QM2 Disembarkation - Brooklyn. Can we “ porter” our own rolling bag.

[Stick-Monkey]

Is it possible / advisable for us to handle a single mid-size (30x16x14 inch) rolling suitcase plus our 2 simple backpacks, disembarking the QM2 15 June?

 

We are trying to minimize complication, and plan for a pickup time. Deck 10, if that matters.
 

First time QM2. We don’t want to annoy the rest of you.
 

I’ve read the other excellent advice about the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal on https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2971416-qm2-q2-brooklyn-disembarkation/

Queen Mary 2

QM2 Q2 Brooklyn Disembarkation 

Edited April 21 by Stick-Monkey
Add in proper ship’s name.

[Tonopah]

You can take your own suitcase. 

[s.s.France]

Of course, if you want to handle your luggage alone you are free to do so. You can disembark early then before all the luggage is layed out in the arrivals hall.

[Pushpit]

The access route is wide enough for wheelchairs and if you are physically able to walk yourself and baggage through the walkways at a reasonable pace then you are at liberty to do so. Other people will be doing the same.

 

If you are OK with a later rendez-vous time for the pick-up, then it's usually fairly quiet and straightforward. I know there are reports of bedlam, and yes some people are keen to get off quickly, but if you leave it a bit later on, after 9am, but allow your bags to go baggage area in the usual way, then it's going to take about 20 minutes or so from stateroom to terminal exit door.

Edited April 21 by Pushpit

[3rdGenCunarder]

Just to be clear, there are two interpretations of your question. 

 

First, are you planning to put out your luggage the last night and collect it on the pier after the ship unloads it? If so, you don't have to get a porter. Just find your luggage and roll it to the Immigration queue. However, sometimes in Brooklyn the Immigration inspectors take people with porters faster so that the porters can go back and collect more passengers. 

 

Or are you asking if you can carry your own luggage off the ship yourself? That answer is also yes, but the ship will want you to go off in the first group and the deck you're on doesn't matter. You have to sign up for this. 

[Stick-Monkey]

53 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

First, are you planning to put out your luggage the last night and collect it on the pier after the ship unloads it? 

I’m not really certain.  
 

Perhaps I should ask how best to get off at a “civilized” time, like 9:00 to 10:00 AM after a nice breakfast and minimize waiting. We won’t need the rolling bag, as it will just be formal and evening wear.

 

The other threads led me to believe the baggage situation is a zoo. We’ll be in P1 if that has any bearing on the process.

[tv24]

The baggage situation in Brooklyn is NOT a zoo.  Your checked bag will be tagged with a color-coded tag and you will find it with others with the same color code.  Easy Peasey.  You can ask the Purser's Office for a specific disembarkation time, and the later times are not in great demand.  What is a zoo is the immigration process and the lines can be enormous depending on the number of inspectors who are employed and how well their computers work.  We have arrived at the Brooklyn terminal many times and sadly it has never been easy because of the immigration issue.  The line moves very slowly.  You can somewhat bypass the line if you hire a porter to put your luggage on one of their carts and guide you through the a separate immigration line.

[NE John]

30 minutes ago, tv24 said:

The baggage situation in Brooklyn is NOT a zoo.  Your checked bag will be tagged with a color-coded tag and you will find it with others with the same color code.  Easy Peasey.  You can ask the Purser's Office for a specific disembarkation time, and the later times are not in great demand.  What is a zoo is the immigration process and the lines can be enormous depending on the number of inspectors who are employed and how well their computers work.  We have arrived at the Brooklyn terminal many times and sadly it has never been easy because of the immigration issue.  The line moves very slowly.  You can somewhat bypass the line if you hire a porter to put your luggage on one of their carts and guide you through the a separate immigration line.

The “Zoo” phenomenon in Brooklyn immigration stems from the US Customs law that every ship has to zero out with all pax disembarking and then re-embark, even if staying on the ship for the next leg of the voyage. 
That applies to all US ports and Brooklyn seems to take the brunt of bad press because of this policy. However, I also heard Vancouver bad too on the US side for Alaska cruises. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

52 minutes ago, NE John said:

The “Zoo” phenomenon in Brooklyn immigration stems from the US Customs law that every ship has to zero out with all pax disembarking and then re-embark, even if staying on the ship for the next leg of the voyage. 
That applies to all US ports and Brooklyn seems to take the brunt of bad press because of this policy. However, I also heard Vancouver bad too on the US side for Alaska cruises. 

 

I think part of the problem in Brooklyn is that there isn't a lot of space for the in-transits to wait in the terminal, and itisn't very comfortable. Nobody is allowed back on until everybody has cleared immigration. So if one last person dawdles, the rest are left 'captive.' 

 

I've heard Vancouver can be bad, but the one time we were in transit there, we spent the day off the ship, sightseeing, and by the time we returned all the in transits and most of the newly embarking passengers had been processed. If I find myself in the in transit situation again, I'll take a tour or go out sightseeing.

 

Except for the time an idiot took one of my suitcases, I have found luggage collection to be easy in Brookyn.  The crazy thing was, the staff that are cranky handling embarkation (especially the gorgon who guards the entrance to the grills/platinum/diamond waiting area) were exceptionally kind and helpful, tracking down where my case went. 

 

[2Oldpeopleinlove]

When we disembarked at Brooklyn last December, we paid a porter $20 as a tip and he put us straight through to a very short line. We’ll worth the $20…and a super nice guy, too.

[jollyjones]

 

Does it make any difference in Brooklyn if you have Global Entry? Is there a separate queue or do all the hordes just go through the same channels?

[wetterthanwater]

On 4/22/2024 at 12:30 AM, 2Oldpeopleinlove said:

When we disembarked at Brooklyn last December, we paid a porter $20 as a tip and he put us straight through to a very short line. We’ll worth the $20…and a super nice guy, too.

 

He's nice because he wants your money.....

[NE John]

24 minutes ago, jollyjones said:

 

Does it make any difference in Brooklyn if you have Global Entry? Is there a separate queue or do all the hordes just go through the same channels?

Global Entry does not apply to ports/cruise ships. There are many immigration posts open in Brooklyn. Getting onboard in Brooklyn is worse than disembarking. 

[Stick-Monkey]

27 minutes ago, jollyjones said:

 

Does it make any difference in Brooklyn if you have Global Entry? Is there a separate queue or do all the hordes just go through the same channels?

Global Entry only appears to only be available at Port Everglades.

[exlondoner]

26 minutes ago, NE John said:

Global Entry does not apply to ports/cruise ships. There are many immigration posts open in Brooklyn. Getting onboard in Brooklyn is worse than disembarking. 

I think that may depend on nationality. US passengers are welcomed home, the rest of us are considered aliens, as if we have come from space, and appear to be considered as dangerous. Mind you, the same happens at Heathrow in reverse, except for being called aliens.

[NE John]

27 minutes ago, Stick-Monkey said:

Global Entry only appears to only be available at Port Everglades.

Yes, it looks like Global Entry is slowly expanding to cruise home ports.

[NE John]

2 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

I think that may depend on nationality. US passengers are welcomed home, the rest of us are considered aliens, as if we have come from space, and appear to be considered as dangerous. Mind you, the same happens at Heathrow in reverse, except for being called aliens.

Getting into the US is more intimidating than getting into the UK, I have to admit. 

[2Oldpeopleinlove]

1 hour ago, wetterthanwater said:

 

He's nice because he wants your money.....

A-He was very pleasant and friendly, even trying to bargain down the taxi price for us.

B-Even if your assumption is correct, it doesn’t change how helpful he was,the good he did for us. 
So why denigrate him for good behavior?

[2Oldpeopleinlove]

34 minutes ago, NE John said:

Yes, it looks like Global Entry is slowly expanding to cruise home ports.

I Hope you’re right! It’s very helpful at airports. I’d love to see the same at cruise ports,

[david,Mississauga]

On 4/21/2024 at 5:36 PM, tv24 said:

The baggage situation in Brooklyn is NOT a zoo.  Your checked bag will be tagged with a color-coded tag and you will find it with others with the same color code.  Easy Peasey.  You can ask the Purser's Office for a specific disembarkation time, and the later times are not in great demand.  What is a zoo is the immigration process and the lines can be enormous depending on the number of inspectors who are employed and how well their computers work.  We have arrived at the Brooklyn terminal many times and sadly it has never been easy because of the immigration issue.  The line moves very slowly.  You can somewhat bypass the line if you hire a porter to put your luggage on one of their carts and guide you through the a separate immigration line.

 

The luggage situation  can be a zoo. I have yet to have a disembarkation in Manhattan or Brooklyn that didn't have major problems. 

 

I admit only once was our luggage (and the luggage of several other passengers) misplaced. 

One case was where it was supposed to be but there was no sign of the other one. It was behind two fences and even when I could see it I was not allowed to retrieve it. I understand the need for those fences to make it easy for staff to arrange bags without people getting in the way. So we stood for about 40 minutes until it was permitted for me to get it. Fortunately one airport bus transfer waited for everyone.

 

Also, good luck for those who need wheelchair assistance. There was a shortage of shore staff and wheelchairs a couple of years ago so we waited in the lounge over an hour. When the friendly man got us to where the transfers were loading we were told there wasn't enough room for everyone going to La Guardia so we stood for a full hour, with my wife leaning on her stick and me.  

 

Most of my experiences in NY have been embarkations which are noticeably better than arrivals.  I wish NY could be like Southampton and Vancouver where disembarkations are easy.  On a positive note, everyone we have dealt with this century has been pleasant, unlike in previous decades. 

[tv24]

6 hours ago, exlondoner said:

I think that may depend on nationality. US passengers are welcomed home, the rest of us are considered aliens, as if we have come from space, and appear to be considered as dangerous. Mind you, the same happens at Heathrow in reverse, except for being called aliens.

It is appalling that people from other countries get treated this way.  But you may draw some ironic passive aggressive pleasure from the fact that US passport holders have to stand in the same horribly-long lines.

[Jack E Dawson]

On 4/21/2024 at 11:09 AM, Stick-Monkey said:

Is it possible / advisable for us to handle a single mid-size (30x16x14 inch) rolling suitcase plus our 2 simple backpacks, disembarking the QM2 15 June?

Stick-Monkey,

We have disembarked from the QM2 in Brooklyn on 4 occasions and we far prefer self-disembarkation but have done it both ways. We usually have two roller bags (slightly larger than yours), a maximum size carry-on bag and a backpack. We are in our mid 70's and have never had a problem. There are two oversized elevators to get you down to ground level. The advantages are:

- You don't need to finish your packing until the morning of disembarkation.

- If, in the morning, you unexpectedly need to make a wardrobe change or packed something you need, you still have your bags.

- We like getting an early start and breezing through US Customs. But, with self-disembarkation you can pretty much get off when you want if you prefer a relaxing breakfast. There currently is no Global Entry in Brooklyn.

Our experience was that NOT doing self-disembarkation resulted in a lot of "hurry up and wait". 

Hope this helps, and enjoy your voyage.

Jack

 

[wetterthanwater]

7 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Mind you, the same happens at Heathrow in reverse, except for being called aliens.

Not really. US Citizens (amongst others) use the egates with no invasive questioning. Completely different to the US inbound experience. 

[rmsEtruria]

10 hours ago, exlondoner said:

I think that may depend on nationality. US passengers are welcomed home, the rest of us are considered aliens, as if we have come from space, and appear to be considered as dangerous. Mind you, the same happens at Heathrow in reverse, except for being called aliens.

Might I point out that U.S. immigration law has used the term “aliens” since the 19th century, long before it became associated with creatures from outer space 👽.

[jollyjones]

22 hours ago, Stick-Monkey said:

Global Entry only appears to only be available at Port Everglades.

 

Thanks for the reply - I knew about Port Everglades and I had a slight - obviously vain - hope that it might be available at more ports.