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Regal Disembarkation - 12/1/19 - What a mess...


bmc alabama
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So, we were just on the 11/24 sailing of the Regal.  Had an enjoyable time, however, they completely dropped the ball on disembarkation.  As I mentioned in another thread, I was dealing with a coffee card issue at Guest Services.  I mentioned that I had seen on our meet thread that we may be going back into T21 (we went out of T2) due to Sky Princess coming in.  The lady at Guest Services said "yes, we will go into 21".  I asked if they were going to put out an announcement (this was on Wednesday, I think) as I had mentioned this to a few people and they had no idea.  So, finally, day before disembarkation, they put a sheet in everyone's room talking about the terminal change.

 

So, when we got off at T21, we were not able to walk off until after 7:00am, which was much different than we had experienced on our March Regal sailing, where we walked off with no waiting.  They directed everyone to Deck 7, saying there was another walkway on 4, "but it won't be open until much later" for those getting luggage at the port.  So, the walk off line streched from the Piazza all the way back past the Vista lounge.  We waited for a good while, then we notice people are getting off on Deck 4 (those going to get luggage at the port).  Basically, the communication was seriously lacking.  When we were finally going off the ship, I overhead security personnel stating that they did not have enough scanners at T21 as most were over at T2 processing the passengers off of Sky.  

 

When we finally disembarked, the gangway literally went down 2 stories in 1 1/2 sections of gangway.  They had to have personnel stationed there as it was too steep for luggage and especially wheelchairs/scooters.  So, we get down to the bottom and start passing all of the people waiting for their luggage (many of whom had been let off before the walk-offs).  Customs/Immigration wasn't too bad, but we were told that there would be buses waiting to take us to T2.  So, there was no shuttle when we got out there and the line was long and getting longer by the minute.  Finally, one of the "buses" pulls up.  They were "minibuses" not "buses", so they could only take about 15-20 at a time, and as it turns out, there were only 2 of them.  I decided to Uber to T2.  I get over there, and there is an extremely long line for the elevator (y'all know the one) because it is passengers from Regal, Carnival Magic (which was in T4), and a few Sky folks (not really sure why they would have a car there, but hey...).

 

I finally got the car at T2, and then went back to T21 to get my family, which, unbelievably required a wait to go back through Port Everglades security.  Anyway, not a fun day...  It took over 1 1/2 hours to get out of Port...  We talked to someone else with us who said they got stuck in the deck a bit later due to a car breaking down.  Thankfully we did not get stuck in that.

 

I guess I know it was a special circumstance with Sky coming in that same day, but Princess (or the Port) didn't do a very good job with it logistically...

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Sorry you experienced that. It sounds chaotic!!  I have worried about chaos at the port before.  I would never drive to Port Everglades (too far from California), but I've wondered about Port of Los Angeles.  Is it better to do a park and stay the night before or park at the pier? Parking at the pier feels like a quicker getaway, but your experience is making me think twice about it.  I don't think Los Angeles is as busy as Port Everglades is. So maybe not as big a concern???

Again, sorry and thanks for sharing

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1 hour ago, jennybenny said:

Sorry you experienced that. It sounds chaotic!!  I have worried about chaos at the port before.  I would never drive to Port Everglades (too far from California), but I've wondered about Port of Los Angeles.  Is it better to do a park and stay the night before or park at the pier? Parking at the pier feels like a quicker getaway, but your experience is making me think twice about it.  I don't think Los Angeles is as busy as Port Everglades is. So maybe not as big a concern???

Again, sorry and thanks for sharing

Port everglades is usually very quick.  This was more of a special circumstance.  Can't comment on the L.A. port.

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1 hour ago, franktown said:

Port everglades is usually very quick.  This was more of a special circumstance.  Can't comment on the L.A. port.

That has also been my experience leaving Port Everglades, but we've never left a car at the port

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we were on the same sailing and didn't have any problems with disembarkation, except for the unusually long wait for a taxi outside the terminal and the taxi driver charging us 2.5 times more than the usual fare. FLL to port cost us $19, and Everglades to FLL - $45.  I didn't have it in me to argue.

 

We left the cabin about 7:30 am, had a nice breakfast at the buffet, then I went to the Customer service to get a refund (less than $25) - that was reasonably quick, then we went back to the cabin about 8:30 am, picked up our suitcases (the cabin attendant didn't have a problem with that), and walked off deck 7 within 10 minutes. Customs were pretty quick, but the line for the taxis was horribly long.... It took us at least 30 minutes, probably longer, to get a taxi. The taxis were picking up Celebrity passengers on the opposite side and passed by us already full. We were out in the sun, burning to a crisp (DH's face burned), and there was hardly any seating for disabled people save for one bench. Dad spent the entire time sitting there until it was our turn.

Edited by Itchy&Scratchy
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We were on the same sailing.  We stayed on the ship until the last possible moment, LOl.  Our flight wasn't until 2:15 and our BIL and SIL were doing a back to back, so we put our carry-ons in their cabin and went to the IC for coffee, breakfast in the HC and then back to the IC for more coffee to wait.   Port Everglades is usually very easy to get in and out of, but it was pretty much a mess for awhile.   This was the first time we ever disembarked in this terminal.  It didn't really matter to us, because we didn't drive, but it seems it isn't as convenient to get out of as T2.  It was very congested.  We used an Uber to get to the airport and it took about twice as long for him to get to us as it usually does.  I was tracking him and even after he was in the Port, it took a long time to get to us.   It seemed like the problem was more the Port and the sheer number of people there.  My BIL said he read that 9 ships were in port that morning, but we only could see 7.  There could have been 9 though.  Even 7 is a heck of a lot of people to get out of there!   

The airport was a mess, too.   But I read that 3.1 million people flew that day, making it the most people to fly in one day.

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15 hours ago, avonlady6390 said:

I live in florida so I drive to the port, but park my car off port it's cheaper and don't have to worry if ship comes back into another berth.

 

It depends. The places that are normally cheaper up their rates around the holidays. We did back-to-back cruises one year, and I discovered they do this during periods of high demand.

 

We got lucky. Our first cruise departed from T21 but returned to T2, which allowed me to walk to Total Wine for reinforcements on our second cruise. The second cruise returned to T21. I felt sorry for those who had taken just one cruise and had to get back to their cars at the other terminal.

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I, too, was on this cruise. Park in garage at T2. I am not sure Princess ever had a Royal class ship dock T21 before. It seemed the gangways couldn’t line up properly. The gangway at Deck 7 was very steep getting off, almost dangerously so. The gangway from Deck 4 seemed awfully steep going up. We were assigned to wait in Princess Live for a 6:55 scheduled disembarkation. No employee showed up in the room until almost 8:00. Very poor communication on Princesses part. It also seemed that people just started getting in line on their own (ignoring luggage color). In the terminal there was plenty of people waiting for luggage that had yet to be unloaded. Very dissatisfied with Princess at this disembarkation. Took a cab to the T2 garage and went to the north elevators. Avoided the chaos at the south elevators. After 30+ Princess cruises worst disembarkation ever

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On 12/3/2019 at 11:45 AM, jennybenny said:

Sorry you experienced that. It sounds chaotic!!  I have worried about chaos at the port before.  I would never drive to Port Everglades (too far from California), but I've wondered about Port of Los Angeles.  Is it better to do a park and stay the night before or park at the pier? Parking at the pier feels like a quicker getaway, but your experience is making me think twice about it.  I don't think Los Angeles is as busy as Port Everglades is. So maybe not as big a concern???

Again, sorry and thanks for sharing

In Los Angeles, the parking right there. Just walk off the ship into the parking lot. Plenty of parking available. If it is a short cruise, 7 days, best to park at pier.It is really nice to have your car there when you disembark. It is very easy to get in and out of the pier area.  If a longer cruise, stay overnight before cruise at one of the local San Pedro hotels and park there for length of cruise.It is currently $19.00 a day to park in LA at the pier.

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On 12/3/2019 at 8:02 PM, Itchy&Scratchy said:

we were on the same sailing and didn't have any problems with disembarkation, except for the unusually long wait for a taxi outside the terminal and the taxi driver charging us 2.5 times more than the usual fare. FLL to port cost us $19, and Everglades to FLL - $45.  I didn't have it in me to argue.

 

 

Was that $45 the meter charge or did the driver just say it would cost $45? If the latter, I would have insisted on the meter being used.

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1 hour ago, caribill said:

 

Was that $45 the meter charge or did the driver just say it would cost $45? If the latter, I would have insisted on the meter being used.

And they wonder why people use Uber! I have had so many arguments with taxi drivers over the fare! They lie like crazy. Had one threaten to call the police on me....lol I told him i'll call for him! He took off! 

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21 hours ago, geoherb said:

It depends. The places that are normally cheaper up their rates around the holidays. We did back-to-back cruises one year, and I discovered they do this during periods of high demand.

For the most part that's true but if you shop around a bit there are always bargains to be found. We just made reservations last week for a Dec 15 trip & was expecting to be overcharged & we weren't.

They're always 1/2 the price than parking at the pier with free shuttle included.

Of course if $50 a week doesn't mean that much to a person, the pier parking is more convenient. 

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4 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Was that $45 the meter charge or did the driver just say it would cost $45? If the latter, I would have insisted on the meter being used.

he showed it to us on the screen (not the regular "primitive" meter). I think he didn't turn off the meter for the previous passengers and charged us double (to and from the airport). 

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2 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

he showed it to us on the screen (not the regular "primitive" meter). I think he didn't turn off the meter for the previous passengers and charged us double (to and from the airport). 

Would not have paid that period! Husband just walks away..lol ! Try and screw me there goes your tip! I liked the trip through Los Olas one time to get to the Best Western! They think you are a stupid tourist! We have been going down there for over 20 years! Never take a taxi now if I can avoid it! Uber is different they have no way to screw with you and I have met some very nice people! Not rich but not the money so much just won't take that crap so they get the next person that may not know better!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Reader0108598
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19 hours ago, sherman931 said:

I, too, was on this cruise. Park in garage at T2. I am not sure Princess ever had a Royal class ship dock T21 before. It seemed the gangways couldn’t line up properly. The gangway at Deck 7 was very steep getting off, almost dangerously so. The gangway from Deck 4 seemed awfully steep going up. We were assigned to wait in Princess Live for a 6:55 scheduled disembarkation. No employee showed up in the room until almost 8:00. Very poor communication on Princesses part. It also seemed that people just started getting in line on their own (ignoring luggage color). In the terminal there was plenty of people waiting for luggage that had yet to be unloaded. Very dissatisfied with Princess at this disembarkation. Took a cab to the T2 garage and went to the north elevators. Avoided the chaos at the south elevators. After 30+ Princess cruises worst disembarkation ever

Well, that line up you saw outside Princess Live was for walk off.  We didn't get off the ship until almost 7:15am...  On Deck 4 they were allowing some luggage tagged passengers off.  I have never seen that done prior to the walk-off's...

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3 hours ago, bmc alabama said:

Well, that line up you saw outside Princess Live was for walk off.  We didn't get off the ship until almost 7:15am...  On Deck 4 they were allowing some luggage tagged passengers off.  I have never seen that done prior to the walk-off's...

We always do walk off and see the regular tagged people all the time. As a walk off we're assigned a time but never make it so we just show up when we can & join the tagged crowd. The only difference being is that we have all our luggage with us & don't have to search for it. 

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