Brooklyn Terminal backup today?

Anyone have any idea what's going on at the Brooklyn Terminal? We arrived more than hour ago via Cunard transportation, on time for our 12 noon embarkation. The terminal staff stashed us in a room for about 200 Platinum and Queen's Grille passengers, and there we have sat for an hour. Outside in the main hall we can see hundreds of others milling about, but no info. The ladies room is out of toilet paper and soap. Hmmm.

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Purely guessing either a norovirus issue or a security check.

No reason given on Twitter https://mobile.twitter.com/cunardline/status/864155554821935104

Have a great cruise.

Purely guessing either a norovirus issue or a security check.

 

No reason given on Twitter https://mobile.twitter.com/cunardline/status/864155554821935104

 

Have a great cruise.

We just heard that since this was the first TA of the year, the Coast Guard was on board for an inspection. That's fine. But the lack of information for more than an hour was disconcerting. Finally, we were released from the room two at a time into a hall teeming with hundreds of other passengers from around the ship. This was all on the Terminal staff and not Cunard, I know. But a better embarkation plan would have been appreciated.

We're on board now and enjoying a delicious lunch, so all is now right in the world.

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We just heard that since this was the first TA of the year, the Coast Guard was on board for an inspection. That's fine. But the lack of information for more than an hour was disconcerting. Finally, we were released from the room two at a time into a hall teeming with hundreds of other passengers from around the ship. This was all on the Terminal staff and not Cunard, I know. But a better embarkation plan would have been appreciated.

 

We're on board now and enjoying a delicious lunch, so all is now right in the world.

 

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Doing the same trip in December. What options do you have on boarding?

Glad you're onboard and by now have finished your lunch. I always laugh when I look around the "elite holding pen" at Brooklyn. It's crowded, looks like a warehouse, and on the wall there's a huge mural of people at the Captain's table in the Britannia Dining Room with a title that says "Cunard Elegance" or something like that.

I don't think lack of information is all down to the terminal staff. They aren't the most organized bunch, and some of the ones I've dealt with were unpleasant, one downright nasty. But maybe some of that is probably their frustration with not knowing what's going on. Cunard knows more about what's happening on the ship, but they don't tell the terminal staff anything. If embarkation is late, and our last 2 were, terminal staff have no idea what time you'll be able to board.

Cunard does everything well except embarkation and disembarkation.

Doing the same trip in December. What options do you have on boarding?

My husband and I usually arrive at the Red Hook Terminal between 1:30 and 2:30 pm ET. Easy Peasy. No crowd. Security checks excellent, but no delay in boarding.

The hours between 11 am and noon are very popular arrival times (no matter what passengers assigned boarding times). I don't know what that extra hours on board means in the scheme of things, but apparently staggered boarding times are meaningless, so passengers shouldn't complain if boarding isn't prompt (except for Grills passengers who pay enough to complain about anything :) -

We just heard that since this was the first TA of the year, the Coast Guard was on board for an inspection. That's fine. But the lack of information for more than an hour was disconcerting. Finally, we were released from the room two at a time into a hall teeming with hundreds of other passengers from around the ship. This was all on the Terminal staff and not Cunard, I know. But a better embarkation plan would have been appreciated.

 

We're on board now and enjoying a delicious lunch, so all is now right in the world.

 

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My understanding is that the US Coast Guard inspects every cruise ship entering a US port from a foreign port.

Inspection by the CDC Vessel Sanitation Program - that is perhaps more likely to have resulted in your delayed departure. ?

CDC - Vessel Sanitation Program

https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/desc/about_inspections.htm

So, not on every port visit, but perhaps more likely after a prolonged absence with visits to many foreign ports since the last US visit.

CDC - Vessel Sanitation Program

https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/desc/about_inspections.htm

How often are ships inspected?

Cruise ships under VSP’s jurisdiction are subject to two inspections each year. If a ship sails outside of the United States for an extended period of time, it may not be inspected twice a year, but it will be inspected again when it returns to the United States.

So, not on every port visit, but perhaps more likely after a prolonged absence with visits to many foreign ports since the last US visit.

Right, thanks - except no one wrote that VSP inspections take place every port visit. But I had the impression that the US Coast Guard inspects ships coming from foreign ports because every time I boarded QM2 in Redhook, I saw uniformed US Coast Guard members. (Maybe that's just because of heightened security in NY?) Anyway, I'd be surprised if that was the cause for delayed departure.

We'll know soon enough if there was a VSP inspection, as the results would be posted.

We were there yesterday. The causes I was told were: (1) A "surprise" inspection by the USCG that delayed everything (although the inspectors will take whatever time they deem appropriate, it could hardly be a surprise - but it VERY WELL could have taken longer than expected) and (2) the computer system which kept on crashing.

We were next to the glass panels in the outer lobby and saw the check-in agents arrive at noon, and for the next half hour, periodically group and talk, return to their stations, and then regroup. Obviously something was going on. Over that time, they let people who had passed through the scanners into the queues, giving the appearance of progress, but no one was being attended by the agents. Finally at 12:30 things started moving. No explanation or announcements. (The queue had filled the spiral in the outer lobby and had extended out the door (how far, I don't know).

Once things started moving, we asked about the platinum/diamond queue and were directed to a brusque (I'm being kind) woman who handed me a numbered card and directed us to some seats outside the lounge. When I asked what the procedure was, I was told that "the lounge was full" - which didn't answer my question at all. My husband uses a cane and was told that we could use the handicapped line. I mentioned that I thought that it might be shorter and her reply was to warn that it was on the other side of the room (My husband had held back while I did recon to check things out.)

I gave her the numbered card back and we moved to the assistance line. It was fairly short and we cleared in about 10-15 minutes. As we passed her to board, she glared at me again. (C'est la vie)

I mostly put this on the Port Authority rather than Cunard. In any event, it was NOT the way to begin a luxury vacation.

But again - we're aboard and back home on the QM2.

We were there yesterday. The causes I was told were: (1) A "surprise" inspection by the USCG that delayed everything (although the inspectors will take whatever time they deem appropriate, it could hardly be a surprise - but it VERY WELL could have taken longer than expected) and (2) the computer system which kept on crashing.

 

We were next to the glass panels in the outer lobby and saw the check-in agents arrive at noon, and for the next half hour, periodically group and talk, return to their stations, and then regroup. Obviously something was going on. Over that time, they let people who had passed through the scanners into the queues, giving the appearance of progress, but no one was being attended by the agents. Finally at 12:30 things started moving. No explanation or announcements. (The queue had filled the spiral in the outer lobby and had extended out the door (how far, I don't know).

 

Once things started moving, we asked about the platinum/diamond queue and were directed to a brusque (I'm being kind) woman who handed me a numbered card and directed us to some seats outside the lounge. When I asked what the procedure was, I was told that "the lounge was full" - which didn't answer my question at all. My husband uses a cane and was told that we could use the handicapped line. I mentioned that I thought that it might be shorter and her reply was to warn that it was on the other side of the room (My husband had held back while I did recon to check things out.)

I gave her the numbered card back and we moved to the assistance line. It was fairly short and we cleared in about 10-15 minutes. As we passed her to board, she glared at me again. (C'est la vie)

 

I mostly put this on the Port Authority rather than Cunard. In any event, it was NOT the way to begin a luxury vacation.

 

But again - we're aboard and back home on the QM2.

Hi Mark. Interesting that one of the reasons you were given for delayed departure was that "the computer kept crashing". Nasty things happened to computers world wide* so that's as good an explanation as any for your delayed boarding. BTW, how delayed was boarding?

*http://wfla.com/2017/05/15/wanna-cry-virus-infecting-computers-around-the-world-tampa-bay-area-bracing-for-impact/

Hope you and your husband are enjoying your cruise...sorry that you had a bad experience boarding. Cheers, -Salacia

We were there yesterday. The causes I was told were: (1) A "surprise" inspection by the USCG that delayed everything (although the inspectors will take whatever time they deem appropriate, it could hardly be a surprise - but it VERY WELL could have taken longer than expected) and (2) the computer system which kept on crashing.

 

We were next to the glass panels in the outer lobby and saw the check-in agents arrive at noon, and for the next half hour, periodically group and talk, return to their stations, and then regroup. Obviously something was going on. Over that time, they let people who had passed through the scanners into the queues, giving the appearance of progress, but no one was being attended by the agents. Finally at 12:30 things started moving. No explanation or announcements. (The queue had filled the spiral in the outer lobby and had extended out the door (how far, I don't know).

 

Once things started moving, we asked about the platinum/diamond queue and were directed to a brusque (I'm being kind) woman who handed me a numbered card and directed us to some seats outside the lounge. When I asked what the procedure was, I was told that "the lounge was full" - which didn't answer my question at all. My husband uses a cane and was told that we could use the handicapped line. I mentioned that I thought that it might be shorter and her reply was to warn that it was on the other side of the room (My husband had held back while I did recon to check things out.)

I gave her the numbered card back and we moved to the assistance line. It was fairly short and we cleared in about 10-15 minutes. As we passed her to board, she glared at me again. (C'est la vie)

 

I mostly put this on the Port Authority rather than Cunard. In any event, it was NOT the way to begin a luxury vacation.

 

But again - we're aboard and back home on the QM2.

We had a similar experience of being told that "the lounge was full." And if you dealt with the same gorgon I did, "brusque" is a kind word choice. When we were asked to sit in general boarding, I asked if I could at least return to the lounge area to get a cup of coffee, since that's a perk of the lounge and we are DIAMOND and were traveling in the GRILLS. I don't usually do the "entitled" thing, but when someone is nasty to me, I do NOT back down. A colleague came over to see what was wrong, and I explained that all I wanted was to be allowed to come back and get a cup of coffee. The other port employee said "There must be a few seats" and led us in. There were PLENTY of seats at that point, although it did fill later.

The "lounge" is no big deal other than a way to be sure you do get the priority boarding. And coffee and tea are available.

Our embarkations in Southampton were always gracious at the QEII terminal, even before our past-passenger status got us any kind of priority treatment. The other terminals were disorganized when we were there, but at least the people working there were pleasant enough.