Last One of the Ship?

[katmigordon]

So, if we hang around to the bitter end - will that let us move through customs easier?
We don't really have anywhere to be - so we can take our time, and we won't want to get up early enough to beat the crowd - so I thought maybe we could simply out wait them.

 

[lorimay]

So, if we hang around to the bitter end - will that let us move through customs easier?
We don't really have anywhere to be - so we can take our time, and we won't want to get up early enough to beat the crowd - so I thought maybe we could simply out wait them.

You have to be out of your stateroom by 8am, usually everyone is off the ship by 9:30.
They start bright and early making announcements directly into the staterooms.

 

[Quellman]

I assume what you mean by easier is less time. I mean you can wait until 930 on the boat which is nice, Or you can join the line at 8am and leave by 830. You are still waiting regardless of where you do it. It should be less crowded in the customs area assuming there aren't any agents who leave their post early. The customs process is easy. You grab your bags wait your turn, hand them your passports or documentation. They waive you on by. We typically use one of the available porters to help with luggage. We have 2 kids, one of which is a toddler. I'll gladly tip a few bucks to not have to juggle them, my carryoff luggage, and my suitcases to my car. They usually want to help pack the stuff into the car, but I prefer to do it myself since it is a careful feat of tetris to toss it in and still see out any windows!

 

[katmigordon]

I'm looking at the difference between waiting while sitting or standing and trying to minimize the standing, I don't mind the waiting so much as the standing in line.

I assume what you mean by easier is less time. I mean you can wait until 930 on the boat which is nice, Or you can join the line at 8am and leave by 830. You are still waiting regardless of where you do it. It should be less crowded in the customs area assuming there aren't any agents who leave their post early. The customs process is easy. You grab your bags wait your turn, hand them your passports or documentation. They waive you on by. We typically use one of the available porters to help with luggage. We have 2 kids, one of which is a toddler. I'll gladly tip a few bucks to not have to juggle them, my carryoff luggage, and my suitcases to my car. They usually want to help pack the stuff into the car, but I prefer to do it myself since it is a careful feat of tetris to toss it in and still see out any windows!

 

[lklgoodman]

Keep in mind there won't be anything to do on the ship while you wait. They close the pools and clubs, so you won't be able to hang out at them. We sailed on the Fantasy last month and they even had some of the public bathrooms closed for cleaning.

 

[lklgoodman]

I'm looking at the difference between waiting while sitting or standing and trying to minimize the standing, I don't mind the waiting so much as the standing in line.

In that case you can sit in Cabanas until they close it or in the atrium. The atrium would probably be the best, that way you can keep an eye on the line. The line does move pretty fast usually, so hopefully that will be helpful.

 

[Trera]

I feel like customs has a line during the disembarkation process but it stays moving pretty well. I dont think we have waited more then 10 or 15 min to pass thru customs once we have the porter collect our bags.

 

[pezgirlroy]

I'm looking at the difference between waiting while sitting or standing and trying to minimize the standing, I don't mind the waiting so much as the standing in line.

If my memory is correct, you are sailing concierge. If so then you are the first group to disembark. There is basically no standing in line. You go to the lounge first thing in the morning and then they escort you off.

 

[Quellman]

I'm looking at the difference between waiting while sitting or standing and trying to minimize the standing, I don't mind the waiting so much as the standing in line.

Then by all means enjoy the ship until they literally call your name! I recommend finding a place on deck 4 or 5 where you can watch the people all hanging around in the atrium or outside on one of the decks near cabanas (It can be noisy inside!)

Instead of "Disney Cruise Line Welcomes aboard the @katmigordon family!" you get the "Calling the @katmigordon family. It is time to get off the ship, seriously. It is 3PM and we need to let the next people on!"

 

[Lizard78]

I've never been the last one off the boat, but I do generally take my time with a leisurely breakfast, etc. As someone else said, there's not too much else to do. But like you, I hate dealing with crowds and lines.

I will say, it certainly makes locating your luggage easier as most everyone else's has already been claimed!

 

[StarSeven7]

Does this tend to vary by port? We disembarked in San Juan and we ate breakfast in Cabana's, when we were done - maybe around 8:30ish, they called our group so we slowly walked off the ship (tear!), grabbed our suitcases, and there was literally not a single person in line at customs, we just walked right up. Everyone keeps talking about waiting in long lines but we definitely didn't have that experience!

 

[FightingIrishman]

I think the lines move very fast in Port Canaveral. We got a porter so he got our suitcases as we slowly kept walking in line towards customs. I would say about 5-10 minutes from getting off the boat and through customs. The line never really stops unless you are the next person to swipe your KTTW card one last time at the land checkout station or immediately before the next customs agent becomes available.

Of course we always do early dining so we are usually getting off the boat around 8 AM.

 

[lklgoodman]

Does this tend to vary by port? We disembarked in San Juan and we ate breakfast in Cabana's, when we were done - maybe around 8:30ish, they called our group so we slowly walked off the ship (tear!), grabbed our suitcases, and there was literally not a single person in line at customs, we just walked right up. Everyone keeps talking about waiting in long lines but we definitely didn't have that experience!

At PC you aren't put in groups for disembarking. You get off the ship and get in a line to have your card scanned and to get your luggage. Then another for customs. Whole process takes around 15-20 mins. We cruised during govt shutdown last year and we were in line for nearly an hour, just to get off the ship!!! Glad that was a rare occurrence.

 

[StarSeven7]

At PC you aren't put in groups for disembarking. You get off the ship and get in a line to have your card scanned and to get your luggage. Then another for customs. Whole process takes around 15-20 mins. We cruised during govt shutdown last year and we were in line for nearly an hour, just to get off the ship!!! Glad that was a rare occurrence.

Thanks! That explains it! I wonder why the difference? I guess then you’re in control of when you disembark? Ours was so seamless!

 

[lklgoodman]

Thanks! That explains it! I wonder why the difference? I guess then you’re in control of when you disembark? Ours was so seamless!

I think they do it that way at PC since you disembark at the DCL terminal, so it's just the passengers from the one ship getting off. But that's just a guess. It is nice. When we disembarked after our Alaskan cruise we had to sit and wait quite awhile for them to call our character to get off. We're cruising from Miami(first time)next year, and I keep telling myself that I need to remember that it will be different.

 

[SamFaniam]

We did a BTB out of Miami about 3 years ago. There were only 10 people total on BTB so they asked us to wait in D Lounge and we would be escorted off together. We did not disembark until 9:45 because they were waiting for the last non-BTB guest. My DH was the last in the line of the BTB guests and when he tapped his KTTW card, the security crewman said to the officer standing near the gangway "We are clear".

 

[Marc D]

Thanks! That explains it! I wonder why the difference? I guess then you’re in control of when you disembark? Ours was so seamless!

The difference is that PC is their terminal, manned by their employees. They can therefore dock as soon as they can and start turning the ship around without paying any extra port fees.

In other ports, they are still taking luggage off the ship when the first guests go ashore. That’s why they use disembarkation groups and why you need to keep your luggage with you to do express walk-off. In PC, if you get off first without luggage, you’ll get access to it in the terminal. In other ports, that would not be the case.

 

[onesam319]

Our last cruise was out of NYC. We had a specific time to meet our shuttle (10:30 am) There was almost no seating in the terminal, so we found a couple couches on deck 5 by the atrium to stay on board in comfort as long as we could. We turned off our WiFi and caught up our phones which we left turned off most of the cruise.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

We did a BTB out of Miami about 3 years ago. There were only 10 people total on BTB so they asked us to wait in D Lounge and we would be escorted off together. We did not disembark until 9:45 because they were waiting for the last non-BTB guest. My DH was the last in the line of the BTB guests and when he tapped his KTTW card, the security crewman said to the officer standing near the gangway "We are clear".

We’ve done three b2b cruises out of Miami, 2017, 2018, and 2020. Same procedure as described here each time. A short (<5 min) wait at customs, as they went down to two agents just as we arrived. It looked like the others all went on break once all the debarking passengers had cleared.

On our arrival back in port after the second leg of the last b2b, we waited in the D Lounge again until our debarkation group was called, then headed off to get our luggage and catch our transport to the car rental center by the airport to pick up a rental car. We didn’t want to get there too early compared to our reservation time so we would be able to return the car at the end of our WDW stay at our scheduled time without paying for any extra hours.

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

If we have nowhere to be, we typically do our MDR breakfast (we are late dining) and then hang in a lounge catching up on work email, etc. until all the groups have been called and most people are off the ship. That makes the process of getting off the ship, getting our luggage, and going through customs much less of a hassle.