Cruising - Debarkation Day

 

For most people, Debarkation Day is when one returns to the Real World.  Although I once combined a 13-day cruise with 5 days on land, most people will be leaving the ship on Debarkation Day and traveling home immediately afterwards.  And the above photo should give a good idea of how confusing it can be at the final port on their cruise.

Most ships will usually reach their destination ports early in the morning, and will expect people to be ready to leave the ship once it is cleared to discharge its passengers.  This usually happens by 7:00 am.  One should be ready to leave one’s cabin as soon as possible after this time.

Because the ship arrives early in the morning, I usually do my last day packing before going to breakfast.  One should make sure that all bags have been packed, all valuables have been removed from the room’s safe, all toiletries have been packed in the carry-on or personal bag, and that nothing else has been left in the cabin. 

Since I usually will not have checked out of the cabin at this time, I go for one last breakfast on the ship. Passengers wanting one last breakfast on the ship will want to make an early visit to the main dining room or buffet, so that they can leave the ship at their assigned times.  Most of the time, the buffet areas will be overcrowded, so it may be hard to find a table on debarkation day.  If open, I try to find a table in the main dining room for my last breakfast, as I am usually not in a hurry to leave the ship.

Passengers are assigned prioritized debarkation times.  For example, “Self-Assist” passengers debark first on many ships, as they require the least assistance from cruise line personnel. Next in line often will be passengers with transfers to local airports (with or without cruise line associated tour).  Many passengers will have flights that take off sometime in the afternoon.  Finally, the remaining passengers will debark the ship.

Once passengers leave the ship for the last time, they will be reunited with their luggage at the cruise terminal.  Bags will usually be found in zones associated with their ship given luggage tags.  However, most bags look alike and can be stored in the wrong zone.  I have found that using a tracking device such as an Apple Air Tag or Tile Tracker has been quite useful.  When my bag was placed in the wrong zone at the terminal, all I had to do was activate an app at the terminal to locate my tracker device.  The device would start beeping, and my bag became easy to find.
Next (on most cruises) one will go through customs.  Although this process has been streamlined at many US cruise terminals, foreign ports may have different processes for non-citizens.  Be prepared to fill out customs declaration forms in foreign ports, as they are simply making sure that all appropriate duties have been paid, and that no contraband is being brought into their lands.

After clearing customs, one is “free.”  One will leave the terminal and seek out appropriate transportation.  If using a cruise line transfer, buses will be in front and waiting for passengers.  Otherwise, one will either go to an arrivals area to be picked up, to a cab stand to get a ride, or walk to mass transit as needed.