Jump to content

Waiting to get off ship Epic after TA


fredflint
 Share

Recommended Posts

We sailed the Epic out of PC last Dec 9th, no problems boarding but I do remember the same type of stories involving customs after the TA in Nov.

 

Same here. Last year Dec sailing was great and Nov first cruise not so good. We will be ready to board Dec 9th with a smile and heading to the food lines.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is it like this just for TA cruise or always with the Epic? Concerned because we booked a shore excursion for when re return to Port Canaveral at cruise's end.

 

This is because you have a ship full of people who have sailed to the US from Spain (with a stop in Portugal). The same for the crew.

 

Most of the cruises in/out of this port are round trip with people who were previously admitted into the US and have only been gone for 7 days all visiting the same countries.

 

I have done repositioning cruises that go into Canada and it is much faster and simpler as well as Europe. The US customs people have there way of doing things and under these cases it is just slow process.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So you want government employees to be on every cruise ship? Sorry but I do not want to pay government employees to sail cruises year round (or at all for that matter) on my dime just so you can get off a ship quicker.

No the global entry terminals are self service once you sign up and are verified you check yourself in thru customs by doing fingerprints and or picture at the terminal. No employees needed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I suppose, no on is supposed to "wait" for anything and be personally escorted right off a ship, that is mass market with 4000 passengers? I find this naive thinking to think there aren't going to be waits and lines. There were 6 agents operating when I went though..

 

Don't know how much experience people have had, but , this is a given. Lines are involved. I've traveled internationally every month this year, with various experiences.

 

I thought the ability for NCL and Customs and Immigration to manage this procedure remarkable. It took me about an hour to get through this process- VERY reasonable and efficient along with me making a 10:30am flight out of MCO, with time to spare in the Admirals Lounge. Exceeded my expectations. (and no, I didn't jump any lines with porters etc, simply used self assist walk off)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

its not just on US soil, there are also delays (albeit not quite as long) when they do the TA back to Europe. I can understand frustrations though if this was unexpected. I love TA's too much to let this spoil my cruise. (unfortunately I haven't been able to get enough time off work recently to do the westbound TA... but it is my plan at some point!)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry, I've been on several TA cruises and this was by far the worst. We had a "color" to get off at 9:00 AM. We were called at 9:30 and ended up standing on the deck for 45 minutes. Then were almost 3 hours in the terminal. If you didn't use a porter, which I never do becuase often there aren't many and I like to let people use them who really need assistance, you were directed to go to a very long snake line.

Then, the people with porters were allowed to go into much shorter lines.

We were told that was an arrangement with the terminal operators.

In short, were didn't get off the ship till almost 1:00 PM and I'm sure many people missed flights.

'

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I suppose, no on is supposed to "wait" for anything and be personally escorted right off a ship, that is mass market with 4000 passengers? I find this naive thinking to think there aren't going to be waits and lines. There were 6 agents operating when I went though..

 

Don't know how much experience people have had, but , this is a given. Lines are involved. I've traveled internationally every month this year, with various experiences.

 

I thought the ability for NCL and Customs and Immigration to manage this procedure remarkable. It took me about an hour to get through this process- VERY reasonable and efficient along with me making a 10:30am flight out of MCO, with time to spare in the Admirals Lounge. Exceeded my expectations. (and no, I didn't jump any lines with porters etc, simply used self assist walk off)

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Many elderly can't do "walk-off" . They ended up taking FOUR hours to get off the ship.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry, I've been on several TA cruises and this was by far the worst. We had a "color" to get off at 9:00 AM. We were called at 9:30 and ended up standing on the deck for 45 minutes. Then were almost 3 hours in the terminal. If you didn't use a porter, which I never do becuase often there aren't many and I like to let people use them who really need assistance, you were directed to go to a very long snake line.

Then, the people with porters were allowed to go into much shorter lines.

We were told that was an arrangement with the terminal operators.

In short, were didn't get off the ship till almost 1:00 PM and I'm sure many people missed flights.

'

We always grab a porter to get the shorter line, many don’t because they don’t want to pay. They are for everyone. Again, this wasn’t NCL’s fault, they want everyone off as quickly as possible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am wondering how the various shuttle companies handle the delays. I have to book one to get to MCO when I return on the Epic in February. The process seems to be for booking a certain time. However, not knowing what is ahead of you I could see a lot of people getting off quickly and waiting 2 hours at the dock while at other times people could miss the shuttle and take an expensive taxi. Anyone have any insight on this? Are certain companies more flexible, maybe have extra vans as insurance?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not sure you might just want to do the transfer thru the cruise line, or do the walk off ours took 90 minutes from 6:30 AM to 8 AM waiting for the Hertz shuttle. I think what I would do even if it sounds mean, is to take the porter and not tip them. It seems like they want you to pay for the shorter line. We were lucky they were pulling people out of line who were US citizens ( since they only had one official line) and had us move to the porters line which is to the far right. I would just head over there from now on and act confused if they say anything.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not sure you might just want to do the transfer thru the cruise line, or do the walk off ours took 90 minutes from 6:30 AM to 8 AM waiting for the Hertz shuttle. I think what I would do even if it sounds mean, is to take the porter and not tip them. It seems like they want you to pay for the shorter line. We were lucky they were pulling people out of line who were US citizens ( since they only had one official line) and had us move to the porters line which is to the far right. I would just head over there from now on and act confused if they say anything.

 

You've got to be kidding about not tipping porters? This is tip based service. No idea where you were counting, but 6 agents were processing where I went through.

 

As for the independent shuttle services. they run on a loop. I am very conservative with my getting off a ship. This trip, I was at MCO around 9a, with my shuttle service leaving at 8:10a As I mentioned, I made a 10:30a flight. I easily made a 9:30a flight earlier this year, with a 7:30a shuttle departure time. AND the difference was that cruise, likely the same as another post- with being a closed loop and less immigration processing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

its not just on US soil, there are also delays (albeit not quite as long) when they do the TA back to Europe. I can understand frustrations though if this was unexpected. I love TA's too much to let this spoil my cruise. (unfortunately I haven't been able to get enough time off work recently to do the westbound TA... but it is my plan at some point!)

On the Getaway Transatlantic May 2017, we experienced horrendous delays at Southampton, Great Britain. We could not dock in the Azores, where the British customs officers were supposed to board to pre-screen us, due to weather. As a result, people spent more than six hours in line, going through customs. We were in the Haven and had priority, but it still took us two hours to get off the ship. Everyone on the ship had to go through customs, regardless of whether they intended to get off the ship or not. Most people missed their excursions. There were many very unhappy cruisers. However, it was not within NCL's control.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...