Punished at Port of Tampa

[dotheyes]

Just off the Pride in Tampa last Sunday and what a horrible experience. Ship was late due to fog; we headed to Diamond room to get off. Entertainment person said you don't have to walk that far and found chairs for us near the exit. We were NOT in a hurry and both of us use walkers Husband is 88 years old and I am 79. When the ship was cleared they came over and told us we could leave before the big rush. they also let people with plane flights off. When we got down and thru customs we were told to wait outside till they open the luggage doors and they would escort us in. After 40 mins and seeing high tag numbers come out 14 19 etc. I asked a security guard when we could go in. She said all of those people in that line are being PUNISHED for leaving the ship early without all of their luggage. I was livid and found the person in charge and she said yes You left with people who carried their own luggage off. I explained that we were told to leave by cruise staff. and most of the others had plane flights She said not my problem and covered her name tag. I kept after her and she said OK I will let them in 5 at a time. When we were allowed in there was a huge line waiting for porters. I had called my niece to let her know we were off the ship. She said she really was worried because she had not heard from us for an hour and 40 mins.

Sorry about the long post, but I really needed to vent Not a good way to treat elderly people or make people miss their flights to punish them. We did nothing wrong but follow directions.

I don't think this was Carnivals problem but the people in charge at the port. Who are they to punish people for doing nothing wrong except what we were told.

dot

[NoName]

Wow, sorry this happened. Not a nice way to end a cruise. You are owed an apology and they need to figure out how to prevent this from happening again.

Kim

[Disconnections]

I see that you're about an hour away from the port. If you wish to call attention to this issue, I will suggest attending this event at Port Tampa Bay: http://www.tampaport.com/news-events/events.aspx?eid=84.

[PA Dutchman]

Bag drag for Diamond and Platinum first at debarkation, then people that had to pick up there luggage and from then on its by zones. From what I see you tried to get off first with out your luggage and that makes a mess for you till they find it. If you put your luggage out for pickup you should have been zone 1 and pick up your luggage in the port before customs. You got off with the bag drag and that can get ugly some times. That also includes early air. There is no Diamond room, they stick you wherever around the exit. Diamond and platinum and early air bag drag is always around the exit. They really don't do anything for diamond. I have ben on the Pride 8 times and we just stand around the exit with or luggage, you get a letter that tell you when to be where for how you are debarking. You were not punished you were just at the wrong place and nobody asked questions like were is your luggage ?

[poison7fl]

Kind of an exaggeration. You guys were not punished, it was clearly a misunderstanding, and you got off before everyone else, but your bags got off when you should have. Debarkation sucks all around.

 

Whoever told you that you were being punished was just being stupid. Relax.

 

I just got back last week in Port Canaveral, and as a Platinum cruiser, I got off after the self assist and had to wait for my bags too. It happens, don't let it ruin your day.

Edited December 13, 2014 by poison7fl

[naz022292]

Kind of an exaggeration. You guys were not punished, it was clearly a misunderstanding, and you got off before everyone else, but your bags got off when you should have. Debarkation sucks all around.

 

Whoever told you that you were being punished was just being stupid. Relax.

 

I just got back last week in Port Canaveral, and as a Platinum cruiser, I got off after the self assist and had to wait for my bags too. It happens, don't let it ruin your day.

 

I don't think that you understood their post. They actually WERE PUNISHED. They didn't have to wait for their bags... they were kept out of the luggage area until everyone else on the ship got off and got their luggage. This same thing almost happened to us... we had FTTF and someone came in to the room we were TOLD to wait in and they brought us to the exit. This was our first cruise so we didn't know any better. A couple ppl asked about that explaining that we checked some luggage and were told to go ahead and exit. Just as we handed our card to leave the ship someone came up to us saying "NO NO. Don't go yet. If you leave now before the luggage is ready you will be held until EVERYONE else gets off and gets their luggage." They even used the punishment word and told us that it was to avoid people trying to get off too early. Some people had already left and they said that their was nothing Carnival could do... they would be held waiting for a VERY long time. We had cruised out of NYC.

 

Sorry to the OP. Hard enough to come back to reality!

Edited December 13, 2014 by naz022292

[elliair]

Not a good way to treat elderly people or make people miss their flights to punish them. We did nothing wrong but follow directions.

 

You weren't being punished because you are elderly. Also, the people with flights did not miss their flights. You just happened to take instructions from people who haven't a clue themselves. You were at the wrong place at the wrong time and nothing more.

[GTO-Girl]

When we were getting off the Liberty last Saturday in PC there was an elderly man with a walker and his wife on a scooter who were trying to blend in with all of us who were doing self-assist. A crew member kept trying to ask them where they were going. The man kept yelling at him that they needed "assistance" in getting off.....the crew member kept saying this was for people doing SELF assist, but the man just kept walking towards the exit. Not sure what happened but it was not going well.

 

When we all came down the escalators we passed the luggage area as we headed for the exit.....and there was at least a dozen people who had evidently checked their luggage but were still trying to sneak off early with the self assist people. Unfortunately for them there was not one piece of luggage there yet.

 

If that was their plan.....then part of me hoped they had to wait awhile!

[naz022292]

I'm really not sure why people aren't sympathetic to the OP. They followed the instructions given to them by CARNIVAL staff. When it turned out to be wrong they were punished for exiting the ship too early. Like I said, same thing happened to us. I understand their frustration. I'm sure it didn't ruin their cruise - they just wanted a friendly ear to hear their story.

 

I agree with the previous posted that there should be some consequence for intentionally leaving the ship during self debarkation. I also understand that the port workers would have no way of knowing if that was the case with these people. Just think that the OP deserves a little sympathy for the trouble.

Edited December 13, 2014 by naz022292

[poison7fl]

I don't think that you understood their post. They actually WERE PUNISHED. They didn't have to wait for their bags... they were kept out of the luggage area until everyone else on the ship got off and got their luggage. This same thing almost happened to us... we had FTTF and someone came in to the room we were TOLD to wait in and they brought us to the exit. This was our first cruise so we didn't know any better. A couple ppl asked about that explaining that we checked some luggage and were told to go ahead and exit. Just as we handed our card to leave the ship someone came up to us saying "NO NO. Don't go yet. If you leave now before the luggage is ready you will be held until EVERYONE else gets off and gets their luggage." They even used the punishment word and told us that it was to avoid people trying to get off too early. Some people had already left and they said that their was nothing Carnival could do... they would be held waiting for a VERY long time. We had cruised out of NYC.

 

Sorry to the OP. Hard enough to come back to reality!

 

No one was punished

Edited December 13, 2014 by poison7fl

[OCruisers]

Dot .... Hate what happened to you. :(

LuLu

[lappy22]

After 18 cruises I've learned that most port employees are not always the most helpful and have no idea what others are doing 100 feet ahead of them. They are just there to direct you to customs, down the escalator and out the door.

 

 

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[Cathy Laz]

:eek:

 

Sadly, I believe they "were" punished. Port employees do not work for the Cruise line and they are not trained in customer service as well. Unfortunately, I believe it was good intentions by the cruise ship to allow them to get off before the crowd without really understanding the concequences and this caused more distress than necessary. Everything mentioned is definitely correct about the self assist and those that truly try to beat the system, however, this was not the case and the Port Authority was not compassionate enough to understand that. I work in a large place that is all about customer service and the "trained" folks get cranky and tired of old tricks, and often "punish" the wrong people. They are mad at the staff and the customer/patient/vendor, etc. are the ones to suffer.

 

We, as a society, are gradually losing all of our manners and compassion. Sad.

[CruiseHealing]

That is a crappy way to treat Diamond members.

[Orison]

Sounds like someone with control issues.

 

Sorry they had to take their abby normals out on you. :(

[champagne123]

Just off the Pride in Tampa last Sunday and what a horrible experience. Ship was late due to fog; we headed to Diamond room to get off. Entertainment person said you don't have to walk that far and found chairs for us near the exit. We were NOT in a hurry and both of us use walkers Husband is 88 years old and I am 79. When the ship was cleared they came over and told us we could leave before the big rush. they also let people with plane flights off. When we got down and thru customs we were told to wait outside till they open the luggage doors and they would escort us in. After 40 mins and seeing high tag numbers come out 14 19 etc. I asked a security guard when we could go in. She said all of those people in that line are being PUNISHED for leaving the ship early without all of their luggage. I was livid and found the person in charge and she said yes You left with people who carried their own luggage off. I explained that we were told to leave by cruise staff. and most of the others had plane flights She said not my problem and covered her name tag. I kept after her and she said OK I will let them in 5 at a time. When we were allowed in there was a huge line waiting for porters. I had called my niece to let her know we were off the ship. She said she really was worried because she had not heard from us for an hour and 40 mins.

Sorry about the long post, but I really needed to vent Not a good way to treat elderly people or make people miss their flights to punish them. We did nothing wrong but follow directions.

I don't think this was Carnivals problem but the people in charge at the port. Who are they to punish people for doing nothing wrong except what we were told.

dot

 

 

I was on the same cruise. I was going to write a review and decided against it....I would however like to add my two cents. I had a broken leg and what happened at the end of this cruise was absolute HELL. All of the handicapped people were told to go to a particular spot. We were the LAST ones off. Really???????????

 

All we could hear, were people screaming about missing their flights. We did not pull into port until 9:50 and they did not start disembarkation until 11:30. We did not get called to disembark until 12:30. The worst we have ever experienced. It was a madhouse.

 

I don't understand why RCCL can disembark over 6000 people so quickly and orderly and Carnival is a disaster with 2100.

[Orison]

 

I don't understand why RCCL can disembark over 6000 people so quickly and orderly and Carnival is a disaster with 2100.

 

Carnival is YEARS behind in crowd control, going so far as to cram as many people onto a ship as they possibly can. Forget about getting on an off a ship unless you are VIFP, and they are not a lot of other VIFP on the ship with you.

[Jana60]

Carnival is YEARS behind in crowd control, going so far as to cram as many people onto a ship as they possibly can. Forget about getting on an off a ship unless you are VIFP, and they are not a lot of other VIFP on the ship with you.

 

I've been really lucky. I usually book late flight so I'm always wanting to stay on board and relax until they make me get off. So by the time I get off there's no crowd and my suitcase is sitting there in the port all by itself. On my last cruise I was worried because instead of a late flight I had a very early flight. But I was platinum, self assist, and the first one to arrive at the assigned departure area so I was sitting on the transfer bus ready to go to the airport by 9 a.m..

 

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[spazilla1]

It is quite possible that there was misunderstanding on both ends of this issue. Sounds like the elderly folks misunderstood that this was the "self assist" and not the "assist" line; and the Port people did not understand that they were just waiting to get into the line to get their baggage, and made them wait till the end (not cool! Port people! customer service should always be job 1). It is also possible that if the OP did not have their "zone" card then the port folks are just going to shuffle them to the side till they have more time to deal with them. Sounds mean, I know, but 4000 disembarking folks is a lot of people at once.

[SadieN]

I was on the same cruise. I was going to write a review and decided against it....I would however like to add my two cents. I had a broken leg and what happened at the end of this cruise was absolute HELL. All of the handicapped people were told to go to a particular spot. We were the LAST ones off. Really???????????

 

 

 

All we could hear, were people screaming about missing their flights. We did not pull into port until 9:50 and they did not start disembarkation until 11:30. We did not get called to disembark until 12:30. The worst we have ever experienced. It was a madhouse.

 

 

 

I don't understand why RCCL can disembark over 6000 people so quickly and orderly and Carnival is a disaster with 2100.

 

 

Sounds like a fog issue with the arrival time.

 

Normally ships pull into port when most are asleep. The 90 minutes sounds about right to dock and clear the ship for debarkation.

[BullDawg91]

Why is debarking/disembarkation on Carnival such a process? I've sailed Carnival once several years ago and Disney since then.

 

On Carnival, we drug our luggage to the assigned theater where we sat for maybe 2 hours waiting to get off before our group was called.

 

On DCL, we just took our bags from our cabin, ate breakfast and walked off. There is no congregating somewhere first. Everyone whether carrying luggage off or not just walks off at their convenience although they want everyone off by roughly 9:30.

 

This isn't snarky "Disney is better"speak. I really want to know why some lines seem to make it so complicated (I read a lot here even though I haven't traveled that much) when it doesn't seem necessary.

Edited December 13, 2014 by BullDawg91

[Orison]

I've been really lucky. I usually book late flight so I'm always wanting to stay on board and relax until they make me get off. So by the time I get off there's no crowd and my suitcase is sitting there in the port all by itself. On my last cruise I was worried because instead of a late flight I had a very early flight. But I was platinum, self assist, and the first one to arrive at the assigned departure area so I was sitting on the transfer bus ready to go to the airport by 9 a.m..

 

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I used to be of that mindset years ago, trying to "squeeze" that much more time at the end of the cruise.

 

But everything is basically closed, and virtually no service, so it's quite painful to stay on. So now we get off as soon as possible.

 

Sent from my comfy chair in my den.

[Relayer]

Sorry for the OP's experience.

 

Adressing other comments around CCL disembark generalities seem to be not accurate. I have not sailed out of Tampa so certainly it may be a disaster there.

However after many cruises with Carnival we find the disembark quite painless.

Self assist, if you are able, is the only way to go. We have rarely been latter than 7:30 or so off the ship, in the car and driving away. That has been true for Miami, Port Canaveral, Ft. Lauderdale and Jacksonville.

 

Late arrivals back to port will certainly throw a wrench into the best laid plans.

[talliana]

Just got off the Conquest last Sunday. We checked our bags the night before. I walked into the lobby and there were two lines from the scanner all the way back to the theater and these people had number 1 and 2 to get off, we were number 11. It was going really slow and the line moved like every 20 minutes. I told my husband let's just get in line because by the time we wait it would be almost 10 before we got off at this rate. We went through the scanner and customs had called and told Carnival not to disembark anyone else because they were backed up, my husband was the last person off for about 30 minutes. When we reached downstairs the high bag numbers were there but many of the low ones were not. Many people who left before us were still there waiting while we picked up our bags then spent another hour trying to get through customs. If you get off early you are just taking a chance that your bag will be there otherwise you just have to wait.

[Aplmac]

Just off the Pride in Tampa last Sunday and what a horrible experience. Ship was late due to fog; we headed to Diamond room to get off. Entertainment person said you don't have to walk that far and found chairs for us near the exit. We were NOT in a hurry and both of us use walkers Husband is 88 years old and I am 79. When the ship was cleared they came over and told us we could leave before the big rush. they also let people with plane flights off. When we got down and thru customs we were told to wait outside till they open the luggage doors and they would escort us in. After 40 mins and seeing high tag numbers come out 14 19 etc. I asked a security guard when we could go in. She said all of those people in that line are being PUNISHED for leaving the ship early without all of their luggage. I was livid and found the person in charge and she said yes You left with people who carried their own luggage off. I explained that we were told to leave by cruise staff. and most of the others had plane flights She said not my problem and covered her name tag. I kept after her and she said OK I will let them in 5 at a time. When we were allowed in there was a huge line waiting for porters. I had called my niece to let her know we were off the ship. She said she really was worried because she had not heard from us for an hour and 40 mins.

Sorry about the long post, but I really needed to vent Not a good way to treat elderly people or make people miss their flights to punish them. We did nothing wrong but follow directions.

I don't think this was Carnivals problem but the people in charge at the port. Who are they to punish people for doing nothing wrong except what we were told.

dot

Sounds like a Police State? :confused: Russia? Not USA surely.

 

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