Bayonne Disembarkation Chaos

[ggo85]

We disembarked from Explorer of the Seas yesterday and it was unlike anything I'd ever seen. Slow, disorganized, and somewhat chaotic. The situation wasn't helped by the fact that we arrived in port about 30 mins late.

 

We were supposed to be tied up at 0800 with the first people leaving at 0830. We were among the first 20 couples off the ship and we didn't get off the ship until 0915, for reasons that were never explained. Then we had to wait for the shuttle bus (that takes you 100 yds to the tent). They loaded and unloaded one bus at a time, with each bus carrying about 20 people -- other than the bus that drove off with only about 8 people on board and plenty of room for more. It took 5 mins to load and 5 minutes to unload each bus. Also, the buses were lined up to discharge passengers. Thus, it took us literally 25 minutes for us to get from the ship to the tent -- a distance we could have covered on foot in less than 5. (No, they don't allow you to walk).

 

By the time we departed the port (0945) most of the luggage was still on the ship or stacked in large containers on land. IOW, good luck trying to find your suitcase! At the rate they were going -- 20 passengers every 5 mins, they'd still be disembarking passengers when the next set started to arrive. It was the most disorganized, slow process I've seen in a long time.

 

We carried our own bags so were quickly through customs and on our way. We had a car service waiting and made our 1015 train with 15 mins to spare. Thankfully, it was a Saturday.

 

In fairness, the fault lay mostly with the port authority and not RCI, although the lateness of the ship didn't help. Bottom line, DO NOT book a non-refundable flight before noon. You might make an earlier time but can't count on it. If you can carry your own luggage, consider doing so. If you can't, sit back, relax and realize that disembarkation will not be a speedy process.

[BILLP1]

What time would you think that the cruise line recommends that you book flights after a cruise? It does not sound like chaos to me only that you were booked too early on a train that you should have been.

[ggo85]

Well, we could have taken a later train w/o penalty if we'd missed ours.:) I'm not sure what time they recommend for flights as we weren't flying.

 

Still, in most ports, you walk off of the ship onto the pier or into the terminal. Thus, traffic continues to move in a continuous flow. Here, it's a shuttle bus system reminiscent of Dulles Airport (if you've ever taken their people shuttles between terminals). Everything stops while a bus is loaded and unloaded.

 

They do the same thing in boarding but, there, people arrive over the course of about 4 hrs. Here, 3000+ passengers are trying to disembark at roughly the same time.

[wg6530]

That does sound chaotic. You said the ship was 30 minutes late. Do you mean they didn't tie up until 8:30? I accustomed to ships docking early on debarkation day.

[ggo85]

We didn't tie up until around 8:30, at which time they announced that there was a "delay" of 45-60 mins. We were never told the reason but guessed it might be so that they had time to get the bags off.

 

Maybe things improved as time went on. Not sure as we got out of dodge.

 

I would note that we were late into and out of every single port. 90 minutes late departing NJ due to a "leak." 45 mins late into Bermuda. 30 mins late departing Bermuda. 45 mins late arriving Nassau and 30 mins late departing. Ditto with Coco Cay. Not sure what the problem was . . . :confused:

[Host Kewlguy]

I've cruised out of Cape Liberty many times and have never found debarkation any more difficult than any other port we've cruised out of over the years.

[Got2Cruise]

This is why experienced cruisers will recommend not cutting it too close when making transportation arrangements. 95% of the time nothing goes wrong, but there is always the chance you could be in the 5% when something causes a delay. Better safe than sorry.