Dawn boarding delay dec 6

[SeaShark]

This was a completely confusing post to read. They were organized? Tell me about it since you must have been there to experience it!

Oh, they left on time? So it must have been painless for everyone. Clearly. As experienced by all the passengers that waited in the lines that are never normally experienced.

They came to the dock not sure what to expect (and of course everyone was not expecting so much frustration) much like childbirth, as the previous poster stated.

 

Sorry, I can't help people who are frustrated and don't know what to expect. A little research goes a long way.

 

How crazy is it that now the story changes to how people had to wait in a line...like its the first time that's ever happened, right.

 

Still...anyone who can start late and still manage to accomplish all tasks and depart on time simply cannot be labeled as disorganized.

[Sparkles222]

Sorry, I can't help people who are frustrated and don't know what to expect. A little research goes a long way.

 

How crazy is it that now the story changes to how people had to wait in a line...like its the first time that's ever happened, right.

 

Still...anyone who can start late and still manage to accomplish all tasks and depart on time simply cannot be labeled as disorganized.

Please enlighten me on the research that should have been done prior.

[broberts]

Sorry, I can't help people who are frustrated and don't know what to expect. A little research goes a long way.

 

How crazy is it that now the story changes to how people had to wait in a line...like its the first time that's ever happened, right.

 

Still...anyone who can start late and still manage to accomplish all tasks and depart on time simply cannot be labeled as disorganized.

 

Rah, rah, sis boom bah. What's the greatest cruise line of them all . . .

[dixieagle]

Sorry, I can't help people who are frustrated and don't know what to expect. A little research goes a long way.

 

How crazy is it that now the story changes to how people had to wait in a line...like its the first time that's ever happened, right.

 

Still...anyone who can start late and still manage to accomplish all tasks and depart on time simply cannot be labeled as disorganized.

 

I beg to differ, having been on this cruise. While the ship may have left on time today, that doesn't negate the confusion on board this morning and the lack of communication; this was certainly the case for the Suite passengers, who were told little or nothing while waiting in the crowded Star Bar for our supposedly "priority disembarkation." No one knew what was happening, if our luggage would be waiting for us, etc. This, combined with the equally chaotic embarkation last week, will certainly make us think twice about sailing NCL - especially out of NOLA - again.

[SeaShark]

Please enlighten me on the research that should have been done prior.

Easy...each person should research to the point where they are comfortable in the fact that they are sufficiently educated about what they are spending their money on. You'd be foolish to do otherwise.

[Sparkles222]

Yes, someone would be foolish, that's for sure ;)

[SeaShark]

I beg to differ, having been on this cruise. While the ship may have left on time today, that doesn't negate the confusion on board this morning and the lack of communication; this was certainly the case for the Suite passengers, who were told little or nothing while waiting in the crowded Star Bar for our supposedly "priority disembarkation." No one knew what was happening, if our luggage would be waiting for us, etc. This, combined with the equally chaotic embarkation last week, will certainly make us think twice about sailing NCL - especially out of NOLA - again.

Nobody said people weren't t confused (apparently some still are), all that was said was that starting late, getting everything done, and departing on time simply can't happen if you're totally disorganized. The results disprove the allegation.

 

Now we can argue the point over and over and over, but the facts of the situation aren't going to change.

[SuiteCruiser]

I beg to differ, having been on this cruise. While the ship may have left on time today, that doesn't negate the confusion on board this morning and the lack of communication; this was certainly the case for the Suite passengers, who were told little or nothing while waiting in the crowded Star Bar for our supposedly "priority disembarkation." No one knew what was happening, if our luggage would be waiting for us, etc. This, combined with the equally chaotic embarkation last week, will certainly make us think twice about sailing NCL - especially out of NOLA - again.

 

This poster does nothing but post semantics about how you used a word, and that means this and that, and never actually answers the question you've asked. Don't let him get under your skin.

 

I'm really sorry you had do deal with such a mess leaving and also the mess of those boarding. Communication is something that NCL is not very good at. Hopefully you had a great cruise otherwise!

[Sparkles222]

Nobody said people weren't t confused (apparently some still are), all that was said was that starting late, getting everything done, and departing on time simply can't happen if you're totally disorganized. The results disprove the allegation.

 

Now we can argue the point over and over and over, but the facts of the situation aren't going to change.

Disorganization can only happen if the end result doesn't occur. Got it.

[SeaShark]

Disorganization can only happen if the end result doesn't occur. Got it.

Got it? Try again...you're missing the point. Get it?

[Sparkles222]

You're fun. I hope we get to cruise together.

[Demonyte]

The last few cruises we've taken were on another line. The credit card was given online. The key cards were waiting for us. The entire check in process took less than five minutes. NCL does it the same way they did it twenty years ago. Physically run the credit card. Enter data in the computer. Print the key cards and, seriously, then the agent had to go stand in a line waiting for our cards to print.

 

 

Never on any of our NCL cruises have the key cards NOT been ready (preprinted) when we are in check-in. If that really happened to you, it's definitely an exception to what we have experienced - even on Dawn.

[broberts]

Disorganization can only happen if the end result doesn't occur. Got it.

 

Utter nonsense. Ever heard of the term SNAFU? My memory is that those who invented the term kicked butt and got a very positive result.

[SuiteCruiser]

Never on any of our NCL cruises have the key cards NOT been ready (preprinted) when we are in check-in. If that really happened to you, it's definitely an exception to what we have experienced - even on Dawn.

 

I've had some lately where I'm waiting for them to be printed. Not sure if it's due to cutbacks or what?

[mypleasure]

I sailed from New Orleans back in 2010 or 2011 on the Spirit. I have cruised on NCL from many ports both before and after then and it is the one that stands out most for being a disorganized shambles at both ends of the trip. I am sailing again in Jan 2016 and based on this thread I am not expecting it to have changed much if at all. I think a lot of the problems back then were caused by the shoreside aspect of the port operations not being able to handle the volume of people and vehicles in what is a short amount of time. I don't think that has changed much and if a ship is late arriving there will be problems as there will be people arriving to board as soon as they can sharing space with those getting off trying to get to their parked vehicles and other transport and get away from the area. Couple this with a government agency and it is always going to be a recipe for chaos.

 

NCL does need to control disembarkation better on all of their ships and giving timely information is a big part of this. There are times when this appears to be a big fail and coupled with 2000 people who are wanting to be somewhere else right now, and could not care less about anyone else, this is what always happens at every port to some degree.

 

The Captain is in charge of his vessel and the safety of the thousands of guests and crew are on him. They never want to put any of that in any jeopardy and always have a pilot on board advising them as they enter the river and commence the approach to the port. I suggest the late arrival was due to river conditions and local advice not just because he wanted to piss everyone off.

[RuthlessBoss]

Easy...each person should research to the point where they are comfortable in the fact that they are sufficiently educated about what they are spending their money on. You'd be foolish to do otherwise.

 

Gee, is there a site we can research and learn about how to handle an abnormal embarkation or debarkation? We need to be educated about this.:D

Edited December 7, 2015 by RuthlessBoss

[SeaShark]

Gee, is there a site we can research and learn about how to handle an abnormal embarkation or debarkation? We need to be educated about this.:D

 

Really? Are we STILL beating this drum? Couldn't let it go? :rolleyes:

 

 

Gee, yes...there are plenty of sites available for your research. There are even search engines to help you find the sites. Go and look around and make use of the ones that best fit with your individual needs.

 

You travel professional is also a good resource. Perhaps you could reach out for some guidance from them for selecting research sources.

 

Not too sure that I can help you handle an abnormal situation. I can't prepare you for contingencies...you'd have to do that yourself. I can't instill patience and understanding...you'd have to do that yourself. Be prepared, be flexible, be informed. Perhaps the writings of Reinhold Niebuhr might help in these abnormal situations.

[NIATPAC29]

got it? Try again...you're missing the point. Get it?

seashark---you need to sharpen your pencil !

[Barb Nahoumi]

This is one major reason not to book very early flights home.

 

Ship can happen.

[jackparts]

My favorite phrase is, In 2013 on the Damn Dawn, we sat in the waiting area to board area til after 3-3:30 pm waiting with NO explanation from NCL. We watched as passengers were in line waiting to get off. Later, we found out that customs only had 5 people working (?). When we arrived back in Tampa, we were told walk offs can get in line at 7:30. We did. Got off at apprx 10:15. No communications from NCL at all. Every cruise I have been on, customs has between 5 - 7 agents and delays were a lot smaller

[pathubia]

We were very lucky. We were on the Dawn on Nov 15. Got there about 1030 am. We were in a suite, when we got to the woman that was sitting people in the waiting area she had us sit in the front row, as soon as the reps opened up for check in, we were brought right in. They ran my CC took our pictures and escorted us to the suite passenger lounge. There the concierge introduced himself and gave us our room cards. I am not of the exact time, I think we waited in the lounge for about 45 minutes, as soon as Patrick got the go-ahead we were escorted on to the ship. I am pretty sure that was around 11:45 am. We wound up losing our escort somewhere around the escalator, so we got onboard with the rest of the passengers. (it was mostly people in wheelchairs). We knew where our suite was, so it wasn't important that we were escorted up.

 

We had a pretty easy time getting off the ship too...We were escorted off the ship from the Star bar without incident. One of the passengers ahead of us "dinged" on the way out, security pulled him (he looked to be about 20 years old) and his family out of the line and escorted him to the customs officer. I think we were back at our hotel by 1030.

[dixieagle]

This poster does nothing but post semantics about how you used a word, and that means this and that, and never actually answers the question you've asked. Don't let him get under your skin.

 

I'm really sorry you had do deal with such a mess leaving and also the mess of those boarding. Communication is something that NCL is not very good at. Hopefully you had a great cruise otherwise!

 

Yes, I realized quickly that the poster had a "don't confuse me with facts, my mind is made up" mindset. ;)

 

Believe me, I know disorganization when I see it, and that's what we endured. Communication could have cleared up a lot of the confusion. Otherwise, the cruise was lovely; I will certainly think twice about booking NCL again, however, as we've never had issues like this with other lines.

[dixieagle]

I sailed from New Orleans back in 2010 or 2011 on the Spirit. I have cruised on NCL from many ports both before and after then and it is the one that stands out most for being a disorganized shambles at both ends of the trip. I am sailing again in Jan 2016 and based on this thread I am not expecting it to have changed much if at all. I think a lot of the problems back then were caused by the shoreside aspect of the port operations not being able to handle the volume of people and vehicles in what is a short amount of time. I don't think that has changed much and if a ship is late arriving there will be problems as there will be people arriving to board as soon as they can sharing space with those getting off trying to get to their parked vehicles and other transport and get away from the area. Couple this with a government agency and it is always going to be a recipe for chaos.

 

NCL does need to control disembarkation better on all of their ships and giving timely information is a big part of this. There are times when this appears to be a big fail and coupled with 2000 people who are wanting to be somewhere else right now, and could not care less about anyone else, this is what always happens at every port to some degree.

 

The Captain is in charge of his vessel and the safety of the thousands of guests and crew are on him. They never want to put any of that in any jeopardy and always have a pilot on board advising them as they enter the river and commence the approach to the port. I suggest the late arrival was due to river conditions and local advice not just because he wanted to piss everyone off.

 

Oh, I'm sure you're right about weather/river/wind conditions (it was a rough ride Friday-Saturday night) being the reason for the delay yesterday.

[don't-use-real-name]

Maybe a wee bit of humor would of helped - - -

 

You see folks we have a problem - it's dem alligators swimming around the

gangway - now if we had drained the moat around the gangway and got

dem critters out of the way we wouldn't be in the situation we have fixed

for ourselves - so bear with me -STOP- I didn't mean that kind of bare - put

those clothes back on - whew we got that one and done now to get dem

alligators somewhere else to feed before boarding. Yes ma-am occasionally

a cruiser does fall overboard and things get kind of interesting - the precruise

entertainment portion should move you along smartly and did you check out

our new ride the "Zip Line Embarking Express". And now that you are onboard

may I suggest while your cabin is made ready that you take in the survivors

feast at the Garden Buffet.

Now folks if you don't find any humor in this - just think that I wasted a couple

minutes of your time getting you settled in for the real world delayed boarding event !

Now you have either cooled off or gone off the deep end where dem alligators

are putting on their own show - so jump in your are our main attraction.

OH REALLY they spit you out because you are so full of it - well that's something

to keep us entertained.

So your complaints are like yourself "Tasteless" whatever ! LOL !

So resume your waiting in the NCL lockdown dungeon while the authorities

try to track and capture that 'Creature from the Black Lagoon' (no not that

creature from the Blue Lagoon - he would be easy - he didn't have much

clothes on).

Boarding is starting to commence and this ugly humor is over - I think !

Bon Voyage - C'est la vie - Que sera sera - - - maybe now you will have something to complain about !

[partigus]

FYI - unless you're on the ship, those aren't NCL people (with the exception of those in the suite/VIP lounge). Those are contract employees who wear whatever uniform for whatever cruise line is embarking/disembarking. Yes, communication would be great. But when the hold up is the government, well, there you've got it. My bet is that ICE isn't keeping anyone informed because they don't have to - they're the government and they're here to help.....

 

IME, NOLA has always had customs issues. I will say, we didn't have much of an issue once we could get off the ship from the Thanksgiving cruise, but it was a wait and wait some more game. They took forever in clearing the ship. This was our 4th cruise out of NOLA.

 

 

We were also on the Thanksgiving cruise (sorry I missed the meet and greet- I was having so much fun realizing that my wife forgot it was my birthday (and all the free passes that would entail) that it slipped my mind)

 

The confusion on that trip was ALL the port, none for NCL. As soon as we cleared the last port/ customs line we were on board in no time (true, as suite guests we skipped the bulk of the final line, but that was still manageable. The Port of NOLA fails miserably- starting with traffic around the port, to the police officers managing flow of traffic (they were telling people NOT to stop to unload bags with porters and continue on (to parking) ...problem is if you are traveling with young and/or elderly and really DO need a porter. then the line to get thru customs was chaos. Once thru that though? Norwegian did a fine job.

 

Debarkation was the same, standard seemed orderly (though we can't REALLY attest as we had priority) the hold up was at customs where the entire ship bottlenecked down to 2 or three agents.

 

I realize my view might be slanted in that we had priority access, but given at least one of the negative posts came from someone with 27 years of NCL cruising, I'm guessing they enjoyed the same perk as a Gold member