How would YOU speed up hone arrival port enbarkation?

We all (either silently OR loudly) complain about the snail's pace it usually takes for final embarkation upon arrival at home port. But no ones seems to have a realistic cure. If, YOU were 'king for a day' what steps would you implement to speed up the process (of course not breaking any laws, either federal or state or nature, of course). Or, is this impossible,something out man's grasp? Any reasonable thoughts from readers would be appreciated

Mac

We all (either silently OR loudly) complain about the snail's pace it usually takes for final embarkation upon arrival at home port. But no ones seems to have a realistic cure. If, YOU were 'king for a day' what steps would you implement to speed up the process (of course not breaking any laws, either federal or state or nature, of course). Or, is this impossible,something out man's grasp? Any reasonable thoughts from readers would be appreciated

 

Mac

Speak for yourself. We are never in a hurry to get back home from any of our Cruises.

We walk off with all our luggage. (we drive to the port or parking garage) Then we are the 1st off before those who left luggage outside their door the night before. Our TWO suitcases will fit thru the scanner if we carry them on. Don't over pack, take two small suitcases and walk off. Then you ARE the 1st off, home sooner!

Have all cruisers take a patience test. Those who fail are not allowed to cruise.

Then I would chitchat with the people in the snail 🐌 pace line on how wonderful the cruise was and how sorry I am it's ending!

That's what I would do.

Time will always pass unless your dead.

What you do with that time that passes can define you.

My dad never wanted to "go" anywhere because it took too long to get there.

I would tell him, you watch a movie for two hours and at the end of the two hours you will still be in your living room.

However, I will be at the beach 🌊.

It always "fries" me at those who want to be the first off and be home by 7am. If getting home first is a priority, then I say you have chosen the wrong date or vacation. If you need to be working or have other commitments, then maybe you need to stay home. As for me, the longer I stay on board, the longer my vacation.

We all (either silently OR loudly) complain about the snail's pace it usually takes for final embarkation upon arrival at home port. But no ones seems to have a realistic cure. If, YOU were 'king for a day' what steps would you implement to speed up the process (of course not breaking any laws, either federal or state or nature, of course). Or, is this impossible,something out man's grasp? Any reasonable thoughts from readers would be appreciated

 

Mac

I'm guessing you mean "debarkation", not embarkation. Debarkation would go a little quicker and more smoothly if people would pay attention to and follow the instructions given over the ship's PA system. When (and ONLY when) your zone number is called, gather up your things and make your way off of the ship. The elevators and stairways can get really clogged up when there are too many people all trying to debark at the same time, and that slows down the process of getting off of the ship. When Zone One (for example) is called, and you're not in Zone One, stay in whatever area you're seated until your zone number is called. Unfortunately, you can't easily control human behavior. There will always be those that think they can do what they want and disregard the instructions given. On your next cruise, pay attention to how many show up at Muster Drill with an alcoholic beverage in hand when they've been given instructions NOT to.

It may be impossible to do

1) embarkation takes place over several hours 11am to 2-3 pm depending on sailing time so less time need to board

2) debarkation usually is between 8-9:30 am (some exceptions apply) to off load everyone

3) not enough Customs/Immigration officials to clear the lines quickly

4) as above people all want to be off first even if they have a later time slot they hang about in the way of people following the rules

Perfect World

Have a Customs person on the ship to clear the forms overnight then just callout those that need to pay extra duty as they disembark

everyone else can just walk off & head to home/airport

We do understand that some folks have vital reasons to quickly disembark such as an unavoidable early flight. But otherwise, we have long been puzzled why cruise ship passengers want to get off their ship ASAP on that last morning. Personally, we normally try to stay aboard as long as possible. While folks are rushing around, working up a sweat, dragging luggage down steps (because elevators are slow and packed), tempers are flaring, etc. we are usually sitting on the pool deck (if the weather cooperates) sipping coffee, reading our Kindles, and sometimes enjoying the view. Then, sometime around 9:30-10:00, when nearly everyone is off the ship, the lines are gone, elevators are quick to appear, we leave our comfy seats (totally relaxed) take an elevator to the appropriate deck, stroll off the ship, retrieve our luggage (easy to find at this point), walk outside and hop into a waiting taxi (no queues).

Recently (in Nov) we had a situation where we were forced to get off the Regal Princess (Port Everglades) because of an unavoidable early flight. So we were forced into express disembarkation. This meant getting up earlier then we like, fighting the masses for a last minute breakfast, and dragging all of our luggage off the ship, through the terminal, through immigration (our Global Entry made this fast) and out the building where we grabbed a taxi to the airport. That morning, as we waited in a crammed public lounge (with most of the other express disembarkation folks) we found ourselves wondering, why in the world do folks enjoy this process. We envied the few other folks who follow our normal procedure who we knew were on an upper deck relaxing with their coffee.

Hank

I am not sure it's the passengers who are keen to be off early -- it's more the ship that wants us out of the way to do a through clean and prepare the ship the next intake.

Although it can be annoying to have to wait having been woken and breakfasted early, my general impression is that the ship does pretty well at getting passengers off and reunited with their luggage. As beach bums has said it would go even more smoothly if people kept the stairs and gangways clear.

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Debarkation = getting OFF the ship [emoji23]

Embarkation = getting ON the ship [emoji4]

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Have not seen any chaos during disembarkation in all of my cruises.

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Have not seen any chaos during disembarkation in all of my cruises.

 

 

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Consider yourself fortunate, but don't brag about it too loudly. You could jinx yourself. :eek:

Have not seen any chaos during disembarkation in all of my cruises.

 

 

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I suspect that you have not being paying attention.

One hard-to-ignore factor is the attitude displayed by many during embarkation and during the cruise: "ME FIRST". All the people who jump lines, push ahead at the buffet, mark unused loungers with towels hours before they appear to use them, save rows of theatre seats for late arrivere, etc. are unlikely to couth up on the very last day: self-absorbed yahoos will consistently behave like self-absorbed yahoos.

I suspect that you have not being paying attention.

 

One hard-to-ignore factor is the attitude displayed by many during embarkation and during the cruise: "ME FIRST". All the people who jump lines, push ahead at the buffet, mark unused loungers with towels hours before they appear to use them, save rows of theatre seats for late arrivere, etc. are unlikely to couth up on the very last day: self-absorbed yahoos will consistently behave like self-absorbed yahoos.

We just sit back and enjoy the last days entertainment.

The ship could help things by using more than one exit for debarkation. Perhaps self-debark people at one exit and zone people at the other, alternating when most of the self-d people are off. However, this does not solve the problem of customs and immigration, and timing of the luggage. On recent ships they tell you they do not call your zone until your luggage is ready in the hall. Hard to speed that up. EM

The ship could help things by using more than one exit for debarkation. Perhaps self-debark people at one exit and zone people at the other, alternating when most of the self-d people are off. However, this does not solve the problem of customs and immigration, and timing of the luggage. On recent ships they tell you they do not call your zone until your luggage is ready in the hall. Hard to speed that up. EM

I believe the self-debark people left from a different deck from the Veendam in San Diego. We have not had trouble with debarkation, either. We find our luggage easily and wait in line a reasonable time for immigration.

Princess took one giant (IMO) step toward making disembarkation less chaotic when it went to "silent disembarkation": in order to hear your "color," you need to be in the right lounge or dining room.

Before this procedure started, I had often seen passengers camped out on stairwells or otherwise be sitting in walkways. Not safe, and would certainly impede those who have priority getting off the ship.

We have never hurried off the ship as we often will just be driving (or be driven) home if our ship is docked in Los Angeles. We make sure we have that day free (as well as the day before our cruise for any last minute errands). If traveling to our embarkation/disembarkation port, we will avoid any morning flights to return home so we aren't rushing to get to the airport. In fact, the last times we sailed on other itineraries, we stayed post-cruise in Miami and Seattle to extend our vacation. We don't go on vacations every year so if we can't take the extra time before and after a cruise, we won't go on a cruise at that time.

After taking several road trips between here and Northern california between August 2015 and last May, we probably will stay close to home for the next year or so.

There are several major bottlenecks for those passengers who are in such a rush to end their "cruise of a lifetime" on the final day.

In the good old days, the cruise lines paid to transport the Customs / Immigration Inspectors to the ship on the previous day. The Inspectors cleared all pax and the ship before arrival at the final port, speeding up debark.

Then the union representing the officers complained that this procedure was an unnecessary hardship on the officers. Then the US Government joined in, claiming that the free transport to the ship, meals and accommodation for the officers could be considered a gift, which US Customs Officers are not allowed to receive. That put an end to early clearance procedures in America. Some countries - mostly in Asia- still allow Officers to sail with the ship and clear it before arrival.

The we have the challenge of reduced budgets for Homeland Security, which now includes Customs/Immigration Officers.

Unlike in the past, fewer officers are assigned to clear ships that now carry many more people.

As a result, it now takes longer.

Next, the Stevedore Unions control all cruise ports in America. If any goods or suitcases leave a cruise ship, they MUST be handled by a union stevedore.

They generally refuse to touch any suitcases before 8am. They also refuse to let anyone else touch those suitcases. If the cruise line is able to convince them to start earlier, they require a much higher pay.

Stevedores get paid by the hour. The slower they work, the more money they earn. Why would they want to offload your suitcases quickly? After 8am, the stevedores VERY SLOWLY move your suitcases from the ship to the terminal.

Finally, if your suitcases are not waiting for you in the terminal, you must wait for them somewhere, before going through Immigration/Customs. Most American cruise terminals are not large enough to accommodate thousands of cruise passengers waiting for their baggage. It is safer and easier to wait on the ship.

So, Port Security requires that the cruise ship keep many passengers waiting on the ship, offloading passengers at a controlled pace to avoid over-crowding in the terminal.

If any goods or suitcases leave a cruise ship, they MUST be handled by a union stevedore.

Did you really mean to say that the suitcases must be handled either by the owner of said suitcase(s) or by a stevedore, since self-disembarkation (managing one's own luggage) is permitted?

We make our own arrangements and advise the cruise line of our independent travel and they usually give us the time we request... that helps a lot.

Have not seen any chaos during disembarkation in all of my cruises.

 

 

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You clearly weren't disembarking from RCI Navigator of the Seas yesterday! If you've experienced no chaos previously you most definitely would have then.

There are too many variables to be able solve the get out and go quickly.

I am never in a hurry to leave, but then I don't book flights on disembarkation day.

Have not seen any chaos during disembarkation in all of my cruises.

 

 

You have been VERY lucky if you haven't seen chaos during disembarkation.

Did you really mean to say that the suitcases must be handled either by the owner of said suitcase(s) or by a stevedore, since self-disembarkation (managing one's own luggage) is permitted?

Thank you.

Yes, that is correct.

Last year I caused a lot of trouble in an Alaska port by carrying the bags of a very ill passenger who had to be medically disembarked. The local stevedores saw me carrying the bags and threatened a state- wide strike against cruise ships unless they were paid $60 per hour for carrying the bags down the gangway. That included 2 stevedores and their supervisor, for carrying 2 suitcases. The cruise line paid them, to avoid any further trouble.

We all (either silently OR loudly) complain about the snail's pace it usually takes for final embarkation upon arrival at home port. But no ones seems to have a realistic cure. If, YOU were 'king for a day' what steps would you implement to speed up the process (of course not breaking any laws, either federal or state or nature, of course). Or, is this impossible,something out man's grasp? Any reasonable thoughts from readers would be appreciated

 

Mac

Of course, I meant 'debarkation' not the other.. :( I was late for an appointment and was typing faster than my mind could think ( LOL) Not unusual for us folks from the south. Thanks to all who realized my misspeak.

I still want to hear your debarkation ideas, so keep 'em coming..

Mac