Disembarkation in Miami: "C'MON MAN !"

[wristband]

Torsboy, more passenger reviews are posted of Riviera Nov - Dec. You & others might check the new reviews out as so many voiced similar thoughts as yours.

 

I also wrote directly to O management after Dec. 2nd along with submitting the cruise survey with our negative assessments. Both submissions had our cabin & name printed. Today, nearly 1 month later, nothing from O by email/mail. No response to our detailed negative comments. We expressly stated NO compensation needed! Silence.

 

On the other hand, we emailed positive & negative assessments of our experience to our Barcelona hotel, two Barca restaurants & a private guide. All four promptly wrote us to acknowledge our comments.

 

Paulchili - you are absolutely correct to say the boorish behavior on display in Miami is to be blamed solely on the rude jerks. But O management can and must do a far better job overseeing the disembarkation process for all concerned. Getting off in Miami is the last impression one has of Oceania, so why does that have to paint such a poor picture?

 

All pax must vacate their cabins by 8 and get off the ship by 9. Fine, that's the rules. So why can't O manage this simple process in an orderly and adult manner? Ship tours meet in the Theater, tour participants are given a number indicating which tender they will be on and then all are called to the tender station in numerical order.

 

The only adult staff I saw at the exit door in Miami is a harried security guard swiping ID cards as the crowd surged on the way out. Perhaps, as suggested, segregating pax in separate areas of the ship (theater, casino, horizons) with a group number, then calling each numbered group forward to line up in a roped stanchion area. Management reps can easily check each color/number before a person may enter the stanchioned line. Airlines routine handle boarding by sectional number with minimal stress and they do so in a prompt and efficient manner.

 

Why can't Oceania manage to handle such a simple process in a professional manner? Obviously, there are unruly and unpleasant guests. But the procedure needs on site supervision and adult direction in the lobby area and atrium BEFORE anyone can force themselves to the front of the line at the exit/security station. Otherwise, chaos and bruised feelings (not to mention the cane I had jabbed in my foot by an elderly gent intent on getting through that darn door asap!).

[Paulchili]

Paulchili - you are absolutely correct to say the boorish behavior on display in Miami is to be blamed solely on the rude jerks. But O management can and must do a far better job overseeing the disembarkation process for all concerned. Getting off in Miami is the last impression one has of Oceania, so why does that have to paint such a poor picture?

 

All pax must vacate their cabins by 8 and get off the ship by 9. Fine, that's the rules. So why can't O manage this simple process in an orderly and adult manner? Ship tours meet in the Theater, tour participants are given a number indicating which tender they will be on and then all are called to the tender station in numerical order.

 

 

These are all legitimate points and possible solutions.

However, I have disembarked Oceania ships on ALL continents but Antarctica.

I have never encountered any significant problems disembarking Oceania ships (large & small) other than in Miami - both in person and on several threads on this subject.

The "tender ticket" solution sounds good but not very practical on disembarkation with all the luggage. Can adults not be expected to behave like grown ups and follow simple color tag directions; must they be handled like kindergarten children that are lead by their hands by the staff? Is it always someone else's responsibility and fault but their own?

Is it really necessary for Oceania to create a disembarkation protocol for Miami and Miami alone? Why is it that people can manage this reasonably well everywhere else but not in Miami?

If someone has the answer to this, please let me know :)

Edited December 28, 2015 by Paulchili

[RedneckBob]

 

No, Celebrity does this for the whole ship. At least they did the last time I was on one a year ago. It is a silent disembarkation. If you're not in your assigned area then you have no idea when your color is called. They turn people back if their color hasn't been called yet. It does tend to keep the crowds back around the gangway.

 

I have yet to be on a fun disembarkation, but one of the worst ever was Insignia at San Juan. What a mess.

 

We just come off Celebrity on 11/29/15. It was a silent disembarkation at Port Everglades. You had to meet in a certain place like a restaurant, theater or bar to know when to disembark. When we were notified to leave and proceeded to the gangway there were no lines, just a few people getting off the ship

[RedneckBob]

Torsboy, more passenger reviews are posted of Riviera Nov - Dec. You & others might check the new reviews out as so many voiced similar thoughts as yours.

 

I also wrote directly to O management after Dec. 2nd along with submitting the cruise survey with our negative assessments. Both submissions had our cabin & name printed. Today, nearly 1 month later, nothing from O by email/mail. No response to our detailed negative comments. We expressly stated NO compensation needed! Silence.

 

.

 

Don't hold your breath ! I have written Oceania four times during the past 2-1/2 years with NO REPLY.

 

Since I am the OP, I think I will make a copy of this thread and send it to Oceania. Maybe they will understand this problem.

[pinotlover]

A couple of reasons why Miami is a problem:

 

1. I have been surprised, in the past, with all the fellow cruisers that lived within 75 miles of Miami and that were being picked up at the dock and didn't want to keep XYZ waiting. To often their attitudes have been " I will gladly run over you with my walker to keep my sil from waiting an extra minute.

 

2. For those passengers using Oceania Air I have often questioned why O books them on flights so early. They know they create a zoo by doing so.

 

3. Both Seattle and Miami appear to have a problem with a shortage of taxis, especially when there are multiple ships disembarking on the same day. I have seen taxi waits up to 3+ hours in Seattle, with people missing flights because of it. Miami is not much better. People may be further ahead to pay for O's expensive transfer than to play the catch a taxi game in either of these two cities. Is the real fight to get off the ship or to get into the taxi que?

[Travelcat2]

If anyone has been that close to the chaos at the gangway before disembarkation starts, to know the problem, they are part of the problem.

 

Agree to a point...... however, when your color is called and you try to get to the gangway but are blocked by dozens of people, it isn't the problem of the person trying to get off of the ship at the right time. The OP described our experience the last time we sailed on the Riviera perfectly.

 

While I seldom suggest that Oceania handle things the way Regent does (or visa versa), they could take a lesson from Regent on this. Regent's disembarkation isn't perfect but it is a heck of lot better than what we have experienced on the Riviera.

[RedneckBob]

Agree to a point...... however, when your color is called and you try to get to the gangway but are blocked by dozens of people, it isn't the problem of the person trying to get off of the ship at the right time. The OP described our experience the last time we sailed on the Riviera perfectly.

 

While I seldom suggest that Oceania handle things the way Regent does (or visa versa), they could take a lesson from Regent on this. Regent's disembarkation isn't perfect but it is a heck of lot better than what we have experienced on the Riviera.

 

Another problem is the size of the gangway.

 

When you are trying to have +1200 passengers go through an opening that's the width of the front door of your residence and every passenger has to stop before proceeding, a log jam is created.

 

The gangway on Deck 4 is much wider.

 

I guess size really matters :eek: !

[Paulchili]

Another problem is the size of the gangway.

 

When you are trying to have +1200 passengers go through an opening that's the width of the front door of your residence and every passenger has to stop before proceeding, a log jam is created.

 

The gangway on Deck 4 is much wider.

 

 

 

But - does it connect to the ramp of the Miami dock?

I don't know the answer to this.

Or do you think they make people disembark through the narrower door just to punish them?

[hypercafe]

Are you talking about the top suites & passengers ?

Have not been on a ship where they do this for the peons

 

As said X does it and Princess did it.

[LHT28]

2. For those passengers using Oceania Air I have often questioned why O books them on flights so early. They know they create a zoo by doing so.

 

sometimes they have to book flights according to the airlines schedules

Oceania does not make the schedules

 

Some people do not want to hang around Miami until 6 pm or later for a flight

we usually book the 12:20 flight & most cruises it is not a problem

 

When we drive to the port we usually check the later disembarkation time so we avoid the crush but not everyone wants to sit on the ship with nothing to do but wait

[Dwtlion]

While I seldom suggest that Oceania handle things the way Regent does (or visa versa), they could take a lesson from Regent on this. Regent's disembarkation isn't perfect but it is a heck of lot better than what we have experienced on the Riviera.

 

And how many fewer px's does Regent have than Riviera's 1200? 500-900?

[Travelcat2]

And how many fewer px's does Regent have than Riviera's 1200? 500-900?

 

That is correct but apparently even larger ships handle it better than Oceania. If you hang out in the corridors on Regent, you will not hear your color called. If you decide to get off of the ship before your color is called, your luggage won't be there. Size does not matter here:)

 

Also agree about airline schedules. We are looking at flights returning home from Miami. The best flights (shortest) depart to our destination very early in the morning or after 5:00 p.m.

Edited December 28, 2015 by Travelcat2

[wristband]

I agree with Travelcat. While I am no fan of Regent - we switched several years ago our allegiance to Oceania - the Regent disembarkation process in Florida is markedly better managed and far more sane than O's bumper car derby.

 

I have taken five trans atlantic cruises on Riviera and Regent Mariner ending in Miami. Never had the discomfort and craziness on Regent as we had on Riviera this time.

 

Regent Mariner sailed near capacity with roughly 800 pax on our voyages. Travelcat can correct me but...that is roughly the same head count as on Riviera Dec. 2.

 

Regent and Oceania are sister cruise lines owned by the same company. So why is the disembarkation process in the exact same port so markedly different?

 

Can it be simply unruly guests are somehow predominantly on O? I suspect it comes down to clear communication with staff and guests AND an active managerial presence that is visibly overseeing the disembarkation process.

 

Relying on two security staffers to swipe cards and control the swarm pushing through the one exit doorway may mean Paulchili is right - O needs to supply those two staffers with electric cattle prods!

[G&G]

Relying on two security staffers to swipe cards and control the swarm pushing through the one exit doorway may mean Paulchili is right - O needs to supply those two staffers with electric cattle prods!

 

I believe RedneckBob called it a roundabout not a roundup :D

[sammiedawg]

Torsboy, more passenger reviews are posted of Riviera Nov - Dec. You & others might check the new reviews out as so many voiced similar thoughts as yours.

 

I also wrote directly to O management after Dec. 2nd along with submitting the cruise survey with our negative assessments. Both submissions had our cabin & name printed. Today, nearly 1 month later, nothing from O by email/mail. No response to our detailed negative comments. We expressly stated NO compensation needed! Silence.

 

On the other hand, we emailed positive & negative assessments of our experience to our Barcelona hotel, two Barca restaurants & a private guide. All four promptly wrote us to acknowledge our comments.

 

Paulchili - you are absolutely correct to say the boorish behavior on display in Miami is to be blamed solely on the rude jerks. But O management can and must do a far better job overseeing the disembarkation process for all concerned. Getting off in Miami is the last impression one has of Oceania, so why does that have to paint such a poor picture?

 

All pax must vacate their cabins by 8 and get off the ship by 9. Fine, that's the rules. So why can't O manage this simple process in an orderly and adult manner? Ship tours meet in the Theater, tour participants are given a number indicating which tender they will be on and then all are called to the tender station in numerical order.

 

The only adult staff I saw at the exit door in Miami is a harried security guard swiping ID cards as the crowd surged on the way out. Perhaps, as suggested, segregating pax in separate areas of the ship (theater, casino, horizons) with a group number, then calling each numbered group forward to line up in a roped stanchion area. Management reps can easily check each color/number before a person may enter the stanchioned line. Airlines routine handle boarding by sectional number with minimal stress and they do so in a prompt and efficient manner.

 

Why can't Oceania manage to handle such a simple process in a professional manner? Obviously, there are unruly and unpleasant guests. But the procedure needs on site supervision and adult direction in the lobby area and atrium BEFORE anyone can force themselves to the front of the line at the exit/security station. Otherwise, chaos and bruised feelings (not to mention the cane I had jabbed in my foot by an elderly gent intent on getting through that darn door asap!).

 

We just disembarked ten days ago in Miami. Even with people congregating near the gangway we were in the terminal within five to ten minutes. I did not think the disembarkation was a big deal.

 

i like to be treated as an adult, I don't need too many rules and regulations to walk off a ship. I don't need to be insulted and sent to a waiting room. I don't need a hall monitor. If more regulations are enacted maybe I would be off the ship in three to seven minutes instead of five to ten minutes.

 

I pick up my three year old grandson at preschool and all children must remain seated at the table with their coat on and school bag in hand until the teacher announces their grown up has arrived. How does that system sound to people who want more rules?

[LAexNY]

Your comments do not surprise me as we were on the Noro Death Ship from Barcelona and the same happened when we docked into Miami on the 2nd December. .

 

Who died?

[harryw]

I would add that I never had a problem disembarking in Miami, but my situations are usually early departures to catch a noon or 1:00 pm flight. We usually clear out Of the room and have a light breakfast in the MDR (as I have a small appetite at such an ungodly hour). MDR staff have always been fast and efficient.

 

When our coded group is called, we never encountered a bottleneck and found our luggage quickly. This was in stark contrast to Celebrity, where we had hellish disembarkations. And we add another layer of stressfree security by using O's bus transfer. It's admittedly pricey, but we like the way O staff doublechecks that all in the color group are on the bus.

 

Harry

[kazu]

I agree with Travelcat. While I am no fan of Regent - we switched several years ago our allegiance to Oceania - the Regent disembarkation process in Florida is markedly better managed and far more sane than O's bumper car derby.

 

I have taken five trans atlantic cruises on Riviera and Regent Mariner ending in Miami. Never had the discomfort and craziness on Regent as we had on Riviera this time.

 

Regent Mariner sailed near capacity with roughly 800 pax on our voyages. Travelcat can correct me but...that is roughly the same head count as on Riviera Dec. 2.

 

Regent and Oceania are sister cruise lines owned by the same company. So why is the disembarkation process in the exact same port so markedly different?

 

Can it be simply unruly guests are somehow predominantly on O? I suspect it comes down to clear communication with staff and guests AND an active managerial presence that is visibly overseeing the disembarkation process.

 

Relying on two security staffers to swipe cards and control the swarm pushing through the one exit doorway may mean Paulchili is right - O needs to supply those two staffers with electric cattle prods!

 

I have never seen such a mess as the disembarkation on O. Seriously.

 

People were swarming from everywhere and there were few staff there.

 

On most ships there are staff to say good bye and help with keeping things orderly. The only one I saw was Ray who kept saying he had called purple and where was purple (where the heck were they going to go?). I told him we hadn't hear purple called and he might want to call them again if he did so. I know that there were people at the pool with purple tags waiting.

 

It was just a mob scene with people coming from everywhere.

 

I've been on lots of ships and most do silent disembarkations which are far more orderly than this one was. In fact, any disembarkation was far more orderly than this one was.

 

this was one of many transatlantics and without question, the worst disembarkation we have had.

 

 

 

We just disembarked ten days ago in Miami. Even with people congregating near the gangway we were in the terminal within five to ten minutes. I did not think the disembarkation was a big deal.

 

i like to be treated as an adult, I don't need too many rules and regulations to walk off a ship. I don't need to be insulted and sent to a waiting room. I don't need a hall monitor. If more regulations are enacted maybe I would be off the ship in three to seven minutes instead of five to ten minutes.

 

I pick up my three year old grandson at preschool and all children must remain seated at the table with their coat on and school bag in hand until the teacher announces their grown up has arrived. How does that system sound to people who want more rules?

 

Glad to hear it. Good thing you weren't on our cruise. You might be singing a different tune.

 

Yes, we are all adults. it's just too bad some don't behave as such.

[RJB]

We just disembarked ten days ago in Miami. Even with people congregating near the gangway we were in the terminal within five to ten minutes. I did not think the disembarkation was a big deal.

 

i like to be treated as an adult, I don't need too many rules and regulations to walk off a ship. I don't need to be insulted and sent to a waiting room. I don't need a hall monitor. If more regulations are enacted maybe I would be off the ship in three to seven minutes instead of five to ten minutes.

 

I pick up my three year old grandson at preschool and all children must remain seated at the table with their coat on and school bag in hand until the teacher announces their grown up has arrived. How does that system sound to people who want more rules?

sounds like you hit the needle on the head. Never had a problem getting off a ship. Let's be adults about this and let's

not make a big deal about a few seconds more.

[BillPizzaiolo]

..and what makes you think that people would listen to these instructions any better when they ignore perfectly clear color instructions?

I find it interesting that this "disembarkation problem" comes up over and over ONLY in Miami. Everyone can make their own conclusions on this.

 

It is the One big reason we avoid taking cruises out of US Ports. If we want to be in big crowds we go to the Port Authority Bus terminal in NYC by bus from Jersey. It is no different. Somehow overseas we behave a bit better. Maybe because there are foreigners watching us. But wait, over there we are the foreigners.

[sitraveler]

I have to agree, it's not O, it's your fellow passengers.

[Travelcat2]

IMO, this is not about "rules" - it is about getting passengers off the ship as quickly and efficiently as possible. If the Riviera has 1,100 passengers on the ship (yes - I know this is less than full), there would be at least 1,100 pieces of luggage to take off of the ship and organize by tag color. In many instances, the area where the luggage is put out for pick-up would not accommodate 1,100 pieces of luggage as well as allowing for passengers to walk around looking for their luggage.

 

Oceania asks for departure information to allow them to give the people with the earliest departures colored tags that will be called first. Once the luggage for the group(s) are sorted, the colors can be called. I do not recall the departure information that Oceania gives you a few days before disembarkation contains the "approximate time" that your color will be called (Regent's information does). If you have a later flight, it makes little to no sense to hang out in an area that will block the hallways and make disembarkation slower.

 

If you think about the "process" (not "rules") it makes sense why they do what they do (or what they are trying to do but are thwarted by passengers blocking the hallways). If you want to take your own luggage off of the ship you can certainly do so. I would suggest getting in line with your luggage once the ship has been cleared.

 

IMO, it is also important to remember that not all disembarkations are the same. Some posters have had no difficulty with disembarkation, while others do. Our delay was not 5, 10 or 15 minutes ..... it was over an hour. We certainly do not mind waiting in an area (a lounge or theater) for our color to be called. It is so much better than being in a mob of people trying to get off of the ship at the same time (again - we were trying to get in line when our color was called - not before).

Edited December 29, 2015 by Travelcat2

[Jancruz]

Believe me, I have written to Oceania, mostly the good and very few bad with NO RESPONSE OR REPLY !

 

I never have trouble there because we wait in the Terrace until almost everyone is off..then we run into no one..If everyone would do that there would be no chaos..

Jancruz1

[sammiedawg]

I have never seen such a mess as the disembarkation on O. Seriously.

 

People were swarming from everywhere and there were few staff there.

 

On most ships there are staff to say good bye and help with keeping things orderly. The only one I saw was Ray who kept saying he had called purple and where was purple (where the heck were they going to go?). I told him we hadn't hear purple called and he might want to call them again if he did so. I know that there were people at the pool with purple tags waiting.

 

It was just a mob scene with people coming from everywhere.

 

I've been on lots of ships and most do silent disembarkations which are far more orderly than this one was. In fact, any disembarkation was far more orderly than this one was.

 

this was one of many transatlantics and without question, the worst disembarkation we have had.

 

 

 

 

 

Glad to hear it. Good thing you weren't on our cruise. You might be singing a different tune.

 

Yes, we are all adults. it's just too bad some don't behave as such.

 

No I was not on your cruise but we met four people who were. Their perspective was much less dramatic than those expressed on the forum. They did not feel the situation was anywhere near as bad as some here did and they disagreed with some of the onboard cruise critic organizing and ad hoc meeting efforts.

[ORV]

they disagreed with some of the onboard cruise critic organizing and ad hoc meeting efforts.

 

What are you talking about? :confused: