefore, carrying our own luggage off the ship should be easy for us and permit us to directly head to the taxi queue. I see no difficulty with us managing our luggage. I guess all in all, I simply wish to get up, have some breakfast, then leave when I am ready, which I don't want to be first thing either, but I don't want to be scheduled for a later disembarkation in case I am ready before my "color" is called. Therefore, I thought perhaps that the express checkout was merely a process of getting off when you want becasue you are taking your luggage off with you.

 

Now, after reading some of these replies, I get the impression that express check out passengers must depart before the passengers with color codes. What if hypothetically express passengers were called to depart at 8 am, but I wasn't ready till 9 am. Do I get in some sort of trouble or denied disembarking if I leave after I am supposed too? Don't get me wrong, I do want to get off early to start exploring NYC, just not 7:30 early.

 

Also, I'd appreciate further information on taxi situation as to when they are "readily" available.

 

Thank you

[paul929207]

This brings up a good point, thanks for sharing. I am not wanting to get off at 7:30 am, but what time do taxi become available, and is there a fair amount of taxi available to pick up passengers?

 

I started this thread becasue I was not aware of express check out. I don't have an early morning flight, and will be staying overnight two nights following the cruise. So, I don't have an early flight to catch. I just like the idea of not having to be packed by a certain time the night before. I want to enjoy my last night and not feel pressured or rushed to pack. Granted, I'll have to pack eventually, but it will be on my time, and not at at Princess's schedule. Also, I do desire to get off somewhat early as I wish to continue being a tourst in New York and will have a hotel to get to, etc. I'd like to avoid being in a situation where mhy color states I get off at 11, when I am actually ready at 9. Also, we don't plan to overpack and hope to be smart packers. Therefore, carrying our own luggage off the ship should be easy for us and permit us to directly head to the taxi queue. I see no difficulty with us managing our luggage. I guess all in all, I simply wish to get up, have some breakfast, then leave when I am ready, which I don't want to be first thing either, but I don't want to be scheduled for a later disembarkation in case I am ready before my "color" is called. Therefore, I thought perhaps that the express checkout was merely a process of getting off when you want becasue you are taking your luggage off with you.

 

Now, after reading some of these replies, I get the impression that express check out passengers must depart before the passengers with color codes. What if hypothetically express passengers were called to depart at 8 am, but I wasn't ready till 9 am. Do I get in some sort of trouble or denied disembarking if I leave after I am supposed too? Don't get me wrong, I do want to get off early to start exploring NYC, just not 7:30 early.

 

Also, I'd appreciate further information on taxi situation as to when they are "readily" available.

 

Thank you

I don't believe they will search the ship for you if you do not get off with your color group. :)

 

However, you will need to be out of your cabin by 8am. Once you are done with breakfast there is not much to do but sit and wait for your group to be called.

[rcacace]

I do self embarkation & get off at my own leisure. Again we don't need any assistance and actually want to be the last ones off the ship in many cases but if the time arises that we have to get off at a particular time, we'll be ready to go on a moments & don't have to wait for any specific color. It provides me with insurance to be off the ship at a specific time in case of any major delays. If you're like most people with 2 - 28" suitcases each + a large carry on bag, forget about it.

[swdke]

I don't believe they will search the ship for you if you do not get off with your color group. :)

 

However, you will need to be out of your cabin by 8am. Once you are done with breakfast there is not much to do but sit and wait for your group to be called.

 

I had forgotten about the need to be out of the room by a specific time. Thanks for reminding me.

[swdke]

If you're like most people with 2 - 28" suitcases each + a large carry on bag, forget about it.

 

Wow, two bags each. Yikes, that is a lot. We just do one suitcase each, with wheels, and may try to combine clothes into one bag if possible.

[katiepe]

We did the self disembarkation in Los Angeles and had no pushing or shoving in fact no lines at all. Took about 10 minutes. Our suitcases are on wheels:D so didnt even feel like we were "schlepping" them either.

We did have pre arranged transportation however from the pier for a tour of LA for the day so we didnt have to depend on cabs. I would do it again.

[swdke]

I had forgotten about the need to be out of the room by a specific time. Thanks for reminding me.

 

I guess that explains why everyone is out in the lobby and public areas waiting.