"Tent City in Miami" = NCL

[Cruiser42]

Does anyone know how long tent city will be up in Miami ? We are cruising NCL Mar 18th, and the stories sound horrible ! Everyone keeps saying NCL needs to do something, but is anyone actually complaining to them so they can really do something? Thanks to all = this is an awesome tool!

[Planer's Edge]

What do you mean by "tent city"?

 

PE

[pepper55143]

I live in South Florida (right about in the middle of Miami and Fort Lauderdale). What we "natives" refer to as tent city is an area in downtown Ft. Lauderdale where there are tents for the homeless to sleep in. In fact I'm not even sure it is still there.

 

If you are referring to the Port of Miami, then it is not something NCL has full control over. I do know that rccl did shell out a large sum of money at least 3-5 years ago to build a terminal but the berth is determined by the port not NCL.

[Zimomiller]

On Sundays when the Jewel is in the Port of Miami at the same time as the Pearl, NCL has a problem.

 

They only have 1 terminal but 2 ships.

 

Their solution was to put up big tents and have everyone process through the tents for embarkation on the Jewel.

 

Feedback has been that this poor to say the least.

 

Guests are forced to endure long lines and the elements and then are met with poorly organized chaos.

 

Forget about the Suite perk/Latitudes VIP boarding because they do not seem to have made any arrangements for this.

 

In fact, feedback as been that the process is a nightmare.

 

We are sailing this Sunday and have to embark through tent city. I plan to report back.

[Bunnynme]

We sailed on the Jewel on 2/11 and had embarkation through the tent. It was chaotic for sure. Long lines, there are actually 2 tents, one you go through and they check just your ID & ticket. Then you wait on another line to go through to get your passport checked, id and go through security and then onto the actual ship where they check you in.

 

I was in a courtyard villa and they had no priority lines at all. NCL is dropping the ball on the tent and needs to seriously re-consider their options.

[Leafpeeper]

Long Beach and San Pedro in California also have problems when there is more than one ship in port. We've had to stand in lines out in the sun waiting to get into the terminal to checkin. Debarkation is just as bad. No reason to rush to just stand in line with only 3 custom agents. Next time we'll be the last two off the ship and be sure to sleep late on debarkation day.

 

Best embarkation and debarkation is in Boston. No lines. No hassles getting off either. Fast and easy. I think it took less than 15 minutes from the time we got to the pier until we were on the ship. There were several ships in port the day we sailed so there is no explanation why some cities have a good system and others don't. I've talked to several cruisers and they all say Boston is the fastest on and off system. Customs agents were fast and just kept waving everyone to keep moving. Didn't even have time to stop in line. Wish all our cruises went that well.

[electricron]

The Port of Miami is adding two new termianls for cruise passengers, which were supposed to be open in 2006. Looks like two new terminals at a cost of $60 million weren't enough.

Here's the news from the Port of Miami web site:

http://www.miamidade.gov/portofmiami/development_terminals.asp

[bmolotsk]

Just as a counterpoint to the Long Beach/San Pedro comment, we boarded the Star on 2/10 in about 15 minutes total. We arrived early, about 12:30 or so, but the embarkation was just as smooth as it was on RCI in Port Canaveral for us.

 

Moral of the story is that your mileage may vary depending on your arrival time and the arrival time of others. We watched several buses arrive from the airport to the pier at the same time (about 4 PM), so those folks may have had a very different experience from us....

 

B

[toppgnlady]

Went thru tent city around 1:00 PM on January 28th - a breeze through the first tent - long walk above ground (covered) then onto the 'boarding tent'.

VIP signs to the right leading us to the front of the line. Sat for about 5 minutes and boarded. Another VIP line for ID, our card, then onto our room.

 

Absolutely no hassle (though the long walk from the Pier entrance to the ship may be long for some). Oh, we were on the Jewel.

 

Look harder for the VIP signs is my advice.

 

TG

[Cruiser42]

Thanks, Zimomiller - thats exactly what I was referring to -- Good luck ! and above all else, enjoy your cruise ! I'm 3 weeks behind you!

[Cruiser42]

Thanks, TG !! My mom is 73 and in great shape, but I don't know that I want her standing in line for 2 hours in heat -- I appreciate the help !

[Cruiser42]

Thanks, everyone ! The last 3 years in Miami have been bad - thats how long they've been working on the terminal -- I hope its fixed soon - it will really be wonderful when its done -- its just not nice now.....

:(

[new2crus]

I guess it’s a matter of timing. I was also on the 2/11 sailing of the Jewel and we arrived at the dock at 11:38. The VIP line is setup inside the second tent, so people who did not know this might not have proceeded to the head of the line. (there were people doing this while we were in line) I was not in a suite and I processed through the normal line. The line moved extremely fast for us and we were in our cabin within 45 minutes of entering the line. I guess I was just lucky but we had absolutely no trouble whatsoever processing through the tents.