Coral Princess-Disembarkation disaster

I was on the Coral Princess and disembarked today - what a disaster. Their excuse was the immigration officials were late. How does that explain the total lack of organization by the crew?

There were over 2000 people trying to get through immigration in the Univeral lounge, with one entrance and one exit, lines crossing, and no control.

After 15 days, the one thing that remains in my memory is standing in line for 2 hours, wondering if I was going to make my flight....I did, but I am sure many did not.

Why weren't there crew posted to direct traffic and keep people from butting in lines? This was a total disaster. The lines ran from the Universe lounge, back to the restaurant, and then back to the Universe lounge where the immigration was taking place. Plus you had people from all the elevators and stairways trying to get in line.

I heard many people saying they would never take Princess again after this experience. What a way to ruin a wonderful cruise....15 great days ruined because of poor planning for disembarkation.

The person organizing this should have some knowledge of logistics. The crew we ran into blamed it on immigration...they were late. So, if there was another disaster, a fire or something, does Princess have a plan in place or do they say, oh, we didn't know there was going to be a disaster?

They should have had everyone meet in the various lounges and then called them to immigration.

~ Jane

PS I was told Nicky Shields was the crew member responsible for disembarkation.

I agree, it's not the way you want to end a cruise. We've been through a couple of immigration messes so I can certainly be sympathetic. It seems to be more of an issue when the immigration is done on the ship. And yes, when things aren't moving quickly enough, people do get testy.

What city did you disembark?

This sounds so much like our disaster disembarkation in Ft Lauderdale last January. First group off was an hour later than announced last group wasn't off until well after 11AM. There were still 1000+ waiting for INS as noon approached.

It didn't ruin our trip. But it remains the single strongest memory from an otherwise amazing vacation.

Our disembarkment out of FLL on the Crown yesterday ranks as my worst disembarkment ever.

It probably worked fine for those who had ezcheck-in but I flew Southwest for the first time and they did not offer this service. We walked out on time only to find out that none of the suitcases had been unloaded. We had to sit there and watch for over an hour suitcases being unloaded. There were probably 10 luggage guys in the room I was in and at any given time, only two or three were unloading luggage from the large crates. All suitcases had to be out before we could grab ours. It would make sense to maybe put the first colors out and then let those people go. I did complain to the Princess person who was in the area and he scolded me for not using EZ-Checkin. I then said that SWA was not on the list. SW did have a truck outside of the warehouse and was collecting luggage there and checking people in (for a few but somewhat less then ez-checkin).

I have never experienced leaving when my time is called (and I wasn't in the first group by any means) and not seeing one suitcase out.

I am also sort of surprised that we had to go through customs in Bar Harbor (first US port) and then again in FLL (I understand the Bar Harbor process). While we didn't fill out the forms in Bar Harbor, it would have been a whole lot easier to do it all at once then go through it again yesterday. Though, by the time we got our luggage (everyone with ezcheckin had already left), the customs line was not bad.

Thankfully I made it to the airport in plenty of time for my flight.

Coral, when you say, "These guys," are you referring to the local longshoremen, or Princess employees?

Coral, when you say, "These guys," are you referring to the local longshoremen, or Princess employees?

Sorry - they were longshoremen. Princess for the most part had their act together for our disembarkation. The first group disembarked at 7:15 (those who were carrying their own luggage out). We also had the normal crowds and people blocking entrances but our ship cleared right away and people were able to disembark. We just couldn't get our luggage once we disembarked.

Ever since we had one of these type of "bags missing" near-disasters, we have elected to do the self-disembarkation. It is a nuisance, but thankfully we are physically able to manage our own bags (although we often see those doing self-disembarkation who really aren't good candidates for it). It also makes us pack lighter, knowing we have to schlep it around ourselves...;)

We had one cruise where the immigration officers were late and we didn't get off the ship until 12 noon! Yes, 12 noon.

It didn't ruin my trip. We made the best of it. The crew kept us watered and fed as long as they could.

Stuff happens.

Judy

Imagine a queue 6 persons wide the length of half the ship, with smaller queues joining the main queue from stairs and elevators everywhere. Imagine canes, wheel chairs and walkers everywhere. Imagine passengers screaming at each other for line cutting (even though no organized line existed). Imagine a passenger in tears at the purser desk because they had lost their 85 year old mother in the mob scene.

I spoke with a senior Princess officer aboard who blamed the mess on US Customs and Border officials who wanted to conduct the inspection on board. I then spoke with Officer Xu, the senior customs agent aboard who shared that Princess did not have adequate space ashore for the inspection so they had been asked to come aboard for the inspection. Both are to blame.

My wife and I actually gave up waiting in the queue after 1 hour and moving only from one side of the mid-ship atrium to the other. The queue ended at the aft most section of Deck 6. Finally retreated to Deck 5 atrium (shelter in place seemed a good idea) and waited for 2 hours for the scene to calm. Chatted with an elderly couple who had managed to clear the customs line, but due to the scene could not reach their disembarkation waiting area. A Princess crew member had earlier told them they could not wait in the atrium area, they had replied that Princess crew member should throw them off the ship.

It was a mob scene, and potentially very dangerous. If a fire had broken out the stampede would have been horrific. While not a likely event, we all remember the Star Princess fire.

By chance, the Sapphire Princess arrived at few minutes before the Coarl. We actually entered the harbor about a 1/2 mile behind her. My parents were passengers. They had disembarked, gotten their luggage and were home (15 miles from the port) 2 hours before I left the Coral. They reported that US Customs and Boarder did not even look at their passports, but were instead waved directly ashore. Good figure.

Thanks for the 'heads up'....we will be disembarking from her the next time she is in LAX. Hopefully, we will be able to report back here that there has been an improvement over what you had to endure.

This is the perfect example why you should always pack light and if at all possible do self disembarkation.

Self disembarkation would not have helped in this situation - actually it was worse. The people that were self disembarking were caught up in the mess trying to handle their luggage and continue forward movement.

Princess is able to handle crowds under other situations - ie tender ports.

My suggestion is to assign people to gather in the various lounges, restaurants, etc., and then call them to immigration in "luggage tag" order. Also, hold immigration in a room that has better access instead of using the same door for entry and exit (Maybe use a portside door as an entrance and a starboard door for the exit???).

We were not "watered and fed" as we waited in the line for almost 2 hours. Actually, we only saw two or three crew, and one was a lady that worked in the spa. She was helping a passenger in a wheelchiar. That was part of the problem. The crew should have been there to direct the crowds.

I could not help but be anxious as I watched the clock. I had a plane to catch, and had requested an early disembarkation. But everyone was in line - early, late, whatever. It really didn't matter what luggage tags you had.

Thank you to those local LA folks and people with later flights that waited out the mess out of the disaster zone- unfortunately, you were in the minority. I saw lots and lots of people that I met onboard, from the LA area, working their way through the masses to the front of the crowd.

I was not affected financially - I was able to make my flight, but barely. I hope Princess compensates those that were not as fortunate and missed their arrangements.

Obviously this event did not "ruin my vacation". Unfortunately, it is my last memory and was so miserable that it sticks out over the previous two weeks. What a terrible message for Princess to send to its guests.

Many, many people in line said they would never sail Princess again. This was not said to the crew - remember, there were very few crew around - but to each other. Husbands/wives/SO telling each other - don't book me on this cruiseline again!

~ Jane

Self disembarkation would not have helped in this situation - actually it was worse. The people that were self disembarking were caught up in the mess trying to handle their luggage and continue forward movement.

 

 

~ Jane

I realize it was a complete mess but at least those that did self disembarking were the first off the ship & didn't have to wait for any luggage. That could have made the difference between making a flight or not. We aren't in a hurry to get off the ship but still do self disembarking which guarantees us having our luggage in a situation like that.

Thanks for the update Jane. I agree that it's not pleasant to go through that, but as I said we've been there more than once. I agree that the Princess staff need to do a better job organizing, but I also have to say that the ICE inspectors sometimes make the situation even worse. When we have had issues, it's always been a combination of Princess staff not always knowing what they are supposed to do, and ICE staff who are overzealous in their efforts to keep us safe from 80-year-old terrorists.

When immigration is done in order of embarkation on shore, it goes much better. It would seem that doing as Jane suggests, and allowing those who have already indicated their need to disembark earlier rather than later to go first would improve the situation.

Had a similar experience on the Island last year at the end of our FLL-LAX cruise. What a mess! We were flying back the next day so it wasn't a flight issue for us fortunately. Sorry to hear it is still happening. Hopefully we will have better luck on our Caribbean cruise on the Grand in February since we have a return flight out of Miami on disembarkation day.

Rcacace, you may be missing the point. For OP the problem was immigration. Although OP does not address the issue, presumably with the huge delay in immigration, all the luggage would have been out by the time one was through immigration and retrieving it would not have taken much time.

Now, Coral is a different matter.

Bill

I had three similar situtations:

1. In LA, we weren't even off the ship until 10:30 thanks to the slow-moving customs officials.

2. In Miami, the immigration officials' computers would not come online, so they could not release anyone from the ship. We were literally within 5' of the front of the line and stood there for what seemed like an eternity while they worked to get their computers up. I think it was only about an hour delay, but a painful hour.

3. In FLL on the Ruby, we were late coming into port. This threw everything off. It was the worst experience I've ever had disembarking. It was total chaos. The Princess crew members were totally ineffectual and clueless, and were not taking command and organizing the hoards of passengers trying to get off the ship. Passengers were fighting, yelling, shoving and crying. It was just plain mass chaos. The absolute worst thing I have ever seen.

People that think they're going to get off the ship early every time on a cruise need to have only one of these three experiences and they'll wise up.

Nothing is reliably easy anymore - flying AND disembarking. This is what travel is about - rolling with the punches. ;)

I have had this problem on more than one ship and more than one line. Officials in the port CAN and DO take their time and do their jobs. When many ships in at the same time and they are all large and many passengers it takes time. Did you know that each person is checked for outstanding police warrants and folks can be arrested right off the ship? If there is a possiblity of customs violations or conterband -- not just your ship but those in port with you -- less staffing to get you off the ship.

Believe me that Princess or any cruise line just wants the finishing group off and the arriving group on smoothly. When passengers are lined up trying to get off, the crew can not get the ship ready for the first passengers arriving at 10 AM or so. If they feed you and have drinks for the "old" group, then the "new" group will wonder why they can't get into their rooms and have lunch before noon. Again Princess staff/crew just wants the old group off. They have little say when Officials are involved.

Airlines have the same problem thus when Officials say sit on the runway you sit.

:( Getting off a ship always makes me sad bordering on mad and delays just add to that bad feeling. Cruise Lines don't want the delay either. The moment all the "old" passengers are off and ship is cleared the NEW passengers get on AND START SPENDING MONEY. Don't blame the cruise line they are more frustrated than you are.

LAX port, the problem is Immigration.We were on Celebrity coming back from Hawaii and had the same problem. Lines whipped around the deck of the theatre a few times. Immigration was also late boarding . We had been told to report one hour later than our paperwork said. However, no one listened and everyone came at once. We too felt that Celebrity should have had personnel directing traffic but not the case. Doesn't matter how nice we are treated on a cruise, everyone seems to disappear on disembarcation morning.

On our last Princess cruise on the Golden Hawaii cruise, we were afraid that the same would happen. Instead, we just walked off the ship and handed our paperwork to an official prior to exiting the terminal(Los Angeles).

In San Diego, we have never had to report to immigration on the ship unless you were not an American citizen.

Rcacace, you may be missing the point. For OP the problem was immigration. Although OP does not address the issue, presumably with the huge delay in immigration, all the luggage would have been out by the time one was through immigration and retrieving it would not have taken much time.

 

Now, Coral is a different matter.

 

Bill

Thanks for clearing that up.:o

The problem stems from the fact that LA's terminal has not been upgraded in years. Embarkation or disembarkation from LA is a crap shoot. If your ship is at the large terminal, there generally are no problems, as this terminal is capable of handling the larger ships. Remember, these terminals were built when ships carried 600 passengers. If you're at the smaller terminal, it's terrible. We boarded the Island Princess years ago to Hawaii and were at the small terminal. We stood outside in the hot sun for hours. TSA had 2 screeners ... that's right, 2 .. for the entire ship. It took forever. We've boarded from the large terminal and have walked right in and onto the ship.

I do not know, but my guess is, the Coral docked at the small terminal, which probably doesn't have enough room for Immigration. Thus, Immigration had to be handled on board. Definitely, Princess should be prepared for this, as it knows when there will be more than one ship in port. But it is also a product of an antiquated terminal in San Pedro. The good news is, they've announced a 10-year project to build new passenger terminals in San Pedro.

Edit: From the webcam, I can tell that the Golden is at the large terminal at San Pedro, as it is facing the Vincent Thomas Bridge.

Our disembarkment out of FLL on the Crown yesterday ranks as my worst disembarkment ever.

 

It probably worked fine for those who had ezcheck-in but I flew Southwest for the first time and they did not offer this service. We walked out on time only to find out that none of the suitcases had been unloaded. We had to sit there and watch for over an hour suitcases being unloaded. There were probably 10 luggage guys in the room I was in and at any given time, only two or three were unloading luggage from the large crates. All suitcases had to be out before we could grab ours. It would make sense to maybe put the first colors out and then let those people go. I did complain to the Princess person who was in the area and he scolded me for not using EZ-Checkin. I then said that SWA was not on the list. SW did have a truck outside of the warehouse and was collecting luggage there and checking people in (for a few but somewhat less then ez-checkin).

 

I have never experienced leaving when my time is called (and I wasn't in the first group by any means) and not seeing one suitcase out.

 

I am also sort of surprised that we had to go through customs in Bar Harbor (first US port) and then again in FLL (I understand the Bar Harbor process). While we didn't fill out the forms in Bar Harbor, it would have been a whole lot easier to do it all at once then go through it again yesterday. Though, by the time we got our luggage (everyone with ezcheckin had already left), the customs line was not bad.

 

Thankfully I made it to the airport in plenty of time for my flight.

It seems that most passengers have very little understanding of Customs/Immigration/ Disembarkation (not disembarkment) regulations and procedures in America.

Whenever an international carrier (like a cruise ship) that is not on a "Closed Loop Voyage" (Google this term if you do not understand it), enters the USA, all passengers MUST go through US Immigration (not necessarily Customs) at the first port of entry. That's what you did at Bar Harbor.

When an international carrier (like a cruise ship), on a closed loop voyage or not, concludes that voyage in a US Port, all passengers MUST go through US Customs (but not necessarily Immigration) in that final port. That's what you did in Fort Lauderdale.

When any ship goes through US Immigration or Customs procedures, the ship's clearance officers contact the US Customs and Border Protection Offices several days before arrival. The US Officials at that point dictate when, where, and how the inspection is to take place. They decide which rooms are to be used for the inspection, how bright the lights are to be, how many entrances, exits, and lines there are to be, whether or not background music is allowed, what and when they are to be served to eat and drink during the inspection, and many other details. There is no discussion on any of these issues. The US Government makes ALL the decisions.

In Fort Lauderdale this week, the US Government changed all those rules for your cruise at the last minute.

Now a little note on how labor laws work on ships. Most passsengers don't understand that either.

The ILO (International Labor Organization) permits ship's crew to work an absolute maximum of 13 hours per day, with an absolute minimum break of 6 consecutive hours in a 24 hour period. All working hours are tracked manually and signed by crew and managers. At the end of each week and month, these tracking sheets go to the head office and are available for inspection by the ILO. Any violations of this 13 hours per day rule result in huge fines for the cruise line, and managers getting fired.

On the final day/night of your cruise, as the ship is approaching a US Port, all Galley and dining room staff are up most of the night cleaning. They must have the ship spotless for any US Public Health Department surprise inspection. All the housekeeping staff are up all night - either cleaning or collectiing your suitcases. These departments comprise about 80% of the crew. All of these people hit their 13 hour quota and must get a few hours rest at some point - because tomorrow is the busiest day of the week - and they cannot go over their 13 hour quota tomorrow either. And somebody has to clean all the cabins in the morning and cook and serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

The remaining 20% of the crew are Deck, Engine, Entertainers, and Concessionaires. Deck and Engine staff are posted on specific watch hours. Entertainers and concessionaires have separate contracts that exclude them from most duties not related to their jobs. The Hotel Department generally cannot touch these people for any extra help.

So US Customs changes all the rules at the last minute, throwing the entire system into chaos. The ship has to make last minute changes to the customs/ disembarkation (not disembarkment) process. Who are they going to recruit to help out with the additional crowd control issues? There is nobody left. Everyone is either on a legally mandated rest period, already working, or exempt by contract. So they make do with whoever is available.

The result is your so-called "disaster". Although I tend to think of a "disaster" as something more like the "Titanic Disaster", or the "9/11 Disaster".

Cooler headed people might describe your Ft Lauderdale experience as annoying, disappointing, disturbing, but probable not life-changing.

Life goes on.

IT was not the fault of immigration people being late...they were at the dock at 6am and the Coral Princess docked at 7am, on time. There was NO MANAGMENT present and no one in charge.

IT was not the fault of immigration people being late...they were at the dock at 6am and the Coral Princess docked at 7am, on time. There was NO MANAGMENT present and no one in charge.

Welcome to Cruise Critic. Were you on the cruise. :confused:

Note to self:

Continue to book late (Afternoon or Evening) flights home after a cruise if possible. :cool: