Terrible embarkation on Gem last week

I just got off the Gem, most of my trip was great but it started out really bad. The ship returned from the previous cruise late. As a result our embarkation process was all screwed up, we arrived at the port at 9:30 and were immediately put into a line for security where there were only about 100 people in front of us. We quickly realized the line wasn't moving, and the port agents told us because the ship hadn't docked yet they weren't letting anyone through, ok fine nothing that could have been done, eventually the ship came in and the line began to move and we wet through security and because we had driven 2 hours and then stood in the line for an hour we all had to go to the bathroom so we did that and then immediately got into line for check in. We were handed a yellow card with our embarkation number on it which was 23. We then waited in the check in line for another 45 minutes and finally got checked in, and the check in agent gave us a new yellow card with number 22. We then went and sat in the waiting area because boarding hadn't begun yet, at this point it was noon. Soon after they began boarding, and it went so slow, time kept ticking and ticking. Eventually 2 o'clock came and went and I realized we had missed lunch on the ship, I had a snack but figured they'd have the grill open or something when we got on since it was completely out of our control that we weren't on by 2. Eventually at almost 3 o'clock they finally called a large group of number all at once that went up to group 21, and 5 minutes later they called 22. We got online and on we went. My boyfriend and I took all the bags from all 4 of us in the group and went straight to our room, we walked in and put the bags on the bed and just then the announcement was made that all ship services were suspended and muster was in 15 minutes and all guests were to report to their muster station. At this point besides the snack I had from the tiny food cart in the terminal I hadn't eaten since 6:30 that morning, I am diabetic and recently started new meds and was starting to feel off, as soon as I walked up to my muster station I got shaky and after sitting there for awhile I started to feel like I was gonna pass out. I had no access to food and couldn't leave, I then told a crew member I was having a diabetic emergency and felt like I was going to pass out, he turned his back to me and walked away. Muster went on for about 15 minutes and I had my head down on the table and I was sobbing and no one acknowledged me. As soon as we were released I went to the nearest crew member and asked where to go to get food and she said deck 12 the buffet, I ran up there only to walk in and find it closed. Someone in there told me to go outside where I finally found food, I grabbed an apple while my boyfriend got on line and filled me a plate of food and once I ate I felt much better.

I think it was completely irresponsible of them to hold muster as soon as we boarded, I know they could have waited an hour. There were hundreds of people on the terminal with us, and I spoke with other people who said they also were pissed at getting on board and there being no food. It's not like I chose to not eat all day, I was put in that security line and couldn't leave the building after that, and there was no way to predict I wouldn't have access to food until almost 4 o'clock. And once I started feeling horrible and I told a crew member the fact that i was ignored was absolutely disgusting, I could have passed out.

Our Epic cruise was delayed last March. We received a text message. That was a great help. Bummer if you did not.

In all my cruises I have never gone to the port at 9:30 a.m.

Since the ship had not come in yet, had it been me, I would have gone to eat somewhere, somehow. I do not know your circumstances, how you could have handled that, and it is easy to be a Monday Morning quarterback.

On one of my cruises I had no choice but fly day of the cruise. Tired and hungry we scrambled to the buffet to find it open but only dregs, it looked awful. Fortunately for us that was our only glitch. It sounds like it might have been the same for you.

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As a diabetic, do you not carry hard candy or other snack item with you for just such an emergency?

There is a lot of relatives with diabetes in my family and all would always have at least a piece of hard candy in a purse or pocket.

Like I said it was a med change, I usually have high sugar and almost neverlow sugar so I wasnt used to needing something.

Yikes, sounds awful. I get low blood sugar and kinda understand how awful you must have been feeling.

I'll be traveling on Gem with a toddler so I hope we don't have delays like this. I guess I will pack tons of snacks just in case.

Thanks for sharing.

But it want just me, there were kids that were screaming in the terminal and I had someone come up to me when he overheard me talking to customer service and said his wife felt ill too. There was no reason not to delay muster by 1 hour, I know some people didn't even have time to put their stuff in their room they literally stepped off the gangway and went straight to muster.

Was there a delay today in The Gem's arrival in NYC? They helped off the coast of Virginia yesterday afternoon with a search for someone who had jumped from an RCCL ship.

So very sorry for that awful start to your cruise. Perhaps in the future you might be sure to bring food with you...just in case. I am very aware of the need for diabetics to have food at the correct times. It is very troubling to hear that your very real medical need was so lightly dismissed. I'm sure you were too distraught to get that crew member's identity at the time. However, I would contact NCL to alert them to their crewmember's lack of sensitivity.

No, we got back on time today even after assisting with the search yesterday for 3 hours.

Nashna you are correct that I didn't get his name, I so wish I had because ignoring someone when they tell you they are having a medical emergency as a crew member can be a seriously dangerous thing. I told the guest services manager and what muster station it was so it was at least narrowed down a little.

OP........Diabetics should always carry some kind of snack with them for cases just like this. There may be times when you do not have access to food. You could also carry glucose tablets for an emergency situation. Diabetics should always be prepared to deal with low blood sugar and provisions should be carried on your person. Don't blame the cruise line for not having food available for a medical emergency. I am, however, agast at the crew member who turned his/her back on you when you voiced your problem to him/her.

Like I said it was a med change, I usually have high sugar and almost neverlow sugar so I wasnt used to needing something.

New medication ? All the more reason to be prepared for low blood sugar reaction. It's water under the bridge now and thank goodness you weren't harmed. You know better now, don't you?

Sorry embarkation didn't go as smoothly as it should have. As a regular cruiser out of NYC I assure you your experiences were the exception NOT the rule.

I think y'all are missing the point. The point is not OPs diabetes or her new meds or her lack of apples. I was on the cruise on the Gem this past week and the point is embarkation was a cluster.

Look -- we did our research. We read a lot of threads that said embarkation on NCL is a cluster. We've sailed Princess, Disney, and Carnival, and embarkation is never fun. But at least it's always been vaguely smooth on those lines.

We went in expecting a cluster. NCL managed to create a cluster that outclustered our expectations of a cluster.

I'm sure they want to do better. I'm sure there were situations outside their control. But NCL didn't win many new fans in the Port of Manhattan on Saturday, April 7th.

I was on the Gem two weeks ago, and we did come back really late. We arrived in port at 10am and they only started allowing people off the ship at 10:30am. I remember looking inside to seeing how many people in the terminal there was. We were on an 11 day cruise and the weather was amazing, however on our way back to New York the waves and swells were getting worse and we had to go slower causing our arrival to be at 10 am from 8am. Our Captain also explained to us that he had to navigate through the Hudson River at minimal speeds due to the current. Overall, enjoyed the cruise but the disembarkation was horrible!

Yes I did learn to carry food with me, but regardless of that they still shouldn't have had muster immediately upon boarding like that. And the main point was how after I became I'll and tried to tell someone I was ignored, I had nothing on me to raise my sugar, whether the low sugar was my fault or not, once it happened did I deserve to be ignored? If I had passed out would the crew have just stepped over me and continued muster? They should always address a guests medical concerns, and if it is a regular occurrence that they ignore sick passengers that is wrong. I understand it was 1 person but when I reported it to guest services the manager barely seemed concerned. It makes me want to never sail with NCL again for fear of my safety and the safety of my loved ones.

At port for embarkation at 0930? Yikes! That does make for a long wait.

Sorry to hear of your experiences.

I guess what it means, getting to the port so early isn’t a good idea. The probability of getting on board early is very low.....even IF the ship docks on schedule, it will still take awhile for the passengers to disembark and new passengers to embark. Just curious, what was the recommended time for embarkation that was on your ticket.

That said, I’ve never heard of a boarding time anywhere near that early.

Not sure what the solution is for diabetes. What did your Dr recommend you do when traveling?

Just a quick check online showed 26 places to get food around the port, for future reference.

Happy to hear the cruise went well!

There is food available in Manhattan terminal, more so than other terminals.. I recall people buying hot pretzels at the stand/snack bar, not sure what else is offered.

I'm sorry that your experience had you with your head on the table sobbing and that no one acknowledged you. I don't think anyone can really say anything, just give advice. My advice would be not to arrive at the port at 9:30 (I always arrive at the port between 11:00 and 11:30 to avoid if they embark a little late) and of course, buy something to snack on in the terminal.

They can’t leave the port until after the drill. Right after, there is food served on the pool deck. They are not going to delay leaving the port because some passenger# will need to wait another 20 minutes or so for lunch.

In the wake of the Costa Concordia disaster, all cruise ships are required to perform the muster drill before the ship leaves port. This change was made because a majority of passengers aboard the Concordia stated that they had not been through the drill and did not know where the lifeboats were located. Its length will vary depending on the size of the ship and cooperation of passengers. The time taken to get all passengers into lifeboats and to maneuver away from the ship is regulated by the International Maritime Organization, and must be accomplished in 30 minutes.[6]

They can’t leave the port until after the drill. Right after, there is food served on the pool deck. They are not going to delay leaving the port because some passenger# will need to wait another 20 minutes or so for lunch.

 

In the wake of the Costa Concordia disaster, all cruise ships are required to perform the muster drill before the ship leaves port. This change was made because a majority of passengers aboard the Concordia stated that they had not been through the drill and did not know where the lifeboats were located. Its length will vary depending on the size of the ship and cooperation of passengers. The time taken to get all passengers into lifeboats and to maneuver away from the ship is regulated by the International Maritime Organization, and must be accomplished in 30 minutes.[6]

I believe it is a matter of policy, not a requirement of SOLAS. Nonetheless, a good policy.

OP, being a hypoglycemic I thoroughly get where you are coming from. Sounds like you did what you could. In future, though, I would not just report the lack of care to Guest Services. There is usually a box to write the HD. I would have written a short note alerting him/her to the problem or I would have attended your M & G and brought it up there in a side conversation to the HD. Even now after the fact you should write this concern in a letter to Corporate. Not providing attention for a passenger in distress is a serious breach.

OP, being a hypoglycemic I thoroughly get where you are coming from. Sounds like you did what you could. In future, though, I would not just report the lack of care to Guest Services. There is usually a box to write the HD. I would have written a short note alerting him/her to the problem or I would have attended your M & G and brought it up there in a side conversation to the HD. Even now after the fact you should write this concern in a letter to Corporate. Not providing attention for a passenger in distress is a serious breach.

With respect, I believe you are conflating a passenger request and a medical crisis. If an emergency, then OP or her traveling companion should have alerted EMS, whether onboard or via 911 as they were in port. Rather, this was a passenger request ... the staff are not trained to assess blood sugar responses. Understandably, a declaration of a medical emergency would have left the OP ashore.

Sorry to hear of your experiences.

 

I guess what it means, getting to the port so early isn’t a good idea. The probability of getting on board early is very low.....even IF the ship docks on schedule, it will still take awhile for the passengers to disembark and new passengers to embark. Just curious, what was the recommended time for embarkation that was on your ticket.

 

That said, I’ve never heard of a boarding time anywhere near that early.

 

Not sure what the solution is for diabetes. What did your Dr recommend you do when traveling?

 

Just a quick check online showed 26 places to get food around the port, for future reference.

 

Happy to hear the cruise went well![/quotes]

 

26 places to eat outside the port ... once inside there was only one place to eat, a crappy little vender with no diet drinks and ran out of food

Maybe this is a difference between Carnival and NCL, I've always arrived at the port around 10 am. The one time prior to this that I sailed on NCL, it was at the same port but I was with a group and we went by bus and I don't remember what time we arrived. When I arrive at the port for my carnival cruises I usually have to sit and wait a bit but I have never been on board later than 12:30.

Another thing I do not understand is, if we were one of the first people on the terminal, how were we one of the last to board? I can't imagine our less than 10 minute bathroom break allowed that many people to get in the check in line to push us down that far. I understand there are levels of boarding but it should definitely not be that bad, if you arrive at port first you should be on first as soon as all VIPs board.