Worst debark/CBP process ever

[IrieBajan54]

56 minutes ago, InfrequentPNWCruiser said:

Same for us in 2019 with the Escape at MCT. Getting of the ship was easy but CBP was only allowing a dribble at a time to go onto the terminal. Once you got there, including picking up the luggage it was like about 10 min to the street as facial recognition was being used. All depends on CBP staff levels ( same goes with TSA staff at the airport) on how smooth debarkation will be.

I have always been lucky at MCT and maybe it's because I do self luggage walk off. Getting off the Gem two days ago, the line looped around Guest Relations forward and then all the way back up and into Bliss Lounge. Then all the way up to exit the ship. It was a slow process but the line moved. The CBP-Immigration staff in the terminal were using facial recognition and some personnel were directing passengers to the agents with the cameras. So at that point it was moving pretty quickly.

[Lakesregion]

4 hours ago, luckybecky said:

Just off the Bliss this morning. I'm working on a very detailed day-by-day review that I'll start posting with photos soon, but for now want to comment on debarkation.

 

It took TWO HOURS from the moment we stepped off the elevator on deck 7, until we stepped out of the terminal into a cab.

 

I know this is not the fault of NCL. I wonder if this is typical at the Los Angeles port. Is there anything NCL could do to work with CBP to make sure they are prepared for 4000 passengers? When we arrived at the front of the line (finally!) there were 7 agents working. For almost 4000 passengers.

 

The entire scene was totally chaotic. We were stopped by the lifeboats on deck 7 in a long line with many others, for a long time from debarking, with no reason given. Then they finally let the line move forward, only for us to be stopped at the escalator down into the terminal for a long period of time because things were "backed up". Then, we had to cross over a line of many people to retrieve our luggage. Once found, back into a line to go through customs. Many people joining the line from every direction without regard to the many people already in line. It was a mob scene with no organization. 

 

I feel sorry for people who had relatively close flight times. They might have thought they had plenty of time but then it was much worse than expected. My advice is do NOT book a flight that is an even remotely close call. It is another 30 minutes or so depending on traffic to get to the airport so you need to allow at least 3 hours from scheduled debark time to arrive at the airport. 

 

We weren't in a big hurry so we had picked a 9am debark time. We did not get into a cab until exactly 2 hours later at 11am. This is the first time in 14 cruises that we did not do self assist. It is the last time.

 

I have never had this experience re-entering the country, either flying or cruising. From now on, we will do self assist and be off the ship at the first possible moment so we can hopefully avoid this chaos.

 

Thoughts?

Be thankful there were 7 agents working the usual complement in LA is 4. US immigration has a formula they work by. The larger the number of passengers on board a ship the fewer agents they send to process them and Sundays are even worse. Welcome to the US government.

[Sailing12Away]

I find it amusing how expectations of what is horrible and tragic to some can vary from person to person. We just got off the Joy yesterday. If you thought a 2 hr process was bad, then don't read my thread about our recent trip.

 

We sailed out of LA and it took 5 hours from the time our flight landed to the time I was standing on board the ship.

 

Coming home was from Miami. We left our room at 8:30 when our orange color tag was called, and ended up having to catch a Lyft to get to the airport in time for our flight. Made it to our boarding gate at the airport at 11am when boarding had already begun. If we waited for the NCL transfer we would definitely have missed our flight home. Spent nearly 2 hrs in line going through customs and waiting for the NCL transfer bus before giving up and hailing a Lyft.

[davencl]

In Feb. of 2020 we disembarked the joy at this terminal.  It appeared to be the same as OP described. However we walked off with our luggage so had little problem. However as we stood in line for immigration the baggage area was in total chaos.   Fortunately we avoided it by walking off with luggage.

[www3traveler]

Just read in a posting from someone who boarded the Bliss today, she said that there had been a medical emergency with  a  passenger in the process of disembarking.  That would have created a problems for those passengers behind the incident.

[BirdTravels]

7 hours ago, laudergayle said:

Also, your comment has helped me make a decision for our future Bliss cruise.  I’ve been looking at LAX flights with a 11:15 am departure time…and if we decide on that…we def need to do self assist walkoff…which we’ve never done before.

11:15 is fine. Self walk off helps. CBP picking on a specific voyage happens from time to time. Maybe they were tipped off on this week's cruise. 

[BirdTravels]

7 hours ago, luckybecky said:

Thoughts?

Taking pictures in a Customs area is against the law. There are signs everywhere,,, and you have been bold enough to post them. 

[luckybecky]

3 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

I find it amusing how expectations of what is horrible and tragic to some can vary from person to person. We just got off the Joy yesterday. If you thought a 2 hr process was bad, then don't read my thread about our recent trip...

 

Well, I didn't say it was horrible and tragic. I did say that it was the worst re-entry experience we have ever had by sea or by air, in terms of the wait and the chaos in the terminal. It sounds like your experience almost exactly paralleled ours as far as the timing. We got to our airport hotel a little more than 2.5 hours into the process, about the same time it took you, but you also had to go through security and get to your gate. I'm glad you made your flight!

 

1 hour ago, www3traveler said:

Just read in a posting from someone who boarded the Bliss today, she said that there had been a medical emergency with  a  passenger in the process of disembarking.  That would have created a problems for those passengers behind the incident.

 

I had not heard that. I will say that in the two hours we were there, we did not see any evidence of any sort of medical response to anyone. And there were no emergency vehicles outside when we finally made it out. Not saying it did not happen, just that it did not appear from what we could see that a medical response was impacting our experience. 

 

Anyway, just posted this as a warning to not plan a close flight. Fortunately we had plenty of time. I do wonder if there is anything at all NCL could do to coordinate with CBP to make sure the terminal is adequately staffed, because this was definitely impacting the process on the ship. And we all know that they need to get passengers off as quickly as possible in order to turn the ship around. We were held in line on board as we were just a few people away from the spot where they scan your card to let you off, and then again in the gangway, because the terminal was "backed up." This is affecting not only the debarking passengers but also NCL's ability to provide a smooth and orderly transition getting the old passengers off and new ones on. 

 

Thanks for commenting, everyone. 

[Sydneyberlin]

OmG- this photo of the chaos queue from hell sends shivers down my spine instantly. And we have international passports so it might even be worse for us.

 

Luckily, on our upcoming Panama canal cruise we have 4 nights in LA following disembarkation. Should be enough of a buffer I’d hope! 😉

[luckybecky]

33 minutes ago, Sydneyberlin said:

OmG- this photo of the chaos queue from hell sends shivers down my spine instantly. And we have international passports so it might even be worse for us.

 

Luckily, on our upcoming Panama canal cruise we have 4 nights in LA following disembarkation. Should be enough of a buffer I’d hope! 😉

 

No worries. I think the solution is to choose "self assist" debarkation -- if you are able to manage getting all your luggage off the boat by yourself. Then exit the ship at the earliest possible time. 

 

This is the first time we ever used the ship porters to take our luggage off. We usually do self assist. This is the last time we will use the ship service to offload our luggage. Self assist forever after this experience.

[behan]

I heard that CBP required a face to face check because we stopped in Colombia.  I did notice that a separate line was being used for people with porters assisting them.  This line was much shorter, and least early in the morning.  So that may be a better option.  

[Alibaster McGillicutty]

Embark (LA) and debark (Miami) on the Joy on our recent cruise was sloooooow.

We had bus transfers to/from airport so that added another line to stand and wait along with customs/border before that.  We rolled with the punches and enjoyed the cruise but we knew those processes were going to be bad.  No issues catching flights because they were late in the evening but we laughed because we wondered what we would do with all our "extra time" in Miami........well, it was used getting off the ship, customs, bus transfer, etc.

 

We are used to driving to port and doing self-assist in Galveston or New Orleans which have been smooth.

[mtrancher]

We were on the same cruise. We got off the ship at 8 and were curbside by 8:50. The long line was forming almost instantly after we entered the terminal. When we reach the counter, they were using facial recognition, it's the 1st time I've gone through using that type of system. The agent was very friendly and quick. Our friends used the porters in the terminal and they got to go through the expedited line. Took them about 10 minutes to get out of the terminal.

Our other friends waited until later to leave the ship and said it was by far the worst part of the trip. I think they left at nine; not sure when they got curbside; but they did make their flight so all ended well.

As for us we had an 11:50 am flight, little traffic Sunday morning made our drive to the airport extremely fast. We ended up with an 1 1/2 wait at the gate. That was the worst for us, our terminal was packed.

[oteixeira]

On 3/12/2023 at 4:12 PM, luckybecky said:

Just off the Bliss this morning. I'm working on a very detailed day-by-day review that I'll start posting with photos soon, but for now want to comment on debarkation.

 

It took TWO HOURS from the moment we stepped off the elevator on deck 7, until we stepped out of the terminal into a cab.

 

I know this is not the fault of NCL. I wonder if this is typical at the Los Angeles port. Is there anything NCL could do to work with CBP to make sure they are prepared for 4000 passengers? When we arrived at the front of the line (finally!) there were 7 agents working. For almost 4000 passengers.

 

The entire scene was totally chaotic. We were stopped by the lifeboats on deck 7 in a long line with many others, for a long time from debarking, with no reason given. Then they finally let the line move forward, only for us to be stopped at the escalator down into the terminal for a long period of time because things were "backed up". Then, we had to cross over a line of many people to retrieve our luggage. Once found, back into a line to go through customs. Many people joining the line from every direction without regard to the many people already in line. It was a mob scene with no organization. 

 

I feel sorry for people who had relatively close flight times. They might have thought they had plenty of time but then it was much worse than expected. My advice is do NOT book a flight that is an even remotely close call. It is another 30 minutes or so depending on traffic to get to the airport so you need to allow at least 3 hours from scheduled debark time to arrive at the airport. 

 

We weren't in a big hurry so we had picked a 9am debark time. We did not get into a cab until exactly 2 hours later at 11am. This is the first time in 14 cruises that we did not do self assist. It is the last time.

 

I have never had this experience re-entering the country, either flying or cruising. From now on, we will do self assist and be off the ship at the first possible moment so we can hopefully avoid this chaos.

 

Thoughts?

It was the same in Miami after a 15 day cruise.  Problem is Customs wants a face to face after a long cruise, and that slows everything down.  Very common on long cruises, if you are not use to that, you just don't know.

[luckybecky]

2 hours ago, mtrancher said:

am, We were on the same cruise. We got off the ship at 8 and were curbside by 8:50. The long line was forming almost instantly after we entered the terminal. When we reach the counter, they were using facial recognition, it's the 1st time I've gone through using that type of system. The agent was very friendly and quick. Our friends used the porters in the terminal and they got to go through the expedited line. Took them about 10 minutes to get out of the terminal.

Our other friends waited until later to leave the ship and said it was by far the worst part of the trip. I think they left at nine; not sure when they got curbside; but they did make their flight so all ended well.

As for us we had an 11:50 am flight, little traffic Sunday morning made our drive to the airport extremely fast. We ended up with an 1 1/2 wait at the gate. That was the worst for us, our terminal was packed.

 

I'm glad it went a little more smoothly for you. As I said, this was the worst we have ever seen it, by sea or by air (or even by land for that matter, coming across the Canadian border) and we are relatively seasoned travelers. We couldn't even enter the terminal for an extended period of time, first waiting by the lifeboats on deck 7, and then held up by the escalators. I think by the time we tried to get off at 9 am the line had just gotten so backed up as to be at a standstill. The baggage pickup area was in chaos. I'm glad your experience was better. I think getting off earlier as you did is key. Interesting that they were using facial recognition when you went though. They were not using it by the time we got to the front. 

 

At any rate, was a great cruise!

[ChiefMateJRK]

35 minutes ago, luckybecky said:

I think getting off earlier as you did is key.

Normally, getting off later helps, but that likely wouldn't have helped in this case.

[Raleigh Traveler]

We disembarked the Joy on Feb 5 in La. The only direct flight was at 10:35am and we took the risk. We were fortunate with the walk off and were in a taxi by 8:15 on a Sunday morning. Earlier someone mentioned 7 people checking passport, I think we had less. After that it is math. 

From the head of the line, we walked up, presented our passports, had our picture snapped and answered a couple questions. Maybe 30 seconds for the two of us. If we do the math and assume everyone has their passports ready and all goes smooth, with 7 agents it will take at least 2.5 hours to clear 4000 passengers. So, who decides the staffing?

[graphicguy]

On 3/13/2023 at 2:53 AM, luckybecky said:

 

No worries. I think the solution is to choose "self assist" debarkation -- if you are able to manage getting all your luggage off the boat by yourself. Then exit the ship at the earliest possible time. 

 

This is the first time we ever used the ship porters to take our luggage off. We usually do self assist. This is the last time we will use the ship service to offload our luggage. Self assist forever after this experience.

Self assist….easy-peezy….nice and breezy.  I always do that.  Another good reason NOT to OVERPACK.  Never ceases to amaze me seeing people lug big bags on and off the ship, and then complaining while stuck in line or grumbling about it and/or complaining the entire way.

 

I always think to myself….”you packed it…yet you want to blame everyone else for having to lug around everything you packed….or, waiting in line with others who way overpacked and are lugging their trunks around.”

 

Word of advice to save yourself some grief as well as those around you.  Pack ⅓ less than you want.  You’ll still be overpacked by with less to lug around.

Edited March 19, 2023 by graphicguy

[CILCIANRQTS]

Just got off the Epic in San Juan.

We bought NCL transfers, so we were assigned to second group off, after Lattitudes. It was a piece of cake for a ship with 4600 on it! We think cruise line transfers, although they cost more than a cab, are worth the extra $$ in avoided aggravation.

By the way, walk offs started moving at 6:30AM!! YMMV.

[julig22]

4 hours ago, Raleigh Traveler said:

So, who decides the staffing?

Even though NCL always get the blame when there are issues with embarkation and disembarking, they don't always have control of the process.  Porters and immigration staff do not work for NCL.  Most terminals are leased/rented, not owned by NCL so amenities aren't up to NCL.  I've also been told that the people that check you in aren't NCL employees either, so they don't always know about priority boarding for example. And they don't have any authority to bend the rules either.

When there are lines because there are only 3 people checking passports it's because that's how many officers were sent/availailable to do the job. 

[shof515]

33 minutes ago, julig22 said:

I've also been told that the people that check you in aren't NCL employees either, so they don't always know about priority boarding for example.

that is correct. from what i noticed there is 2 company's  that do the check in at the terminal is:

intercruises = https://www.intercruises.com/

or

sms shore operations = https://smscruises.com/

[www3traveler]

27 minutes ago, shof515 said:

that is correct. from what i noticed there is 2 company's  that do the check in at the terminal is:

intercruises = https://www.intercruises.com/

or

sms shore operations = https://smscruises.com/

I have checked in at a couple of terminals that use Temp Agency employees for Check- In personnel (people hired just for that day).