No Stars on the Westerdam

[Mary Ellen]

Those passengers who are four star would still get priority boarding wouldn't they?

 

According to the 4* HAL Mariner benefits, it is "Priority check-in" not boarding.

[oaktreerb]

According to the 4* HAL Mariner benefits, it is "Priority check-in" not boarding.

 

Oh!!! We will be 4* for the first time in August. I was hoping that boarding would follow check in. Thanks for clearing that up so that I can lower my expectations!

 

I'll be still be very happy to have the free laundry!:)

[igraf]

There is always some commotion when 2000 passengers try to board a ship like the Westerdam at once. I suspect that many of the complainers are more used to the smaller HAL ships. The problem is worse for a 30+ day cruise as there is more luggage and everyone is a bit more tense than for a 7 day cruise.

 

Some will complain about waiting in line, while others will be happy that they are going on a cruise to Hawaii and Tahiti.

 

One also has to keep in mind that San Diego is not a full time cruise port; the port staff only handles cruise passengers a few days per month. This is not their full time jobs!

 

If you really don't want to stand in line, then don't show up to the cruise terminal until 1:30pm to 2pm. This is what we do. It worked in Montreal for us as well (we toured the city in the morning with our luggage at the hotel), which is another port that doesn't handle cruise ships every day.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

 

 

We must have been amongst the lucky ones as the only difficulty we had when boarding was getting from the taxi to where we left our luggage - not as organized as we have seen in other ports. Other then that we were aboard and in the MDR by 12:15-12:30. People were still disembarking at 11:30!

[kazu]

There is always some commotion when 2000 passengers try to board a ship like the Westerdam at once. I suspect that many of the complainers are more used to the smaller HAL ships. The problem is worse for a 30+ day cruise as there is more luggage and everyone is a bit more tense than for a 7 day cruise.

 

Some will complain about waiting in line, while others will be happy that they are going on a cruise to Hawaii and Tahiti.

 

One also has to keep in mind that San Diego is not a full time cruise port; the port staff only handles cruise passengers a few days per month. This is not their full time jobs!

 

If you really don't want to stand in line, then don't show up to the cruise terminal until 1:30pm to 2pm. This is what we do. It worked in Montreal for us as well (we toured the city in the morning with our luggage at the hotel), which is another port that doesn't handle cruise ships every day.

 

igraf

 

 

Based on the roll call members posting on this thread Igraf, I don't think that the complainers are complaining because they are used to the smaller HAL ships. Many of them have been on the Vista class before (if not larger) and on cruises much longer than 7 days.

 

Speaking for myself and DH I have never seen such a mess.

 

It would have be so easy to fix it with a bit of organization and common sense. It really didn't take rocket science to see the problems and the reasons.

 

You are right - very few ships embark from this port - and I can certainly understand why. ;)

 

 

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[3rdGenCunarder]

Oh!!! We will be 4* for the first time in August. I was hoping that boarding would follow check in. Thanks for clearing that up so that I can lower my expectations!

 

I'll be still be very happy to have the free laundry!:)

 

You do get priority boarding. But it doesn't mean you can check in and walk right on. If you're early, you'll have to wait. Depending on the port there may or may not be somewhere to sit. Once they're ready to begin boarding, the 4*, 5*, Neptune/Pinnacle suite and passengers needing assistance are called first. Not sure of the order within this group. I've seen passengers needing assistance first, then I think the rest of the priority passengers go in together. Then the remaining passengers are called by group, based on the order in which they arrived.

 

Later, when embarkation is under way, I think the 4 and 5 stars and suites do just walk on after they check in.

Edited April 15, 2016 by 3rdGenCunarder

[3rdGenCunarder]

SF is usually its own special mess for embarkation/disembarkation.

 

We disembarked there several years ago and it was messy. I thought it was supposed to get some kind of renovation. Not yet?

[littlecruise]

I got off of the Westerdam on April 2nd and we were late being disembarked because of the issue that frequently happens when re-entering the USA. We had a lot of non-English speaking passengers. People with non US passports who did not follow disembarkation directions had to be paged individually to report to immigration. Once immigration cleared those passengers the process went smoothly. We were almost an hour past our assigned time. I knew that they would be late boarding for the next cruise.

 

Another factor that would have come into the equation is a group that arrived to boarding early afternoon by one or more bus after taking a San Diego city tour in the morning. Anytime you have a large group of people arriving by bus it is going to slow down the process for those arriving after them.

 

Those passengers who are four star would still get priority boarding wouldn't they?

I have sailed out of San Diego a couple times in the last 5 years and liked it as our hotel was right across the street. Checked our big luggage with the ship porters late morning, walked around the port for awhile, picked up our carry on at the hotel, walked across the street and were in our room in about 30 min. Sailed on the Westerdam. Smooth as could be.

[igraf]

You can take my advice as a San Diego resident or stand in the long lines. We were still at home well past noon last time we cruised from here! FWIW, we have experienced very long lines in Seattle as well by going too early. We have learned that the first lunch is just not worth it.

 

San Diego cruise traffic dropped because of concerns about Mexico, but is expected to increase next year. Having said that, our local economy remains hot with or without cruise ships as they really are insignificant compared to our industries. Check our real estate prices if you have any doubts.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

Based on the roll call members posting on this thread Igraf, I don't think that the complainers are complaining because they are used to the smaller HAL ships. Many of them have been on the Vista class before (if not larger) and on cruises much longer than 7 days.

 

Speaking for myself and DH I have never seen such a mess.

 

It would have be so easy to fix it with a bit of organization and common sense. It really didn't take rocket science to see the problems and the reasons.

 

You are right - very few ships embark from this port - and I can certainly understand why. ;)

 

 

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Edited April 15, 2016 by igraf

[kazu]

Yikes, posted twice - deleted. Apologies.

Edited April 15, 2016 by kazu

[kazu]

You can take my advice as a San Diego resident or stand in the long lines. We were still at home well past noon last time we cruised from here! FWIW, we have experienced very long lines in Seattle as well by going too early. We have learned that the first lunch is just not worth it.

 

San Diego cruise traffic dropped because of concerns about Mexico, but is expected to increase next year. Having said that, our local economy remains hot with or without cruise ships as they really are insignificant compared to our industries. Check our real estate prices if you have any doubts.

 

igraf

 

I always listen to what you have to say ;).

 

As a resident you are in an enviable spot. As a tourist, we are in a hotel room which must be vacated by X time. ;)

 

I don't think I questionned San Diego's economy nor have any doubts about it based upon the prices and occupancy of hotels that we were checking out for our pre-cruise stay.

 

Lovely city. Enjoyed it again. Embarkation not so much. Haven't sailed out of Seattle and doubt we ever will.

 

Wish we had known before we left, but in all honesty, 1/2 the problem was getting the luggage turned over an by then, you just wants to get it over with.

 

If we were on the re-positioning cruise with just a carry on, it could have been done, but not on the cruise we had planned. But, all is good on board :)

[Lizzie68]

You can take my advice as a San Diego resident or stand in the long lines. We were still at home well past noon last time we cruised from here! FWIW, we have experienced very long lines in Seattle as well by going too early. We have learned that the first lunch is just not worth it.

 

San Diego cruise traffic dropped because of concerns about Mexico, but is expected to increase next year. Having said that, our local economy remains hot with or without cruise ships as they really are insignificant compared to our industries. Check our real estate prices if you have any doubts.

 

igraf

 

I have never embarked at San Diego, only been in transit through it - and I absolutely love the city. (My DIL is from there, and her family all live there.) But the nightmares each time that we have experienced and witnessed have been enough to deter me from ever booking a cruise where I would embark in San Diego (disembarking is bad enough) - so there goes Mexico again, back to RCI. Fortunately, there are times when things go smoothly and on time, so I hear, so I hope they can learn from those.

 

I envy you living there, and we have friends we've cruised with who also live there - and who agree that most of the time it is a mess at the port. They are also CC members so I hope they chime in here.

 

There are serious problems which have been reported time and again even on here, and I do hope one day they fix it.

[DAllenTCY]

Non US citizens on trans-canal cruises must go through US Customs at their first US port. In San Diego agents board the ship and process those guests before anyone can disembark.

Most ports have US Customs stations located onshore (only the Broadway Complex in San Diego is so equipped)

On April 2nd there were 760 non-US. On April 11th for the Celebrity Infinity there were 907.

Both days, disembarkation was scheduled for 9 am instead of the usual 8 am.

Actual times were closer to 10 than 9. Many had early flights or city tours, so they receive colored tags (or numbers for X and RCCL) reflecting that priority. Their luggage is off loaded first, so that they might be accommodated. Increasingly....I have found that disembarking guests choose their own schedule....with unhappy consequences for others.

David

[Lizzie68]

Non US citizens on trans-canal cruises must go through US Customs at their first US port. In San Diego agents board the ship and process those guests before anyone can disembark.

Most ports have US Customs stations located onshore (only the Broadway Complex in San Diego is so equipped)

On April 2nd there were 760 non-US. On April 11th for the Celebrity Infinity there were 907.

Both days, disembarkation was scheduled for 9 am instead of the usual 8 am.

Actual times were closer to 10 than 9. Many had early flights or city tours, so they receive colored tags (or numbers for X and RCCL) reflecting that priority. Their luggage is off loaded first, so that they might be accommodated. Increasingly....I have found that disembarking guests choose their own schedule....with unhappy consequences for others.

David

 

It certainly can cause a delay especially when not enough Customs & Immigration officers are assigned, which certainly happened in our experience. But HAL was informed prior to us docking, and alerted all those disembarking, and allowed them to make other flight arrangements. Lots of very angry people. All shorex tours were cancelled too. Everyone turned up for the actual clearance on board, so the only delay was caused by not enough officers. In transit pax were able to leave the ship just before noon. This was not the fault of the port, obviously.

[DAllenTCY]

ShoreEx tours didn't meet the minimum number of guests needed to make financial sense.....so that is why they were "cancelled". It had nothing to do with the fouled up disembarkation. Buses for the City Tour are chartered 48 hours in advance.

David

[Lizzie68]

ShoreEx tours didn't meet the minimum number of guests needed to make financial sense.....so that is why they were "cancelled". It had nothing to do with the fouled up disembarkation. Buses for the City Tour are chartered 48 hours in advance.

David

 

I'm sorry but you are completely wrong - it had everything to do with the situation at the port and I certainly know what time we were able to disembark the ship - way too late for ANY excursions

[DAllenTCY]

I don't think that you have a very good basis for your comment. These are the numbers of the coaches that were chartered for the San Diego City Tour. Yes they left a little late, but they all did leave on April 2nd. 17256 12356 7456

David

[Lizzie68]

I don't think that you have a very good basis for your comment. These are the numbers of the coaches that were chartered for the San Diego City Tour. Yes they left a little late, but they all did leave on April 2nd. 17256 12356 7456

David

 

I guess my being there is no basis for fact, in my post. I am not talking about April 2nd, though I have no doubt that the reports of embarkation that day are quite accurate.

[RuthC]

I am not talking about April 2nd, though I have no doubt that the reports of embarkation that day are quite accurate.

Nor do I.

 

Based on my boarding experience in San Diego, many years ago, the recent one sounds all too familiar. Seems San Diego has learned/implemented nothing since my embarkation. :mad: It was without doubt the worst cruising experience in my life.

 

Until I hear reports that San Diego has improved the boarding procedure, I will never board there again.

Pity, as the city is a great place to visit.

[DAllenTCY]

My last cruise out of Vancouver took 2 hours and 40 minutes to board. I arrived at 2 pm at the pier and barely made it to my muster station in time. There were 3 ships at Canada Place, which is a very common What I found was that we had to go through "soft check" where they ask for your boarding pass.....then the x-ray line.....then Canadian customs line....then US Customs where they had new machines where you had to put in your passport and take your own photo and print a receipt. Then you had to go through yet another line to give that piece of paper to an agent. Finally there was the line to scan your room key.

 

David

[martincath]

My last cruise out of Vancouver took 2 hours and 40 minutes to board. I arrived at 2 pm at the pier and barely made it to my muster station in time. There were 3 ships at Canada Place, which is a very common What I found was that we had to go through "soft check" where they ask for your boarding pass.....then the x-ray line.....then Canadian customs line....then US Customs where they had new machines where you had to put in your passport and take your own photo and print a receipt. Then you had to go through yet another line to give that piece of paper to an agent. Finally there was the line to scan your room key.

 

David

Actually you did not see Canadian Customs boarding in Vancouver - only as you disembark will that occur. You did however do US Immigration as well as Customs - feel free to complain to your own government about staffing levels for both of those!

[Lizzie68]

My last cruise out of Vancouver took 2 hours and 40 minutes to board. I arrived at 2 pm at the pier and barely made it to my muster station in time. There were 3 ships at Canada Place, which is a very common What I found was that we had to go through "soft check" where they ask for your boarding pass.....then the x-ray line.....then Canadian customs line....then US Customs where they had new machines where you had to put in your passport and take your own photo and print a receipt. Then you had to go through yet another line to give that piece of paper to an agent. Finally there was the line to scan your room key.

 

David

 

It's US Customs only when you board in Vancouver. You will go through Canadian Customs when you disembark. So no idea what the heck you were doing going through both.:rolleyes: