My brother and sister-in-law just got off of an NCL cruise in Charleston. Much to my surprise this cruise line (although not a line I would use myself) has had an epiphany regarding disebarkation. Anyone who chooses to tote their own luggage may now leave as soon as the ship is docked. They got off the ship in just 10 minutes when their last cruise took almost 3 hours. Has anyone heard of this with any of the other lines?

We were on NCL's Spirit in Nov. Friends we met did this and LOVED it. They were 1st group off!

we did this on our NCL cruise in Aug and were off the boat in about 15 min. We'll do it again in april.

Princess does this also.

We just did a Princess cruise a few weeks ago and this was not offered.

I have done 3 cruises with Princess this past year, most recently mid-december and anyone that does not check in bags can depart after the handicapped are asked to leave. It is not announced over the loud speaker.

Thanks for the info travelinwifey. We'll keep that in mind for our next trip.

We are going on Princess in March and this appeals to me. Does this mean we can't check bags when we embark? What's to keep you from just not setting your bags out on the last night and carrying them off even if you had checked them in?

You can check your bags in without problems at embarkation, just don't put your luggage out the last night before disembarkation and you may walk out with it.

I like the idea of leaving early but, what about customs??

We just got back from a trip on the NCL Dream, and this was not an option..
Customs was a joke.. We filled out a customs declaration form and dropped it in a basket a woman was holding as we left with our luggage. No questions asked..