Our family was on the same cruise and I agree wholeheartedly that yesterday's disembarkation was a nightmare! It was the worst we've experienced in 16 cruises.
We were in self-assist group B and spent 1 hour and 45 minutes getting off the ship and through customs. At one point, we were told by an RC rep to split into 2 lines - 1 for people with passports and another for people with birth certificates. When we got near the front of that section of the line, a different RC rep saw that we were Canadian and told us that the lines were supposed to be for resident/non-residents. She insisted that our family and 2 other nearby couples to go to the back of the non-resident line (which was actually a line of US citizens with birth certificates). She expected us to move backwards through the shoulder to shoulder crowds with our luggage to spend more time in a line we've already spent a great deal of time waiting in? That wasn't going to happen. Some shuffling around occurred and our area of the line got straightened around without losing ground but the miscommunication (and her attitude) was frustrating.
We finally arrived at the point where we could see the final line leading up to the customs agent. There were only 2 lines available to non-residents. Normally, I would consider that more than adequate for a cruise leaving from a US port. However, the lines were both completely full of crew members. And these crew members entered the lines from a different line than the one we were standing in and were given priority by the RC reps. Their line kept moving (albeit very slowly) while we were told to wait (and wait, and wait.....) Adding to the wait was the extra scrutiny and time the customs agents appeared to use for those of us in these lines (understandable but none the less frustrating!)
I am certainly not suggesting that the crew should have to wait for all guests to clear customs before disembarking. I understand that their time off is precious and limited. However, non-resident passengers should not have to wait for all crew to clear customs either! Perhaps a dedicated non-resident line for crew and another for passengers?
Everything else about the cruise was wonderful but this disembarkation was an unfortunate and frustrating way to end our trip. We will not likely sail from Galveston again.
Bad disembarkation on Navigator in Galveston today
in Royal Caribbean International
Posted
Our family was on the same cruise and I agree wholeheartedly that yesterday's disembarkation was a nightmare! It was the worst we've experienced in 16 cruises.
We were in self-assist group B and spent 1 hour and 45 minutes getting off the ship and through customs. At one point, we were told by an RC rep to split into 2 lines - 1 for people with passports and another for people with birth certificates. When we got near the front of that section of the line, a different RC rep saw that we were Canadian and told us that the lines were supposed to be for resident/non-residents. She insisted that our family and 2 other nearby couples to go to the back of the non-resident line (which was actually a line of US citizens with birth certificates). She expected us to move backwards through the shoulder to shoulder crowds with our luggage to spend more time in a line we've already spent a great deal of time waiting in? That wasn't going to happen. Some shuffling around occurred and our area of the line got straightened around without losing ground but the miscommunication (and her attitude) was frustrating.
We finally arrived at the point where we could see the final line leading up to the customs agent. There were only 2 lines available to non-residents. Normally, I would consider that more than adequate for a cruise leaving from a US port. However, the lines were both completely full of crew members. And these crew members entered the lines from a different line than the one we were standing in and were given priority by the RC reps. Their line kept moving (albeit very slowly) while we were told to wait (and wait, and wait.....) Adding to the wait was the extra scrutiny and time the customs agents appeared to use for those of us in these lines (understandable but none the less frustrating!)
I am certainly not suggesting that the crew should have to wait for all guests to clear customs before disembarking. I understand that their time off is precious and limited. However, non-resident passengers should not have to wait for all crew to clear customs either! Perhaps a dedicated non-resident line for crew and another for passengers?
Everything else about the cruise was wonderful but this disembarkation was an unfortunate and frustrating way to end our trip. We will not likely sail from Galveston again.