It got ugly in San Diego at 3:30pm today

[DAllenTCY]

Although it was another beautiful day here, mild temperatures and sunny skiies, the few who arrived "late" for today's Oosterdam sailing were in for a BIG surprise.

About a dozen guests, some children, were denied boarding due to the "90 minute" rule.....EVEN THOUGH THEY HAD COMPLETED THEIR DOCUMENTS ONLINE, because apparently some did not put any reply in the "Nationality" space.

This showed up on the ship's report to be submitted to CBP that their nationality is "unknown".

Whether it be a typo in entering you passport number, birthdate, etc. you can only protect yourself by having checked in at the pier at least 90 minutes before sailing. Have your room key in you hand at least one and a half hours before sailing!

I heard that one family today arrived in two cars, some in time to get their missing information into the computer at the check in station and the others not so lucky. The result was a heartbreaking experience for the HAL staff and the affected guests. You guessed it....one child and the father denied boarding, and the mother and other kids onboard. Not good.

Two other guests now have opted to pay to fly to Cabo San Lucas and pay the $400 per person fine, in order to meet relatives onboard for a reunion or birthday or whatever (I forget).

Another passenger dropped off his cabinmate and then went himself to park the car. Guess what....he'll be alone tonight and so will she.

Two other people were having a bite to eat at Anthony's at 3:45pm just 100 yards from the ship, (as I saw the Oosterdam luggage tags on their bags). I was hoping that they had already checked, but just a few minutes late they entered the terminal only to find out that they, too, had not completed one critical portion of their pre-registration. They joined the others....in frustration, and misplaced anger aimed at the HAL check in staff.

At this point, it was apparent to me that I need to reiterrate on this board....the minute that I get home....of the necessity to get to the pier on time. If you haven't allowed enough time to park the car, grab a bite to eat or whatever....you may have serious consequences awaiting you.

No one affected will get a refund, and those returning home be the airlines will be charged a rebooking fee plus whatever the current rate is for a new booking.

It was very, very sad, and the worst part is that it was completely avoidable.

The silly thing was that it was said that it was "HAL's fault for not notifying" these guests of the consequences of a minor typographical input error or omission.

It really doesn't matter who's to blame....it's an unpleasant ending to an otherwise nearly perfect day.....and as I said....completely avoidable.

David

[chrismch]

That would be heartbreaking! I'm happy to say that I like to board the ship early - after all I am paying for the day so I might as well make the most of it.

This doesn't affect people who have already signed in & have gotten off the ship to walk around, does it?

[localady]

David-

Thank you for your warning. It is important to remember that it is a requirement to be checked in at least 90 minutes before sailing!!!

[DAllenTCY]

If you have your been issued your keys, you are free to walk around until 30 minutes until departure. You can get on and off the ship, depending if you want to go to the nearby Rite Aid or Ralphs and purchase wine, champaign, sodas or sundries.....or the Midway museum....or ride the trolley....or whatever. JUST CHECK IN BETWEEN 11 AM and 3 PM at the latest.

David

[RuthC]

Thanks for the reminder. Better to be waiting in that crowd than to be denied boarding at all.

You can complete the on-line check in all you want, one little typo is all it takes. :(

[u4ea]

That is a drag, thanks for relating the stories.

Misguided anger is a polite description,;) it is clearly those people’s fault and no one else’s. The instructions are clear and HAL even has an emergency number if you are late. It’s all in the instructions.

My docs are very clear:

“Please allow enough time to transfer to the ship. You should arrive at least 4 hours prior to the ship’s departure time.”

What the docs don’t say (and should) is: “You’re a dumb-ass if you don’t follow these instructions”;)

Mark…

[GarySuzy]

I feel sorry for those individuals who did not make the ship on time. :( However, I find more and more that people do not take personal resoponsibilty for their actions. Our society is getting to the point where a growing number of individuals seem to think nothing is ever their fault and that they screwed up. Pointing finger and assigning blame sounds as if was alive and well in San Diego this afternoon.

[cruz chic]

I feel sorry for those individuals who did not make the ship on time. :( However, I find more and more that people do not take personal resoponsibilty for their actions. Our society is getting to the point where a growing number of individuals seem to think nothing is ever their fault and that they screwed up. Pointing finger and assigning blame sounds as if was alive and well in San Diego this afternoon.

That is so true. I couldn't agree more.

[hammybee]

Thanks for the reminder. The same works in reverse too. I wonder if any denied boarding will post a "Horrible HAL" story.

[airlink diva]

Thanks for this thread!! I will make sure to triple check every single line of my online check in to make sure it's correct.

That's heartbreaking to see the ship and to be so close to it and denied boarding.

This is a very expensive error on their parts that they will never forget.

I agree with GarySuzy so many want to blame someone else for there errors.

Why do I have a feeling that a posting from someone new to cruisecritic is going to pop up within the next week flaming HAL about this. But this rule applies to all cruiselines not just HAL.

[Hutch&Pat]

Couldn't this have been possibly avoided IF:

1. HAL's on-line check-in program would not allow you to skip filling in this line?

2. If HAL emailed, called, wrote, or contacted the passengers who forms had errors?

 

This is sad, but on 9/19 the Zaandam which we understood was supposed to dock at the typical 7 AM with normal 4:30 'gangplank up' .... didn't show up until 9:30-10 AM to start to dock in Vancouver. We were told on documents to be there at 11 on BUT ONBOARD WE WERE TOLD THAT IT WAS SCHEDULED be be 3 hours later! Well, they didn't tell over 1,000 guests who waited in lines (we left our hotel at noon and were told that there was at least a 2 hour wait when we arrived at the cruise pier/check-in.) The ship was full of passengers that had to disembark and go through immigration and find their luggage before there was room for our processing and luggage etc. I only heard of one couple that said they were told to check in at 2 which would allow them 3 hours -- not the 4 that they recommend. It was a mess trying to check-in and extremely difficult for the few in wheelchairs etc.

 

I think both situations could have been avoided!

 

Pat

[DizzyDallasDi]

I agree that the people who showed up at too late thinking they could board should not blame HAL. The documents are very clear about when you need to check in and anyone who risks being left behind may have a serious gambling problem. :)

 

Some good friends of mine (in Dallas) went on their first cruise last month on Carnival Ecstasy. When they booked this cruise, she was departing from Galveston and they were planning on drivng down a day early and enjoying a fun night in Galveston before boarding the next day. Ike changed all that and their trip was the first one to be diverted to the Port of Houston. Well, Houston had been hit hard by Ike as well and there were no hotel rooms to be found in the Houston area. So, they decided to leave around 3:00 a.m. in order to get there in plenty of time to have some breakfast, etc. It only takes 4-1/2 hours to get from Dallas to Houston but they wanted to leave time for unknowns.

 

As it turned out, the City of Galveston was finally opened for residents to return and check on their homes and businesses the same day that my friends were driving to Houston to catch their cruise. I-45 was a parking lot almost all the way from Dallas to the Houston / Galveston area. So, to make sure they made it in time, they left at midnight and arrived at the cruise terminal at 6:00 a.m.

 

The point I'm trying to make here is that these folks were going on their first cruise and they were cognizant enough of the rules and travel implications that they drove all night in order to make sure they arrived in time.

 

Whether traveling by ship, plane, train or bus, one should always allow for extra time. "Better late than not at all" does not apply in these situations.

 

Diane

[mamaofami]

When we went to check in for the Eurodam 3 day cruise out of NYC, we were told that we didn't have the emergency contact information on our forms. What actually happened, is that page two of the check in forms was not printed out. Either I didn't hit the correct print page or only page one of the forms printed. Since it happened to both my husband's forms and mine, I really don't know what I did incorrectly, if anything. We were in plenty of time to correct the info when we checked in, though.

Wonder, has anyone else had this problem when printing out the online forms?

[jhannah]

GarySuzy, you squarely hit the nail on the head. So many look for others to blame for their own failings. And then they want someone else to make it right. :rolleyes: I am sorry they missed sailing, and I know it was heartbreaking for all involved. But if they had paid attention it could have been avoided.

[DizzyDallasDi]

When we went to check in for the Eurodam 3 day cruise out of NYC, we were told that we didn't have the emergency contact information on our forms. What actually happened, is that page two of the check in forms was not printed out. Either I didn't hit the correct print page or only page one of the forms printed. Since it happened to both my husband's forms and mine, I really don't know what I did incorrectly, if anything. We were in plenty of time to correct the info when we checked in, though.

 

Wonder, has anyone else had this problem when printing out the online forms?

 

Thanks for the warning that this may happen! I'm going to double check my printed forms to make sure all is in order before I leave for my Nov. 1 Eurodam cruise.

 

Diane

[GarySuzy]

LoreKauf and JHannah,

 

I think it is because I was in the Navy, but I always make sure that if I am to be somewhere that I arrive early. In fact we are sailing on the Ryndam in Nov. and plan to drive over from AZ the night before to ensure that we will get to the ship on time. It is only a 6 hr drive but you never know what could happen.

 

Also, having a little Irish in me some times I think "Murphy's Law" is my middle name.:D

[hammybee]

Couldn't this have been possibly avoided IF:

1. HAL's on-line check-in program would not allow you to skip filling in this line?

2. If HAL emailed, called, wrote, or contacted the passengers who forms had errors? Pat

 

Passengers on all cruise lines are told to arrive more than 90 minutes prior to departure, regardless if they did online check-in, or not.

 

People need to take responsibility for themselves or risk the consequences.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

David I too say thanks for the reminder but I also want to say ... Hey You have paid for the cruise, boarding starts at 11:30 and as far as I am concerned the cruise starts when I board why not take part in what you paid for right away.... why wait till the last minite get on board and enjoy what the ship has to offer.:)

[ekerr19]

When we went to check in for the Eurodam 3 day cruise out of NYC, we were told that we didn't have the emergency contact information on our forms. What actually happened, is that page two of the check in forms was not printed out. Either I didn't hit the correct print page or only page one of the forms printed. Since it happened to both my husband's forms and mine, I really don't know what I did incorrectly, if anything. We were in plenty of time to correct the info when we checked in, though.

 

Wonder, has anyone else had this problem when printing out the online forms?

 

The information is transferred electronically, even if you fail to have a print out, HAL reps can (should) see you filled out the online form. I'm not sure why this happened to you, but in my experience many of the shore staff are not always up to date on what they are doing, sadly...

[sail7seas]

I remember reading here that there are a number of transcription errors made by HAL staff when transmitting these lists.

 

That does not excuse people not checking in 90 minutes ahead but maybe some of these "Nationality Unknown" cases were not the error of omission by the guest???

 

The point, of course, is check in as instructed 90+ minutes ahead of sailing time.

 

 

[ekerr19]

I remember reading here that there are a number of transcription errors made by HAL staff when transmitting these lists.

 

That does not excuse people not checking in 90 minutes ahead but maybe some of these "Nationality Unknown" cases were not the error of omission by the guest???

 

The point, of course, is check in as instructed 90+ minutes ahead of sailing time.

 

 

 

Exactly, why anyone would wait is beyond me. It seems to vary from port to port, some pier check-in's are super easy and others, well.. not so. We always arrive 11:00am - 1:00pm latest.

[Copper10-8]

Thanks for reinforcing the need to check in at least 90 min prior to departure as well as double-checking your electronic boarding paperwork before hitting the transmit button, David! I'm sure it wasn't pretty at San Diego's cruise terminal this afternoon.

[brucory]

That sounds terrible...

 

Can someone explain the $400 fine. I didn't realise there was a fine if you boarded at the 1st port of call. (Not that we EVER want to do that, but I sometimes wonder with connecting flights around the world getting in the way of things, I always think of a back up plan if we somehow miss the ship.)

 

Also, on our last cruise, we were contacted by HAL twice about minor things missing in our docs. We thought we had filled them in correctly, but evidently they were missing. Has HAL stopped checking these documents a few weeks prior to sailing?

 

:confused:

[98Charlie]

Well, prior planning prevents poor performance. I feel bad for those left behind (especially the 4 year old - it would be like telling them Christmas was cancelled)

 

One thing did strike me as humorous in the post.

Two other people were having a bite to eat at Anthony's at 3:45pm just 100 yards from the ship,

Who stops for a bite to eat just before boarding a cruise ship that is stocked for 24/7 eating for a week?

 

Charlie

[PathfinderEss]

Very sad situations, but the OP that didn't fill out their electronic boarding information correctly, if they would have just been under the 90 minute rule they would have had the time to straighten out those forms to the satisfaction of Hal and immigration. As to the people that just took there time to get on the ship, guess they didn't read the important information part, huh? I'm with most of you, I want to be on board as close to 11:30 as possible. I feel bad for all, but it is nobody's fault but their's and the lesson to learn here is come early, so that this doesn't happen to you.