can you help please?

[suesie]

We are doing our first back to back in November from Fort Lauderdale. We have guarantee cabins so don't have cabin numbers yet - I am presuming that we will keep the same cabin numbers as we have effectively booked as a 14 day cruise.

I have a few questions and wonder if you could help:

 

do we have to get off the ship? We want to and spend the day in Fort Lauderdale- presumably there won't be a problem with this? I've read what has been said about new cards so should we expect new cards and a transit card?

 

Will our accounts be closed off - or will they wait until the end of the 14 days?

 

will we have to attend the muster drill if we have done it on the first week?

 

is there anything else we should know or that would be helpful?

 

thanks very much for any help you can give

 

Susan

[sail7seas]

You will do muster drill each week.

You can leave the ship to spend the day in FLL as soon as disembarkation begins.

 

The last night of your first cruise you will receive a letter telling you breakfast and lunch times and instructions you have to leave the ship, go into the terminal, clear Immigration and cannot return until the ship 'zeros down'. What that means is that everyone who is supposed to leave has done so. You will then be permitted to reboard. In that letter, you will find an 'in transit card'. Bring that and your passports ashore with you. The in transit card will enable you to bypass the general check in and go directly to security check when you wish to reboard.

 

If you want to spend the day ashore, great. Go through Immigration check in the terminal and go on your way. For those who wish to reboard, you will have to wait until the ship is zeroed.

 

The letter will tell you to meet in a certain place at a certain time and go as a group. You do not have to do that. Many times, DH and I have gone on our own with no difficulty. We had the approval of Security Officer, Shore Ops and Immigration personnel and we are careful to pay attention to when they are calling the end of the disembarkation numbers and go then. It allows for a shorter wait ashore.

 

If you are on a Collectors vs back-to-back, you should have same cabin. If you are b-to-b, you may have to move cabins. Probably not.

 

Your account will remain open until the end of your cruise(s). I recommend asking for a print out at the end of your first segment to be sure you approve all charges. If all is in order, you will not have to do anything. You can ask for final bill at the end.

 

If you are Collectors and have Traditional Assigned Dining table, you can have the same table for your second week, if you wish.

 

Enjoy.

[canadarocks]

I don't think you will not have to attend the second week's muster drill. We've been on two B2B HAL cruises and didn't have to do so on either of them. But perhaps the rules have changed?

[Shmoo here]

I don't think you will not have to attend the second week's muster drill. We've been on two B2B HAL cruises and didn't have to do so on either of them. But perhaps the rules have changed?

 

I believe the rules changed after the Concordia wreck. They hadn't held their muster drill on that cruise yet, many of the cruisers were already on board from the previous cruise, with some people just boarding that day.

 

I read on another thread that by maritime law, cruises are supposed to hold a drill every 7 days, but, in most cases, that wasn't being followed (especally on longer or B2B cruises).

 

:)

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

The cruiselines are enforcing attending Muster Drill for each leg of cruise you might be on. Note that an elderly couple on Seaborn was just taken off the ship for refusing to attend the Muster Drill out of Lisbon (I think). They were on a B2B.

[Shmoo here]

The cruiselines are enforcing attending Muster Drill for each leg of cruise you might be on. Note that an elderly couple on Seaborn was just taken off the ship for refusing to attend the Muster Drill out of Lisbon (I think). They were on a B2B.

 

Yeah, I saw that, they were actually on the second leg of a B2B2B. He was 90 she was 84. He attended the second drill, she didn't saying she didn't feel well and "I've done it before".

 

:)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Our lifeboat drill was a joke in November.

After the Concordia accident -- HAL went back to being tough.

Yes -- everyone had to attend the second lifeboat drill on our second part of our Collector's Cruise.

There was a man put off the Westerdam in January for not attending.

If you want to spend the day in Ft Lauderdale -- you can get off the ship any time you want to once the ship has been cleared. Most who choose to do this do inform the front office that they will be getting off early and not joining the Intransit group -- it's just a nice gesture to let them know.

Just remember to take your ID card, passport and Intransit card with you.

[sail7seas]

I don't think you will not have to attend the second week's muster drill. We've been on two B2B HAL cruises and didn't have to do so on either of them. But perhaps the rules have changed?

 

 

As the others have said, since Costa Concordia event, we must attend life boat drill both segments. In the recent past, we did not have to but that changed.

 

[sail7seas]

Our lifeboat drill was a joke in November.

 

After the Concordia accident -- HAL went back to being tough.

 

Yes -- everyone had to attend the second lifeboat drill on our second part of our Collector's Cruise.

 

There was a man put off the Westerdam in January for not attending.

 

If you want to spend the day in Ft Lauderdale -- you can get off the ship any time you want to once the ship has been cleared. Most who choose to do this do inform the front office that they will be getting off early and not joining the Intransit group -- it's just a nice gesture to let them know.

 

Just remember to take your ID card, passport and Intransit card with you.

 

 

There is no need to tell the Front Office. When you scan off the ship, the records indicate you are not aboard. :)

 

They know who is aboard and who has left the ship without our telling them.

 

[serendipity1499]

I don't think you will not have to attend the second week's muster drill. We've been on two B2B HAL cruises and didn't have to do so on either of them. But perhaps the rules have changed?

 

If I remember correctly, on a Collectors cruise last Nov we had to attend Muster drill both times..

cheers..:)Betty

[canadarocks]

We didn't have to last summer... See, this is why I need to stay around here more! :o

[suesie]

Thank you very much to you all for your help.

 

Susan

[OVgirl]

We didn't have to last summer... See, this is why I need to stay around here more! :o

Yes, yes, that's why we all have to visit CC on a daily basis (or more often).:rolleyes:

We don't really have any addictive tendencies. :o:o:o;)

[Kooolmomma]

I don't think you will not have to attend the second week's muster drill. We've been on two B2B HAL cruises and didn't have to do so on either of them. But perhaps the rules have changed?

 

We were on a 30 day and then 14 day B2B in March and April. We had 2 muster drills in the 30 day and 1 on the 14 day. They are very strict about it now. We have been on other B2B and each one required a muster drill.

[Typhoon1]

It certainly won't hurt to attend two emergency drills.

[Hugh0906]

I believe the rules changed after the Concordia wreck. They hadn't held their muster drill on that cruise yet, many of the cruisers were already on board from the previous cruise, with some people just boarding that day.

 

I read on another thread that by maritime law, cruises are supposed to hold a drill every 7 days, but, in most cases, that wasn't being followed (especally on longer or B2B cruises).

 

:)

 

While they had boarded some in Rome that day, most I believe had boarded in Savonna. The ones from Rome were due to have theirs in the morning. We've been on cruises where they boarded passengers in San Juan and did the same thing. They had their muster drill the next morning.

 

If you look at the online TA's you will see some that board in two places. Barbados is a good example.

 

Hugh in Dallas