What happens on Disembarkation Day?

Disembarkation day is the day your cruise ends and you step off the ship, to journey home or perhaps on to another adventure. Disembarkation tends to happen in the morning, just after breakfast, and is over by lunchtime, so the ship's crew can ready everything for new guests to board in the afternoon.



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Go to breakfast Room service may or may not be available on disembarkation day. Head to the buffet or main dining room to enjoy a leisurely breakfast — unless you are in a rush to get to your flight.

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Overview of the Disembarkation Process It takes several hours for all the passengers to leave the ship, once the ship docks at its final destination. But, when the time comes for each individual to exit, the disembarking process only lasts about 15-30 minutes (assuming no glitches).

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Every country is different, and you need to do research into how things run where you're going. As a general rule of thumb, however, I would budget at least 90 minutes (60 to clear immigration, another 30 to get your bags and get through customs) unless you have some way to expedite the process.

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First of all, “embarkation” refers to the act of boarding a vessel or airplane; “disembarkation” is the act of getting off the vessel or airplane at your destination.

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Linger Where You Shouldn't Want to drive the crew crazy? Staying in your cabin past when you've been asked to leave or lingering in the atrium before your debarkation group has been called will do both as these will slow down the entire disembarkation process, delaying everything.

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Disembark means getting off of an airplane, bus, train or almost any other vehicle or vessel. Therefore, to disembark your cruise means getting off of the ship at your final destination. Think of it like this: When your cruise begins, you are embarking on your journey. When the cruise is ending, you disembark.

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We always eat lunch at the MDR on embarkation day, and never once has anyone on the crew encouraged us to do anything different.

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Guests are prohibited from bringing alcoholic beverages on board with the following exception: At the beginning of the cruise during embarkation day only, guests (21 years of age and older) may bring one 750 ml bottle of sealed/unopened wine or champagne per person in their carry-on luggage.

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Mal de débarquement syndrome (MdDS) — which means, “sickness of disembarkation” — is a rare condition that makes you feel like you're moving, even when you're not. “Disembarkation” is a word to describe getting off of a boat or aircraft. This can cause a change in your stability or balance.

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In some ports you can take advantage of our Easy Walk-Off. This means you can leave the ship as soon as it is cleared by local authorities, carrying all your luggage off the vessel.

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Feeding Yourself on Debarkation Day Even though you're leaving the ship, you're still entitled to breakfast onboard. These are your options: Eat in a Dining Room You'll be assigned to the same dining room you had dinner in on the last night of your cruise.

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Bottom Line: Time to leave the ship can vary widely. If everything goes smoothly and there are automated kiosks for immigration, it can be as little as 15 minutes. However, delays and thousands of passengers leaving at once can lead to longer wait times of 1-2 hours until you are outside the cruise terminal.

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Strategy #1: Opt for the “Self Assist” program. There will be no porters onboard or ashore to assist with your luggage, and since you're the first group called, you can often be off the ship by 7:15 or 7:30 am. If you don't mind an early departure and can handle your bags, it's a great way to get a jump on the crowds.

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Royal Caribbean crew members will take your luggage and have it ready for disembarkation so that you the only thing you'll need to carry off the ship is a small bag with things you cannot pack. You will head to the luggage pick up area once ashore.

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If you are a U.S. citizen and your cruise embarks or disembarks in a foreign country, including Canada, you will always need your passport for the cruise (in some cases a passport card will suffice). You'll also need a passport for a cruise that begins and ends in different U.S. ports.

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