Auto generated boarding group and 4 and 5 star mariners

[3rdGenCunarder]

7 hours ago, Kristal Blade said:

Just want to add that it’s not just HAL and it’s not just Vancouver that can be terrible for boarding.

Last year we sailed Cunard from New York. We queued for 3 hours, but that was mostly due to checking Covid passes. However Cunard is now off my list of lines to use.

When we have a transfer from a hotel it can be difficult to achieve our assigned boarding time, we often arrive outside our booking time and just get in line. This happens even with transfers organised by the cruise line. Just so you know it’s not because we are desperate to board early.

 

Don't blame Cunard for Brooklyn embarkations. The staff there can be very unpleasant (especially the ones who guard the door to the priority lounge), but they are port employees and not Cunard employees. Adding the covid checks resulted in a complicated process and more steps in the process, resulting in an odd pathway through the terminal. I boarded in Brooklyn last fall for a Canada cruise, and it only took a few people who hadn't done or couldn't find all their covid docs to gum up the works. 

[SilvertoGold]

15 hours ago, kangforpres said:

I know it's port specific as far as having a well trained boarding staff who are on the ball. You would thing a place like Canada Place which handles so many cruises would be one of the better ports to embark

Canada Place has ONE large terminal for the usual 3 ships in port, ONE Xray area for all ships, ONE US immigration area for all ships  --  that makes for LONG lines at peak times. Ports that have separate teminals, one ship per terminal at a time are the best and most logical. Ft Lauderdale has alwys been great.

 

As a very frequent user of Canad Place, I have to note that the terminal staff there are so-so. Sometimes great, often almost clueless. A few of the older Red Coats retired during Covid and have been replaced with not too well trained peole. Doing 5 back to backs last year was a nightmare for the turn-around day.  We had different sets of info on how In Transit pax would proceed and the staff in the terminal did the set-up differently each time.  The last turn-around day was finally better handled, but it was an embarassment overall.

 

BTW: if you have "priority" you might have to be a bit pushy as some staff aren't too aware. Have your paperwork handy.

Edited August 12, 2023 by SilvertoGold

[kangforpres]

I saw a few weekends ago 50k pax passed through Canada Place, I'm assuming that was a F, Sat, Sun with 3 ships each day?

[Kristal Blade]

35 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Don't blame Cunard for Brooklyn embarkations. The staff there can be very unpleasant (especially the ones who guard the door to the priority lounge), but they are port employees and not Cunard employees. Adding the covid checks resulted in a complicated process and more steps in the process, resulting in an odd pathway through the terminal. I boarded in Brooklyn last fall for a Canada cruise, and it only took a few people who hadn't done or couldn't find all their covid docs to gum up the works. 

The staff were all polite to us, but then we, as Brits, don’t mind a queue so long as everyone obeys the rules! However, as Cunard prides itself on its great customer service I think they could have helped out. Standing for all that time with no drinks being offered was awful. We thought that some of the Cunard musicians could have come and played a bit of music to cheer us up and help the time pass.

Maybe I need to get on the board of directors and shake them up!!

[3rdGenCunarder]

5 hours ago, SilvertoGold said:

Canada Place has ONE large terminal for the usual 3 ships in port, ONE Xray area for all ships, ONE US immigration area for all ships  --  that makes for LONG lines at peak times. Ports that have separate teminals, one ship per terminal at a time are the best and most logical. Ft Lauderdale has alwys been great.

 

Canada Place seems to have a lot of space in the terminal, but the system you describe doesn't use it well. I feel like I'm walking through a lot of empty space that could be put to use. They need more x-ray lines. IME, that's the worst backup. I found the immigration kiosks easy to use. And then disembarking is another backup if you want a taxi. Last June, I waited in the taxi queue for an hour because some mega ship got their people off earlier and people from my ship ended up at the back of the queue. They do a good job of moving taxis in and out, but the space limits how fast things go. 

 

Fort Lauderdale is always easy compared to other ports. But look at the footprint--each ship has its own building with its own luggage handling and x-rays and check-in desks. Few cities have the luxury of spreading out the ships that way. 

Edited August 12, 2023 by 3rdGenCunarder

[Blackduck59]

Please remember Canada Place is actually a convention centre that acts as a cruise port during cruise season. The empty space is the convention centre not leased by cruise lines for port services.

[cwd79]

Will be boarding Zaandam in Boston in 11 days and first time being a 4 star. Our boarding pass doesn't show we have priority embarking as we are in an interior room, but thought we get priority embarking if we are 4 star. I'm assuming there are signs on where to go if you are 4/5 star? Thank you