Embarkation delays in New York

[kfbesq]

I've heard of long embarkation delays of up to 3 hours on the Noordam in New York City last fall. Can anyone substantiate that? And, if true, does anyone know the reason for the delay. Was it a one-time thing or something to expect in NYC?

[Navy_Chief]

I've heard of long embarkation delays of up to 3 hours on the Noordam in New York City last fall. Can anyone substantiate that? And, if true, does anyone know the reason for the delay. Was it a one-time thing or something to expect in NYC?

 

Took us 30 to 45 minutes to get through the boarding process on our December sailing. We arrived pierside at 12:30.

[RuthC]

Embarkation last March may have qualified as the worst-ever known to mankind. It certainly was the worst I had encountered up to that point.

Embarkation three (is it almost three weeks already! :eek: ) weeks ago went very smoothly.

My HAL bus arrived around 12:30. The luggage was taken and we were directed up in the elevator. Immediately I was given a number and directed to seating to wait my turn. The number was called in fairly short order and we passed through security and were separated based on whether or not we had done Express Check-in (manual is the faster line). Check-in was a smooth process, then it's skip past the photographers and up the gangway.

 

Just the way it should be. :)

[kfbesq]

So...so many people are preparing their forms online that the "manual" line is quicker now? Also, is there any special treatment of suite-holders?

[starysacz]

Embarkation took about 45 minutes for the Noordam in NY last April. Very smooth operation.

[mommybunny21]

What is this about??No where in my docs am I seeing this step of the process. I filled out a form on line that was required and then I received an immigration form from my TA. What am I missing???

[sab490]

So...so many people are preparing their forms online that the "manual" line is quicker now? Also, is there any special treatment of suite-holders?

 

Yes. You identify yourself as a suite guest when you enter the terminal and you are directed to a separate line. We did not have to get a number and wait for it to be called.

 

Just be sure to ask for a health questionaire and fill it out before you get to the check-in counter.

[RuthC]

What is this about??No where in my docs am I seeing this step of the process. I filled out a form on line that was required and then I received an immigration form from my TA. What am I missing???

It's an either/or---you're not missing anything.

Some people do the Immigration form on-line, print it out and take it with them. That's Express Check-in. If you do that you do not need to complete the Immigration form that comes with your documents.

Some people do not have access to a computer, or choose not to complete the on-line Immigration form. They complete the form in their documents. That is the process I'm referring to as "manual".

Every time I have checked in in NYC since 2003 the "manual" line has been faster than the Express. :rolleyes:

[mommybunny21]

It's an either/or---you're not missing anything.

Some people do the Immigration form on-line, print it out and take it with them. That's Express Check-in. If you do that you do not need to complete the Immigration form that comes with your documents.

Some people do not have access to a computer, or choose not to complete the on-line Immigration form. They complete the form in their documents. That is the process I'm referring to as "manual".

 

Every time I have checked in in NYC since 2003 the "manual" line has been faster than the Express. :rolleyes:

Thanks..you would think my TA would have told me this ..I hate not knowing what to do..thank you

[bepsf]

I've heard of long embarkation delays of up to 3 hours on the Noordam in New York City last fall. Can anyone substantiate that? And, if true, does anyone know the reason for the delay. Was it a one-time thing or something to expect in NYC?

 

That 3-hour delay story would have been for the second Noordam cruise when NY Port Authority held up the disembarcation for the pax returning from the inaugural - thereby causing delays for those waiting to board the next cruise.

If the Port Authority has their knickers in a wad, they can do almost anything affecting your embarcation/disembarcation.

Meanwhile, we'll probably have another of those stories this week due to Noordam being delayed into NYC today due to weather. Someone will undoubtedly come here griping and sniping about how irresponsible it was for HAL to allow waves to occur on the Atlantic Ocean in winter, purposely making them miss their 11am flight - & trying to drum up support for their demand that HAL "Do something about it" (ie: Write a check...) and others demanding that since they had to wait on the pier "forever" that they should have been upgraded to the PH...

:rolleyes:

[smeyer418]

That 3-hour delay story would have been for the second Noordam cruise when NY Port Authority held up the disembarcation for the pax returning from the inaugural - thereby causing delays for those waiting to board the next cruise.

 

If the Port Authority has their knickers in a wad, they can do almost anything affecting your embarcation/disembarcation.

 

Meanwhile, we'll probably have another of those stories this week due to Noordam being delayed into NYC today due to weather. Someone will undoubtedly come here griping and sniping about how irresponsible it was for HAL to allow waves to occur on the Atlantic Ocean in winter, purposely making them miss their 11am flight - & trying to drum up support for their demand that HAL "Do something about it" (ie: Write a check...) and others demanding that since they had to wait on the pier "forever" that they should have been upgraded to the PH...

:rolleyes:

 

The New York Port Authority has nothing to do with the Pier. Its run by P and O under contract to the City of NY. Normally the one who "holds" things up is ICE(the immigration people) when they are checking for non-US citizens and they haven't reported to be cleared. I don't actually know who held it up but I doubt it was the NY Port Authority....

[bepsf]

The New York Port Authority has nothing to do with the Pier. Its run by P and O under contract to the City of NY. Normally the one who "holds" things up is ICE(the immigration people) when they are checking for non-US citizens and they haven't reported to be cleared. I don't actually know who held it up but I doubt it was the NY Port Authority....

 

Funny - that's not what was announced aboard the ship, nor what the Captain and Hotel Manager told me on the pier that morning...

...and US immigration couldn't have cared less since we'd all gone through the immigration process in St Thomas several days before.

[smeyer418]

Funny - that's not what was announced aboard the ship, nor what the Captain and Hotel Manager told me on the pier that morning...

 

...and US immigration couldn't have cared less since we'd all gone through the immigration process in St Thomas several days before.

 

The pier is technically owned by NY City. The "port authority" has nothing to do with it. Sometimes words are used in generic sense...like the Port authority runs the pier while in NY P and O leases and runs it. Even if you went through the process a couple of days before...I am not sure they don't look at the "papers" again anyway. Why would the Port people hold the people on the ship anyway?

[bepsf]

Why would the Port people hold the people on the ship anyway?

 

The reason given IIRC was they wanted all checked luggage off the ship before they started disembarking pax.

[GMoney]

I sailed on the 2nd cruise in March and just recently at Xmas. Both experiences were similar. March was very poor as previously described, but I was willing to give HAL the benefit of the doubt, given that the process was new. Decemeber was a bit better, but I still found it to be lacking, especially compared to lines like Disney and RCI. Granted, the facilities are limited, but things were still very disorganized, and commumication between staff members and passengers was poor.