New York gem boarding stuck

[Comi.uy]

Due to coast guard inspection we are stuck in the check in line. We Been holding here for 2 hours, sitting on the floor. They announced the inspection is over bit everything still stuck 😫

[Peachypooh]

 It happened to us once too. Not fun. It was a good feeling though

when we boarded that there had just been an inspection. 

Edited March 18, 2019 by Peachypooh

[luv2kroooz]

Yes, those mandatory inspections suck....for passengers and crew.

[vince_g]

This morning I took a walk down to 12th Ave since I was curious which MSC ship was docked there, and Gem wasn't there.  She is normally docked around 7AM, but didn't arrive at the pier until around 9:40.  I wonder if the coast guard inspection had something to do with her later arrival, or if the inspection occurred after  docking.

 

Will on the next Gem cruise on March 29th, out of Boston.  Cannot wait.  What I am wondering is since Gem will discharge passengers from the today's cruise in NY on the 28th and then sail to Boston, will they let people board as they check in, or will they make us sit around and wait?.  Since the ship will have no passengers disembarking and will already be turned over, we are hoping they will board people as soon as they are checked in.  Can anyone speak to what happens in a situation like this?

 

The MSC ship was the Divina.  Nice looking ship.

[Laszlo]

Looks like she is pushing off now

 

https://www.portnywebcam.com

Edited March 18, 2019 by Laszlo

[mking8288]

Gem was right on time with her scheduled 10 am arrival time - wasn't late nor early.  For whatever reasons, it didn't get into NY Lower Bay very early, only went under the VZ Bridge at 8:30 and as noted, docking almost at 10 (plus usually 15 to 30 minutes for the ship to be cleared & then Priority/Express Walkoff to then get called, around 10:30 'ish.) 

 

Usually, we've been caught at least twice with USCG ship inspection, and, it is done on arrival, and, my understanding, once pax count reached zero - not before the ship is anchored.  When the inspection is finished, then, they can begin the boarding & embarkation process.  

 

Since it's common to take 2.5 to 3 hours for the ship to disembark all pax & luggage, I'm not surprised that USCG wasn't done until 1:30 or 2 p.m. - then another 2.5 to 3+ hours for embarkation of new pax, luggage transfers and loading of provisions.  From ship's live webcam, looked like she's still anchored to her berth.  

[markf]

I was on the  Gem that returned  this morning.  Yes it docked  at 10 am almost to the minute.

I had  priority debarkation and  didn't  get off until after  11 am  with baggage  at the  pier, not carry off.

 

I was  told  that Coast guard was  doing  a  drill, but want sure what it entailed.

 

I am thinking that NCL  has arrived  late , simply to cut back on dockage fees.

it clearly puts  stress on staff, to turn the ship around in 6 hours..

 

The staff seemed  stressed  and not  trained as they were in the past.  

[vince_g]

4 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Gem was right on time with her scheduled 10 am arrival time - wasn't late nor early.  For whatever reasons, it didn't get into NY Lower Bay very early, only went under the VZ Bridge at 8:30 and as noted, docking almost at 10 (plus usually 15 to 30 minutes for the ship to be cleared & then Priority/Express Walkoff to then get called, around 10:30 'ish.) 

 

Usually, we've been caught at least twice with USCG ship inspection, and, it is done on arrival, and, my understanding, once pax count reached zero - not before the ship is anchored.  When the inspection is finished, then, they can begin the boarding & embarkation process.  

 

Since it's common to take 2.5 to 3 hours for the ship to disembark all pax & luggage, I'm not surprised that USCG wasn't done until 1:30 or 2 p.m. - then another 2.5 to 3+ hours for embarkation of new pax, luggage transfers and loading of provisions.  From ship's live webcam, looked like she's still anchored to her berth.  

We really have been very lucky on our Gem cruises.  We have consistently been docked around 7, so it kind of surprised me that she wasn't there by 9.

[markf]

The  Gem is  now on 10  day trips  from Caribbean.  I  agree that the  10 am docking is not  what  one is used  to, but  they say 10 AM and  they mean it!!

 

[njhorseman]

2 hours ago, vince_g said:

We really have been very lucky on our Gem cruises.  We have consistently been docked around 7, so it kind of surprised me that she wasn't there by 9.

In my experience, and I sail on the Gem a lot, is that it consistently docks around 7 when the scheduled arrival is 8 am, but it docks between 9 and 10 when the scheduled arrival is 10 am. The 10 am arrival time is generally used for cruises returning when the final port was in the Caribbean, while the 8 am arrival time is scheduled for the Florida/Bahamas itineraries. It's simply a matter of how far the final port is from Manhattan.

Edited March 18, 2019 by njhorseman