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Customs slow at Allure today

dz9yvr

By dz9yvr,
in Royal Caribbean International

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S.A.M.J.R.

S.A.M.J.R.

Posted
Posted
There were only 2 customs lines open for Allure today. Then one of the lines closed for the agent to file forms. This was at 6:45 am

What's normal? I can see cutting back on how many open lines that early based on how much traffic they anticipate.

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JayinAZ

JayinAZ

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Posted

yeah, it was rough today getting off Allure. We did the double Decker bus excursion to Miami and didn't have enough time to hit all the locations due to the customs holdup. We left studio B as a group at 8a. It took about 50 mins to get thru customs and out of the building. I think there were only 5 agents working.

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lady_cruiser

lady_cruiser

Posted
Posted (edited)

Sounds like a few Custom Agents forgot to set their alarm clocks :).

 

When we got off the Navigator in Galveston on March 9th there were only three agents working so they had us going through the "Non U.S. Citizens" line just to get us out of the terminal as quick as possible.

 

Anyway we were got out of the terminal by 7:30 AM, on the bus to the EZCruise Parking lot at 7:40 and on the ferry before 8:00 AM.

 

This was the quickest debark in Galveston we ever had. Shucks, this was our quickest one, period.

Edited by lady_cruiser
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topnole

topnole

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Posted
Sounds like a few Custom Agents forgot to set their alarm clocks :).

 

When we got off the Navigator in Galveston on March 9th there were only three agents working so they had us going through the "Non U.S. Citizens" line just to get us out of the terminal as quick as possible.

 

Anyway we were got out of the terminal by 7:30 AM, on the bus to the EZCruise Parking lot at 7:40 and on the ferry before 8:00 AM.

 

This was the quickest debark in Galveston we ever had. Shucks, this was our quickest one, period.

 

Seemed normal to us (in the last year or so). About 45-50 mins from leaving ship to our car. There were several agents working.

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tink2

tink2

Posted
Posted
There were only 2 customs lines open for Allure today. Then one of the lines closed for the agent to file forms. This was at 6:45 am

 

dz9yvr, what time did you finish? Were you leaving to catch an early flight?

Thanks for information!

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mcca2

mcca2

Posted
Posted
There were only 2 customs lines open for Allure today. Then one of the lines closed for the agent to file forms. This was at 6:45 am

 

Sounds like a few Custom Agents forgot to set their alarm clocks :).

 

When we got off the Navigator in Galveston on March 9th there were only three agents working so they had us going through the "Non U.S. Citizens" line just to get us out of the terminal as quick as possible.

 

Anyway we were got out of the terminal by 7:30 AM, on the bus to the EZCruise Parking lot at 7:40 and on the ferry before 8:00 AM.

 

This was the quickest debark in Galveston we ever had. Shucks, this was our quickest one, period.

 

 

Maybe they moved them from Fort Lauderdale to Galveston! We have been complaining about the delays there for months. :p :eek:

Sorry couldn't resist. Hope everyone made their flights.

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DJZS

DJZS

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Posted
There were only 2 customs lines open for Allure today. Then one of the lines closed for the agent to file forms. This was at 6:45 am

 

Correct, the additional agents arrive at around 9 if I recall correctly.

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dz9yvr

dz9yvr

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Yes, today was a great example of how unexpected events can slow your departure. First, RCCL system card system wasn't working properly. It seemed like 10 percent of the Seapass cards were 'invalid' and RCCL resorted to paper logs for those passengers. Then the Customs Agents decided to stage a work slowdown. Typically at 6:30 there are about 4 agents working. Today there were only 1 or 2 and sometimes only 1. I saw one of the agents stop her line and take her stack of about 25 Customs forms along with about another 25 from the other agent to the back. It was an intentional work slow down. Starting at about 6:30 it took us about 20 -25 minutes to get off the ship because of RCCL's system and another 30 -45 minutes at customs. The lines were getting much longer behind us. Security at Delta also moved at a snails pace. Today it took us about 2 hours to get to the gate instead of about 30 minutes.

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Ocean Boy

Ocean Boy

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Yes, today was a great example of how unexpected events can slow your departure. First, RCCL system card system wasn't working properly. It seemed like 10 percent of the Seapass cards were 'invalid' and RCCL resorted to paper logs for those passengers.

 

That is interesting. Last week they had issues with the computers and had no idea who was, and was not, aboard the ship returning from port calls. That was why we left Nassau 4 hrs. late. They ended up bringing the old system back on line and scanning cards twice when people were coming and going from the ship. One scan with the new system and one with the old.

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Bkkping

Bkkping

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Posted

I got off the Allure yesterday too. Customs was not the problem. RC's computers kept going off line. We waited in our cabin where we could see the gangways. Long periods of time would go by with no one leaving. When our number was finally called, we got through but my daughters card would not scan. They sent her back to guest services. She waited in a long line but they said her card was all set. While we were waiting for her, the computer system shut down again so no one could get off. We were there for 10-15 minutes...no one could get through. We finally moved on to wait for my daughter outside. They sent her back to guest services twice more before she finally got angry and they let her off without scanning her card. Many people were complaining about missing flights. No announcements were made to let us know what was going on. I can excuse the computer issues but can't excuse them not informing us so we could make other travel arrangements.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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  • 2 weeks later...
K L B

K L B

Posted
Posted
There were only 2 customs lines open for Allure today. Then one of the lines closed for the agent to file forms. This was at 6:45 am

 

I would be more than happy to wait all day long if it meant I could get on that sailing today :p

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K L B

K L B

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I'm actually sailing today, very excited. I'm not in any rush getting off next Sunday but we do have an early flight.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

super jealous!! I'm staring out my window at 3 feet of snow, wishing I could be you. Have a great cruise!

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