Times it takes to get off the ship - Dream vs Fantasy, CC and at the end

[Spotthecat]

I've only taken two cruises, the first a 4 night on the Dream, and the 2nd a 7 night on the Fantasy. And getting off the ship was night and day different for both ships. On the Dream, we breezed off the ship at Castaway Cay - no wait whatsoever, and we were enjoying the island in minutes. Getting off the ship at the end, not a problem, no wait except for customs, lol.

But on the Fantasy - I'm not sure what happened, or if their card scanners were down, but getting off at Castaway Cay was soooo frustrating. We waited _in the stairs_ in a massive lineup for about 45 minutes trying to get off the ship. By the time we got to the sand much later, our toddler had had enough and was miserable the rest of the day. Getting off the ship at the end, the same again - a massive wait with a long queue through the shops that took over an hour to go through.

Is this normal? I know they dock at Castaway Cay at different times and we were early for the Dream disembark there, but the Fantasy has left a sour taste for us. Is it normally a breeze getting off, or did we just have the one fluky cruise?

We have an upcoming cruise on the Dream again in December, and I want to be prepared if we have to wait such a long time before they release us.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I've only taken two cruises, the first a 4 night on the Dream, and the 2nd a 7 night on the Fantasy. And getting off the ship was night and day different for both ships. On the Dream, we breezed off the ship at Castaway Cay - no wait whatsoever, and we were enjoying the island in minutes. Getting off the ship at the end, not a problem, no wait except for customs, lol.

But on the Fantasy - I'm not sure what happened, or if their card scanners were down, but getting off at Castaway Cay was soooo frustrating. We waited _in the stairs_ in a massive lineup for about 45 minutes trying to get off the ship. By the time we got to the sand much later, our toddler had had enough and was miserable the rest of the day. Getting off the ship at the end, the same again - a massive wait with a long queue through the shops that took over an hour to go through.

Is this normal? I know they dock at Castaway Cay at different times and we were early for the Dream disembark there, but the Fantasy has left a sour taste for us. Is it normally a breeze getting off, or did we just have the one fluky cruise?

We have an upcoming cruise on the Dream again in December, and I want to be prepared if we have to wait such a long time before they release us.

Well, I've not found much difference in getting off at Castaway Cay or debarking on any of the ships. But, then, we don't try to be first off. We wait a bit and it's right off.

 

[sambycat]

i've never experienced that in 10 cruises. I do find the bigger ships seem to me a bit more of a hectic free for all debarking generally, but otherwise i've not had horrendous waits. also the difference if any i perceive would be between classic and dream class ships, not really between the dream and the fantasy? generally, we have found the dream to be a crazy place and the fantasy to be calm and smooth!

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I've been on both the Dream and the Fantasy and have not experienced long waits to disembark at either CC or on the last day. But we don't rush to get off the ship either. At CC, we wait maybe a half hour after they announce we can get off the ship and have only had a few families in front of us. At PC on the last morning, we leave the ship around 8:45-9:00 and have never had a wait at all, excluding the wait at customs of course.

 

[mmouse37]

I have seen it both ways as you describe on both ships. I think it is hit or miss. All you need is a customs back up and debark on the last morning can cause back ups on the ship. I have seen line snake all the way back to past the shops on the big ships and all the way past Promenade Lounge on the classic ships.

MJ

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

We have walked right off at CC but we usually get off about an hour after the "all ashore".
Now debarking on the last day was a different story.. We usually have the 2nd seating for breakfast and would then stand in a huge line to get off the Fantasy.. Then customs. I remember it taking us 1.5 hr once, we finished breakfast at 9 and got out of the terminal at 10:30..
This last cruise I took the advice of some of the dis-ers and went to cabanas for breakfast before 7:30. Then went back to our room to grab our bags by 8. We were in our car around 8:20.
Would do this again..

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

I have seen it both ways as you describe on both ships. I think it is hit or miss. All you need is a customs back up and debark on the last morning can cause back ups on the ship. I have seen line snake all the way back to past the shops on the big ships and all the way past Promenade Lounge on the classic ships.

MJ

Yep that was us on the fantasy last year...Line was past the shops.
Took us over an hour and a half to get off the ship and go through customs.
It was painful...

 

[Sytrace]

I have been on both Dream and Fantasy and have not had a problem. We found it to be a pretty smooth process the whole way on the last morning. There has been one time we did express walk off that we were in the lobby by 6:30 AM and the line was to the elevators...but that wasn't too bad.
Typically, we have late dining so by the time we are done with breakfast and head to the lobby it is about 8:45 or so. We are generally in our car and heading home by 9:15.

At CC the only wait times we had that were excessive were when people getting off the ship in groups of 5 or more, would have a couple of folks in their group who had to go back for their KTTWC to get off the ship. So the large group would attempt to stand to the side, but yet crowd the lines of others who had remembered their cards and had to maneuver around them.

If we get off the ship now, we wait until about 10 or so and breeze off. We also come back well before all aboard time and have no trouble getting back on.