Rare Laszlo Posted November 24, 2013 #1 Share Posted November 24, 2013 (edited) Sitting at the airport to headed back home. This will be short review, Tampa, Roatan, Belize, Costa Maya and Cozumel. Arrived in Tampa Saturday 16th and stayed at the Marriott, nice hotel, good price. Spent a few hours at the Tampa Aquarium which was also very nice. Checkin and boarding were easy last Sunday we were group one and boarded around 11:30am, the cruise terminal could you a PA system. The people working there had to shout out the boarding groups. Cabin 11158 was ready by 1pm. The ship is nice however its pretty well worn, at least in our mini suite it was. Chris our room steward was great. We really lucked out on the weather, sunny and hot almost every day. The ports and tours were good, I'll go into more detail in a day or two. Food and shows were very good, service in general was very good. Our room steward told us they were a few dozen people short because of the storm. We had a lot more "older" people on this cruise than we had on our three others. My wife and I are both 50th, fit and active. I guess something happens to you when you get in your 60's and 70's because their were lots of miserable old people around LOL. I think some people just loose all common sense and maybe their minds once they get on a ship. Please remember when taking an elevator the people ON the elevator need to get our PRIOR to you getting on. I saw this time and time again......drove me nuts. In Cozumel they had divers working on the ship, also saw a dive team in Tampa with two divers in the water as we walked off. Couldn't tell what was going on Anyway overall the cruise was very nice....... Now the bad part.... Somewhere along the line our "Closed Loop" cruise turned into and Open cruise. We did not get all the details but we picked up 70 passengers in Mexico. We did "Easy WalkOff" 2 Hours and 10 minutes from getting in line to getting off and to the curb. The people working at the port seemed to be really pissed off that NCL "Sprung this on them. The had 3 agents to handle all the passengers. Not sure what happened......... Edited November 24, 2013 by Laszlo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS_Travel Posted November 24, 2013 #2 Share Posted November 24, 2013 We were also disembarking from the Dawn this morning. How does a closed loop vs an open loop cruise change the requirements for immigration/customs? Wouldn't there still be roughly the same amount of passengers disembarking in Tamps? The 3 agents would still have been too few for the regular amount of passengers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Laszlo Posted November 24, 2013 Author #3 Share Posted November 24, 2013 I really don't know What I do know is the three times we came into NYC they must have had a dozen agents checking If Tampa is always like this we are never going back :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lasefton Posted November 24, 2013 #4 Share Posted November 24, 2013 Sitting at the airport to headed back home. This will be short review, Tampa, Roatan, Belize, Costa Maya and Cozumel. Arrived in Tampa Saturday 16th and stayed at the Marriott, nice hotel, good price. Spent a few hours at the Tampa Aquarium which was also very nice.Checkin and boarding were easy last Sunday we were group one and boarded around 11:30am, the cruise terminal could you a PA system. The people working there had to shout out the boarding groups. Cabin 11158 was ready by 1pm. The ship is nice however its pretty well worn, at least in our mini suite it was. Chris our room steward was great. We really lucked out on the weather, sunny and hot almost every day. The ports and tours were good, I'll go into more detail in a day or two. Food and shows were very good, service in general was very good. Our room steward told us they were a few dozen people short because of the storm. We had a lot more "older" people on this cruise than we had on our three others. My wife and I are both 50th, fit and active. I guess something happens to you when you get in your 60's and 70's because their were lots of miserable old people around LOL. I think some people just loose all common sense and maybe their minds once they get on a ship. Please remember when taking an elevator the people ON the elevator need to get our PRIOR to you getting on. I saw this time and time again......drove me nuts. In Cozumel they had divers working on the ship, also saw a dive team in Tampa with two divers in the water as we walked off. Couldn't tell what was going on Anyway overall the cruise was very nice....... Now the bad part.... Somewhere along the line our "Closed Loop" cruise turned into and Open cruise. We did not get all the details but we picked up 70 passengers in Mexico. We did "Easy WalkOff" 2 Hours and 10 minutes from getting in line to getting off and to the curb. The people working at the port seemed to be really pissed off that NCL "Sprung this on them. The had 3 agents to handle all the passengers. Not sure what happened......... We will be on the Dawn in Jan. Would love to hear more about your cruise :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dolita22 Posted November 24, 2013 #5 Share Posted November 24, 2013 My parents were on that cruise and I believe are still in line waiting for their luggage and to get through customs. Ay yi yi. They are going to miss their flight this afternoon, but should hopefully make one tonight. They said they had a wonderful, wonderful cruise, aside from today's experience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow bunny Posted November 24, 2013 #6 Share Posted November 24, 2013 Is this the first cruise out of Tampa after the short cruise to no where? If so they might now have been prepared and as for closed versus open loop, what difference does that make? As a Canadian I find we quite often have to show up in the theatre to do a customs check and then clear customs again when getting off! I hope that they figure this out before our HYE cruise as our flight is at 11:55 am!:eek: snow bunny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NH Cruisers Posted November 24, 2013 #7 Share Posted November 24, 2013 What ever difference the closed loop and open loop make I don't know. But obviously it did make some difference. I am glad it was at cruises end. At that point I don't care about the inconvienience nearly as much. Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcwingwalker Posted November 24, 2013 #8 Share Posted November 24, 2013 Why were passengers picked up in Mexico? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
time2cruise1 Posted November 24, 2013 #9 Share Posted November 24, 2013 (edited) Why were passengers picked up in Mexico? As posted on the other thread same topic They actually sell 7 day Cozumel to Cozemel in some overseas makets. On the Pearl last year they had British passengers board in Jamacia for 7 days. These are group packages put together by TAs that include a pre or post land stay. The also will sell get on in Tampa off in Cozumel for a week long land land vacation and then catch the ship back the next week. Edited November 24, 2013 by time2cruise1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legion3 Posted November 24, 2013 #10 Share Posted November 24, 2013 As posted on the other thread same topic The also will sell get on in Tampa off in Cozumel for a week long land land vacation and then catch the ship back the next week. Getting on the dawn in a week, hope this is a one time snafu and they are better prepared the next time. I doubt them getting on should be a problem next week. Wonder if mexican customs will delay us in Coz.:rolleyes: I bet they wont have an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VideoTech Posted November 24, 2013 #11 Share Posted November 24, 2013 Closed Loop = Ship originates from and returns to country of origin (i.e. in this case, Tampa to Tampa) and no one permanently disembarks the ship or embarks he ship in the intermediate port stops. Open Loop = Generally speaking, when a cruise ship doesn't originate from and return to the country of origin, such as on a trans-Atlantic cruise, or a cruise that might originate in Seattle and terminate in Vancouver. Or, in this case, if some of the passengers disembark for an extended stay at one of the port stops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vtoria98 Posted November 24, 2013 #12 Share Posted November 24, 2013 We disembarked this morning at 8 am. As we were in line we realized there were only 4 agents. The ladies that work for the port continued to say it was because there were 3 ships there that day. However its not like it was a surprise that there were 3 ships there. This was clearly a Customs issue not an NCL issue. It took us 40 minutes to go through the line. Tampa has been this way twice now. Port Canaveral is never like this, they always have at least 10 people working the customs line. What a sour way to end a good trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Laszlo Posted November 24, 2013 Author #13 Share Posted November 24, 2013 We will be on the Dawn in Jan. Would love to hear more about your cruise :D Give a me day or so and I'll post a better review of the cruise and the three excursions we took. Two words of advice in Costa Maya.........Maya Chan......costamayabeachresortdotcom. It was Excellent!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angel54321 Posted November 25, 2013 #14 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Give a me day or so and I'll post a better review of the cruise and the three excursions we took. Two words of advice in Costa Maya.........Maya Chan......costamayabeachresortdotcom. It was Excellent!!! Definitely share more about Maya chan, I want to book us there in March..... Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app Sailing 3/23/14 on the Norwegian Dawn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newmexicoNita Posted November 25, 2013 #15 Share Posted November 25, 2013 I really don't knowWhat I do know is the three times we came into NYC they must have had a dozen agents checking If Tampa is always like this we are never going back :eek: I don't think this had anything to do with NCL or open versus closed: It sounds to me like the port authority slipped up. Both our debarkations in NOLA have been nightmares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newmexicoNita Posted November 25, 2013 #16 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Definitely share more about Maya chan, I want to book us there in March..... Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app Sailing 3/23/14 on the Norwegian Dawn We did Maya a few years ago and loved it. The best part, being treated like kings and queens. The water and snorkeling are not great, in fact we didn't snorkel at all, but the food, the drinks and the service were the best we have ever had, anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Laszlo Posted November 25, 2013 Author #17 Share Posted November 25, 2013 (edited) Definitely share more about Maya chan, I want to book us there in March..... Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app Sailing 3/23/14 on the Norwegian Dawn I be starting a new thread and review tonight, the good the bad and the ugly of the cruise. Our friends cabin was also flooded out on day two of the cruise. More about that tonight Edited November 25, 2013 by Laszlo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagnoliaBlossom Posted November 25, 2013 #18 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Are you sure they were passengers and not crew? When crew boards a ship the first time they visit the US they have to go through immigration. We had this on a recent cruise and the whole staff had to clear customs. It was lengthy but they at least were prepared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Laszlo Posted November 25, 2013 Author #19 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Are you sure they were passengers and not crew? When crew boards a ship the first time they visit the US they have to go through immigration. We had this on a recent cruise and the whole staff had to clear customs. It was lengthy but they at least were prepared. No I'm not sure. I can only tell you what the TSA agent told me. 70 passengers from Mexico. They did not say what port Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdytogo2 Posted November 25, 2013 #20 Share Posted November 25, 2013 The Concierge said there was a tour group from the UK that joined the cruise in Cozumel and will disembark when the ship returns to Cozumel this week. Now for my opinion of the slow process we had getting off the ship. Remember, this is my opinion! There were 3 Customs agents when we went through the customs area (before getting to the luggage area). Instead of swiping our passports through a reader (which is the way they have always done it in the past), they were keying in the passport numbers and then comparing the passport info with the screen info. Next they looked at my wife to compare her photo. Then back to the screen for more checking of something. Then they finally stamped her passport. Repeated the same procedure with my passport. Next looked over the customs form I had filled out, initialed it and gave it back to me. Then a few questions, like did we purchase any liquor, etc. Finally, gave us our passports and indicated that we were OK to go. So, to me, it seemed like an intentional slow down to process each passenger. Perhaps something occurred that may have upset the Customs people. Whatever happened, it sure did make the Dawn late leaving the port. I noticed that the Carnival and HAL ships left on time, so apparently, they did not have the same issue. I have never experienced the customs process to be that slow. We are going on another cruise from Tampa in December on the Brilliance of the Seas. It will be interesting to see what happens on our return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Va. Plumber Posted November 25, 2013 #21 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Sounds as though the Customs people screwed staffing up or were mad about something. Every time I've sailed there were always a ton of them. Most of the time they merely look at your I.D., take your declaration and wave you on. Once in a while they will flag some poor soul and proceed to put them through the wringer. With regard to those boarding in Cozumel, that happened on the Star last February. A British travel group was doing a Cozumel to Cozumel loop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clean1owner Posted November 26, 2013 #22 Share Posted November 26, 2013 Definitely share more about Maya chan, I want to book us there in March..... Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app Sailing 3/23/14 on the Norwegian Dawn Maya Chan is paradise They pick you up at the pier and bus you to the resort. You are assigned a private sitting area. Drinks are complimentary. Lunch is made fresh and complimentary Snorkel gear, Kayaks, and Float Tubes are complimentary After a fabulous relaxing beach day, they drag you kicking and screaming to the bus that takes you back to the pier. Looking into our hut Looking out of our hut A view of the beach Another view of the beach Drinks on the house! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angel54321 Posted November 26, 2013 #23 Share Posted November 26, 2013 Maya Chan is paradiseThey pick you up at the pier and bus you to the resort. You are assigned a private sitting area. Drinks are complimentary. Lunch is made fresh and complimentary Snorkel gear, Kayaks, and Float Tubes are complimentary After a fabulous relaxing beach day, they drag you kicking and screaming to the bus that takes you back to the pier. Looking into our hut Looking out of our hut A view of the beach Another view of the beach Drinks on the house! Looks great! How far is it from the pier??? Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app Sailing 3/23/14 on the Norwegian Dawn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Laszlo Posted November 27, 2013 Author #24 Share Posted November 27, 2013 Maya Chan was great!!! Its about 4 miles (30minutes) from the pier. 1/3 of the road is paved the other 2/3 is dirt / sand with huge craters. I felt bad for our taxi driver. The van must have bottomed out a dozen times, it was well worth the bumpy trip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clean1owner Posted November 28, 2013 #25 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Maya Chan was great!!! Its about 4 miles (30minutes) from the pier. 1/3 of the road is paved the other 2/3 is dirt / sand with huge craters. I felt bad for our taxi driver. The van must have bottomed out a dozen times, it was well worth the bumpy trip We actually had a bus pick us up, but it was the same thing. About a 1/2 hour drive, with the last part quite rough. The owners of Maya Chan told us that people pretty much have to take it upon themselves to fix the road washouts after a hard rain. I whole heartedly agree that it is worth the ride! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now