Typical Time to Disembark?

[kathi]

We were on the Wonder in April (disembarking on Easter) and it was AWFUL. It took us at least a hour and a half to get off the ship. The lobby was overflowing and the lines moving very slowly.

Is this typical? I assumed it was because a lot of passengers went to Easter Service on deck so hardly anyone left early (this was probably about 9:00 when we tried to leave). I neve want to go through an ordel like that again (especially with my 5 year old daughter and my 88 year old father).

 

[kbmo4444]

We were on the Wonder in April (disembarking on Easter) and it was AWFUL. It took us at least a hour and a half to get off the ship. The lobby was overflowing and the lines moving very slowly.

Is this typical? I assumed it was because a lot of passengers went to Easter Service on deck so hardly anyone left early (this was probably about 9:00 when we tried to leave). I neve want to go through an ordel like that again (especially with my 5 year old daughter and my 88 year old father).

I don't believe so but we are usually not in a rush to get off the ship. We go to our assigned breakfast time and then take our time leaving we typically walk off no lines or waiting between 9am and 9:15am. It was probably due to Easter Services

 

[outahere]

Out of nine DCL cruises, the only one where we had to wait to disembark was the 2005 Eastbound Panama Canal repo. That one was mainly because of the amount of luggage people needed to get through Customs, and a lack of "people" space in the terminal because of all the luggage.

Every other cruise, on either ship, we've been able to just walk off the ship around 8:45 - 9:00.

 

[tvguy]

As probably the biggest critic on this board of Disney's lack of a disembarkation system, even I have to say that isn't typical.
A lot of folks report walking right off, most spend at least a few minutes in line, I found my 45 minute wait unacceptable on our cruise. My issue isnot giving any priority to folks who have early flights or other early departure transportation needs.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

With all due repect TV GUY, if you cut your departure flights that close..it was Foolish on your part......You should have givien yourself more time.and to be be frank, why should others be made to wait becuase of your lack of planning?



Just my opinion!


AKK

 

[SmilingGrump]

A 90 min disembarking is certainly not the norm for Disney. We were about an hour from the time we left breakfast to the time we arrived at the airport (we had a very speedy limo driver!)

However, expect that much time when traveling any other Cruise Line, especially Carnival/Princess who pretty much forget you exist the night before. In fact, the last time I traveled Carnival (since we're Canadian) we were told to be in the theatre to clear US Customs before 6am. No staff, no customs officials, no food, no leaving. 9am customs showed up and asked where the staff were. 10am we finally got off the ship, 11am we finally got our bags only to find all the buses had left (so much for Carnival transfers) and far too few cabs for everyone. We teamed up with 6 other Canadians and squeezed into a mini-van cab and all vowed never to use the Carnival line again.

Norwegian wasn't as bad, but we'd been upgraded to an Owner's Suite so we had priority ... still it took over an hour.

Royal was the only other line we've had wait times under an hour, but they still don't come close to Disney's times.

So in short, no your experience wasn't typical and hopefully it hasn't overshadowed the enjoyment of the cruise.

 

[lullyloo]

We live in Orlando and would love to just wake up and go, without having breakfast. the earliest time to disembark is 7:30? Are we allowed to just leave at that time?

 

[Dianatlol]

We take our time go to breakfast and by that time no lines nothing, we breeze through

 

[kathi]

It must have been because of Easter Sunday Services - it seemed very "un-Disney" to have so many people waiting in a mob for so long.

Glad to hear the positive responses. We are looking forward to our August 22nd 4-day and our November 27th 7-day (with the whole family)!

Kathi

 

[safetymom]

We have cruised 5 times on DCL and never waited to get off the ship. There were no lines.

 

[PearlySwan]

OP I believe your wait time might have been due to the Easter service. We've cruised twice on DCL. We too have been able to walk off the ship after breakfast. No lines.

 

[wdw-ocd]

However, expect that much time when traveling any other Cruise Line, especially Carnival/Princess who pretty much forget you exist the night before. In fact, the last time I traveled Carnival (since we're Canadian) we were told to be in the theatre to clear US Customs before 6am. No staff, no customs officials, no food, no leaving. 9am customs showed up and asked where the staff were. 10am we finally got off the ship, 11am we finally got our bags only to find all the buses had left (so much for Carnival transfers) and far too few cabs for everyone. We teamed up with 6 other Canadians and squeezed into a mini-van cab and all vowed never to use the Carnival line again.

Is the disembarkation process the same for Canadians as Americans? This will be our first cruise and we could use all the help we can get!

 

[outahere]

We live in Orlando and would love to just wake up and go, without having breakfast. the earliest time to disembark is 7:30? Are we allowed to just leave at that time?

You are allowed to disembark as soon as the ship is cleared by Immigration and Customs. That is typically around 7:30, but the time may vary due to other circumstances (arriving later than usual back to the port, etc.).

 

[princesspiglet]

Is there a certain time you HAVE to leave by?

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

Is there a certain time you HAVE to leave by?

If I recall correctly, they ask that all passengers disembark by 9, but it all depends on when the ship clears customs. I've seen people say that cast members will start herding people towards the atrium starting around 8:45. When we did our B2B last year we waited for all the passengers to get off before we did and there were still some stranglers at 9:15-9:20 but CMs were keeping them corralled in the atrium right by the doors to disembark. Looked like they were just chatting so I'm sure eventually a cast member would have asked them to move their conversation off the ship if they hadn't left on their own.

 

[Deb T.]

I was on the same cruise as the OP, and I was very surprised at how long it took to get off the ship. That was my 9th DCL cruise, and it was the first time I had any delay at all in debarking. The atrium was completely crammed with people who were all trying to funnel toward the exit. There would be a long delay, then the cms would allow a few people off the ship, and then there would be another long delay where the cms scan your KTTW card for the last time before going down to the baggage area. When I finally got downstairs, the customs line was also very long so I assumed they were trying to control how many guests were down in the baggage area at a time. Most unusual, IMHO.

 

[tvguy]

With all due repect TV GUY, if you cut your departure flights that close..it was Foolish on your part......You should have givien yourself more time.and to be be frank, why should others be made to wait becuase of your lack of planning?


Just my opinion!

AKK

I am also one of the biggest advocates of not booking a flight before the time Disney recommends, 12:30pm
My flight was at 12:35 pm. I was off the ship by 9:15 am and at the airport by 10:15 am. Next time, I will book a flight after 1 pm, and keep a little money asside for lunch at the airport.
So, best I can tell, I did nothing foolish, and allowed plenty of time. Do you agree?

 

[BealsRwe]

We just got off the Wonder Sunday. It was my 11th cruise, and the first time we have ever waited a ny length to get off. The hold up was that there were 2 other ships in port that am, and only so many customs agents to go around. They kept holding people on the boat because the lines to get through customs were so long, and were taking a while. It had nothing to do with Disney Cruise Line, and everything with the US Customs agents verifying citizenship, looking at customs declarations forms. My thought is keep us safe at home, and if I am inconvenienced getting off a ship, oh well.