doublebzz Posted October 26, 2014 #1 Share Posted October 26, 2014 I have always found the debarkation from Fort Lauderdale to be a lengthy and disorganized mess, particularly Sunday arrivals. Today, we picked up some friends debarking from the Eurodam. The ship arrived at 7am and my friends along with many others didn't debark until after 11:30. There were only two immigration agents to service the 2,500 guests. Driving outside the terminal was shear chaos. Private, inexperienced security guards were directing traffic and giving conflicting directions so cars didn't know whether to proceed or stop. Cars were not instructed to form multiple lines at the passenger pick up point so a long single line of angry drivers ensued. Finally, the single Broward County cop I observed came to the area and expedited traffic. Being so late in the morning, there was a mix of departing and arriving vehicles which led to me being directed to the arrival lane after picking up my friends. This situation is in stark contrast to the Port of Miami where my experience just a week earlier was a picnic by comparison. For those that are booking early flights out of Fort Lauderdale on debarkation day, you might want to reconsider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxmantoo Posted October 26, 2014 #2 Share Posted October 26, 2014 (edited) Have disembarked many times at Fort Lauderdale without problems. Certainly not the worst port in the US when compared to San Diego :eek: Edited October 26, 2014 by taxmantoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammiedawg Posted October 26, 2014 #3 Share Posted October 26, 2014 (edited) Ft Lauderdale was a mess last December when we got off a Princess ship and it got worse at the airport. The Oasis/Allure ships have had a huge impact, presumably one was in port today. Hotels in FLL are routinely selling out as well and we ended up at a dumpy hotel precruise. I agree with the comment about the port of Miami being much easier. Edited October 26, 2014 by sammiedawg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted October 26, 2014 #4 Share Posted October 26, 2014 San Diego is terrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FRANKIEDNYC Posted October 26, 2014 #5 Share Posted October 26, 2014 The worst we ever encountered was New Orleans a few years ago. After we disembarked, it too over 3 hours to get thru customs. It wasn't even a huge ship. Norwegian Spirit about the size of an S or R class HAL ship Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted October 26, 2014 #6 Share Posted October 26, 2014 I have always found the debarkation from Fort Lauderdale to be a lengthy and disorganized mess, particularly Sunday arrivals. Today, we picked up some friends debarking from the Eurodam. The ship arrived at 7am and my friends along with many others didn't debark until after 11:30. There were only two immigration agents to service the 2,500 guests. Driving outside the terminal was shear chaos. Private, inexperienced security guards were directing traffic and giving conflicting directions so cars didn't know whether to proceed or stop. Cars were not instructed to form multiple lines at the passenger pick up point so a long single line of angry drivers ensued. Finally, the single Broward County cop I observed came to the area and expedited traffic. Being so late in the morning, there was a mix of departing and arriving vehicles which led to me being directed to the arrival lane after picking up my friends. This situation is in stark contrast to the Port of Miami where my experience just a week earlier was a picnic by comparison. For those that are booking early flights out of Fort Lauderdale on debarkation day, you might want to reconsider. Ft Lauderdale has gotten terrible the last couple of years. They have cut back to 2 immigration officials after all the self-disembarkation have gotten off the ship. A person posted on today's sail-away for the Eurodam that they were off the ship by 7:30 -- self disembarkation. I have to have wheelchair assistance to get off the ship and last spring even that was a mess. I was suppose to get assistance at 8:15 but never got help until nearly 9:30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruz chic Posted October 26, 2014 #7 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Ft Lauderdale was a mess last December when we got off a Princess ship and it got worse at the airport. The Oasis/Allure ships have had a huge impact, presumably one was in port today. Hotels in FLL are routinely selling out as well and we ended up at a dumpy hotel precruise.I agree with the comment about the port of Miami being much easier. The airport is a zoo on Saturday and Sunday because of the allure and oasis. I sure hope the don't bring another one of those ships to Fort lauderdale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boytjie Posted October 26, 2014 #8 Share Posted October 26, 2014 We have disembarked HAL ships in Port Everglades on both Saturdays and Sundays in February the last couple of years and have not had any issues. We tend not to fly home the same day we disembark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Typhoon1 Posted October 26, 2014 #9 Share Posted October 26, 2014 We've disembarked Fort Lauderdale many times on both Saturday and Sunday. The process has always gone smoothly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igraf Posted October 26, 2014 #10 Share Posted October 26, 2014 (edited) San Diego is actually quite nice. Pleasant summer-like weather all last week. igraf San Diego is terrible. Edited October 26, 2014 by igraf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted October 26, 2014 #11 Share Posted October 26, 2014 We have been on several cruises where disembarkation in San Diego didn't start until after 10:30 AM. Many people missed their flights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted October 26, 2014 #12 Share Posted October 26, 2014 We have disembarked HAL ships in Port Everglades on both Saturdays and Sundays in February the last couple of years and have not had any issues. We tend not to fly home the same day we disembark. We've disembarked Fort Lauderdale many times on both Saturday and Sunday. The process has always gone smoothly. Our last mess in Ft Lauderdale was the Nieuw Amsterdam -- on a Sunday in April. Thankfully we have no choice but to fly home the next day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail7seas Posted October 26, 2014 #13 Share Posted October 26, 2014 I wish they would have more CBP Officials. That would help move the line along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted October 26, 2014 #14 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Totally agree with the OP We have had long linES getting out of FLL They could learn some things from Tilbury, England and Athens where cruisers are appreciated, lots of people on and disembarkation as smooth as silk. Fortunately next two times we will not be disembarking there. Will it be worse or better, who knows, but so far I have found no cattle crawl compared to FLL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollyanne Posted October 26, 2014 #15 Share Posted October 26, 2014 We have disembarked HAL ships in Port Everglades on both Saturdays and Sundays in February the last couple of years and have not had any issues. We tend not to fly home the same day we disembark. I agree - the key to not having to worry about it is to stay an extra night. Our disembarkation last December was long - at least one hour in line just to see one of the two agents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hflors Posted October 26, 2014 #16 Share Posted October 26, 2014 (edited) We have been on several cruises where disembarkation in San Diego didn't start until after 10:30 AM. Many people missed their flights. Our cruise that disembarked in San Diego didn't start until after 12:30 pm!!! Many many people misssed their flights and all because people who were continuning on the cruise after ours to Alaska didn't show up to customs. They kept calling and calling the names. Sometimes I think the customs needs to fine people who don't show up. Lucky for us m sister had warned us not to book our flights until the next day as the same thing happened to her the year before! Disembarkment in Ft Lauderdale off the Zuiderdam last December was also a mess, but not as bad as San Diego! Edited October 26, 2014 by Hflors Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
65 Gator Posted October 27, 2014 #17 Share Posted October 27, 2014 We had Expedited disembarkation so were able to leave our cabin at 0730. We made our way to deck two without difficulty and everyone was affable. We proceeded to the customs area quickly and then the whole scenario turned to crap. Although there were less than 100 folks in front of us, the line was NOT moving. There was a SINGLE federal agent on duty and he was NOT in a hurry. The grumbling was universal and audible. Soon there were several hundred folks behind us and the line snaked back and forth about six rows deep. Eventually, a second agent appeared but he was VERY slowly taking his position. At no time was there any effort on the feds to expedite the process and it was obvious that they had an attitude. The agent that checked us was somber and obviously was not having a good day. We have many cruises under out belts and can never remember the indifference we encountered in FLL today. To top things off, about 50 feet from being cleared by the feds, my wife stopped to put her passport in her purse and a fellow in a white shirt (?HAL agent) started hollering at her to NOT STOP but keep moving. The bottom line is that I agree with the initial post that disembarkation at FLL today was a disaster. Hopefully things will improve... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watson's aunt Posted October 27, 2014 #18 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Hi I was in Florida last November Oh the I was out in street around 8:10. No problem It was a sunday akso. Zuiderham, Just be warned Pul Ryan keeps saying he will shut down the government and if you coming into port I have no idea what will happen Mary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PathfinderEss Posted October 27, 2014 #19 Share Posted October 27, 2014 This is so interesting, we have disembarked many times in SD and had no issues. So I'm sure it just depends on many other issues whether it goes smoothly or not. Just don't make any arrangements before noon in any departure port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Himself Posted October 27, 2014 #20 Share Posted October 27, 2014 I also stay over and extra day so that I do not have rush to the airport is the disembarkation backs up which these days it does. They now look at each passport and they take their time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdtrager Posted October 27, 2014 #21 Share Posted October 27, 2014 The worst we ever encountered was New Orleans a few years ago. After we disembarked, it too over 3 hours to get thru customs. It wasn't even a huge ship. Norwegian Spirit about the size of an S or R class HAL ship If I remember correctly we had a breeze going through New Orleans, both in and out. We drove, parked right across from the terminal and went right in and got right out after the cruise was over. Had a lovely time on the the Spirit as well, and really enjoyed the port there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted October 27, 2014 #22 Share Posted October 27, 2014 I wish they would have more CBP Officials. That would help move the line along. Totally agree with the OP We have had long linES getting out of FLL They could learn some things from Tilbury, England and Athens where cruisers are appreciated, lots of people on and disembarkation as smooth as silk. Fortunately next two times we will not be disembarking there. Will it be worse or better, who knows, but so far I have found no cattle crawl compared to FLL There was a time when we would have 4 - 6 agents checking the passports at immigration -- depended on how large the ship was. But when the government cutbacks kicked in -- down to 2 agents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted October 27, 2014 #23 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Our cruise that disembarked in San Diego didn't start until after 12:30 pm!!! Many many people misssed their flights and all because people who were continuning on the cruise after ours to Alaska didn't show up to customs. They kept calling and calling the names. Sometimes I think the customs needs to fine people who don't show up. Lucky for us m sister had warned us not to book our flights until the next day as the same thing happened to her the year before! Disembarkment in Ft Lauderdale off the Zuiderdam last December was also a mess, but not as bad as San Diego! On our cruises when we were continuing onto Seattle, it was not us causing the problems. It was the foreigners who were not reporting to a certain lounge before the ship was cleared. And they would keep calling the same names and cabin numbers over and over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseGal60 Posted October 27, 2014 #24 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Last year both embarcation and Debarkation were a mess. I had looked on line that morning to see what terminal the ship would use. The people at the gate insisted we go to a different pier. Even the signs were wrong. We finally got to the correct pier only to find complete chaos. People for another cruise line were being told they were leaving from the same pier. DH wanted to drop me off as I was getting over a broken foot and still had a large boot and limited mobility. He was not allowed to. We were told no people could be dropped off, only luggage. After driving around we found a place where I could sit and wait. Debarkation was no better. We arrived at a different pier and were told we could get a shuttle to where the car was parked. We never could find the shuttle. Eventually locating a taxi we were dropped off at a garage. By this time people were arriving to depart and the few attendants on duty were overwhelmed. We are going out of Ft Lauderdale the end of November and sure hope they have their act together by then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublebzz Posted October 27, 2014 Author #25 Share Posted October 27, 2014 There was a time when we would have 4 - 6 agents checking the passports at immigration -- depended on how large the ship was. But when the government cutbacks kicked in -- down to 2 agents. I haven't noticed any "cutbacks" in government tax and port fees that are added to our cruise fares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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