We are cruising Feb 07 on Serenade out of San Juan. Our return flight to DC departs at 2:00 pm (only non-stop flight - worth waiting until a bit later). We'd like as liesurely a morning as possible so we don't have to spend too much time dragging our luggage around. When do you HAVE to be off the ship? I will admit, I'm a hypocrate - I'll be arriving a day early and would like to board on the previous Saturday as early as possible (first cruise, I'm excited) so I can see where my original question here becomes a problem .

This is based on our returning from a cruise to Alaska on NCL. We arrived in Seattle at 0700 and they started offloading passengers at 0730. They wanted everyone off by 1030 in order to load passengers starting at noon. Your mileage may vary, but I'll bet that they won't let you hang around.

Thanks. I'm almost afraid to ask - how do they clean all those rooms and change all those linens in 1.5 hours?

You will have to vacate your stateroom by 8am. Your luggage should have been taken the night before, so all you have is a carry-on. You take that to breakfast and to the holding place prior to your debarkation time.

Those arriving on board around 11:30 or Noon can have lunch at the buffet on the upper deck but won't be allowed to go to their staterooms until about 2pm. Six hours is plenty of time to clean/wash/redo the staterooms.

Budman - they take my luggage the night before? What about showers, etc (esp w/new "no liquid" rules on airlines)?

Re boarding - if I can check ONboard as early as 11:30, then if our ship does not leave until 10:00pm, can we get back off the ship and do an excursion?

Regarding luggage the night before - on the 3 cruises on which we have sailed, we did not put our luggage out the night before. The first time, we forgot, the second time we were too disorganized, and by the third time we just didn't see the point.

While there are notw restrictions, similar to airlines, about luggage you "carry on" yourself, they don't seem to care what you bring off the ship. Since we are fairly light packers, we saw no reason why we could not just wheel it off ourselve, which is what we did. Besides, it has always bothered me a little to leave my stuff unattended in a hallway.

It meant we had to haul it to breakfast, babysit it in the lounge where they park you until you can leave - but there were 4 of us, so it was not a problem to divide up luggage babysitting responsibilities.

So you will have to decide if you want to haul it around or put it out the night before.

sleeepy, you need to check with the cruise ship, but I believe you can get off and back on. Getting on at 11:30 for a 10pm departure seems a bit early, but if they will let you on, go for it.

As gail said, you can carry your own luggage around all morning. Most people leave it out the night before and have a small roller carry-on with a change of clothes for the following morning. You pick up your luggage when you depart the ship and go thru customs in San Juan when you arrive before you transfer your luggage to a transport to take it to the airport. Put your liquids in when you retrieve your luggage at the port.

I always left my luggage out the night before (at about 9-10pm) because I have the kitchen sink to contend with.

If you get off at 10:30, that gives you about three hours to get to the plane (1:30 boarding time) That is as leisurely as I would want it! Given all the new rules and security problems, you need at LEAST two hours for an international flight. Took us longer than that in Zurich. Personally, I'd rather have an 8 am breakfast, get off the ship by nine, get checked in at the airport and have lunch there than hang on board till the end with nothing at all to do. They quit serving food in the dining room pretty early and you have to wait in a public area just sitting.

Why do you need to board at 11:30, leave & get back on if on another post you mentioned that you are arriving the day before the cruise? Just arrange for a later check out from the hotel & board; or ask the hotel to hold your luggage & board even later.

There's a nice Sheraton in Old San Juan.

Surely you jest, sleeepy. There must have been 150 people standing in line in the atrium at 0715 with their carryon luggage, waiting to disembark, and you can be sure that the housekeeping staff was well aware that those rooms were ready to be made up. Our steward was in the corridor, champing at the bit, when we left our room at 0830.

Suerich68 - I was thinking that if the ship doesn't leave until 10:00 at night, and I could board early in the day - we can get through check in and be done with it and spend the day exploring with no mid-day interruption knowing that everything is on the ship. There are frequent cruisers who have told me that they have been able (often) to check in just before noon.

Bobmrg - 7:15, 8:30 . . . oh so eeeeeeaaaarly!!!!!!!! It's my first cruise - I'm having a hard time imagining just about all of it right now But I'm sure I'll be amazed at how many crew, etc. and how well everything is done once I'm aboard, all the while laughing back at my silly questions and thoughts at this point. Oye.