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TangoCruz

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  1. 😒 Our November 26 Serenade of the Seas cruise was great once we departed Tampa. It was getting on the ship that was the major problem. Saturday boarding day began with serious fog and the closing of the port. Both Serenade and Brilliance were positioned offshore until the port was opened for traffic around 2:00 PM. We were informed via email at 3:00 PM that our ship was finally headed in and that we would board at 7:30 PM. A lot of passengers were stuck waiting outside the port security fence all day with their luggage. I had secured our hotel room for another day so at least we had somewhere to relax before heading to the ship. Little did I know it would be our last relaxing time for a while. After our driver made it through a massive traffic jam at Terminal 6 entrance, we were stopped by a security officer and told to exit our transportation and join the line waiting to pass through the port security fence. We ended up at the end of a very LONG line on Channelside Drive. TWO hours later we would reach the security gate where a mall cop type was letting about 20 passengers in at a time to drop off their luggage. Then, we joined another line that ended at the security/x-ray room (another 1 hour wait). Finally cleared for actual check-in and we boarded our ship at 11:15 PM. 38 cruises and this was by far my worst embarkation experience, ever!! My wife and I are both 75 and THREE hours standing in a line proved very exhausting. And there were people around us who appeared a lot older who were struggling with their luggage. To add insult to injury, as we approached the security gate, someone made the decision to start allowing vehicles with passengers to enter the luggage drop-off zone. Standing on the wrong side of the fence, we watched as a number of buses, cars and vans dropped off several hundred passengers that were now positioned for check-in ahead of those of us who had waited in a line for 2 hours. I realize this was a rare occurrence but I believe the cruise line could have been better prepared to handle a difficult situation. P.S. The ship is beautiful, the staff is excellent and we will cruise again. Just not out of the Port of Tampa.
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