12 B2B passengers hold up Regal's debarkation

[Oxo]

The OP stated that loud and angry things were being said towards the passengers. We do not have things from their perspective; it is possible it was an innocent mistake by them or misdirection by a crew member. Certainly the ship would have asked their cabin stewards to check on their rooms long before this point (or called from front desk) so that's not where they were.

 

No one is a villain in their own minds, regardless of objective truth. You throw stuff at some people, they will throw it right back. Human nature, and I don't say it is wrong.

 

 

 

I doubt it will happen. CBP wants at least a physical look at all passengers even transiting. Same as airplanes. And it is possible someone might evade their scrutiny and enter the US, if, say, they got on outside the US, sat on the ship in Fort Lauderdale, and if the ship then went to another US port, say Key West, they could be gone.

 

So, if you were not there or involved, how can you have a perspective? LOL

Point is - have consideration for others. what is being said is those who were late were advised many times over the ships LOUDSPEAKERS!

[Oxo]

If they left the ship they would have cleared through immigration in the terminal, and it would be known as cruise cards and passports are scanned as you leave. Therefore, they would not be missing passengers. Princess gets reports of all passengers that cleared immigration so they can make their zero count.

As I mentioned before I do believe the process can be simplified for both the cruise lines and immigration, if the cruise industry approaches lawmakers.

 

Why are you repeating what I said? That was my exact point. Missing passenger can be identified in REAL TIME.

[Oxo]

My last post on this subject. Why do people who are not there or have experienced that specific even at that specific time, try to justify why something is done or not done? Regardless of your experience, it was different than what occurred at this time and place.

People are not considerate of others today! Look around the world and you can see what is taking place.

Political correctness is ............

[whitecap]

I fully understand what the Customs Officer responsibility is and that the ship cannot be cleared until every passenger has been accounted for.

Your statement that B2B passengers have to leave the ship or be present for customs inspection is correct. However, your assumption is incorrect in the sense that if all those passenger who were waiting in the hold area just walked off the ship instead of going to the holding area and only the few who were late did not show up until a later time, those passenger who left the ship would not have to wait.

So, my point is why hold up those who are there when you can still account for those who are still on the ship and have not cleared? No one comes on board until the ship is cleared.

They use to hold up passengers trying to get off the ship if someone did not settle their ship account. Now, they let passengers off without everyone clearing/settling their account. They get those who failed to settle their accounts when they try to get off.

 

I do understand your point: a b2b passenger can get off the ship and then wait in the terminal to re-board or report as instructed to a location on the ship and be account for, either way, you wait; the issue I think is that when 500 people are given the same sheet of instructions and 490 follow the instruction but the other 10 decide that they don't have to comply or will comply on their own time or don't follow the instructions completely, then those that did, have a legitimate complaint with their fellow cruisers.

[newcruzer2]

 

As a CONVENIENCE for B2B passengers, US Customs has agreed to work with Princess by allowing "in transit" passengers the easier transit through Princess Theater.

 

HERE'S AN IDEA: Let's say the meeting time is 10am. Then giving a 15 minute grace period, if a transit passenger arrives after, say 10:15am, then do NOT allow then to participate in the transit program. Instead REQUIRE them at that point to disembark, clear customs, and check-in again as a just arriving passenger

 

AWESOME IDEA :) I want to live in a world were people are held Accountable for their actions !! If your late and the ship sails without you there are consequences, and there defiantly should be something like this idea put into place before the 'bad Ruin it for all the good people'

[WISH84]

The female who decided to arrive late and upon being booed gave the crowd the finger simply showed how she didn't care to follow instructions or have any consideration for others;

 

As for the lady who was the last to arrive in the theater, Elaine, did exactly as the OP stated which held up the procedure.

 

WOW. I wonder if either of these ladies were the same person yelling at the handicapped gentleman to sit down while he tried to find a seat. Amazing how people develop a total lack of humanity. The word "entitlement" doesn't even begin to describe these people.

[Essiesmom]

I was on a Celebrity B2B with turnaround in San Juan. There were more than 100 of us and we waited in Michael's club for some who never arrived...They finally led us off into the terminal, checked us out, but we still had to wait for some. they kept going around asking if we were so and so...After an hour (no chairs) they finally brought water... After at leas an hour and a half, they finally let us reboard, even though one person was still missing. I am assuming that no new passengers were allowed aboard until then. That even, one of my table mates said that he was at Guest Services when a woman came to the desk and wanted to know why her cabin door was all taped up with yellow tape. Unfortunately, he didn't stay to eavesdrop on her reason for never showing...For all the ship knew, she might have gone overboard during the night, so her cabin was taped up as a crime scene...EM

[whitecap]

WOW. I wonder if either of these ladies were the same person yelling at the handicapped gentleman to sit down while he tried to find a seat. Amazing how people develop a total lack of humanity. The word "entitlement" doesn't even begin to describe these people.

 

Agree! A little off topic: sitting in the Princess Theater one night on this same trip, there was an elderly couple seated near us; later another elderly couple sat in the seats behind them and eventually the two couples began talking; the conversation turned to their "Elite" status and then to who had done more cruises, who had cruised to Europe more and so on; the first elderly couple began to get frustrated with trying to "outdo" the other couple and not succeeding, that they got up and moved to other seats. :D All we could do was sit there and laugh. :)

[geoherb]

We experienced a couple of latecomers (mother and daughter) on our first b2b cruise turnaround. At that time, we met at the Wheelhouse Bar. We listened over and over to the announcements for them. Finally, a Princess rep led us off the ship. Once we had shown our passports, we had to wait off the ship until the two finally showed up.

 

I like the idea of kicking them off the ship and making them go through the regular embarkation process to get back on. The Immigration officials may eventually decide to do this for all passengers if they keep getting held up by inconsiderate ones who don't show up on time.

 

The last time we were on b2b cruises, I brought along my portable Scrabble game so we would have something to do while waiting. That one went off without a hitch, so we did not have a chance to play.

[moki'smommy]

There are always rude people in the world who can't be bothered to follow the rules. I love the suggestion of locking the doors and making late comers disembark.

 

We did an excursion to Florence that included "on your own" time. Before the group split up the guide took us to the meeting point, right outside a store on a main square. We were told that the store had agreed that we could use their facilities all day at no charge, and the guide confirmed at least twice what the current time was and what the meeting time was.

 

You got it--45 people were there and one was not. We waited for an hour while the guide repeatedly called her company for instructions and the man's wife wailed about not leaving him. We were told that they had left people in the past but only when the company had a later tour departing with a space on their bus...so we stood in the heat with nothing to drink, etc. while we waited for this oaf. But then, I'm that person who enjoys watching the gangway as the ship sails off when "that person" is hysterically running. At least they bore the results of their lateness.

[Geoffa30]

We were on the same cruises B2B. Luckily we had taken a Princess tour on the changeover day so thankfully avoided all this. I would have been livid.

[Off2China]

Experienced the same thing on Emerald Caribbean cruise in November. The theater was full with people just waiting patiently (mostly) to get back to their cabins or wherever. One couple--Sheila E. and her companion, from Aloha Deck--were the last to arrive, probably an hour or so late. They were loudly booed when they finally walked in and were escorted to their seats. I truly hope they were the last ones to be cleared. :mad:

 

Coincidentally, Sheila E. from Aloha Deck was also paged many times the day before turnaround day and told to contact Guest Services immediately. Apparently she didn't learn anything from that experience.

[RocketMan275]

Fully concur with your assessment. Why couldn't customs/immigration clear each passenger individually, rather than waiting for the entire group to be together in the Theater?

Since we could all get off the ship individually, what difference would it have made had they individually check these passenger as they entered the Theater?

They still would have known who did not clear or got off the ship.

 

Customs could certainly clear each passenger individually. That isn't the issue. The crew was trying to locate those 12 other passengers who were somewhere on the ship. Now how would they do that if there were a large number of cleared passengers wandering the ship?

 

Think about this. Suppose customs had cleared those 500 passengers in the theater and let them leave. Now you would have 500 passengers wandering around the ship who had cleared customs and another 12 who had not. How would the crew know which is which? Sure, they could stop and ask for customs forms or check them against a data base. How long would that take? How many times would a passenger have to "show his papers"?

 

Now think about this. If the passengers are confined to the theater until all are present and cleared, then any non-crew found on the ship can be escorted off the ship or to the theater.

 

Princess kept the passengers in the theater in order to greatly facilitate the customs process and minimize the time required.

[AKman2495]

Now, I'm really glad on our last B2B in FLL we got off and went on a tour.

 

We got back, breezed back onto the ship and went from there...No muss, no fuss...

[WISH84]

We are looking at extending our one week cruise next year on the Regal to a two week, B2B.

 

So with what I'm reading, we have the choice to either disembark the ship and enjoy Fort Lauderdale for the day OR we can stay on the ship.

 

If we decide to get off the ship, do we just go through the boarding area and show them our Cruise Card to get back on, similar to what you would do if we were in some other port?

 

Thanks.

[RDC1]

Yes, this is the common way. However, if these passengers had left the ship and just walked off instead of going to the 'in transit' area, what would have been the difference? You would not have to wait on someone who could care less or made an honest error. So, your logic is not correct!

 

He is correct. If they had walked off then they would have cleared immigration/customs at that point and would have been accounted for. The ship cannot board new passengers or in transit passengers until all have cleared.

 

On the Royal last year the in transit passengers that did not go off of the ship with the group disembarking or excursions, had to wait in the theater, then were taken off in one group, then held in line, until the last one cleared immigration/customs and the ship showed that all passengers had cleared. Only then was the group allowed back onto the ship, followed by the start of new passenger embarkation. Anyone not showing up on time delayed the entire process.

[floridalover5623]

It's happened to us a number of times so I just figure it's a good day to go shopping in Ft Lauderdale rather then put up with the waiting.

[Zooguy]

This same thing happened to us on the Emerald last month.six people were late for customs in the Princess Theatre. An announcement was made that we had to wait fir them. They were paged several times. Finally they showed up with smiles on their faces. They were booded by the crowd and a ship rep told them they were tying everybody up. One of them came without her passport and ship card. She was sent back to her cabin to retrieve them. Again, we all had to wait. She finally returned to more boos by the crowd. As far as I could see, she couldn't care less.

Finally we got to see the customs agent.

[rbt001]

Now, I'm really glad on our last B2B in FLL we got off and went on a tour.

 

 

Ummm, as much as Princess may have tried... they STILL haven't been able to dock their ships at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport, also known as FLL. When in Fort Lauderdale, Princess docks at PEV, Port Everglades.

 

So with what I'm reading, we have the choice to either disembark the ship and enjoy Fort Lauderdale for the day OR we can stay on the ship.

 

If we decide to get off the ship, do we just go through the boarding area and show them our Cruise Card to get back on, similar to what you would do if we were in some other port?

 

Thanks.

 

Not exactly like any other port. When you disembark, having your cruise card scanned to drop you from the count, you will then enter the port, walk past people retrieving their luggage, and head into the US Customs area with your completed declarations form to show to the agent with your passport. Then you're on your own. When you return to the terminal, you will need to pass through security screening and wait to board when the boarding process begins, like you're embarking for the first time.

[Mom33]

We were on this cruise and we too had to wait in the theater for the late comers.

We were appalled at the overall behavior of the late comers and the crowd that was waiting. Society really looks sick when you witness this behavior out of "grown ups".

[Off2China]

This same thing happened to us on the Emerald last month.six people were late for customs in the Princess Theatre. An announcement was made that we had to wait fir them. They were paged several times. Finally they showed up with smiles on their faces. They were booded by the crowd and a ship rep told them they were tying everybody up. One of them came without her passport and ship card. She was sent back to her cabin to retrieve them. Again, we all had to wait. She finally returned to more boos by the crowd. As far as I could see, she couldn't care less.

Finally we got to see the customs agent.

 

Maybe it was Sheila E. from Aloha Deck (see my post #37). :D

[Oxo]

When you return to the terminal, you will need to pass through security screening and wait to board when the boarding process begins, like you're embarking for the first time.

 

Not the way it worked when we were on last week. You do not have to wait to board when the boarding process begins. You receive an In-Transit card that allows you to enter via another door for crew and In-Transit (B2B) passengers. Then you board right then and there bypassing the wait to board when the boarding process begins. You must still pass through security screening.

[Oxo]

Customs could certainly clear each passenger individually. That isn't the issue. The crew was trying to locate those 12 other passengers who were somewhere on the ship. Now how would they do that if there were a large number of cleared passengers wandering the ship?

 

Think about this. Suppose customs had cleared those 500 passengers in the theater and let them leave. Now you would have 500 passengers wandering around the ship who had cleared customs and another 12 who had not. How would the crew know which is which? Sure, they could stop and ask for customs forms or check them against a data base. How long would that take? How many times would a passenger have to "show his papers"?

 

Now think about this. If the passengers are confined to the theater until all are present and cleared, then any non-crew found on the ship can be escorted off the ship or to the theater.

 

Princess kept the passengers in the theater in order to greatly facilitate the customs process and minimize the time required.

 

OMG! Are you serious? Do you really think that the crew would walk around or ask people if they are the passengers that did not clear? I hope they do not take your assumption and try your method of determining who is on or off the ship. LOL

[floridalover5623]

Give them a leeway of 15 minutes & after that fine them at $5 per minute.

[RocketMan275]

OMG! Are you serious? Do you really think that the crew would walk around or ask people if they are the passengers that did not clear? I hope they do not take your assumption and try your method of determining who is on or off the ship. LOL

 

It's not an assumption. It's the only way you can corral a non-complying passenger. How do you think the crew found those missing passengers? If they weren't off the ship, then they should have been in the theater. Any non-crew were simply escorted to the theater.

 

The alternative would be delaying boarding (and keeping the others in the theater) until the non-complying passengers decided to show up and it's not certain that they every would have.