There’s a moment of every cruise that doesn’t get much publicity, but it’s as inevitable as death and taxes. We’re talking, of course, about the end of your cruise.
You may not want to think about the end of your trip and getting off the ship — also known as disembarkation — but there are some things that you will want to know when it comes leaving.
When Does Disembarkation Start?
Technically the process of disembarkation begins the night before your cruise ends when you have the option of putting out your bags to be carried by the crew off the ship (more on this below).
But the real process of getting off the ship starts early in the morning after the ship docks. Typically people start lining up to debark as early as 6 a.m. if they want to be the first off the ship, with the process of actually leaving usually beginning around 7-7:30 a.m. In comparison to the leisurely mornings you’ve had the rest of the cruise, it’s quite a difference.
Note that there can be delays. Sometimes weather causes a late arrival at the port or sometimes the staff needed to process passengers off the ship isn’t in place yet. For the most part, however, the debarkation process runs on time.
What Is The Process of Getting Off the Ship?
The process of leaving the ship is relatively simple, but there are a few key points.
The big decision to make is to decide if you’re going to depart with all your luggage (called “self-assist”) or have the crew carry it off for you.
If you carry off all your luggage yourself, then you are zoned in the first group to leave the ship. You simply grab all your things, walk down to the debarkation deck (there will be several announcements about where to go), and get in line. As you exit the ship, you’ll scan your keycard with the crew and walk down the gangway.
Once in the terminal, you aren’t done yet. There, you’ll pass through immigration. These days if you have a passport, you simply get in the passport line and then take a picture at one of the kiosks. There is facial recognition technology in place that checks your identity within seconds. Then you are on your way and out the door.
If you are traveling with a birth certificate and ID, then you will head to another line where you usually meet with a customs agent that checks the documents.
What if you have the staff take your bags? You set the bags outside the cabin the night before, and the crew will take them. Then, based on your assigned baggage number, you’ll be called down to leave the ship at a specified time. (Since it takes time to offload all the bags, they may not be ready for pick-up if you head down early).
Once you are called, you’ll head to your zone in the terminal to pick up your luggage. Then you will head through the immigration check-in.
What Do I Do With My Luggage?
As mentioned, you have two options — self-assist or have the crew carry your bags off. If you self-assist, you simply keep all your luggage and walk off the ship with them.
For those with larger bags or more than they can carry, the process starts the day before the end of the cruise. Your cabin steward will deliver luggage tags to your cabin, along with a sheet of disembarkation instructions. You’ll tag the bags you want to be taken off the ship and set them outside your cabin door that evening. During the night, crew will come grab the bags and take them to the loading area to be taken off the ship.
The next morning, you’ll grab anything else you have and wait for your luggage zone to be called to exit the ship. You’ll then leave and once in the terminal you’ll look for your luggage zone to pick up your bags.
What Time Do I Need to Leave the Cabin?
While you don’t have to leave the ship immediately in the morning (though many people do), you do need to leave the cabin relatively early.
Cruise lines ask that you leave the rooms with all your belongs usually by 8 a.m. and wait to debark in public areas of the ship like the theater or the dining room.
Why can’t you stay in the cabin? On the day you leave, thousands of other guests are coming to board the ship. That means thousands of rooms have to be completely cleaned and ready for new passengers.
Having people out of their rooms early gives the crew the most time to get things ready.
Is There Anything to Eat on Disembarkation Day?
It can feel a bit like after catering to your every whim for days on end the cruise line unceremoniously kicks you off the ship as fast as possible the day the cruise ends.
If you want to get a meal before you leave, however, you absolutely can. The buffet and dining room offer early morning service, usually for just a couple of hours starting at 6-7 a.m. So if you have a long day of travel back home, you can at least get a decent meal before you head out.
How Long Does it Take to Get Off the Ship?
The length of time to get off the ship can vary, but in general is relatively quick. We’d estimate most people can be off the ship and out of the terminal in 10-20 minutes from the time they are called to leave the room.
If you choose the self-assist method, there can be some larger crowds right at the start of debarkation that can slow things down. As well, if you are traveling with a birth certificate, then the process in the terminal can take longer.
For passengers that wait for the initial rush to die down, it’s often just a short time to get off the ship.
That said, we’ve definitely been on cruises where the start of debarkation can be delayed. In those cases, no one gets off the ship and there’s usually no indication of how long the delay will last.
What if I Leave in the Wrong Group?
While cruise lines will set out different departure times based on your luggage tag number, self-assist debarkation, or even your deck number, the truth is that no one is really checking.
The cruise lines want passengers off the ship quickly so they can get ready for the next cruise. Passengers typically want off early to head back home. So if you just hop in line to get off the ship, you aren’t going to be turned away when leaving.
If you had the crew take your bags off the ship and leave before your group is called, there is a chance that they may not be ready for you in the terminal just yet.
