Mom And Daughter Laughing together on Hammock at beach
  • On Feb 13, 2014
    James from VA Asked Note: This answer was provided prior to the change to planDisney and may still contain references to Disney Parks Moms Panel.

    Experiences, policies, pricing and other offerings are subject to change and may have changed since the date of this answer.

    We are taking our 1st Disney cruise in a couple weeks. I am a VIP w/Carnival and truthfully have become very spoiled. My question is about disembarking the ship. Is it a free-for-all once the ship has cleared or is there a rule of thumb who goes 1st?

    Welcome aboard, James!

    Glad to hear that you're gonna check out the Disney Cruise in a few short days from now. Similar to other cruise ships, your check in luggage will need to be packed and ready for pickup by the porters on the last evening before 11pm. As a convenience, your tagged luggage will be collected in the hallways and you pick it up at the port baggage claim area in the morning. You'll likely have a carry on bag with you for toiletries and other morning essentials when you leave your stateroom in the morning. 

    Disembarkation could start as early 7:30am, as long as the ship has been cleared by customs. Hopefully, your post-cruise travel arrangements allow you enough time to enjoy the rest of the morning with a leisurely breakfast. Your breakfast onboard can be enjoyed at the same restaurant that you ate dinner at, on your last night. If you had the early dinner seating, breakfast will be at about 6:45am. Around the time that you finish your early breakfast, the ship would have received clearance to disembark, so you can fall in line at the gangway and exit.  

    If you are like my family, and you prefer the 2nd dinner seating, then breakfast is scheduled at 8am. We will usually leave our stateroom around this time, and have all our carry on baggage with us at the restaurant. We take our time to enjoy breakfast that morning, and we even make it a point to hand our gratuity envelopes to our dining team personally. We're always extremely satisfied with their excellent service, since they've been rotating with us at every dinner, throughout the cruise. With long and sad faces, we then make our way to the gangway to exit the ship. As a plus, since we eat last, we have a tendency to miss the earlier crowds.

    I hope this helps! Have an awesome voyage!
    Dolly M.
thumbnail image for Dolly

Meet the Panelist: Dolly, California

I'm a full-time working mom anchored by an active family who shares the passion for travel, food and music! Our 2 teens have grown up sailing on the Disney Cruise Line and sharing the magic with other working families brings us so much pride and Pixie Dust! Learn More About Dolly

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