We were wondering what the earlest time they will let you check in on the Victory

12:00 seems to be a pretty good ball bark estimate.

We got there at noon and approx 700 people were also there at that time,

Get there as early as you want. Don't forget, the day you board is ythe first day of your cruise! The last day they'll feed you breakfast and throw you off! So get on board as soon as you can. They almost ALWAYS start boarding as soon as a crowd starts forming...usually about 11:30. Lunch is being served in the buffet and the pool is open. Don't pack your suit...put it in your carry on stuff...that way you can change and go to the pool regardless of when your bags arrive!

Ditto Steve. The mood and atmosphere seem to do a 360 the day you disembark. Smiles and nods disappear, you're luggage is waiting in another building for you, crew is busy readying and cleaning for the next group of passengers. You're all but history.
A'ndrea

Shucks A'ndrea, Are those storms still hanging around Albany? I know, disembarkation may as well be "Get off my freaking ship" day.

Can someone remind me of the luggage situation on the day you disembark? Do they have to take it the night before or can I roll it out myself?

You can either put your bags out the night before and then try and find them in the terminal the next morning...or do early disembarkation carry them off with you, but you have to do either or...you can't carry some and check some.

Oh one other thought...if you bought booze, don't put that out the night before!! Otherwise you just stocked the bar for that party 2 doors down.

Thank you...we are driving to siesta keys right after we get off the ship...so i wanna be able to just grab my bags and gooo...

Sunshine-- then you want to do the "self disembarkation" Especially if you don't have too many bags. You basically don't put any bags out the last night. They then call for self disembark and you grab your stuff and walk off the ship and go through customs. We did it on the Conquest cruise and were off the ship and driving home by 9AM. This has benifiets and disadvantages. Good thing- you can be off the ship quickly (if you have an early flight or want to get on the road quickly) AND you don't have to waste time on your last night packing suitcases and figuring out what needs to go into bags and what you need for the monring- you can pack everything in the morning.

Bad thing- its not worth it if you have a lot of bags. AND you are off the ship so fast, you don't even have time to get breakfast unless you wake up really early (Which can be hard to do if you were making the most of your last cruise night.)

Hi Ken. It's been raining non-stop for 4 days. Tomorrow night is my daughter's Senior Prom. So much to do.
Today, we finally have a break from the rain and I was able to mow my lawns. There's something therapeutic about sitting on my mower and buzzing around. I do my best thinking while mowing.
A'ndrea

I was watching my son-in-law's flight into JFK yesterday right over Albany and lots of storms!

FYI There are two sites that I know of to plug in an airline and flight number and you will get live tracking.

http://www.flightview.com/
http://www.aeroseek.com/webtrax/airnav.html

How Cool is that. Thanks Ken. My husband is flying into Newark tonight from Mexico City. I'll check it out. Perfect timing.
A'ndrea

I had a different experience with self-disembarkation on the Conquest...for whatever reason, it wasn't as simple as it was for other people. The line to get off was insane, wrapped around every floor in the lobbies, and the other cruisers who were so pleasant during the cruise were suddenly mean and snappy. Everyone was impatient and rude, accusing each other of cutting, yelling at each other, etc. My husband and I vowed we'd never self-disembark again.

Hey Cort, Are you sure it was the self or did you get caught up later when they called a color or deck for the regular?

Have not tried it since they renamed it self-disembark and started calling them to dis-embark early. It use to be, carry your own stuff and wait in line lugging it when the color/deck was called with everyone else.

No, it was the self-disembarkation period...I dunno, maybe it was just an isolated incident. This time we've vowed to be the last people off the ship

That just got a really big laugh from me! We stayed out way to late once in Nassau with some of the crew. We were the last one's off, easiest luggage I have ever found..was the only ones

I think maybe they need to explain it better, you prolly got swamped with people just trying to get off early that don't understand the system.

This next cruise of mine, I am going to spend the last few hours of the cruise on the Lido deck nursing my cruise memories. I plan not to even try to get off the ship b/4 10:30 or 11:00. I have a mid-afternoon flight and there is no rush to stand on line.

IB, I am the same way when I drive or have a late flight. Usually stay out late the last night, so I ask the steward to wake us last. I know they have to flip the cabins that day so I am considerate as to how late I can stay.

I just ask nicely, and usually they claen our cabin last and knock around 9:30. I just chill out and and take a shower. By the time I am ready is an easy walk off.

Smooth Seas and Calm Winds,
IC