Learn 2 Cruise

You know the saying, “All good things must come to an end”, and well unfortunately this applies to your cruise! Try to refrain from crying as the staff will stare and instead take time to enjoy the ship one last time. Get up early and have a hearty breakfast in your favorite dining room or café. Explore the ship one last time and capture a few more photos. Don’t let the dreaded disembarkation day stress you out. If you understand the disembarkation process and know what to expect as you leave the ship you should be able to end your cruise vacation as relaxed and carefree as when you first stepped onboard.  Now more than ever cruise lines are making the disembarkation process smooth and easy for their passengers. Royal Caribbean offers a fleet wide Golden Anchor Service. This service features: Extended access to your stateroom; designated departure lounge; minimal ship announcements for a more peaceful exit; and more staff throughout the ship to assist with any disembarkation questions.

Be Prepared

In the beginning of your cruise or a few days before disembarkation (depending on the cruise line) you will receive a disembarkation form. You’ll be asked to provide your departure transfer information. For example, are you leaving by car, train or plane, what time is your flight and what airline are you flying?

This information allows the cruise staff to coordinate transfers and baggage handling arrangements in addition to knowing who needs to leave first in order to catch a flight. Be sure to return this form to your cabin steward or as I prefer the front office. You may wonder why they ask for this information so early on in your vacation. What you need to keep in mind is that in less than 24 hours the cruise ship’s crew members need to disembark and clean up after thousands of people and prepare the ship for thousands more waiting to enjoy a week at sea. When you think about the preparation and coordination of this it really is organized chaos at its best. The more people on the cruise ship the more chaotic disembarkation will be. I can remember sailing aboard Regent’s  Seven Seas Mariner, where I only had to worry about 700 other people getting off the ship. Imagine you’re on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas, on a ship like that the staff and crew has to organize the departure of at least 3000 guests. Understanding the enormity of the disembarkation process will hopefully help you to be a bit more patient as you wait your turn to get off the ship.

So Long Luggage

Based on what you have filled out on your disembarkation form you will receive a few color coded luggage tags in your room the night before you depart the ship (along with your luggage tags sometimes comes your list of charges you made on the ship…hope you spent wisely!). Fill out the luggage tags completely! Cruise lines usually ask for your name, cabin #, and departure information. Before attaching these tags to your luggage, remove any old luggage tags that might still be on your bags from your arrival. You don’t want the baggage handlers to get confused. An announcement from your cruise director or a message on the cruise ships TV channel will tell you to place your luggage with the affixed luggage tags outside your cabin between 10pm and 1am. Stay calm, remember when your luggage was swept away by the porters at the beginning of the trip. Well it will be swept away again before you depart and you will be reunited with it once you have disembarked and enter the cruise terminal. Your luggage will all be found at the baggage claim similar to an airport. Before you put your luggage out for the night to be collected, remember to take out any medications, toiletries, and any clothes that you plan to wear the next day. You don’t want to be the guest who has to buy an expensive last minute outfit from the gift shop because you forgot to take out pair of shorts and a shirt! Nor do you want to try to get through customs in your PJ’s! Also we recommend you don’t put any valuables such as laptops, cameras or cell phones in your luggage that you put outside your stateroom door. These things should be stored in your carryon bag along with your change of clothes and items like toothbrush, tooth paste and medications. Once you have claimed your luggage in the cruise terminal area you can put these items back into your bag.

• L2C Tip – Most cruise lines offer a disembarkation talk the night before you depart the ship. This is great for new cruisers as it will describe in detail the disembarkation process, what to do with your luggage and information about clearing customs.

It’s Time to Go

The cruise ship will typically arrive in port at 7am. Given the time it takes to dock and receive clearance from local authorities you won’t be leaving before at least 8am. I highly recommend rising a little earlier than normal to enjoy one last delicious breakfast onboard.  Depending on the cruise line you may be asked to leave your stateroom and wait patiently in a designated disembarkation lounge. Keep a book, a deck of cards or magazine on hand to occupy you while you wait. Every so often you’ll hear a pleasant announcement of a color or letter depending on the cruise line, signaling it’s time for you to begin disembarkation. Cruise lines determine your departure based on your method of transportation and flight times. So when arranging transportation I always tell people to book their flights after 1:00pm. This usually gives people plenty of time to disembark, clear customs, and be transferred to the airport.  As you make your way to the cue the crew will swipe your cruise card one last time and you’ll make your way down the gangway and into the cruise terminal. Proceed to the baggage claim area where you’ll pick up your luggage. Clearing customs is usually a breeze. The hardest part is the long lines. Make sure you are aware of the purchasing regulations and what you can and can not bring back to the US. For example if you visit St. Thomas you can make up to $1200 in purchases there and up to $400 in purchases in other ports. 5 liters of liquor can be brought back duty free. However, only 1 liter can be purchased outside of the U.S. Virgin Islands of St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix. It’s a good idea to keep the receipts from everything you buy on your cruise.  Once through customs find your ride and get started on your journey home, where you can begin thinking about where you want to go on your next cruise vacation!

No, I didn’t forget the Express Disembarkation option offered by cruise lines like NCL, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises. I simply DO NOT recommend this option. For those of you new to cruising, express disembarkation involves passengers carrying their own luggage and being able to exit the ship as soon as it is cleared by local authorities. It may be tempting to get off early and assume you’ll avoid the crowds. Most guests are sadly mistaken as they struggle to carry suitcases, carryon’s and bags of souvenirs through the narrow cruise ship hallways, down the gangway where they wait like everyone else to pass through customs. You have been pampered all week by the cruise lines staff why stop now! Let your luggage be taken off the ship for you and just relax in one of the many disembarkation lounges and enjoy the view while you wait your turn. Cruise lines have worked long and hard at perfecting the disembarkation process so why not sit back and let them do all the work.