Grandeur in Tampa, Big problems loading

[SeaPA1]

We sailed on the Grandeur last week (left Thursday, got home Monday) out of Tampa. They had MAJOR issues getting passengers on & off the ship, both at the beginning and the end of the cruise.

 

Embarkation day - it took between 2.5 & 3 hours to get through the line & onboard. Much of the line is outdoors, exposed to the elements (it was a pretty hot day here Thursday). We decided to just sit down in the shade & let the line go through, and board at the end (no way was my 4 y/o boy going to stand patiently in that line). Ship was supposed to sail at 4, didn't leave until around 5:15. We completely missed the muster drill, as did (in my estimation) at least 1/3 - maybe 1/2 - of the passengers (who were in line with us). There were a lot of very unhappy cruisers, and most everyone was in a rather foul mood after showing up happy & excited.

 

Getting off the ship wasn't much better at the end of the cruise. Very long, slow process. Ship was docked in Tampa at 6am, nobody off until 8. We got off at around 11, and there were still a LOT of people onboard waiting to exit.

 

The cruise itself was very enjoyable. The ship is nice, the food excellent, the onboard entertainment quite good (especially the poolside band, they were outstanding & played for a long time).

 

But the loading & unloading procedures need some serious attention.

[happycruiser1960]

So sorry you had a bad embarkation and debarkation. But good to know you had a wonderful cruise. If that is the worst that happens to us when we board on Jan 7, I'll consider myself lucky. Any cruise is always a GREAT cruise!!:p

[TwitterCruise1]

I'm with ya happy... can't believe we have just a week and a half left...

[looneytunes31419]

I am sorry you had a hard time loading and unloading. My DH and I go on her in Jan 31st. so I hope it will be better. I can't help to see that you guys were on her for the first 4 night cruise. by any chance can you scan the compass for the four days and email them to me. My email address is looneytunes31419@gmail.com we are wanting to know when formal night is? I am glad to hear you had a good time on the cruise.

 

 

 

We sailed on the Grandeur last week (left Thursday, got home Monday) out of Tampa. They had MAJOR issues getting passengers on & off the ship, both at the beginning and the end of the cruise.

 

Embarkation day - it took between 2.5 & 3 hours to get through the line & onboard. Much of the line is outdoors, exposed to the elements (it was a pretty hot day here Thursday). We decided to just sit down in the shade & let the line go through, and board at the end (no way was my 4 y/o boy going to stand patiently in that line). Ship was supposed to sail at 4, didn't leave until around 5:15. We completely missed the muster drill, as did (in my estimation) at least 1/3 - maybe 1/2 - of the passengers (who were in line with us). There were a lot of very unhappy cruisers, and most everyone was in a rather foul mood after showing up happy & excited.

 

Getting off the ship wasn't much better at the end of the cruise. Very long, slow process. Ship was docked in Tampa at 6am, nobody off until 8. We got off at around 11, and there were still a LOT of people onboard waiting to exit.

 

The cruise itself was very enjoyable. The ship is nice, the food excellent, the onboard entertainment quite good (especially the poolside band, they were outstanding & played for a long time).

 

But the loading & unloading procedures need some serious attention.

[hcat]

What was the name of the band? Good ones are a rarity these days! Glad you had a nice trip except for the getting on & off situation

[SeaPA1]

I have the compasses for each day & will be happy to scan them & email to you (won't be until tomorrow - they are at home & I'm at work).

 

Formal night was the 2nd night of the cruise (left Tampa on Thursday; spent Friday on Key West, formal night was that night).

 

I am sorry you had a hard time loading and unloading. My DH and I go on her in Jan 31st. so I hope it will be better. I can't help to see that you guys were on her for the first 4 night cruise. by any chance can you scan the compass for the four days and email them to me. My email address is looneytunes31419@gmail.com we are wanting to know when formal night is? I am glad to hear you had a good time on the cruise.

[SeaPA1]

What was the name of the band? Good ones are a rarity these days! Glad you had a nice trip except for the getting on & off situation

 

 

I don't recall the name offhand; I'll check the papers & see if they are named. They were quite good & played a nice mix of music (a lot of Marley, Buffett, & such, as would be expected).

 

I hope the problems are just due to them just getting to Tampa. I'm pretty laid back, so it didn't bother me all that much. But I was traveling with my in-laws, and my FIL is very high on the list of the world's most impatient people. The day we got back in to Tampa, he called our room at 6 dang am (as we were pulling in to port) to make plans about getting off the ship. :mad:

Then he couldn't wait for his color to be called, so he & MIL got off the ship (even though they were riding home from the port with US, and they knew we were just heading to breakfast). :(

Then the $^%^@! cellphone started ringing 30 minutes later, wondering if we were in line to get off the ship yet. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. If he had anything at all to do, I could understand - but he's been retired for 6 years & his plans for the day were to go home, feed his cat, and watch tv.

 

We do this family trip every year right before Christmas. Next year, if he doesn't want to drive, I'm giving him cabfare to the port for Christmas.

[happycruiser1960]

Weatherman.. read where you were upgraded to a Royal Suite. Awesome for you!! We are stuck in the bottom of the ship on Deck 2.:rolleyes: Oh well, like I said "Any cruise is always a GREAT cruise" even at the bottom of the ship!!:) :) :)

[Rancher Dave]

Embarkation day - it took between 2.5 & 3 hours to get through the line & onboard.

 

Getting off the ship wasn't much better at the end of the cruise. Very long, slow process. Ship was docked in Tampa at 6am, nobody off until 8. We got off at around 11, and there were still a LOT of people onboard waiting to exit.

 

Will you please share what time you arrived at the port to get on?

 

Were you trying to disembark as a Self Assist pax or as they called colors?

 

We plan to be at the Port of Tampa around 11-1130 to get on and plan to self assist getting off...so wonder if we will have less difficulty...

 

Thanks for sharing.

[SeaPA1]

Will you please share what time you arrived at the port to get on?

 

Were you trying to disembark as a Self Assist pax or as they called colors?

 

We plan to be at the Port of Tampa around 11-1130 to get on and plan to self assist getting off...so wonder if we will have less difficulty...

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

On embarkation day, we dropped off my inlaws at around 12:30, maybe 12:45. They got onboard at about 3:30. I had to drop off some paperwork nearby, so left with my wife & son. Got back by the port at around 1:30 & could see there was a long line. We were hungry/thirsty, so we went to Channelside for lunch & a beer (ended up having 2). Back to the port at 2:45, onboard at right around 5. Ship pulled out about 15 minutes later. My BIL & his family arrived at around 2, got onboard not long before we did.

The desk folks indicated that they'd had major computer problems that kept them from getting started boarding people, and that this was the cause of the backup.

 

On debarkation, we were doing the color coded thing. I'm not sure I saw anything of "self assist" being offered. I also don't know that it would have mattered, unless you were one of the first to attempt to get off the ship. The line was very long & slow. They have something of a layout problem at the gate. You get off the ship using a walkway on floor 5, then take an escalator down to the ground inside the building; it dumps into a small area, so they only let a dozen or so down the escalator, then stop everyone until the area clears.

[michigan tim]

Sounds like minor rather than MAJOR issue to me.

[SeaPA1]

Sounds like minor rather than MAJOR issue to me.

 

Reasons I think it to be major:

 

1. Roughly HALF of the passengers missed the "mandatory" muster drill, so they had no idea where to go in case of emergency

2. Two or 3 hours in a line that is exposed to the elements is possibly quite dangerous (the ways in Tampa would include heat stroke or lightning), and at a minimum highly inconvenient (I'm young & acclimated , so I can handle the heat here; the 75 year old folks I saw in line not so much).

3. There are no facilities available for those in said line (no restrooms, no beverages, no food).

[Rancher Dave]

Reasons I think it to be major:

 

1. Roughly HALF of the passengers missed the "mandatory" muster drill, so they had no idea where to go in case of emergency

2. Two or 3 hours in a line that is exposed to the elements is possibly quite dangerous (the ways in Tampa would include heat stroke or lightning), and at a minimum highly inconvenient (I'm young & acclimated , so I can handle the heat here; the 75 year old folks I saw in line not so much).

3. There are no facilities available for those in said line (no restrooms, no beverages, no food).

 

Well stated. I agree on each of your points.

 

Also, thanks for giving me the answers to my questions. I guess you must be in Tampa if you were dropping paperwork in that area.

 

We board on Saturday, drive over on Friday...looking to be in Tampa for dinner maybe at my favorite hole in the wall Cuban place.

 

Hopefully our getting to the port early on Saturday will help, at least keep from being in a long line outside. All things considered the temp should only be about 82deg so that is not too bad, or almost cold for Tampa compared to Summer temps.

 

If no self disembark...Guess we will swap for early color as we have a date at Animal Kingdom and the Studios the afternoon we return home.

[teajak]

Well stated. I agree on each of your points.

 

Also, thanks for giving me the answers to my questions. I guess you must be in Tampa if you were dropping paperwork in that area.

 

We board on Saturday, drive over on Friday...looking to be in Tampa for dinner maybe at my favorite hole in the wall Cuban place.

 

Hopefully our getting to the port early on Saturday will help, at least keep from being in a long line outside. All things considered the temp should only be about 82deg so that is not too bad, or almost cold for Tampa compared to Summer temps.

 

If no self disembark...Guess we will swap for early color as we have a date at Animal Kingdom and the Studios the afternoon we return home.

We were upstairs at the port by 11:30 and the line was all the way to the end of the building, no vip entrance, everyone diamond or suites had to go thru that door with one person checking you docs, then on to security.

[FLASHINGLIGHTS83]

I was on the cruise that disembarked the day you embarked. I believe that it was that bad for you...but im kind of surprised. We got to the port on the 15th and were close to the front of the line, and were on the ship by 11am. very little wait time. the ship left on time, and no problems w/ muster drill.

 

Mostly anywhere you disembark you will be hard pressed to see disembarkation starting before 8am. while the ship is generally docked early...yes....customs doesnt open until around 8am, therefore the ship can not be cleared before 8am. unfortunately that just comes w/ the teritory.

 

we were off the ship in the 1st color call(white tags) and were on the road and home before 11am, and we live in orlando. Im sorry that it was such a nightmare for you...hopefully your cruises in the future wont be as bad...

 

GREG

[R'man]

We off-loaded in Tampa earlier this month after Grandeur's repo. Same 6:00 arrival, 8:00 disembark. It was painless. The escalators were no hinderance. Customs and Immigration were smooth sailing. Sorry you had problems.

[watsor1]

Is this normal for Tampa??? To be this bad? It's a well used port, you would think there stuff would be together. Has something changed to cause this backlog?

 

I was thinking of cruising from there a couple of times (since RCI has all but abandoned Galveston), but will rethink it if it's this bad.

[Jay Bee]

I was also on the cruise right before yours. And, as already stated, there were no delays whatsoever so it's not likely to be a problem getting used to a new home port. Check in took a few minutes, and debarkation was very easy all the way through. Express departure was not an option on this ship; we requested an early color and got it.

[katbid10]

I am sailing in 2 weeks on the Grandeur. This has me a little concerned, as we have a flight out of Tampa at 12:00. If we weren't to get off before 11:00, we will never make it.

[Jay Bee]

I am sailing in 2 weeks on the Grandeur. This has me a little concerned, as we have a flight out of Tampa at 12:00. If we weren't to get off before 11:00, we will never make it.

 

I went to Guest Services on the first sea day to ask about Express Departure because we had noon flights like you and we were on Deck 3. Since they usually assign colors from the top decks down (after priority groups have debarked), I wanted to make sure we got off early. Since there was no option to self-debark, I was offerred an early color which was fine. They were making a list there of people whose flights were before 12:30 (I think that was it), and those people were issued early colors if requested. It went White, Beige, Grey... On other cruises the color scheme has been different so you have to check. We had Grey and were off about 10 minutes after they started calling -- well before 8.

 

So my advice is to go get your name on the list early in the cruise. Also, you might want to double-check the color order with a second person at Guest Services at another time. Two cruises ago I was assured I had an early color and it was one of the last. Luckily, I protested enough so that I got it switched to Express or we would have missed our flight for sure. Since that time, I always go for Express if it's offerred, and I always get it taken care of early in the cruise.

[Babybirdsmom]

I would love if you could email me the copies of the compass as well.

qsaysha@yahoo.com Thanks! - I sail on 01/07

[looneytunes31419]

Thank you that would be great. My DH and I can't wait to read them.

 

 

 

 

 

I have the compasses for each day & will be happy to scan them & email to you (won't be until tomorrow - they are at home & I'm at work).

 

Formal night was the 2nd night of the cruise (left Tampa on Thursday; spent Friday on Key West, formal night was that night).

[PalosPalos]

We are also on a 4 day cruise from Tampa leaving on Feb. 14th. Please e-mail me the compass for each day - I am also wondering which night is formal? Family cruise with 9adults and 9 children.

[PalosPalos]

Sorry I forgot my e-mail address lunter@team2000re.com

 

PalosPalos

[PH8]

I have the compasses for each day & will be happy to scan them & email to you (won't be until tomorrow - they are at home & I'm at work).

).

Im also on the 4 nighter Jan 31st........would love to see the compass too.... parrothead814@aol.com

 

Weatherman.. read where you were upgraded to a Royal Suite. Awesome for you!! We are stuck in the bottom of the ship on Deck 2.:rolleyes: Oh well, like I said "Any cruise is always a GREAT cruise" even at the bottom of the ship!!:) :) :)

We're also on deck 2......but like you,we're happy to be going....