Princess changes "getting off the ship" process

If you have cruised before then you are very familiar with the traditional last day’s "hurry up and wait" disembarkation process that has long been a cruise industry standard.

That tradition is now history aboard Princess ships, as the line introduces a new, streamlined farewell process for passengers.

Contrasted with the typical end-of-cruise departure where passengers listen to public address system announcements for their luggage tag color to be called signaling the staggered times they will disembark, Princess has debuted an efficient, more relaxed process for passengers leaving the ship. Passengers are each given an assigned time and place to assemble on the final morning and are personally escorted to the gangway by a member of the ship's staff, eliminating the guesswork as to the actual time passengers will be disembarking.

The new program is in the process of being rolled out fleet wide, and has already been met with enthusiastic response from passengers. The new system eliminates loudspeaker announcements calling color-coded departure groups, and instead provides passengers with a letter the day before the end of the cruise that outlines their designated time to meet in an assigned public room, depending on their return air arrangements. There they will be met by a member of the ship's staff who will wait with them until departure time, when they will be personally escorted to the gangway.

The revised system enables passengers to easily plan their morning without the uncertainty as to when they should prepare to depart the ship. It also eliminates passengers congregating in the ship's atrium near the gangway, plus creates a more relaxed flow for morning breakfast.

I applaud this action by the fine folks at Princess and hope that their competition (fellow cruise ship executives take heed) follows their lead with rapid changes to their disembarkation procedures too.

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