Boarding at Black Falcon Boston

[Toad]

I have only boarded here once on a different cruise line, unfortunately it was a real debacle due to a fast approaching hurricane and a total change of itinerary.  I am hoping with HAL and no hurricane it will be easier.  Any CC members with recent experiences?

[RuthC]

To a great extent it will depend on whether or not your ship is doing a regular run, or if it has just returned from an extended period overseas. To a lesser extent, it will depend on the size of your ship and how many ships are in that day. 

When I embarked the Nieuw Statendam in Boston in Aug. '22, it was after the ship had been out of the US for months, so every government agency swooped down to do whatever inspections they are authorized to do. That held up embarkation of a large number of passengers. It took me three hours of sitting and waiting to be brought aboard, so late I missed any opportunity to check in at muster drill. 

There was also another HAL ship embarking that day, but a smaller ship on a regular NE/Canada run. They didn't have to go through all the difficulties my ship did. They had a fairly easy time of it. 

I would say each ship's experience that day covered the two extremes of boarding in Boston---especially when there are two ships in town. 

[BetsyS.]

RuthC - I agree with everything you said. My stepfather and I boarded the Niew Statendam in Boston in August 2022 also. We had to wait one hour outside the terminal in a long line. After we entered the building, we had to wait another hour. It was chaotic. However, after we got on the ship everything was fine and we had a great time.

         

[Toad]

So given both of your replies I am guessing it could be very slow. We are sailing on the Zuiderdam and it will be coming in from Amsterdam. Oh well, I am greatful I will have plenty of time to recover from boarding.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

You never know. Good/ bad..

[RuthC]

Don't even bother getting there before 1:00 PM, and I would recommend even later than that. I needed assistance boarding, and that always takes a long time. There is no such thing as 'priority boarding' when you need assistance, either. It's first come, first served. 
If you don't need assistance, it will be easier for you. Just don't get there early. 
Oh, and the Zuiderdam is much smaller than the Nieuw Statendam, so you won't be jockeying with as many people. 

Will there be another ship in that day? When BetsyS and I boarded, the Zaandam was doing her usual NE/Canada turnover, which added to the traffic outside, but was totally separate inside. 

[BetsyS.]

Toad - My stepfather and I boarded the Zuiderdam in July 2023. Our boarding time 

was 3:15 PM. We arrived at terminal at 2:50 PM. There was no line and no waiting. We were the only passengers in the terminal at that time. Check-in was very quick.

We loved the Zuiderdam.

         

[Toad]

1 hour ago, RuthC said:

Don't even bother getting there before 1:00 PM, and I would recommend even later than that. I needed assistance boarding, and that always takes a long time. There is no such thing as 'priority boarding' when you need assistance, either. It's first come, first served. 
If you don't need assistance, it will be easier for you. Just don't get there early. 
Oh, and the Zuiderdam is much smaller than the Nieuw Statendam, so you won't be jockeying with as many people. 

Will there be another ship in that day? When BetsyS and I boarded, the Zaandam was doing her usual NE/Canada turnover, which added to the traffic outside, but was totally separate inside. 

Not sure if there are other ships in port that day…..

 

we don’t need assistance and we are 4*’s but I don’t think that will matter.  I’m just not a big fan of packing in with hundreds and I definitely need to work on my patience 😉

[Alphen]

3 hours ago, Toad said:

Not sure if there are other ships in port that day…..

 

we don’t need assistance and we are 4*’s but I don’t think that will matter.  I’m just not a big fan of packing in with hundreds and I definitely need to work on my patience 😉

On the ports website, you will find the ships in port on that day, with this link; Cruise Schedule | Massport

 

Edited February 11 by Alphen

[Haljo1935]

We boarded, I believe Oct 2022, w/o long wait. We arrived later as @RuthC suggested and had no congestion. We did not require assistance. I do not remember if there was another ship w/us that day.

Instead of boarding early & eating lunch in MDR, we enjoyed Boston and boarded late - one of the few ports we do that.

Safe travels - enjoy your cruise!

[fox02554]

3 hours ago, Alphen said:

On the ports website, you will find the ships in port on that day, with this link; Cruise Schedule | Massport

 

Ohhhhh I knew better then to look 🤣 2 ports of call, RCI & Oceania and one embarkation in addition to our Zuderdam 10/24 Hahahaha.... good thing we're taking a "car"  we'll plan for a later arrival

[LadyBerard]

We've cruised out of Boston on Celebrity Silhouette this Oct. for a repo cruisde, and on Royal Caribbean Serenade of the Seas for a Canada/NE cruise this Oct., and both times we arrived between 11 - 11:30 and pretty much just walked on the ship.  We did not have priority boarding either.

[CruiserBruce]

Boarded Zaandam in Boston last September, with Hurricane Lee a couple days away. Easy, smooth boarding, as easy as any boarding we have ever done (27 cruises). However, disembarked N. Statendam in Boston in August 2022 (I think what @RuthC is mentioning above)...total cluster. Fortunately we weren't in a hurry.

[Toad]

Thanks to Alphen I found out there will be two ships.  Both HAL ships so maybe that will help. 

[Cruise NH]

I think a lot of the horror stories about boarding in Boston are from before 2023.  We were on the Voyage of the Vikings last summer.  We got there around 1ish and it was a breeze, no problems at all.  Everyone was very professional.  I didn't hear of any difficulties from anyone else either.  

[Toad]

12 minutes ago, Cruise NH said:

I think a lot of the horror stories about boarding in Boston are from before 2023.  We were on the Voyage of the Vikings last summer.  We got there around 1ish and it was a breeze, no problems at all.  Everyone was very professional.  I didn't hear of any difficulties from anyone else either.  

Fingers crossed!

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, CruiserBruce said:

Boarded Zaandam in Boston last September, with Hurricane Lee a couple days away. Easy, smooth boarding, as easy as any boarding we have ever done (27 cruises). However, disembarked N. Statendam in Boston in August 2022 (I think what @RuthC is mentioning above)...total cluster. Fortunately we weren't in a hurry.

Forgot to mention the boarding in September was with another ship in with us...a Celebrity ship, IIRC.

[Infi]

Boarded Zaandam in Boston in June 2023 and the process was very smooth and easy. I just checked my photos and I arrived at the pier 10:40am and took my first step onboard at 10:54am, so it was a pretty quick turnaround. The staff was friendly and helpful, especially the porters. The boarding area feels a little cramped, but it has a nice view of the ship and you likely won't be waiting there long. 

 

The only negatives I remember were that several of the staff were confused when I asked for 4 star priority lanes, and the overly aggressive security. As you likely know, HAL now tries to prevent plastic water bottles from coming onboard, and the security found one in my backpack pocket. (I did not know they were checking for this; if I had, I would have thrown it out.) They wrested it away from me in a very aggressive way and chastised me like I was carrying some severe contraband. I have been on over a half dozen cruises since HAL began their anti-plastic water bottle campaign and Boston was the only port that was nasty about it. 

Edited February 11 by Infi

[ToBe]

there will be two HAL ships in Boston on July 20.

[Shmoo here]

2 hours ago, ToBe said:

there will be two HAL ships in Boston on July 20.

And it seems they've mixed them up.  We're doing the 35 day round trip on the ZUIDERDAM starting that day.

 

[ToBe]

7 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

And it seems they've mixed them up.  We're doing the 35 day round trip on the ZUIDERDAM starting that day.

 

and the Volendam has a 7 day trip to Canada then returns and does a round trip to Iceland. Both ships start July 4 in Boston

[ToBe]

Just now, ToBe said:

and the Volendam has a 7 day trip to Canada then returns and does a round trip to Iceland. Both ships start July 4 in Boston

sorry July 20 for both cruises

[debc]

I embarked the Nieuw Statendam on August 2, 2022 for the 24 day Canada, Greenland, Iceland & New England cruise and it was a zoo.

 

We were getting conflicting messages from Holland America regarding check in times via email the day of, which superseded our original boarding times, which made things confusing as some people checked their email the day of and others didn't.  Apparently, as others have pointed out, there was a US Coast Guard drill scheduled.  We got to the pier at 2 pm and the line up was all the way down the terminal. It was a hot day and there was not enough room to inside the terminal to provide shade for everyone. 

 

Bottom line:  It was not a pleasant boarding experience.  Standing in the hot sun, in a very long line for a very long time. Getting through the terminal check-in process was also chaotic as the lines for those who had done their pre-check in documentation via the apps (VeriFLY etc.) vs. those who did not.

 

Not entirely the fault of Holland America and the staff at the terminal did the best they could.

 

We were late departing as they were still loading pallets onto the ship (which was also delayed due to the Coast Guard formalities).

 

Disembarkation was also chaotic - long queues for transportation.  I was lucky and was able to get a very good Uber.

 

Sounds like those who went in 2023 had a better experience.

 

Cheers!

 

DebC

[Toad]

4 hours ago, Shmoo here said:

And it seems they've mixed them up.  We're doing the 35 day round trip on the ZUIDERDAM starting that day.

 

Yes I see that they are mixed up, as I will also hopefully be on the Zuiderdam voyage of the Vikings.

[BetsyS.]

HAL should make sure that the mistake is corrected. As stated above, the 35 day Voyage of the Vikings cruise is on the Zuiderdam and NOT the Volendam.