Hey there Jessica, I'm pleased to welcome you aboard planDisney!
When it comes to charting a course for any voyage at sea, getting back home is just as important as the journey itself! I've witnessed my share of folks desperately trying to get off the ship in order to avoid missing a flight and since you've cleverly come to us here at planDisney to help you prepare, here are a few helpful insights into the Debarkation process - or getting off the ship - at the end of your voyage:
- Prior to your final morning on board, guests receive a letter in their staterooms providing a variety of details of what to expect as they depart as well as specific times to be aware of including the time they are required to vacate their stateroom and also when all guests must debark the vessel. It's important to note that this can vary not only between ships in the fleet, but also their various Ports of Departure as well as the itineraries that each ship sails. You'll also have this information readily available in the Disney Cruise Line Navigator App for any guests who may have overlooked or chosen not to read the information in their stateroom.
- To give you a very general idea (that cannot be guaranteed) however, many of the current voyages tend to require most guests to have completed the debarkation process and be off the ship around 9:00 a.m. but there are instances where delays in the Port or with Customs and Border Protection may cause a bit of an extended wait both on and off the ship. Personally, I've experienced days where I've utilized the Express Walk-Off option to be among the first to debark and be through in about 15 minutes, but again generally speaking I think it's good to give yourself a buffer of an hour just in case anything does slow down.
- I do highly recommend that you come back to us here at planDisney to let us know what ship and itinerary you'll be sailing so that we can hopefully provide you with a better idea based on recent similar cruise itineraries. That said, in my opinion it's always best to schedule your flights later in afternoon, so you can take it easy and not have to spend your first day back on land stressed out or anxious about having to rush.
Now if I have one very key parting piece of wisdom from the waves, there's one thing that you'll want to make sure you have clear before embarking on any vessel in the
Disney Cruise Line fleet: and that's the fact that guests should be really calling them ships (not boats) out of respect to Captain, Officers and Crew who proudly live on board and have this drilled into them. (There are still quite a few guests who do use the word "boat" now and again, but that's often the easiest way to tell apart a landlubber from a seasoned sailor just like someone saying Disneyland is in Orlando - they'll understand what you mean, but it still isn't quite right.)
Wishing you all the best on your quest to return home after your voyage!
Prince