Express Departure

[Jeana]

I would like to make everyone aware of the experience you will have on Voyager of the Seas out of Galveston if you choose "express departure" on the ships return to port.

We had an early flight and had to be off the ship on express departure.

I was surprised to see RCCL actually ADVERTISING for people to elect this option as a quick way to get off the ship and get going home.

Early Departure used to be reserved for people who actually needed to be off early due to flight schedules.

On the morning of departure, Decks 4 and 5 were filled to beyond capacity with people and luggage trying to get off the ship on "express departure". Where there used to be a handful of people electing this option, now there were hundreds. You could not even get an elevator and the stairs were covered with people and luggage. It occurred to me that it could actually be a safety issue if something occurred.

My husband and I ended up having to drag our luggage down the stairs and everyone kept bumping into one another. It was chaotic.

We believe RCCL could have been handled in a better fashion.

So, please be aware - if you do need to get off the ship legitimately "early" -- be the first to wait on Deck 4!

 

[jtutak]

Or be Diamond

 

[Mbandy]

I always book a later flight or one the next day so I never get off early. Good info for those who want to though.

 

[Jeana]

We usually do, too, but the earlier one was nonstop and got us back home a lot faster - we decided to go for it!

 

[granpa225]

We were recently on Navigator of the Sea and enjoyed a wonderful experience. After breakfast we went to the Majestic theater to wait--we both had books

and were prepare to spend a while. At exactly 8:45 am our group was called and we disembarked the ship, walked out to the luggage area and picked up our bags,

Walked over to show our passports, then handed in our form and walk outside to catch our bus to the airport. There was a line, but it kept moving, and the whole

process took about 15 mins. It was the same quick process as we went aboard the ship. We have been on another RC cruise and it was just the opposite, so you

can never tell...prepare for the worst, expect the best and go with the flow.

 

[Mmketeer]

Hi,
I just had the same experience on the Navigator and I had been reading some horrable reports here, so I was expecting the worst. We went to guest services the last day with beige tags to exchange as we had a flight at 10:50am. We were told by a guest relations agent that if we had a early flight we should do the express ticket #1 if we could carry our own luggage as customs can get backed up. Later that day I saw all the express tickets lying on a table for anyone to grab, so I was still expecting the worst. Well, at 8:45 we were just coming out of stateroom and starting down the stairs when they announced that anyone with a express departure ticket may dismebark the ship. We never ran into to much of wait to get off the ship and had no problems at customs either, even though they only had 2 agents at the port.The whole process took maybe 45 min. I don't know if we just beat the crowd and lucked out or what, but I'll always do express departure from now on!