Embarkation Nightmare on Freedom

[fireofficer5]

BAD ADVICE!

 

As Carnival will tell you, you must be on board prior to 90 mnutes before sailing. That means by 2:30 you are too late if there is a line.........

I've arrived in line at 230 from my nov 08 Miriacle cruise. there was a crowd, still got on.

April o9, freedom crui9se arrived at the Platinium line at 315. had a great cruise.

Once the porters take your baggage you are golden, no matter what time it is.

If there are huge lines the ship will wait.

Same as leaving a port stop. sailing time is 5, latest time to board is 430. The ship won't leave anyone in line.

They even wait if you're not in line.

[Vanessa L]

I've arrived in line at 230 from my nov 08 Miriacle cruise. there was a crowd, still got on.

April o9, freedom crui9se arrived at the Platinium line at 315. had a great cruise.

Once the porters take your baggage you are golden, no matter what time it is.

If there are huge lines the ship will wait.

Same as leaving a port stop. sailing time is 5, latest time to board is 430. The ship won't leave anyone in line.

They even wait if you're not in line.

 

Apparently you did not read the thread a few months ago (maybe a year now, time flies when you're having fun) about a group that flew into Orlando and had booked the Carnival shuttle from the airport. Long story short, because of foul ups with the shuttle and traffic, the shuttle was about 15 minutes late arriving to the port. The people on the shuttle stood at the port watching the ship sail off into the sunset. Conversely, I've been on ships that have waited over an hour to sail. The announcement of cause was "late flight of several passengers". Point is that the ship has to go when it is told to go. I'm sure that the captain is instructed by corporate to wait as long as possible for late arrivers, especially if they have booked a Carnival flight or shuttle. However, when the port authority tells them they have to go, it supercedes anything else. Please be very careful when making statements like this. The ship will NOT wait for you, even if you have booked Carnival air or shuttle if it is past sailing time and they are instructed to leave. You'll stand at the port watching the ship sail, just as those passengers did some time ago.

[gatormama]

How can we check when the carnival shuttles is arriving at the post. We are driving, and are flexible with time, so we can avoid the shuttle if possible

[gatormama]

post=port.. sorry out of coffee, need a vacation, badly

[bigred4770]

I have tp agree that the ship will not wait.

 

Last July I sailed on the Glory and had booked air through carnival as well as transfers. I had asked to have the flight changed due to its scheduled arrival but was told that carnival takes flight times into account (arrival was 1:50 pm).

 

Long and the short of it is by the time the plane landed, got our bags, got on the shuttle, and checked in it was 3:20 pm. I was told by the carnival rep at the counter that we were the last group to arrive but that there were another two shuttles that would not make it in time and have to catch the boat at the next port.

 

Rest of the cruise was amazing - but never will I book air through the cruise line again (had done it last time ten years ago) nor come in on the day of departure -- too much stress to start my relaxation!

[RAVI360]

Being a veteran of "40 cruises"' date=' you should know to arrive at the pier well in advance of the buses from the airport. You should know to be there before they open the door.... You're in, checked in and comfortable long before the airport folks arrive.[/b']

 

Being a veteran, you should know that anything can hold up embarkation; from Homeland Security, to Cruise line security, to being shorthanded, to folks trying to checkin without proper documents...and many other things.

 

Arriving early means you don't wait in line.

 

YEP.......G'ma i agree arrive before the buses and early enough to get in side so if there is a wait, at least i am inside and can sit and wait.

[LHP]

Since the OP said the ship is coming back to a different terminal...

 

it "sounds like" (of course I am not positive) that the Freedom left from Pier 29 (which it does from time to time) and will be returning to Pier 19.

 

IF this was the case, Pier 29 is not set up AT ALL to handle the number of people who sail on a ship the size of the Freedom.

 

First of all, "Security" is right at the front door....this means that if there is any kind of line at all...it is going to be out in the parking lot.

 

We sailed out of Pier 29 on the Splendor (her first sailing from FT L) and it was a joke. All afternoon, (even after we had gotten on the ship) people were standing in the parking lot.

 

Our son has Autism and an Ataxia....his body can not process heat well at all.

Thank goodness we were VIP.

 

Thank goodness this was November (but it was hot even then)...I can't imagine JUNE!! :eek:

[Loveland2Disney]

If theres anything I have learned from this board, its get to the port early!! We plan on being there no later than 10:30 am. I know its going to be hot (mid July) and we will have to wait in some sort of line, but I will take my chances and go as early as possible to avoid standing outside in the heat.

[Socref124]

Sorry that happened to you and your group. I had the same thing happen to us in Honolulu. We were told not to be at the pier before 1pm so we went to Pearl Harbor in the morning and when we got to the pier, the lines were outside all the way down to the Aloha tower. It seemed like it took forever to get into the building. It didn't bother us because we were in Hawaii:), on our Honeymoon:) and ready to get on our first cruise ship:). Hindsight and experience tells me that I should have been there around 10am or 4 pm. Then we could have waited inside or boarded immediately.

Hope your cruise was worth the inconvenience on embarkation day. I know we enjoyed thf Freedom.

[cruiseism]

hmmm...the long wait...would that be due to security...the security company that the cruise lines hire! Rather be safe than sorry when it comes to security.

 

Long lines/long waits are different each sailing....depends on the arrival patterns: bus/flights. How long did debark run: ship arrival/CBP Processing/Full Crew Check

[ehfl]

An hour in 90 degree temperature? This is no worse than a popular attraction at Disney World. Butch up a little folks!

[Vanessa L]

An hour in 90 degree temperature? This is no worse than a popular attraction at Disney World. Butch up a little folks!

 

That is so true and so funny. Isn't it funny how we take things like getting on a ship right-by-God-now for granted, but can wait for hours in the heat at an amusement park??

[Mikel1733]

We were supposed to sail at 4:00pm and at 3:15pm the line still went out far outside the building. We watched from our balcony and the line didn't move. The CD indicated there were evidently problems with the computers and apologized.

[G'ma]

Seems like there should be enough indoor space to accomodate the largest line. Standing outside is torture in the noon heat. At least provide shade and water to drink!

 

Only in a perfect world.

 

Always be prepared - have water available and something to snack on.

 

Bring a good book.

 

Check in early..be there when they open the doors....

[G'ma]

This will likely change only AFTER the first lawsuit. :eek:

It's not against the law to have a line form at your establishment.

 

There is a way to avoid lines at the pier.....some folks do it, others don't. No law covering that.

[G'ma]

[quote name='gatormama']How can we check when the carnival shuttles is arriving at the post. We are driving, and are flexible with time, so we can avoid the shuttle if possible[/quote]

Flights for cruises usually start arriving at the airport around 9:00am with heavy arrivals in the 10-12:00 time frame. Figure time to claim luggage, board the bus and wait for it to fill then get to the port.

If you are at the door, ready to checkin by 11:00, you should be fine.

[AryMay]

[quote name='ehfl']An hour in 90 degree temperature? This is no worse than a popular attraction at Disney World. Butch up a little folks![/QUOTE]

Can I get a fastpass and come back later? ;)

[dalsti]

We were getting off the Freedom the day the OP as getting on. The Freedom was at Pier 19. This is also the pier we sailed from. We have heard nightmares about the terminal but lucky for us have yet to experience it.

We usually arrive at 11am, 20minutes to go thru check in, wait in the chairs for another 20-30min, and on lido by noon.

[corkpopr]

that is why we never go to the terminal until between 3-5 depending on when the ship is leaving. 20 agents open maybe a dozen pax.

[2910car]

Okay. So from now on we will get to the pier before 11 AM regardless of what the docs say. I had never had to wait outside before and we always arrive around 12- so no reason I thought to get there earlier. I guess we have just been lucky before.

I am only saying that for people who do not read these boards, sooner or later someone will have a stroke. I really feel something needs to be done to get people inside quicker.

It sure didn't ruin my cruise. If you read my review we had a great time.

By the way, for the person who talked about the lines in Disney - that is your choice. You know how long the wait is when you get on line and can make the decision to go back later or skip it. No such choice getting on a ship.

[Mikel1733]

[quote name='dalsti']We were getting off the Freedom the day the OP as getting on. The Freedom was at Pier 19. This is also the pier we sailed from. We have heard nightmares about the terminal but lucky for us have yet to experience it.

We usually arrive at 11am, 20minutes to go thru check in, wait in the chairs for another 20-30min, and on lido by noon.[/quote]

The May 31 departure was from Pier 19. The driver of our shuttle from our hotel said he couldn't understand why they were using Pier 19 as it is the worst one used. There were no other cruise ships in port that day.

[ronrythm]

If it's that hot and the lines are that long why didn't you just leave and get something cool to drink and come back after a while? Nothing says you have to stay there. Use some common sense. If its too hot, get out.
Enjoy,
Ron

[lappy22]

[QUOTE=G'ma;20081558]Being a veteran of "40 cruises", you should know to arrive at the pier well in advance of the buses from the airport. You should know to be there before they open the door.... You're in, checked in and comfortable long before the airport folks arrive.

Being a veteran, you should know that anything can hold up embarkation; from Homeland Security, to Cruise line security, to being shorthanded, to folks trying to checkin without proper documents...and many other things.

Arriving early means you don't wait in line.[/QUOTE]

Being a "veteran" of 11 cuises, never really noticed the busses from the airport. I've seen one or maybe two at at time but not anymore.

Let's be real people, embarkation can suck! Sometimes its right on the ship(all three times in San Diego) and other times it is a madhouse(everytime in Miami and once in San Juan). Just deal with it an know your drink of the day is not too far away.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

it has happen to us one in 10 cruises something not to bad

[Mrs.C05]

We've never had a problem boarding and getting checked in for any of our 7 cruises. Or if we did, I don't remember. The last one we went on was out of San Juan so when we arrived back at port it was somewhat chaotic; when you unload about 3k people from 3 different ships and about 3/4 of them go to the airport.....oy vey! ALL lines from airline check in desk to restaurants passed security were very long. I was just happy we were safe....but I didn't want to go home!