Hi Sparkles

I did a 7 night cruise on the Carnival Inspiration in and out of Tampa in July 2004 and the disembarkation procedure was very similar to any other cruise liner. We had coloured tags indicating an estimated time for leaving the ship. As we were flying back from Orlando we had to pick up our hire car and drive back to Downtown Disney to drop of the suitcases at the Virgin check in desks. I remember we arrived there at 1pm and there had been torrential rain on the freeway so we were not travelling very quickly. Our flight was at about 7pm so we had plenty of time to visit the shopping malls in Orlando before travelling to the Airport. Tell your parents to be careful which airport they fly back to the UK from as if it's Stanford in could add another 1-2 hours to their journey. The International Airport in Orlando is far more convenient.

Sorry, didn't really answer your question. We disembarked the ship at about 10am. You have to find your suitcases at the quay side. They don't tend to keep you hanging about on the ship as they need to start embarkation for the new passengers at lunch time.

Hiya Jennie,

Many thanks for your replies - it was exactly what they were needing to know. They are now going to go ahead and book transport for a suitable time.

Thanks again, Sarah