Carnival Valor Long Lines and Long Waits

[Cruising89143]

BTW to poster...

 

 

When the cruise is over...it is over....very rude but snaps reality back when they{CREW} practically snap the tablecloth out from under 8 people at breakfast....they got their tips, screw us,now an attitude. Not pleased with that...:confused:

 

Try self disembark next time...a real P. I.T. A but in the long run, you're outta there....Just did it on Conquest,,,we were at the hotel { p/u car} and on our way back to Houston @ 9:33am.:D The new bonus guests only got off 15 mins b4 us...big deal....missed them at hotel by exacty 5 minutes.

 

Its always a witch embarking/disembarking...make your life easier by leaning the tricks.

 

 

The Capers say nothing anymore about self disembark....they used to. Just do not put baggage out...carry it yourself.... We got off, handed our declaration in, and poof !!! We were outtie.........Ahead of 3000 people looking for their bags.:rolleyes:

 

Just from reading what you wrote above it sounds like you didn't have to go through the lines once off of the ship to with the immigration officer to present your passport or other ID. Is that correct?

[big_duck]

OK, now I'm confused. Do they not do Immigration clearance onboard anymore?

[christhree]

Normally they sure did do customs onboard, but in May on Conquest, they wait for clearance, then you could just get off....you handed your declaration card to the people out where baggage is...that was it. We were pleasantly surprised.....

[RCGREENE]

I just got off Valor on Sunday (29th) and we did the self assist. It was a pain dragging our luggage but we were off the ship by 8:30 and out of the terminal by 9:20. I didn't experience the air conditioning problem like everyone keeps talking about. I think by that point, I was starting to get use to the humidity and heat. It was very humid and hot on every island. We actually waited longer for the Alamo shuttle than we did getting off the ship. We probably only waited 20 minutes in line for immigration in St Thomas. Actually, I had a wonderful time and experienced nothing but great service from everyone at Carnival. The only complaint I had was about guests on the ship. I met a few that weren't the nicest and complained non-stop. I even heard one woman shouting at the people at Carnival. At that point, we were only on the ship for maybe 10 minutes. It became our joke with a couple that we met that if we weren't completely happy that we would start screaming. We go to Disneyland every other year as a tradition so lines wouldn't make or break our trip. I'll post my entire review later. I was so worried about our trip because of bad reviews. It ended up being one of the best vacations ever.

[OC Mom]

Ok, so here's what I'll do.... wear cool clothes for embark and debark in case the AC is out and kick back on the deck until they kick me off instead of rushing to get off the ship and stand in line.:D

[Cruising89143]

Normally they sure did do customs onboard, but in May on Conquest, they wait for clearance, then you could just get off....you handed your declaration card to the people out where baggage is...that was it. We were pleasantly surprised.....

 

Looks like they haven't implemented the new system in NOLA. Miami was the test market starting October 04 and it was in place three weeks ago in Pt. Canaveral. They no longer bring customs on board the ship. Passengers now line up in the terminal after debarking the ship and a customs person will direct you to an available agent. At that time you present your customs declaration card along with passport, photo id, etc. The problem with the system is that they do not separate U.S citizens from non U.S citizens who have to be photograhed and fingerprinted now. This is what can hold up the line.

 

If your ship is mainly passengers from the US then it should clear faster but they have only had six agents on duty to do this on my last two cruises. Divide 6 agents by 3000 guests and it can take a while for the ship to clear. Add to that the passengers who wait until they are at the counter to start looking for their documents needed. Now you can see why it can take so long. The cruise lines are at the mercy of the government. They can yell and scream all they want but the officials are going to do it at their own pace.

[Artemus]

I was also on the May 22-29 Carnival Valor cruise and Disembarkation was indeed a disaster. We barely made our 2 o'clock flight from Miami. We would not have made it if not for help of a great porter in the Cruise Terminal. We could not take the self assist Disembarkation due to my elderly parents in-law and lots of luggage. We will definitely consider another cruise line next time we cruise.

[Cruising89143]

I was also on the May 22-29 Carnival Valor cruise and Disembarkation was indeed a disaster. We barely made our 2 o'clock flight from Miami. We would not have made it if not for help of a great porter in the Cruise Terminal. We could not take the self assist Disembarkation due to my elderly parents in-law and lots of luggage. We will definitely consider another cruise line next time we cruise.

 

It is not the cruise line. I had the same thing happen to me last December in Miami on RCI. Here is the reason that it is taking longer to clear the ships. How hard is this for people to understand.

 

http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/content_multi_image/content_multi_image_0006.xml

 

There are all kinds of links here on the Homeland Security website that has the FAQ's. It also shows what airports and marine ports that the new system is being rolled out to. It's going to take as long as it takes. You can't hurry our government.

 

Here is just a piece from that site. If you take the time to read more of the links provided on the site it explains how the system works.

 

What is the process for visitors with visas exiting the United States?

 

On January 5, 2004, US-VISIT began a pilot test of departure confirmation systems, using automated exit stations at Baltimore-Washington International Airport and Miami International Cruise Line Terminal. When leaving the country from these two ports, visitors with visas check out at an exit station located within the secure area of the airport or seaport. Here, visitors with visas scan their travel documents and repeat the digital fingerscanning process on the inkless device. If additional assistance is needed, a US-VISIT exit attendant is available to assist with the fingerscanning and document scanning process.

 

The exit pilot program expanded to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport in August 2004 and will be further expanded to the following airports and seaports by November 2004:

 

• Atlanta, Georgia (William B. Hartsfield International Airport)
  
• Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas (Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport)
  
• Denver, Colorado (Denver International Airport)
  
• Detroit, Michigan (Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport)
  
• Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport)
  
• Newark, New Jersey (Newark International Airport)
  
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia International Airport)
  
• Phoenix, Arizona (Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport)
  
• San Francisco, California (San Francisco International Airport)
  
• San Juan, Puerto Rico (Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport)
  
• Seattle, Washington (Seattle/Tacoma International Airport)
  
• Los Angeles, California (San Pedro and Long Beach Seaports)
  

[Krittie67]

To My Fellow Carnival Passengers,

 

I just returned from the May 22 Sailing of the Valor and thought I should warn you about several unpleasant items:

 

1. Embarkation at Miami Pier - DISASTER - Be prepared to wait in at least two different long and snaking lines to check in with thousands of other passengers in an old building that has air conditioning that does not work properly! It took me approximately 1.5 hours to process from start to finish and was sweating the entire time. Carnival advises passengers to pre-register online and use the Fun Pass to save time in Embarkation...there was no Fun Pass Line.

 

2. St Thomas - Valor will dock before 9AM but you will not be allowed off of the ship until after 11AM. Since Valor arrives in USVI from the Bahamas which is a foreign country, US law requires all passengers to meet with US Customs/Immigration personnel prior to being allowed to Disembark...at least this process takes place in the cool comfort of lounges onboard Valor. Maybe Carnival should sail directly from Miami to St. Thomas to avoid this hassle

 

3. Disembarkation at Miami Pier - DISASTER - well, one week later, Carnival still had no air conditioning in their facility at the port of Miami. The Cruise Director advises that everyone should be off the ship and on their way by 10AM on Sunday. Well, yes we were all off of the Valor by 10AM (I was off by 930) but we were not on our way. Almost 3,000 of us merely relocated from sitting around on Valor to standing in never ending lines in the hot Carnival Terminal. You see, all passengers were waiting to be interviewed by US Customs/Immigration prior to going to the baggage claim area. And for some reason, the Federal Government had provided approximately 6 uniformed agents to interview approximately 2,800 passengers in a building with air conditioning that does not work!

 

Let me go on record by saying that the Valor is a fine ship and the captain and his crew all work very hard to keep the passengers happy and the ship in good working order. However, Carnival Corp. should be ashamed to put the passengers through these horrible lines in conditions that I describe as horrible. I have sailed with Carnival, Royal Carribean and Norwegian on large vessels and have never had such an unpleasant experience. I think the president of Carnival should try embarkation and disembarkation with his paying passengers and see if he thinks it is a "fun experience" like the cruise!

 

I was on the Victory on 5/22 had no problems getting off - not a sole was check I guess the US Customs were all at the Valor. Did speak to a women onthe plane who also was on the Valor - said there were lots of problems especially when it cam to disembarkment - no color coded tags just let everyone off - Customs must have been looking for something..

Sorry to hear about the problems - I think Carnival will be hearing from some disgruntled custmers!

[Mark]

I disagree with the statement that the cruise lines are at the mercy of the government agencies and can do nothing about it. Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian are major companies that employ many Americans and provide revenues to many parts of the US, especically the state of Florida. As such, companies like these cruise lines have far better access to elected local, state and yes federal officials to discuss their needs and problems. With all elected officials concerned about tax revenues and unemployment when running for re-election, you can bet that the cruise lines do have some clout...far more than if you or I complained to government officials about these problems. The question is - why aren't these cruise lines all joining together in a mutual effort to lobby the government officials to fix the problems and reduce the time and lines?

 

I have always loved going on cruises and have been on a total of 22 with a mix of Carnival, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean and have to admit that the hours spent getting on and off a ship along with the lines at the airports will have a negative impact on my decision to take another cruise. Vacations are supposed to be fun and enjoyable from start to finish since most of us can only afford one a year and need to get the most out of it.

 

So, RCI, Carnival and NCL if you are reading these postings, have your presidents get out of their offices and go to Washington!

[big_duck]

The problem with the system is that they do not separate U.S citizens from non U.S citizens who have to be photograhed and fingerprinted now. This is what can hold up the line.

 

All non-US or just those residing/teminating their travel in the US? This could be a pain.

 

As for Government influence by the cruise companies, I thought that part of the purpose of creating a seperate Department of Homeland Security was to have a Gov't body independant from influence responsible for keeping the bad guys out?

[losuds63]

Dade county alone has many more problems then just the piers they can start with getting more money in schools and paying teachers more money bet they dont care about that either so why should this even be an issue

 

 

 

 

valor 7/30/05