Embarkation Nightmare!

[PhoenixCruiser]

This was the OP's first cruise. I'm sure they had no idea what to think, having nothing to compare it to, so asking about possible compensation for this inconvenience is probably because of their lack of cruising experience.

 

MTS

 

According to her other posts, this was not her first cruise, it was her first cruise with RCI.

 

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[cruzelovr]

For those people who said about the airlines not giving out anything for having to wait...

 

Last year I was on a flight to New Orleans out of Detroit. There were plane problems and we had to wait for 2 1/2 hours before we were allowed to get back on and get going. I didn't ask for anything, and we weren't given anything. Until 2 weeks later in the mail I received a letter stating that the airline (Northwest) was giving me 2000 bonus frequent flier miles for my trouble.

 

It was no trouble to me, I just read my book and hoped to get up and down safely, and while they didn't have to compensate me for anything I was glad they did.

 

So if airlines can give you a little something for a delay, why couldn't a cruiseline. That is not too far-fetched an idea...

 

Just my 2 cents...

[reggierail]

Do you think you would be entitled to compensation if you had to wait 2 hours to board an airplane? Joe V.

 

 

 

Well, of course, how about an extra bag of stale pretzels and a whole can of coke.:rolleyes:

 

Reggie:D

[AmuseMe]

Thanks all for answering my questions. I have been on

several other cruises on different cruise lines. I only had

about an 1/2 wait on all of those. I wasn't mentally prepared for that long of a wait. Too excited about getting on that beautiful ship! Next cruise I'll be more prepared to wait! And was so glad that it was a cool day and not "Africa"

hot!

[camarogeorge]

I was also on this cruise on Navigator last week. We were told that the immigration process was very slow on the passengers getting off on 3/5 and that the final group left at 2pm!! We did the pre-cruise hotel stay. We left the hotel around the corner from the docks at 11:45 and waited in line until 3:15. We arrived at our stateroom at almost 3:30.

 

However, this is our 4th cruise on a Voyager class ship and the wait was very unusual. We usually get on within an hour of arrival.

 

We still booked 2 more weeks on Navigator for next January! :cool:

[bevo]

Amuse me- You took all those strong opinions rather well! I do NOT think compensation is in order...b/c sometimes these things just happen...but I do not think you were wrong to ASK for everyones opinion! (And boy, did they give it to you! ;))

Next time PLAN for the same thing to happen, then you will pleasantly surprised when it goes smoothly...which it probably will! Snags happen on ALL cruiselines, I think, at one time or another. You were just unlucky this time. :(

Glad you enjoyed the REST of the cruise!

[Ella2]

I had a really nasty long wait on Princess last December, and that was WITH "priority embarkation" for suites. :rolleyes: It took about two hours from the time we stepped in line outside the terminal until we were on the ship.

 

I'm not sure why it took so long; it just seemed like they didn't have a very efficient embarkation processs (this was in Fort Lauderdale for the Caribbean Princess). We went from line to line to line for various parts of the process. Honestly, it was not the nicest way to start a cruise, but such is life. We lived with it. :)

 

I have high hopes for the Mariner in August; I already know Port Canaveral is an easier port to deal with....guess we'll see.

[Fury1995]

Yeeesh! This morning I had to get gas. The line inside was so long, people were buying money orders, cigarettes, lottery tickets and only one cashier. I was there an extra 10 minutes and late for work. Does the gas station/convenience store owe me compensation? After all, it took twice as long as usual.

[SCOOP]

Can I get any compensation for reading this particular post:)

scoop

[PhoenixCruiser]

Thanks all for answering my questions. I have been on

several other cruises on different cruise lines. I only had

about an 1/2 wait on all of those. I wasn't mentally prepared for that long of a wait.

 

Just wanted to apologize for our fellow posters who feel they still need to give you their opinion...

 

Sure do wish that posters would read the ENTIRE thread before posting. :mad:

 

Now start planning your next cruise :D :D

 

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[bevo]

THe lady just asked a question, nicely, I might add !

Lets answer her nicely in return. And I think enough of us have answered. I think she gets the message;)

[hstrybuf]

The OP's experience was similar to ours when boarding the Navigator in October, although we weren't redirected to a different place to board. This was right before the Presidential elections and security was tight. I think we waited at least two hours to get aboard the ship and watched as the last group slowly left the ship. All in all though, we didn't care once we were aboard. We neither expected nor asked for compensation, but we DID have a wonderful cruise! :)

[MTS]

According to her other posts, this was not her first cruise, it was her first cruise with RCI.

 

###

 

 

Okay, my bad. It still would be nice if people didn't have to be so sarcastic and condescending in their replies. Just my ever so humble opinion.

 

MTS

[elleluv]

Just read almost any thread on this board about "what time to get to the port" and the general consensus is always "get there early.. we were on the ship having lunch by 12:00".

While that may more often than not be the case, that certainly isn't a given. Our tickets for a 5:00 departure indicated to be there "no earlier than 2:00". Now, I'm not saying that we shouldn't be there before 2:00 (we got to the port at noon for our recent sailing). I do think, however, if we get there before the time RCCL tells us to be there, we are there at our own risk of waiting. I personally, am ready and physically able to wait. Not everyone is though, and those people probably shouldn't get there early.

I do think that we've probably created the impression on these boards with a lot of new cruisers (or new to RCCL cruisers) that it is reasonable to expect to get right on board at 11 or 12:00.

My appologies to the OP if that's what happened in your case.

[Merion_Mom]

SOME companies really care about bad things happening to you.

 

In our recent crisis, I booked JetBlue to take us to West Palm Beach, when USAir pooped out on getting us to Fort Lauderdale. (that's when we were going to rent a car and drive down to Key West and get on the Jewel there, until RC told us that we COULD NOT do that.)

 

Not only did JetBlue let us cancel those last minute tickets without ANY penalty, the next day in the email, I received 3 $25 vouchers from JetBlue, by way of telling us how bad they felt about us missing our cruise! And THEY had done NOTHING to make us miss our cruise.

 

There ARE "good guys" out there.

 

Carol

[AmuseMe]

Geeezz, it really was just a "question". Not an expectation. Once again, thank you for your answers and your support

on the boards.

[nrdsb4]

If you ask a question on a widely read message forum, you should be prepared to hear many different answers to the question. Not all the answers you get will be what you would like to receive, and some will not be written in a tone that is warm and fuzzy, but nevertheless, a request for opinions will get just that. Some responses here have been worded a little strongly, but none were really horrible in my opinion. Guess the point is: don't ask the question if you can't handle the answer!

 

I'm not directing that to the OP. He/she handled the responses pretty well and didn't attempt to censor people, unlike some.

 

I agree with the poster who said that if you arrive at the ship earlier than the cruise line's stated hour, you really can't be upset with the cruise line for the wait. You might get lucky and get on quickly, but one should not look for a guarantee of it. No compensation deserved in my opinion.

 

Embarkation has always been a pain in my experience, save for my last cruise. I just expect it and always reward myself with a glass of champagne when it's over with.

[Cruising89143]

I was on the Navigator back in December and Embarkation was a fiasco. The port of Miami is/was a test for Immigration. All passengers debarking the vessels had to clear Immigration. When we debarked the ship there were six desks set up. All non US citizens had to be photographed and fingerprinted. This held up the line. All US citizens had to show proper ID's to clear. When you have a ship with over 3000 passengers and only six agents doing the job it can take a while. The day that we boarded the ship, it did not clear until 12:30. Boarding started shortly after.

[setsail]

If you are handicaped or have some difficulty like the op stated you need to talk to an Rccl offical there. They will take care of you. They will usually board these first along with suites and diamond members.

[lmmn]

I just sailed on The Navigator of The Seas 3/5 sailing. First time with RCI. When we arrived in Miami and parked, we approached a main entrance for boarding. A Gentleman informed us that this entrance was boarding a special Junior League Group only. We were then directed to an entrance further down. The same entrance being used for the Voyager. Each ship holds over 3000 people! :( We were stuck in line for over 2 hrs. to board!! This was so hard for my 80 yr. old Mother and Stepfather 85 yrs. to stand for so long.(and ME!) Fortunately, they are in good shape. The ship left late out of port, also. They said due to

some late flights?

 

:)We loved the Cruise and the Ship. The staff was excellent!! :confused: But this process questions me about sailing again with RCI. Is this a really unusual experience? Or does this happen often for RCI? Should we have been

compensated somehow?

 

It is not all that unusual to have to wait in long lines for embarkation. However, I can see your disappointment when traveling with elderly. You should have been offered wheelchairs or an area where your mother and stepfather could be seated. Out of the seven cruises I've been on, embarkation has been smooth for four....a very long wait for three. One reason unknown, one the security machines were not working properly and another was a power outage.

[bevo]

I'm not directing that to the OP. He/she handled the responses pretty well and didn't attempt to censor people, unlike some.

 

Well, IF it was directed at me, then I will say that I am not attempting to "censor" anyone. I was just saying that it seemed several people got rather upset that she would even "ASK" such an absurd question. I think there is a way to state your opinion and still be friendly. That is all I was saying. Don't make people feel bad when they ask questions...no matter how ridiculous YOU think the question is. YOU may even ask one some day and there is no need for anyone to make you feel inferior for asking.

HUGS.

[nrdsb4]

I'm not directing that to the OP. He/she handled the responses pretty well and didn't attempt to censor people, unlike some.

 

Well, IF it was directed at me, then I will say that I am not attempting to "censor" anyone. I was just saying that it seemed several people got rather upset that she would even "ASK" such an absurd question. I think there is a way to state your opinion and still be friendly. That is all I was saying. Don't make people feel bad when they ask questions...no matter how ridiculous YOU think the question is. YOU may even ask one some day and there is no need for anyone to make you feel inferior for asking.

HUGS.

 

No, not directing anything at you. I would never criticize anyone named Bevo (I went to UT, that's our mascot:D ). Some consider a differing opinion a flame or disrespectful, and that's just not so.

 

I don't worry about asking questions on this forum. No one on an anonymous message board could ever make me feel inferior. I wouldn't extend that kind of power to a total stranger. I personally try to always be respectful even when disagreeing with someone. But I do recognize that other people have different styles of writing, and some are quite blunt. MOST are not rude, even those that state their opinions strongly. As stated, if I did ask a question such as the OP's, I would be ready for just about anything.

[bevo]

ok nrdsb4...i gotcha.

Now, tell me about this mascot called BEVO??????????

And tell me about your screen name....NRDSB4....did you sell Windows to Bill Gates or something??? OR>>>>>>>>>>> maybe YOU are Bill Gates!!!! ;)

[nrdsb4]

That big ole longhorn steer you see at the University of Texas at Austin football games is named Bevo! Now that I think of it, I don't really know the story behind the name, but I'm sure there is one.

 

My screen name is simply my old sign on name at work that was actually assigned to me by the company. The fewer things I have to try to remember, the better! I wish I could say I had any relation at all to Bill Gates!

[KJHorton]

One time we got to the Explorer about 10 am. I think due to customs issues they didn't start boarding that day until about 1:30. The entire terminal was filled with people sitting everywhere. We had little passes that told us which wave we could board the ship (like SW Airlines). Met lots of people and just went with the flow. I never even thought of asking for compensation.