Disembarkation Day Singapore

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Sapphire Princess Turnaround Day

For the second time during our 15 day cruise, Sapphire Princess was docked alongside the pier in Singapore.  This time, we would be disembarking the ship and not returning.

Early Morning

For the crew, this is the most dreaded day of the voyage.  They only have a few hours to completely re-make each cabin and get it ready for the next group of passengers to embark on their voyage of discovery.

Since we were staying an extra day in Singapore, we didn't have any pressing need to disembark the vessel.  As Elite members of Princess Cruises Captain Circle Club, we had luggage tags for one of the early disembarkation times. 

Disembarkation Lounge

We arrived at the Disembarkation Lounge, one of the dining rooms on Deck 6, and checked in with the crew member.  She told us that we could disembark if we wanted to because they were running a little ahead of schedule.  We opted to wait because we wanted to have some breakfast before leaving.

After we ate, we took the elevator down one deck to the gangway.  One final scanning of our cabin cards, and we were on our way to pick up our luggage.   Since we had waited a bit, it was pretty easy to find our luggage, which was sorted by color-coded / numbered tags.

Since our luggage is on wheels, we didn't need a porter to assist us.  Next stop was customs / immigration to scan our fingerprints and passports for the final time.   Something didn't read correctly, so I actually had to go to a counter to be processed.   Even with that delay, the process was quite efficient, and we were soon heading to the taxi line to transfer to Crowne Plaza Hotel at Changi Airport.  You may recall we stayed there prior to the cruise as well.  We were directed to a waiting mini-van for the ride to the hotel.

Once at the hotel, we checked in, expecting that we'd be checking our luggage with the bell desk.  We were pleasantly surprised to find that they had a hotel room ready for occupancy.   It had been 8:30 AM when we entered the lounge on the ship and we were already in our hotel room shortly after 9:00 AM.   That has to be record time for disembarkation and transfer for us.  We'll talk about our final day in Singapore in some other posts.

What a great cruise - we were sorry to see it come to an end.  We met some great people, including our table mates and wait staff,  had some awesome excursions, and for the most part the weather cooperated making for an enjoyable voyage.   We would do this again in a heartbeat.

Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.

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Crowne Plaza

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Disembarkation Day Allure of the Seas

Royal Caribbean
Allure of the Seas^SM

Disembarkation Day 

It is the wee hours of the morning and Allure of the Seas has pulled into Port Everglades, its home port in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

There is much to do in preparation for arrival in Ft. Lauderdale.  The ship arrives between 5:30 AM and 6:00 AM and shortly thereafter begins the process of turnaround.   The U.S. Customs officials must clear the ship before anything or anyone is allowed to disembark.  This process on the Allure of the Seas went by without anyone even noticing as they were having their final breakfast onboard the ship.

Waiting for Departure 

Just like on most ships, disembarkation is done based on color-coded numbered luggage tags.  There is an option for early walk-off, without assistance, for those that can manage their own luggage and want to get an early start.

The remainder of the luggage tags are assigned based on information provided to guest services regarding your travel plans.   Guests traveling on post-cruise shore excursions and elite Crown & Anchor members are among the first that may disembark the ship.   

 When completing the disembarkation form, guests provide details about the flight arrangements which factors into the luggage tag assignment.   We had a flight at 11:30 AM from Ft. Lauderdale International Airport, so our tags were #14.   Since we knew approximately when our number would be called, we had proceeded to some benches near the gangway.  We monitored the electronic screen to see when our number was called.   According to the time on the screen, our number was called around 7:35 AM, but we took our time disembarking.

Where's Our Bags

Once off the ship, we proceeded to the customs luggage hall where all the bags were lined up by tag number.  It's amazing to think that the ship only docked 90 minutes ago and all this luggage was already in place and ready to be picked up.

We found our bags right away and headed towards the U.S. Customs counter where our passports were checked and our declaration form collected.
Taxi cabs can be found straight ahead and other transportation, such as tours and Royal Caribbean transfers are to the right as you exit Customs.

We found disembarkation to be a very efficient process !!    We were in a cab and on our way to the airport by 8:10 AM, plenty of time to check-in at the airport and go through security before heading to our gate.

Taxi Strike Blocks Athens Port

Cruise Lines Unable

to Make Athens Calls As

Taxi Drivers Blockade Piraeus

Several cruise ships were forced to skip planned calls at Piraeus, the port for Athens, Monday, July 18, and again on Tuesday as striking taxi drivers blockaded the port, preventing passengers from getting to their sightseeing coaches.

Yellow Cabs in Athens Traffic on a Normal Day

Reuters reported today that taxi drivers in Athens walked off the job for 24 hours in the latest protest against the Greek government's EU-driven austerity program, which protesters said would hurt only the poor.  The yellow cab drivers are protesting against deregulation of their industry as part of the economic reforms demanded by Greece's international creditors. They join the ranks of the customs officials who are also on strike which is causing a shortage of gasoline at some Athens filling stations.

Four ships were due in Piraeus yesterday: Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas, Seabourn Odyssey, Ruby Princess and Pullmantur's Zenith.

According to a report on Cruise Critic, Royal Caribbean had arranged shuttle transportation for guests in anticipation of the strike, but due to the blockade, guests were unable to disembark the ship and the passengers on Voyager of the Seas had a day at sea instead.

Cruise Critic reports that Seabourn Odyssey did, however, manage to disembark and embark passengers in Athens with all guests back on board in Piraeus and the itinerary unaffected.

MSC Armonia and Celebrity Solstice were due in port today.  Solstice is spending the day in Crete today instead.   The impact of the strike on MSC Armonia is not know at this time.

Piraeus is the port city for Athens and has been Athens' port of entry for over two millennia. It is the gateway to the historic temples of the Acropolis,  the famed Plaka shopping district, the scenic drive to Cape Sounion, and the stunning 5th-century B.C. Temple of Poseidon, overlooking the Aegean Sea.

Timing for these industrial actions in Greece couldn't be worse, as it's the height of the cruise season, with three or more ships calling at Piraeus every day. In fact, most of the cruise lines have expanded their European presence this year in response to the increasing demand.

The strike is scheduled to be over in time for Wednesday's anticipated  arrival of Regent's Seven Seas Mariner and two more Royal Caribbean vessels, Splendour of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas.  We will continue to monitor the various events in Greece that can impact cruise vacations to that nation.


We have just completed our own adventure to Greece in June this year, as part of a 12-Night Greek Isles & Mediterranean Cruise on Star Princess.   For the passengers that missed their port of call in Athens, we know they must be disappointed, as we would have been.   We can only offer our images in future columns and on our Facebook Fan page as a substitute for the real thing.

This is a very trying time for the people of Greece.  We wish them well as the government tries to make changes to stabilize the economy and protect the future for generations to come.

AMA Amalegro - Amsterdam, Netherlands

Port Information:
Amsterdam

In Amsterdam, river cruise vessels dock behind the Central Station, along a street called de Ruyterkade. This is very close to the city center. You can walk along the waterfront to the back side of Central Station. When you cross through the Central Station building you exit the station in the center of the city.
Unless you want to drag your suitcases on public transportation, the best way to get from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport to de Ruyterkade is by taxi. You'll be able to hire a taxi from the taxi stand in front of the airport. You might want to negotiate price with the driver before you enter the taxi. We paid 51 euros (including tip) from the airport to the ship. The taxi back to the airport was arranged by our Cruise Director for a flat fee of 35 euros (plus tip). We also shared the taxi back to the airport with another couple, which reduced our cost more.

The ship may also be located at Veemkade, which is behind the Central Station to the left, or further down at the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam (PTA). The PTA is where the larger cruise ships dock. We docked there on our past cruise vacations that included Amsterdam.

We were able to easily explore Amsterdam from where we were docked. As I mentioned in my earlier post, we walked along the waterfront and Central Station and into the heart of Amsterdam from our ship. When we returned to Amsterdam later in the week, we were also docked in the same location. This time, we used the Stop/Go Bus to take us to some shops near Anne Frank's House. From there we walked back to the ship, shopping along the way. It only costs 1 euro for an hour on the Stop/Go Bus - this is a great deal.

Amsterdam is a very easy city to get around on your own. There are several public transportation options. For those that wanted some exercise, the Amalegro also had bicycles that you could check out if you desired.