Early Embarkation Being Discontinued on X and RCL

[gizmo]

Apparently RCL and X have reports on their boards about early embarkation being discontinued and pax will not be able to board until after 1:30.

Apparently this has something to do with implementing new customs/immigration procedures for non US citizens.

I wonder if this is just X and RCL or is it going to effect all cruise lines?

[doone]

That's interesting, Gizmo. I am wondering the same thing, I just started enjoying early embarkation with HAL.

[Orcrone]

I'd hate to see early embarkation disappear. Checkout at most hotels is either 11 AM or noon. That gives a lot of time to kill between checkout and embarkation; especially with an 11 AM checkout.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Besides, and I hate to be picky, but they call them "7 day", "10 day", etc., cruises. But it's really the nights they're counting. What I love about the early embarkation on HAL is that you really feel you're getting that 7th day.

My personal amusing favorite itinerary reads "Day 7, Disembark 8 a.m." Huh?:confused:

[bepsf]

Besides, and I hate to be picky, but they call them "7 day", "10 day", etc., cruises. But it's really the nights they're counting. What I love about the early embarkation on HAL is that you really feel you're getting that 7th day.

My personal amusing favorite itinerary reads "Day 7, Disembark 8 a.m." Huh?:confused:
LOL - I keep wondering about that bit of logic too...:cool:

[Krazy Kruizers]

I hope HAL doesn't go back to the old ways.

But I am curious as to what the new customs & immigration procedures would have to do with getting on a ship. HAL has always had a separate check-in area for non-US citizens in the past.

[JohnR49er]

That will sure make for a late lunch, if any......................:confused:

[gizmo]

Apparently it has something to do with clearing the ship with pax that are leaving. I don't know if it is a RCL/X prodecure or something to to with immigration.

This is what I read:

Saw this mentioned on the RCCL board for the cruises departing from Miami. Has to do with implementing new customs/immigration procedures for non-USA citizens at disembarkation. Apparently it will take longer to clear the ship, hence the extra time needed before the next group of passengers can board

[JDee]

I hope HAL doesn't go back to the old ways.

But I am curious as to what the new customs & immigration procedures would have to do with getting on a ship. HAL has always had a separate check-in area for non-US citizens in the past.
From what I have been reading on those same boards, it appears to be a slow down on disembarking. Seems some new procedures in effect for non-U.S. citizens. Immigration will not allow new pax to board until all previous cruises have disembarked. This also causes traffic jams outside the piers, people coming in trying to unload luggage and pax and others still waiting to get off.

Plus all the cabs, busses, etc., eyeing for the close spots. Sure looks like HAL and others may have to go back to the old ways.http://boards.cruisecritic.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

Maybe they will have medical staff give flu shots while you wait.http://boards.cruisecritic.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I hope HAL doesn't go back to the old ways.

But I am curious as to what the new customs & immigration procedures would have to do with getting on a ship. HAL has always had a separate check-in area for non-US citizens in the past.

KK this might be the answer, I know last December when we were on RCL I remember sanding in line to check in and the people behind us had some sort of Foreign passport and I kept trying to see what country it was from so I am pretty sure they do not have a seperate check in for non-US citizens.
Hopefully if HAL continues the seperate check in we can keep the early embarkation. I really like it also:D

[bepsf]

I'm sure most of this has to do w/ the sheer masses of people that RCCL are packing aboard their ships.

It obviously takes alot longer to clear and disembark 2500-3000 passengers (out of a single doorway, mind you) than it does for 1400-1800 people.

I wouldn't worry about it...

[jhannah]

Saw this mentioned on the RCCL board for the cruises departing from Miami.
So this appears to be Miami-specific. I don't believe, therefore, it will impact any of us boarding elsewhere.

[Krazy Kruizers]

bbmdschmidt posted this on the Celebrity board.

He got a separate letter from Celebrity just the other day.

"Due to increased security & border requirements, Port Everglades could no longer accomadate anyone getting getting to the ship before 1:30. They asked that since there really isn't any waiting area, all passengers should not arrive until after 1:30."

So this doesn't sound like just a Miami problem.

[peaches from georgia]

[/b][/color]
So this appears to be Miami-specific. I don't believe, therefore, it will impact any of us boarding elsewhere.
It certainly seems to be related to the massive Homeland Security legislation just signed and put into effect the other day. If the Federal Government is tightening up disembarkation procedures and entry into the country through its ports, that is going to affect all cruiselines and all ports.

[tomc]

It obviously takes a lot longer to clear and disembark 2500-3000 passengers (out of a single doorway, mind you)

You folks are missing the point.

Put the departing pax in containers, swing them over the side with winches and leave them in holding bins until they can be checked out shoreside. Works in Gitmo.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Has any one contacted HAL about this?

We leave in a couple of weeks and still have not gotten any kind of letter like the indidivual I talked about from the Celebrity board.

[jhannah]

If this will become the norm at all U.S. ports, I guess we'll just have to live with it. But it will sure put the kabosh on boarding the ship and enjoying a leisurely lunch in the Lido while waiting for the cabins to be ready. I always look forward to that. Sigh. Just one more sign of the times. :(

[HeatherInFlorida]

I'm a little confused (once again:o ). We went out of Ft. Lauderdale on November 7th and were onboard very early. We were eating in the Lido by 12:20 and many people were on before us. We had arrived at the docks at 11:15.

So is everyone saying this is something new since then? I looked at the Celebrity site and they still say early boarding begins at 11:00 there, too.

So does anyone know any of this for sure or are we just tossing it around?

[Krazy Kruizers]

As I posted above and quoted from bbmdschmidt, it sounds like it will soon be implemented.

Maybe around January 1?

[HeatherInFlorida]

As I posted above and quoted from bbmdschmidt, it sounds like it will soon be implemented.

Maybe around January 1?

I saw that, KK, but since I don't know bbmdschmidt personally I just wondered if we had info beyond that. Gizmo said it's on X's website and I don't see it.

[gatour]

In March, we weren't allowed off the Zaandam unitil near 11am. We were locals (ie, drove from Jacksonvile). On a prior cruuise Disney) we disembarked by 8am

I think that some of the time difference was due to the fact that the Zaandam is a "second" class ship it doesn't sail from Port Canarval on a year round basis and the port doesn't have enough immigration/customs people to handle the peak times. The customs/immigration people are assigned to the year around ships first and then play catchup with the part-timers.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Did some posting on the Celebrity and RCI boards.

RCI knew nothing of this. Got reports back from several people.

On the Celebrity board, did get another answer - from SisZ. On Dec 10 she got a voice mail from Celebrity about this very same thing. She ended up calling Celebrity and was told not to report to the ship (no reason given) for her Dec 26th cruise out of Ft Lauderdale.

Only one ship seems to be affected. It sounds as though there will be a lot of ships in Ft Lauderdale on Dec 26th and that their ship will be docked at one of the freight docks where there isn't a passenger terminal and waiting area.

[gizmo]

Heather,

You misunderstood my post. I said the X and RCL boards. I meant the boards on this site, not the X or RCL web sites. :)

It appears no one knows for sure what is going on.

Everyone's comments on this thread makes sense in this discussion.


Possibly this is a one shot deal because of the number of ships in port Dec 26.
It could be be related to the massive Homeland Security legislation just signed and put into effect the other day.
The large number of pax on some of these ships and the time it takes to clear the ship could be causing a mess at the dock.
I couldn't leave out tomc's comment::D Put the departing pax in containers, swing them over the side with winches and leave them in holding bins until they can be checked out shoreside.

[sail7seas]

So this is all speculation and no one knows what it is about?

[HeatherInFlorida]

Now I completely understand! And had the issue been clearly explained in the first place I would have known exactly what happened as it's happened before with Celebrity.

When we were on Celebrity in December 2003 we were told by staff there that the following week the embarking passengers were going to have to be carted over to this outlying area. Their ship would be moored at the freight facility and you could not wait there. The worst part is the workers at the port told us that the disembarking passengers that week were in for an eye opener when they returned to find themselves at a different pier. A real mess.

This is simply an isolated situation because of too many ships and has absolutely nothing to do new custom regulations or immigration regulations. It is a prime example of how rumors get floated and turn into everyone carrying on about a problem that doesn't even exist for most of us.

[gizmo]

Sorry Heather but I didn't interpret anyone's posts as carrying on about it.

The original post that I read did not mention anything about too many ships in port. KK found that info later. (Thank you KK).

The letter a poster receieved from Celebrity did mention customs/immigration.

The subject was open for discussion and the information provided was enlightening. At no time did I intend to start a rumor. I thought it was an interesting subject especially since Homeland Security legislation is tightening up security. No one knows what the future may hold when it comes to security and cruise ships. KK did more digging and posted some good information on the subject that may be the answer. Others posted their thoughts on it and I thank you for the comments.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Heather

I am assuming that when it happened to you, there was a problem getting from the ship to your car. How did you handle your luggage considering that the parking garages aren't handy to the freight docks?

[HeatherInFlorida]

Sorry Heather but I didn't interpret anyone's posts as carrying on about it.

The original post that I read did not mention anything about too many ships in port. KK found that info later. (Thank you KK).

The letter a poster receieved from Celebrity did mention customs/immigration.

The subject was open for discussion and the information provided was enlightening. At no time did I intend to start a rumor. I thought it was an interesting subject especially since Homeland Security legislation is tightening up security. No one knows what the future may hold when it comes to security and cruise ships. KK did more digging and posted some good information on the subject that may be the answer. Others posted their thoughts on it and I thank you for the comments.Gizmo, why did you take this so personally? My suggestion is merely that you began with little information (and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that ... never suggested there was). And then it took off from there. At no time did I suggest you meant to start a rumor. I said this is how rumors get started. Can you debate that seriously? Because that is how rumors get started. I never said you started a rumor. Big difference.

I said that from the original post began a series of conjecture. You can't possibly suggest that this post didn't get carried away. Before you knew it, it went from one person getting a letter to the suggestion that from now on no one would be allowed to board early on any cruiseline.

I think everyone must realize that a lot of stuff gets stirred up on the boards that simply is not true. No one can debate that. It's no one's fault ... not yours, not mine.

As far as the letter is concerned, of course it would mention customs and immigration because they have no facilities for that where the boat docks way off in never never land. So of course it becomes an issue.

How much they increase security at the piers should not affect what time you can get on the ship except that the lines may be longer because of the additional security. But all the more reason they'll want to get people through security early so as to avoid a back-up toward sailing time.

Again, Gizmo, sorry if you misread my comments but they were not directed at you in any way. It was the "process of gossip". That's all.;)

[HeatherInFlorida]

Heather

I am assuming that when it happened to you, there was a problem getting from the ship to your car. How did you handle your luggage considering that the parking garages aren't handy to the freight docks?



No, KK, it didn't actually happen to me. There was a long delay in us getting picked up so we got into a conversation with the guys on the pier. They were telling us we were better off than the folks embarking that day because they were in for a shock when they found they were going to return to a different pier somewhere in the far reaches of the port. They said they were all going to have to be bussed back. I think I remember reading on the Celebrity boards later in the month that people were pretty annoyed (rightly so I think:eek: ). I was just relieved it wasn't me!:)

[JDee]

Read a post on RCI board that attibuted the delays to new requirements of TSA. All non-U.S.Citizens must now be finger printed on entering or reentering the U.S. As you can imagine, taking one's finger prints takes a little longer than just looking at the passport and waiving them through. Also recall reading in the newspapers of the finger printing requirement where other nations who are ticked off about it. Also understand finger printing not required of Canandian Citizens.

Seems that Immigration objects to new arrivals inside the terminal until they are complete with processing the old pax. This new procedure will eventually cause a delay in boarding of pretty much all cruise ships.

Happy holidays....

[HeatherInFlorida]

Yes, JDee, it will cause a delay. It will have nothing to do with whether or not there is early embarkation which was the actual subject of the thread.

I would hope that we would all expect, in fact hope for, increased security at the ports which will include further delays. But increased security will not necessitate a later embarkation time.

[peaches from georgia]

Yes, JDee, it will cause a delay. It will have nothing to do with whether or not there is early embarkation which was the actual subject of the thread.
If disembarkation is slowed because of increased security and more in depth processing of those non-citizens entering the country (a good thing) in my opinion, it certainly follows that the early 11ish embarkation of new pax could be delayed somewhat. If old pax are leaving the ship later the time that the ship will be ready for the next group could be delayed an hour or so. No big deal. I would rather have the increased security and get on board an hour or 2 later if necessary.

[gizmo]

Read a post on RCI board that attibuted the delays to new requirements of TSA. All non-U.S.Citizens must now be finger printed on entering or reentering the U.S. As you can imagine, taking one's finger prints takes a little longer than just looking at the passport and waiving them through. Also recall reading in the newspapers of the finger printing requirement where other nations who are ticked off about it. Also understand finger printing not required of Canandian Citizens.

Seems that Immigration objects to new arrivals inside the terminal until they are complete with processing the old pax. This new procedure will eventually cause a delay in boarding of pretty much all cruise ships.

Happy holidays....
JDee,
Thanks for the info.

If delayed boarding does happen as a result of this, I don't think it is a bad thing. As Peaches said it is no big deal getting on board a couple hours later.

[JDee]

Yes, JDee, it will cause a delay. It will have nothing to do with whether or not there is early embarkation which was the actual subject of the thread.Heather, I just don't follow your reasoning. The finger printing of the non- U. S. Citizens causes a delay in the disembarkation of pax. Immigration will not allow boarding pax into the building for processing. This delay in turn causes the delay in early embarkation. It has everything to do with early embarkation.

Happy holidays.....

[HeatherInFlorida]

Point taken, JDee and Peaches. I thought you were talking about the embarking passengers. My mistake.:o

Nonetheless, this was taking place when we disembarked the Oosterdam on November 14th, but the non-U.S. citizens went to a separate kiosk and it took no extra time whatsoever.
So, in the end, only time will tell. Personally I agree that the more security procedures, the better. Mainly was hoping in my previous post to iron things out with Gizmo who had misunderstood me.

[gizmo]

Heather,

I am glad to hear you did not mean that I started a rumor by starting this thread.:)


But increased security will not necessitate a later embarkation time.I can't agree with you on this one. I think increased security can cause delays any place including cruise ships. I am not saying it will, but it is very possible.

[bbmdschmidt]

To clear up any misinformation from my post. I received a letter this week regarding my Jan 2nd sailing on the Century out of Ft Lauderdale. It said "Due to recent increased govt Customes and Border Protection requirements at our cruise terminal in Ft Lauderdale, it has created an environment that is not suitable to accomodate early arriving guests. Therefore, we are recommending that guest delay their arrival to the cruse terminal until after 1:30. Boarding is expected to begin at 1:30. This situation is that we are not permitted to board guests for the cruise until the departure guest immigration process is officially finished. Currently departure is taking approximately 2 hours longer thaan before. It should also be noted that Port Everglades cruise terminal does not have a pssenger waiting are or seating for early arrivals."
I was on the Century Nov 6th and we were on board at 10:30.

[gizmo]

bbmdschmidt,

Thanks for posting. :)

[HeatherInFlorida]

Heather,

I am glad to hear you did not mean that I started a rumor by starting this thread.:)


I can't agree with you on this one. I think increased security can cause delays any place including cruise ships. I am not saying it will, but it is very possible.
Gizmo, did you see my later post explaining my confusion? I misunderstood everyone meant "disembarking" passengers. What will happen remains to be seen.

As far as the letter bbmdschmidt received, obviously there's no reason to question the letter, but I also know that cruiselines will write whatever they feel will be the most accepted as an explanation. But if the ship is leaving from the freighter pier, that (combined with security issues) in all likelihood is one of the major reasons for the late boarding.

[gizmo]

Sorry Heather, I didn't see it. You posted it not long before mine and I had mine on the screen while I answered the door. I didn't really see it until now. :)

[bbmdschmidt]

I emailed Celebrity and asked them if the Century will be docked at a frieght pier as is stated here. Will re-post when I get an answer.

[anngie]

I think this may be why we disembarked so late off the Westerdam on December 12. We were in port at 7am and no one left the ship until 8:30 am.
The ship's PA system was completely silent. We had asked for an early dismissal due to a very long drive home. We were among the last to leave the ship at 11am. Maybe if we had been informed at some time that there was a delay we might not have been so bent out of shape along with other pax awaiting the signal that we could finally leave. Why don't they inform the ship's pax about new procedures? I am sorry but it leaves a bad taste in the mouth. I don't mind delays at airports or at shipping ports due to security but would like to be informed as to the new procedures.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Maybe things are getting cleared up???:o :o

Thank you bbmdschmidt for coming over here and posting you entire letter that you got from Celebrity.

But I am still curious as to why your ship won't be in an area where there is a waiting area.

If this goes through for all cruise lines in Ft Lauderdale, I will be curious as to where they are going to "hold" people who arrive on early airline flights???

[jhannah]

IWe were in port at 7am and no one left the ship until 8:30 am.
Actually, that's not really late. Just about the norm. There is always some time span between the ship being tied off and getting clearance from authorities to begin disembarkation.

[anngie]

It usually takes an hour or so but I don't ever remember complete silence. Then there was never an announcement saying that the ship had been cleared by customs and even after the first pax were released things went so slowly. I will be anxious to hear from the returning guests today.

[SkyMaster]

We just returned from a 7 day on the Splendour of the Seas out of Tampa. We arrived at the port about 11:30, and were held in the shoreside facility until almost 1:30 with no explination. They assigned numbers, depending on what time you arrived, and then called the numbers to board the ship,,,,very much like they do for debarcation. Upon our return, the debarcation was very, very slow. When we arrived at the customs check point, they were scanning all pass ports, and this was something I've never seen before. (We've been cruising since 1965) This took much longer than the usual glance at the pass port. Actually, I noticed that the foreign passengers cleared the customs much faster than we U.S. citizens did! Perhaps it was because there weren't very many aboard, compared to the masses of people who had to clear the U.S. side. In any case, I'm sure that the delay in debarcation, is the reason for the delay in embarcation!. As someone else said, they can't load the ship up, until the last one is off and cleared.
I think this is going to be the way it's done from now on. Grin and bear it! It beats a terrorist getting on one of our ships!
Happy sailing,
Ken

[JDee]

But I am still curious as to why your ship won't be in an area where there is a waiting area.

If this goes through for all cruise lines in Ft Lauderdale, I will be curious as to where they are going to "hold" people who arrive on early airline flights???
In response to the 1st sentence, it could very well be that the early arrivals will not be allowed into the terminal and will have to wait outside until the "all clear".
Hence, no wating or seating area.

As to where to "hold" early arriving pax, it looks like it will be outside in whatever weather conditions are prevailing. Also from the RCI thread, there was a posting that this is actually what happened. A personalty conflict must have taken place between some waiting in line and a security gruard. The guard told a group of people in line that they were blocking a closed doorway which was a fire exit and had to move. Problem was, where to move to. Guard didn't care where, just move it.....The line was long, and getting longer, and I guess tempers getting shorter......

Under those circumstances, I can very well understand why the Celebrity is sending the letter with the cruise documents. Celebrity is also advising TA's per the other boards. Sounds reasonable to me.....

Happy holidays.....

[HeatherInFlorida]

As someone else said, this is a problem particularly in December because there are more cruise ships than there are piers. So a ship (or maybe more ... I don't want to guess) is being put at a "freight" pier or some such thing. Obviously there are problems with that.

This will not be the norm. It will not happen all the time. As we all know there are waiting areas at all the other piers.

It will be interesting to see if we see a lot of posts about mayhem at the piers over the next couple of weeks, but I have a feeling this is (in this case) isolated to the Celebrity ship in question. As I said earlier, it happened last year as well and the passengers affected were not happy at all. I can't say I blame them. So this year Celebrity is trying to cushion the blow by alerting everyone in advance.

Has anyone actually heard about this being an issue on HAL? I can remember only a couple of years ago boarding the Maasdam at 1:30 was standard. The early boarding process is fairly recent.

[JDee]

SkyMaster:

If you feel up to it, would you please post a review of your Splendour cruise on the Celebrity boards. Have booked the SOS for 2/26/05. Tampa pier is only about an hour away for me. There is one review of the SOS, and would be interested in reading reviews from any other recent returnees. Thanks......

Happy holidays......

[JDee]

SkyMaster: OPPS, Meant to say RCI Boards......

Since this is the first season for the SOS doing Caribbean Cruises out of Tampa, seems others on the RCI boards are also curious....many thanks.....

Happy Holidays.....

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thankfully we always go down to Ft Lauderdale a few days early. So we can take a cab over to the pier any time we want to go whether it be early or after 1:30. I know our hotel can tell us what has been happening the last couple of weeks.

I also checked our schedule for Jan 9 - there are 8 ships scheduled to be in Ft Lauderdale that day. Busy day but we have seen worse.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I just went over to cruisecal and checked the 2 dates that most Celebrity people are talking about right now.

Dec 26 - 9 ships in Ft Lauderdale.

Jan 2 - 11 ships in Ft Lauderdale.

[bbmdschmidt]

Just got a response from Celebrity. The Century will be docking at pier 18 in Ft Lauderdale. Does anyone know if that would be in the freight area? Just wondered if that had anything to do with the "no waiting area"?

[bepsf]

I'm with KK -

I prefer to cab over late (1.30-2pm-ish) and board at my leisure rather than "hurry-up-and-wait" Early Boarding is way over-rated IMHO.

Same w/ debarkation: I'd much rather wake up late & relax in my stateroom while chatting w/ the cabin steward (& giving him his extra tip while he makes up the room for the next guests) - generally avoiding the exiting hordes while waiting for my number to be called.

If I don't get off the ship till 10am - who cares? It's utter foolishness to spend all this money on a relaxing vacation just to jump up at 6am to pack, dress, shove my way through the throngs at customs, hop in a cab & race to the airport to catch a 10 am flight...

[HeatherInFlorida]

Just got a response from Celebrity. The Century will be docking at pier 18 in Ft Lauderdale. Does anyone know if that would be in the freight area? Just wondered if that had anything to do with the "no waiting area"?
I don't think that's a freight area. Here's a link CRUISE TERMINALS (http://www.broward.org/poi03300.htm) that shows it's near the Midport parking garage. If you search around that site, maybe you can get more info.

Have a great cruise:)

[dakrewser]

I'm with KK -


Add my name to that list. For my first HAL cruise some years ago I caught a 6:30 AM flight to FLL, then dashed to the airport at the end of the cruise for an 11:00 departure back to Austin. That was also the last time I did that. I make it a firm rule to do everything possible to leave my home airport (either SFO or SJC) between 10 am and 2 PM and book flights back that are noon or later (usually much later). If that's not possible, then I leave a day early or come back a day late. Why ruin a great cruise with either a grumpy start or a hectic finish?

[JDee]

Heather is correct. That pier is no where near the freight piers. Not 100 per cent sure, but believe the parking garage is just far enough away that you have to use the free shuttle that usually runs about every 15 minutes or so.

Found it best to always follow the directional signs to cruise ships pier, unload all baggage and pax, and then park your vehicle, and either walk back or take the shuttle.

Happy cruising....

[corkpopr]

I see some of the other posters are with the program. there is no sense getting to the pier at 11 or 12 and getting in line with 2000 other people. we usually board at 4pm but no earlier than 3:30 pm. that way we are among the last 50 or so and there are usually 20 counter personel for the few of us late arrivals. we ask for late check out from whatever hotel we are at and spend the early afternoon having lunch and picking up our booze and other incidentals to take on board.

[gizmo]

Just got a response from Celebrity. The Century will be docking at pier 18 in Ft Lauderdale. Does anyone know if that would be in the freight area? Just wondered if that had anything to do with the "no waiting area"?
I just took a look at 18. It doesn't look bad but it is hard to tell from the pictures. The description indicates it is also used for cargo but Celebrity is a primary user.

If it would have been terminal 4, I would understand. I left from this terminal once because of a record number of ships in port. It was horrible and the fire marshall could have had a field day with fines.