Please share disembarkation tips (night before, morning of...)

[leannak]

Can you experienced DCL guests please share your tips on disembarkation? We don't sail for months and I'm already dreading that day!

Any tips on how to make it less painful?
Is there something you've accidentally packed in your luggage outside your room that you realized you needed?
Any practical tips on how to handle the stress/chaos in the morning?
When and how do you pick up Shutters stuff, pay your final bill, pick up alcohol, give tips to servers and others... etc. etc.
Any other insider tips for "magical" disembarkation? Ugh... still so sad....

(Maybe there is a thread like this somewhere and I missed it... I did a search but if you have a link to a good thread I'd love it.)

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Can you experienced DCL guests please share your tips on disembarkation? We don't sail for months and I'm already dreading that day!

Any tips on how to make it less painful?
Is there something you've accidentally packed in your luggage outside your room that you realized you needed?
Any practical tips on how to handle the stress/chaos in the morning?
When and how do you pick up Shutters stuff, pay your final bill, pick up alcohol, give tips to servers and others... etc. etc.
Any other insider tips for "magical" disembarkation? Ugh... still so sad....

(Maybe there is a thread like this somewhere and I missed it... I did a search but if you have a link to a good thread I'd love it.)

#1 - be sure to leave out the clothes you're going to wear off the ship the next morning.
Have all your carry on stuff packed up the night before.
Pick up Shutters stuff the night before, visit Guest Services also, to settle up bill, if necessary. Although, if you're using a credit card for your charges, you don't have to do anything.
I believe the alcohol pick up is debarkation morning nearby the doors you exit from.
Tips are handed out the night before. You're not guaranteed you'll see your servers/room host the final morning. But, as long as you don't remove them from your onboard account, you don't really have to hand out anything.

 

[monarchsfan16]

My number one tip...make sure you have checked EVERYWHERE before putting your checked luggage out for collection the night before. Twice, I have put the luggage out only to find something in the bathroom (usually shower gel or something like that) that there really wasn't room in my carry bag for, but that I had to make room for.

Also, if you're planning to wear a souvenir shirt off the ship, and you need your nail clippers to cut the tag off, cut the tag off before you put your luggage out.

 

[jrabbit]

HIDE!!! Someplace they can't find you and make you leave!!!

 

[NAB]

We always purchase the photo stick the night before. They have a table set up right next to the alcohol table to pick them up as your going off the ship. Because it isn’t ready on the spot unless you finish up buying early.

We ran into trouble one time with the alcohol...we wanted to use the service they have with some airlines that they take your luggage off and you don’t see it until your home destination . Well you can’t put a bottle in your carry on and get it thru security . They will not give it to you before you exit the ship either. Most don’t have this problem because they see their luggage again in the terminal.

 

[lilsonicfan]

- if you have kids, be sure to return the magic bands on the last day (not disembarkation day) and keep the receipt(s) they give you as proof of the return... that way if you see a charge for the magic band ($12.95) you can use the receipts to prove you returned.
- Review your final account carefully, I did this at breakfast.
- Don't pack your toiletries or you'll have trouble brushing your teeth in the morning
- Sort out any Shutters issues WELL before the last day. (Make sure to frequently check for 'missing' photos on the kiosk - typically photos where faces are not directly facing the camera or where facial recognition didn't work - you will have to add these to your package manually and Shutters has to approve the addition)
- You will see your servers on the last morning IF you go back to the dining room for breakfast, but if you plan to go to Cabanas instead you can do the tip/envelope thing the night before.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

You will see your servers on the last morning IF you go back to the dining room for breakfast

Not always. We've had a server not show up for breakfast due to prolonged immigration checks that morning, and another whose contract was up and he had to get off the ship as soon as possible to make his connection back home.

 

[FigmentSpark]

My number one tip...make sure you have checked EVERYWHERE before putting your checked luggage out for collection the night before. Twice, I have put the luggage out only to find something in the bathroom (usually shower gel or something like that) that there really wasn't room in my carry bag for, but that I had to make room for.

Also, if you're planning to wear a souvenir shirt off the ship, and you need your nail clippers to cut the tag off, cut the tag off before you put your luggage out.

Including on those shelves above the desk. That's where we left our blow dryer.

Common tip - as you have laundry or other things you're finished with, pack them so you don't have to go through things on the night before.

Have a day at Disney Springs or WDW planned for after the trip, so when you tear up as you leave the ship, you won't feel like it's all over.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Not always. We've had a server not show up for breakfast due to prolonged immigration checks that morning, and another whose contract was up and he had to get off the ship as soon as possible to make his connection back home.

Okay, well, I guess obviously things can happen, but in a general sense, as you well know, the expectation is that the same serving team will meet you at breakfast - hence the assigned dining time for breakfast.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Okay, well, I guess obviously things can happen, but in a general sense, as you well know, the expectation is that the same serving team will meet you at breakfast - hence the assigned dining time for breakfast.

Yes, they usually do. But I wouldn't count on it. That's why we hand out our tip envelopes the last night.

 

[diznymom]

I put out the clothes we will wear on debarkation day. We pack up most of everything else. Before dinner, we change into the clothes we will wear the next day. We pack up everything else except PJs and whatever toiletries we will need the next morning. After dinner, we double all the packing and set our luggage out for CMs to collect. We call room service before midnight and order coffee for the final morning.

On the last morning we put on our clothes, pack everything in a carry-on. We head to Cabanas for b'fast w/ our carry-ons. IMHO the MDRs are a bit too stressful the last morning for me.

 

[Weedy]

To make packing easier the last
night ... don’t wait till the last night to pack... at the end of each night of the cruise pack the dirty clothes you won’t wear again, pack away the pirate clothes ... the less you have to pack the last night the better.
Be sure to have a small suitcase set aside to pack your last nights stuff in

 

[Aby]

Don't forget that Cabanas is open on the last morning for breakfast! There are more choices and in my opinion the food is better than in the MDR.

Aby

 

[Dug720]

To make packing easier the last
night ... don’t wait till the last night to pack... at the end of each night of the cruise pack the dirty clothes you won’t wear again, pack away the pirate clothes ... the less you have to pack the last night the better.
Be sure to have a small suitcase set aside to pack your last nights stuff in

It also makes the final packing less sad IMHO.

 

[StarSeven7]

If I could just add a question onto this thread....you can walk off with your luggage on your own in the morning, right? You don’t have to give it to them the night before?

 

[brentm77]

We were thinking we would just take our own luggage off next cruise. The last night always seems wasted with us needing to pack up, which even had us coming back from Castaway a bit sooner than we would like. I don't see what the big deal would be with having to roll out our suitcases. The upside would be fully enjoying the last day, getting up a tad earlier, and packing then instead. Am I missing something?

 

[mmouse37]

I put out the clothes we will wear on debarkation day. We pack up most of everything else. Before dinner, we change into the clothes we will wear the next day. We pack up everything else except PJs and whatever toiletries we will need the next morning. After dinner, we double all the packing and set our luggage out for CMs to collect. We call room service before midnight and order coffee for the final morning.

On the last morning we put on our clothes, pack everything in a carry-on. We head to Cabanas for b'fast w/ our carry-ons. IMHO the MDRs are a bit too stressful the last morning for me.

We also do Cabanas for breakfast but we leave our carry ons in our cabin until after breakfast (but before 8:00 am). Then we stop at the cabin to pick up the carry ons and then head off the ship. I hate dragging the carry ons to Cabanas.

OP....you need to vacate your cabin by 8:00 am and be off the ship by 9:30 the latest. We like to skip the MDR the last morning (way to chaotic for us). We do Cabanas where it is much less crowded.

MJ

 

[mmouse37]

If I could just add a question onto this thread....you can walk off with your luggage on your own in the morning, right? You don’t have to give it to them the night before?

Correct....but if you have than two people then it can get hairy trying to move all that luggage through the ship in the morning. Hallways and elevators can get very crowded. Plus, if you dine in the assigned MDR in the am you need to schlep all that luggage with you.

MJ

 

[71 Truck]

Do a back to back
Book your placeholder for your next cruise It gives you something to look forward to.


My wife and I do most of the packing when we get back on the ship from Cast Away Cay. We have the late dinner seating so for us it is not a big rush.
Like others have said make sure you have clothing for the next day.
We have a credit card on our account so unless there is a problem, payment is taken automatically, this avoids us having to go to guest service in the morning.
Any paperwork is done the night before " customs forms if needed, guest survey" stuff like that.
I get up early and pick up any alcohol first thing in the morning when they first start to distribute it.
We do not do pictures so we do not have to collect any thing from Shutters.
We take our time getting out of the room. You are supposed to be out by I think 8am "we do the second dinning time for dinner" then head to the main dinning room.
We live in Florida and the port is only a hour and a half from home so we are not in any rush to get off the ship. We do second seating so this gives us the later debarking time.
Because we live near Disney, in the past we have gone to Disney the day after getting off the ship.

 

[Conorama]

Way back when, I read about this tip and we do it every time: Order room service the night before (I think they close at 10:00 p.m. or something) - so cereal, milk, juice, and a fruit plate or two and stick the cold stuff in the fridge. (Really- you can order anything you think will keep well enough until the next day.) We've usually saved some yogurt from Cabanas earlier in the week. We don't want a big breakfast before a long day of traveling, so this is all we need, plus one of the adults heads off to Cove Cafe for good coffee and a few pastries once they get up.

This way, we have a far less rushed morning, and we're not trekking our carry-on bags all over the ship more than necessary.

We tip our servers the night before.

Otherwise- yes, we pay for everything the night before, and return the kids club band at the time we pick up the kiddo for the last time. I usually pre-pack at least once 2 days or so before we disembark. I kick everyone out of the cabin, put on my headphones and a good audiobook and get about 50% of our packing done in about 1 hour because it's easy enough to figure out what you might need for the last 2 days. Usually by then I am in desperate need of some alone time, so this serves many purposes.

I know this means missing out on the dining room on the last morning, but it's been just fine for us. Folks can sleep a bit more if they like, and you have time to do that last minute sweep to find the things you forgot the night before. It also meant things weren't that bad when we walked our luggage off ourselves one time - as we weren't trying to compete with the masses for the elevator (just pick when folks are at the dining room and avoid the midship elevators). It's like a little bit of peace for us before a day of lots of travel.