Peter Greenberg: Cruise Ship Disembarkation

 

I wish I could tell you yes, June, but the best I can do is maybe. The times listed by most cruise ships as official disembarkation times are not the times the ships arrive at the dock. Most cruise lines are tied at the dock by 7 a.m., and sometimes even sooner. The real key question here is who booked your airfare, you or the cruise line? If it's the cruise line, they'll absolutely be on the hook if their turnaround time isn't sufficient. But either way, you need to inform the purser's office when you board the ship of your crunch time at the airport. The other good news is that the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., airport is extremely close to the cruise port; in fact, it's about a 10-15 minute ride by taxi or shuttle. If you can actually get off the ship by 9 a.m., you've got a shot at making it.

 

Many cruise ships use a color-coded-by-time disembarkation procedure. This randomly assigns (or not so randomly, in some cases) colored tags to each cruiser and then calls him or her to the lobby-departure area by color and time. So if you get the wrong color, you may be in trouble.

 

But not all ships operate this way. Princess Cruises, for example, has introduced a new disembarkation process that includes an 'express' option. As long as you're willing to carry your own luggage off the ship, you can be a part of the first group to leave the ship.

 

If you're on a ship that doesn't have this option, check with guest services to see if it might be possible to be in the first group.

 

One other tip: I would do my best to avoid checking luggage at the airport, if at all possible. Not only will this speed check-in time, but bags that are accepted right before the deadline (usually about 45 minutes before the scheduled departure time) have a greater chance of getting lost than the ones that arrive in plenty of time before a flight.