No more lines in Port Everglades

[RedneckBob]

Hi y'all, Redneckbob hear.

 

I don't know if this has been talked about so hear goes; just completed a 11 day cruise from Port Everglades on Celebrity. No more waiting in line to checkin. Do checkin on line and get one of those boarding passes like flying on plane. When your status is called, just board boat, go to room to drop off your belongings, room key in box next to door. 

 

When you arrive back in PE, they have this face recognizing device that you look at and five seconds later you are on your way. No more US Custom Agents, unless you have something to declare. Once left ship five minutes to get out of terminal. I guess technology is a good thing. 

Edited October 26, 2019 by RedneckBob
Delete word

[ski ww]

That does sound a lot better then waiting in line. The worst part of cruising is the flights to/from & waiting to board or get off.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for the information.  Wonder if HAL will do the same thing.

[puppycanducruise]

It's wonderful when technology works the way we want it to.

[ghstudio]

2 hours ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

Thanks for the information.  Wonder if HAL will do the same thing.

Arrived in Port Everglades this past week (Montreal to FLL on Veendam).  Immigration/customs was done on board when we arrived in Boston....and that was it....no further checks in Canaveral or FLL.  The Veendam only has 1350 passengers, so this went quite well.....not sure about a larger ship using this process.

[UM-Fan]

4 hours ago, RedneckBob said:

Hi y'all, Redneckbob hear.

 

I don't know if this has been talked about so hear goes; just completed a 11 day cruise from Port Everglades on Celebrity. No more waiting in line to checkin. Do checkin on line and get one of those boarding passes like flying on plane. When your status is called, just board boat, go to room to drop off your belongings, room key in box next to door. 

 

When you arrive back in PE, they have this face recognizing device that you look at and five seconds later you are on your way. No more US Custom Agents, unless you have something to declare. Once left ship five minutes to get out of terminal. I guess technology is a good thing. 

 

How does your security photo get taken so it can be attached to your stateroom key card?

Edited October 26, 2019 by UM-Fan

[ger_77]

14 minutes ago, UM-Fan said:

 

How does your security photo get taken so it can be attached to your stateroom key card?

I wondered about that as well.  Perhaps they use the photo from your previous cruise; we haven't had a security photo taken in a couple of years, they just use one on file.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

[UM-Fan]

3 minutes ago, ger_77 said:

I wondered about that as well.  Perhaps they use the photo from your previous cruise; we haven't had a security photo taken in a couple of years, they just use one on file.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

 

If they would go back into the previous years and get a photo of me when I was younger and didn't weight as much as I do now I would love that!! LOL

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, ghstudio said:

Arrived in Port Everglades this past week (Montreal to FLL on Veendam).  Immigration/customs was done on board when we arrived in Boston....and that was it....no further checks in Canaveral or FLL.  The Veendam only has 1350 passengers, so this went quite well.....not sure about a larger ship using this process.

You cleared US Immigration and Customs at your first touch of US soil. That is normal, and the same procedure used when you fly into the US. (Exception...the pre-clearance airports.) 

[1025cruise]

6 hours ago, RedneckBob said:

Hi y'all, Redneckbob hear.

 

I don't know if this has been talked about so hear goes; just completed a 11 day cruise from Port Everglades on Celebrity. No more waiting in line to checkin. Do checkin on line and get one of those boarding passes like flying on plane. When your status is called, just board boat, go to room to drop off your belongings, room key in box next to door. 

 

When you arrive back in PE, they have this face recognizing device that you look at and five seconds later you are on your way. No more US Custom Agents, unless you have something to declare. Once left ship five minutes to get out of terminal. I guess technology is a good thing. 

This is only true for ships that have been edgeified. It is not true for all Celebrity ships. I believe the only Celebrity ships at PE are the Edge and Equinox.

[RedneckBob]

4 hours ago, UM-Fan said:

 

How does your security photo get taken so it can be attached to your stateroom key card?

 

Take your photo prior to cruise on your device and attach it to your reservations. Then you print your boarding pass which is very similar to airline boarding pass. after you go through security at terminal a Celebrity agent scans your boarding pass that includes photo

[Charles4515]

4 hours ago, 1025cruise said:

This is only true for ships that have been edgeified. It is not true for all Celebrity ships. I believe the only Celebrity ships at PE are the Edge and Equinox.

 

We had the facial recognition on Summit out of Bayonne this summer. It was great. Summit had gone thru the Revolution refurb. I don't know if it requires the refurb. Celebrity attaches your photo to the sea pass. I am doing a Celebrity cruise in December on a ship that has not had the refurb and part of the online  check in was sending in a photo. 

Edited October 26, 2019 by Charles4515

[kazu]

Sounds like this is a topic for the Celebrity board?

 

This seems to be a Celebrity thing?

[Charles4515]

3 hours ago, RedneckBob said:

 

Take your photo prior to cruise on your device and attach it to your reservations. Then you print your boarding pass which is very similar to airline boarding pass. after you go through security at terminal a Celebrity agent scans your boarding pturn

 

For passengers who don't take their photo prior to the cruise they take it at the port. All the cruise lines attach a photo. When you reo. tturn to the ship at a port the security person looks at your photo. That is why they ask you to remove your hat and sunglasses if you are wearing such.

[Charles4515]

4 minutes ago, kazu said:

Sounds like this is a topic for the Celebrity board?

 

This seems to be a Celebrity thing?

 

I have not heard of any other cruise line doing it yet but surely it is coming to Holland America. It is going to become standard. Some airlines are doing this for boarding at some airports. 

[Charles4515]

Here is an article about how this works from Cruise Critic of all places. 😀  Very interesting. It does use the government database of passport photos. While only Royal Caribbean is doing it now at its terminals any cruise line could do it. No doubt the rest of the cruise industry will follow. 

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/3993/

 

I also found this on the Port Everglades web site.

Mobile Passport is not available in Cruise Terminal 18 and Cruise Terminal 25. Both of these terminals now use Facial Recognition technology.

Edited October 26, 2019 by Charles4515

[RedneckBob]

51 minutes ago, kazu said:

Sounds like this is a topic for the Celebrity board?

 

This seems to be a Celebrity thing?

 

Not really. Facial recognition should be in all terminals at PE soon. It is interesting not seeing any US Customs Agent at the port terminal. 

[1025cruise]

I assume facial recognition for disembarking will be coming to all terminals, all lines. The embarkation flow was a Celebrity thing, though I think RCI also has this on some ships.

[sevenseasnomad]

OP says that check-in resembles airline check-in.  Some airlines grant status for paying extra fee to receive a better slot in line.   If passengers are assigned check-in time, how does this affect upper levels Mariners/suite passengers?  Don't like the idea that I've spent tens of thousands of $$$ over the years to achieve this status which may not count for anything in the end, unless the process puts us at the front of the line.  Hate to sound snobbish, but one of the perks I like best with 4* status is the priority boarding.

 

Don't care how it works at disembarkation, as we normally use expedited disembarkation, pulling all of our luggage behind us.  Would this option disappear too?

[sail7seas]

15 hours ago, RedneckBob said:

Hi y'all, Redneckbob hear.

 

I don't know if this has been talked about so hear goes; just completed a 11 day cruise from Port Everglades on Celebrity. No more waiting in line to checkin. Do checkin on line and get one of those boarding passes like flying on plane. When your status is called, just board boat, go to room to drop off your belongings, room key in box next to door. 

 

When you arrive back in PE, they have this face recognizing device that you look at and five seconds later you are on your way. No more US Custom Agents, unless you have something to declare. Once left ship five minutes to get out of terminal. I guess technology is a good thing. 

 

 

Sounds outstanding,   thanks for sharing this happy information.  First I have  heard  of it. 

 

 

 

 

sail.noordam@gmail.com

 

Edited October 27, 2019 by sail7seas

[Charles4515]

17 minutes ago, sevenseasnomad said:

OP says that check-in resembles airline check-in.  Some airlines grant status for paying extra fee to receive a better slot in line.   If passengers are assigned check-in time, how does this affect upper levels Mariners/suite passengers?  Don't like the idea that I've spent tens of thousands of $$$ over the years to achieve this status which may not count for anything in the end, unless the process puts us at the front of the line.  Hate to sound snobbish, but one of the perks I like best with 4* status is the priority boarding.

 

Don't care how it works at disembarkation, as we normally use expedited disembarkation, pulling all of our luggage behind us.  Would this option disappear too?

Since HAL has not implemented how it would work on HAL is unknown. On Celebrity the way they do it they still board by status. As for assigned times most no matter their status ignored those times, the times are not enforced, but as Elite Plus on Celebrity that tier was allowed to board at any time once boarding began. But when boarding begins suites go first. Whatever time of arrival at the pier there were still separate boarding lines, a suite line etc. so in a suite you would be at the front but what does it mean if boarding is swift? Not much. Too bad...I am certain this will happen on all cruise lines because it saves the cruise lines money. They don’t need nearly as much staff at embarkation. They still need some facilitators but not many. 
 

They still had expedited disembarkation. Why would they not?