What are the top 10 mistakes passengers make on disembarkation day?

This article has listed 10 common disembarkation day mistakes for the benefit of passengers. Keep reading to learn more about what mistakes you should avoid on your last day of the cruise.

10 Mistakes to Avoid on Disembarkation Day

Here is a list of the 10 most common mistakes you should avoid to have a stress-free disembarkation day.

1. Delaying to check the final invoice until disembarkation morning:

The most common mistake passengers tend to make on disembarkation day is to check their final invoice at the last minute. The guest services desk is always jam-packed with passengers negotiating last-minute adjustments. You can simply avoid being a part of this crowd by making all necessary adjustments at the desk a night before.

2. Misplacing luggage tags:

The crew provides color and number-coded tags to all their passengers a night before disembarkation. Passengers are supposed to show up at the atrium whenever the crew calls out a particular color or number code passengers are assigned. If misplaced, it will lead to an unnecessary hassle of finding one bag out of thousands. Thereby, you will probably be the last one to get off the ship. 

3. Getting up too early:

Passengers make another mistake on their disembarkation day by waking up too early. Although the ship arrives at the port before dawn, the ship's customs clearance procedure generally takes more than 2 hours. You can choose to sleep peacefully till the procedure gets done. There is no point in hurrying since passengers are not allowed to get off the ship any earlier than their disembarkation time. 

4. Packing your ship keycard:

Passengers either pack their keycards along with their luggage or leave it behind at their cabin. This is another mistake you should avoid on your disembarkation day. You will not be allowed to get off the ship unless you tap your keycard at the terminal one last time. 

5. Not following cabin clearance time:

Passengers often do not respect their assigned cabin clearance time. This is another blunder you are most likely to make on your disembarkation day. It gets very overwhelming for the crew members to clean up if passengers linger around the cabin beyond their clearance time. 

It is advisable to rather hang around in a lounge or at the breakfast buffet till you finally disembark. 

Also Read: Top 15 Cruise Mistakes First-Time Cruisers Must Avoid

6. Booking early flights:

Another mistake for passengers to avoid is booking an early flight on their disembarkation day. Since the disembarkation process takes a lot of time, passengers could at least avoid worrying about missing their flight. Booking a late flight will give them enough time to reach the airport conveniently. 

7. Not checking the cabin before leaving:

Before walking out of the cabin, check all corners of the cabin carefully. It is difficult to collect items left behind in the cabin once you get off the ship. Check all drawers, closets, shelves, and especially the safe, and avoid making this common blunder. 

8. Packing cabin amenities:

Avoid the mistake of packing cabin amenities such as bathrobes, beach, or pool towels. Cabin amenities except cruise slippers are chargeable. All such charges appear on the last-day bill and will lead to unnecessary chaos at the guest service desk.

9. Missing breakfast:

Passengers can not order room services on their disembarkation day and hence most of the time, they miss grabbing breakfast. Before starting off a hectic disembarkation procedure, it is advisable to head to the main dining area or the buffet lounge. 

10. Not pre-planning drop-off mode of transport:

Passengers tend to plan their drop-off transport at the last minute, which is another huge mistake on their part. You must avoid this last-minute havoc and book a cab from the terminal till your drop-off location or ask the crew to book a staff bus.