VM from NCL re check in time 10/27/19 on Escape

[margoula]

Leaving this Sunday on Escape just received a VM that check in will be from Noon to 3PM asking that all guests arrive accordingly due to Coast Guard inspection.

 

i wonder based on this what time will sail away be.... if it will be later than usual.

[mking8288]

1 hour ago, margoula said:

Leaving this Sunday on Escape just received a VM that check in will be from Noon to 3PM ... due to Coast Guard inspection.  I wonder ... if it will be later than usual.

It's USCG's Halloween send-off (LOL ... okay)  Pull this last year for our Halloween Escape too ... Pier 88 was jammed pack full, beyond capacity, etc. Details in the Semi-Live review (under Signature, click link to find/open it)  NCL scored a perfect 100 then ... crews & officers drilled for it and on deck for the inspection & checks as late as 12 noon, something like that.  

 

MDR stayed open later than usual, buffet was packed and carts after carts of luggage on the pier, next to the water/safety netting - provisioning waiting to be loaded.  

 

We're not seriously delayed, less than an hour at most - NCL sail later than scheduled for a variety of reasons, sometimes (and, all the time ...)  Not going to seriously affect the sailing and getting into PC 2 days later, engine room has plenty of speed to make that distance.  

 

With the terminal beyond legal capacity - they stopped letting anyone into the building, temporary shut down security screening & checking in folks.  Once the crowds were allowed to board, normal beats returned ... muster drills held & sailaway party down the Hudson, etc.  The ones that managed to get there early & allowed in - sat around or stood (ran out of seating) until the usual boarding sequence began.  

[margoula]

Thank you......we are Haven this time.....I wonder if it makes a real difference if we get there a little earlier😳

[travelgals]

Oh boy, and just told by ncl that this sailing is completely sold out. Think I’ll plan to get there closer to 3.

[phillyguy31]

21 hours ago, margoula said:

Thank you......we are Haven this time.....I wonder if it makes a real difference if we get there a little earlier😳

There is not a whole lot of room in the haven area and the chairs are not that comfortable. However they do supply snacks.😉

[Laszlo]

22 hours ago, margoula said:

Thank you......we are Haven this time.....I wonder if it makes a real difference if we get there a little earlier😳

The Haven area in NYC is very small. When we cruised to Bermuda in June it was filled up by 10:15am, don't know where the overflow was. People were checking in and them someone was leading them out of the room to a different location. Our group was the first (in theory) being taken up. However when we arrived in the courtyard their were already 3-4 dozen people there eating lunch

[mking8288]

That 3 or 4 dozen already in Haven ahead of the escorted boarding group could be from the B2B - they had to clear the ship like everyone else for the turnaround, but the advantage of being the first to go back up.  Once the CG inspection is done & given the go ahead to resume normal ops. 

 

OP being in Haven, as you enter Pier 88 - keep to your left (next to/where there is signage for Special Needs) for NCL employees/pier agents w. name tags to take you thru security & check-in ... if they are allowed to do that.  

 

Last October, the security check-in was frozen, nobody moving until 11 a.m. plus, disembarkation that morning was slower than usual for whatever reasons (ship wasn't late) & folks still coming off the gangways into the lower terminal area, etc.)  Once, security began processing, lines moved rather quickly into various registration stations - the Haven lounge (we walked past them - 2 sub-areas, both small) and Platinum/+ lounge, next to Special Needs ... all filled up.  Didn't take long to run out of seating everywhere ...  Then, they stopped allowing anyone to come into the building, frozen zones - not even thru security & asked those waiting outside the terminal to come back in the afternoon, go enjoy sights & sounds in the area.  

 

Be prepared to sit in those lounges for 2 to 3+ hours if you arrive early, until the inspection is done & they can do the priority & VIP escorts, etc. 

[xitappers2bx]

Interesting.... my parents leave on Sunday as well; and they too received an e-mail from their line (not NCL) stating that their check in time has been pushed back due to the Coast Guard.  I imagine it will only push sail away a little back further; fortunately, you'll be on a ship and it wont' really matter 🙂