Horrendous Embarkation in Manhattan!

[njbaseball]

Embarked on NCL Getaway on Sunday, April 17, 2022 on 8 day cruise to Bermuda. It took 6 HOURS to get on board the ship. NCL Getaway was supposed to leave port at 4:00 PM, but wound up leaving at midnight because of massive embarkation issues. 1st port of call at Norfolk, VA was cancelled because of this delay. Lots of blame to go around. No word back from NCL in aftermath of all this.

[navybankerteacher]

It would be interesting to hear what, if any, explanation is given for the delay.  I can’t imagine a port call at Norfolk (former USN home port) .

[njhorseman]

I think there were two major factors based on reports I've heard.

The first was that many passengers did not have the travel authorization documentation required by Bermuda's COVID protocols. The same thing happened on early Bermuda departures last year.

The second...and this has been reported for at least one other recent cruise from Manhattan, was a major shortage of check in staff .The company that processes the passengers at the cruise terminal, Intercruises, must be having a hard time filling job openings. I think the problem was compounded by the fact that it was both Passover and Easter weekend, which meant even fewer people were willing to work.

I also saw that once everyone was finally on board there was a further delay to wait for tide conditions to change in order to make a safe departure.

Edited April 21, 2022 by njhorseman

[rkacruiser]

16 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

I can’t imagine a port call at Norfolk (former USN home port) .

 

Why?  There are attractions in the Norfolk area that would be interesting for cruise visitors.  I am pretty certain that Norfolk is still a home port for the Navy.  

[princeton123211]

19 hours ago, njbaseball said:

It took 6 HOURS to get on board the ship. NCL Getaway was supposed to leave port at 4:00 PM, but wound up leaving at midnight because of massive embarkation issues.

I mean in a world now where checking out of the grocery store takes 20 minutes longer than it should embarking 4000 passengers onto a massive cruise ship doesn't really come as a surprise. 

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Why?  There are attractions in the Norfolk area that would be interesting for cruise visitors.  I am pretty certain that Norfolk is still a home port for the Navy.  

It is - I was just thinking that the interesting things in the Norfolk area require renting a car - and getting out of Norfolk itself.   

[rkacruiser]

48 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

It is - I was just thinking that the interesting things in the Norfolk area require renting a car - and getting out of Norfolk itself.   

 

I have never sailed on a cruise that visited Norfolk.  But, I would expect that a Shore Excursion Department for a cruise line would arrange for tours to some of the attractions such as Jamestown, Williamsburg, the MacArthur Museum, The Mariner's Museum, a beach day at Virginia Beach, etc.  You are quite correct.  Transportation is required for guests to visit these sites.  

 

Probably no longer possible, but, it once was possible to visit the Norfolk Naval Base.  On certain week-ends being able to visit some of the ships in port (I will never forget my visit to the USS Harry S. Truman as she was being prepared to enter service).  Visits to Naval Air Station Oceana were possible.  Due to the events in the last 2 decades, much of these kinds of opportunities have been lost for those of us who have interest in such.  

[JillK]

We also had a long boarding process when we cruise the Getaway this past March though not as dramatically long as what you just experienced... very long lines both outside the terminal and then once inside despite showing up at our assigned time. If I recall correctly it took us around 2 hours from arrival to setting foot on the ship.

 

As for Norfolk... we had this stop the last day of our cruise. We arrived at 7 am with a mandatory disembarkation to clear US customs. Our back on board time was 11:30 so by the time you had gotten through the line up, off the ship and cleared customs, you basically had 2 hours or less to do anything. My son, mother and I rushed through a self-guided tour of the USS Wisconsin which was docked beside us while the rest of our party just got right back on the ship. It was interesting but we would have  appreciated more time - there wasn't enough time to do much making it pointless (outside of the customs check).

 

In our opinion being forced to get up that early on your last vacation day for a mandatory customs check sucked. At least in the OP's case, a stop there on the way out where disembarkation would be optional and I assume time in port would be longer would be much better. The only upshot was that disembarkation in Manhattan (though poorly handled aboard the ship) was easy once off the the ship as customs had already been done. 

[Bear Down]

On 4/20/2022 at 7:53 PM, njhorseman said:

The second...and this has been reported for at least one other recent cruise from Manhattan, was a major shortage of check in staff .The company that processes the passengers at the cruise terminal, Intercruises, must be having a hard time filling job openings. I think the problem was compounded by the fact that it was both Passover and Easter weekend, which meant even fewer people were willing to work.

We left on the Gem on the 14th. We only stood in line for 2 1/2 hours although I heard others were in line for 4 hours. In a Q & A session with the Captain during the cruise, your second reason is exactly what he said too. It was out of NCL's hands. Too many people decided to take time off.

[csoud68]

Norfolk is horrible. I lived near there for 3 years. That is a horrible stop..

 

Jamestown and Williamsburg would be decent.  Va Beach is a joke..

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, csoud68 said:

Norfolk is horrible. I lived near there for 3 years. That is a horrible stop..

 

Jamestown and Williamsburg would be decent.  Va Beach is a joke..

Agreed - except you really need to rent a car to get up to Jamestown/Williamsburg area.

[rkacruiser]

9 hours ago, csoud68 said:

Norfolk is horrible. I lived near there for 3 years. That is a horrible stop..

 

Jamestown and Williamsburg would be decent.  Va Beach is a joke..

 

Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg?  I agree with you.  Virginia Beach and Norfolk?  I disagree.  I have enjoyed many pleasant vacation days staying at Virginia Beach and visiting the attractions of Norfolk as well as other areas in the Tidewater region.  

[csoud68]

On 5/23/2022 at 5:09 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg?  I agree with you.  Virginia Beach and Norfolk?  I disagree.  I have enjoyed many pleasant vacation days staying at Virginia Beach and visiting the attractions of Norfolk as well as other areas in the Tidewater region.  

But for a cruise stop? I think not.