Please Follow the Rules

[Winters in NZ]

We disembarked from the Veendam this morning in Montreal at the alternative dock east of the Jacques Cartier Bridge, while the main cruise terminal is undergoing a much needed renovation, which has been taking place for almost a year now. Hopefully the much anticipated end-product appears soon for this emerging Canada/New England cruise season.

 

Now, about following rules :

 

Various colored luggage tags are given to all passengers, and passengers are required to follow the proper disembarkation 'rules' which are constantly repeated that Guests must only disembark when their colored tag is called.

 

HAL bends over backwards to make this process as civilized as possible.

 

Guests are permitted to remain in their stateroom, and upon having their color announced for disembarkation, guests proceed to the gangway and disembark.

 

A relatively simple and uncomplicated process, but ONLY if guests follow the rules.

 

The PA was constantly reminding guests to avoid the gangway before their color was called.

 

When Purple was called, we proceeded as requested....only to be met by a varied assortment of pink, green, brown, purple color luggage tags etc....and yes, guests with no color tag whatsoever.

 

We enjoyed the cruise , as we usually do aboard HAL, even with rain and cold for most of the days since we had left from Boston on April 25.

 

But there must be some other method that can be devised to avoid this type of needless frustration and anxiety of the herds converging at the gangway. Send non-co-operating guests to wait in the engine room perhaps ? A stern lecture from the captain ?

 

The Veendam is a small ship. Aboard the Eurodam 2 years ago, we did not encounter this similar uncomfortable disembarkation experience.

 

For folks with mobility, strength and balance issues, this can become not only uncomfortable, but dangerous as well.

 

Perhaps the suits in the back rooms in Seattle will come up with a better idea.

[OlsSalt]

Thanks for the report and agree 100%. Not sure why this happens either. We ran into this same thing too. Agree, HAL makes it as pleasant as possible and everyone should know this color code procedure is the best for everyone.

[bUU]

But there must be some other method that can be devised to avoid this type of needless frustration and anxiety of the herds converging at the gangway. ... Perhaps the suits in the back rooms in Seattle will come up with a better idea.

How much more are we willing to pay for it? It does come down to that, since the key would to make it such that passengers feel it preferable to comply.

 

 

 

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[Krazy Kruizers]

Sadly this has been going on for years with people not following the rules about leaving the ship until their color and number is called.

The worse episode was in Tampa on the Veendam quite a few years ago. We were in a Neptune Suite and were among the first to be called. When we got down the elevator and through customs, we knew where to go for our luggage. But there were people screaming at the HAL reps that their luggage was not off the ship yet. The HAL reps told them that their color had not been called and to step aside and wait. This enraged some passengers even more.

Times have not changed.

[Florida_gal_50]

Rules are for everyone else, not them :p. Hal should be checking tags as people leave and that might help with some cheaters.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Rules are for everyone else, not them :p. Hal should be checking tags as people leave and that might help with some cheaters.

 

On my recent cruises, they have been checking. There were people loitering around hoping to be first when their color was called, but they weren't being allowed off just because they showed up at the disembrakation area. I'm disappointed to hear that not all ships are handling this as well.

[ger_77]

A similar thing happened to us on the Oosterdam in February. We had Orange 2, so when the announcement was made, we tried to get to the gangway. Ahead of us were people with all different colours of tags and we weren't anywhere near to where we needed to go. We tried to excuse ourselves, but people just weren't budging. Finally, a staff member came along and I said we were trying to get off the ship because our colour was called, but were stuck in line - we were immediately pulled from the line and escorted past the throngs of other colours and left the ship. I'm sure there were a lot of folks upset that we were cutting ahead of them, but at that point I didn't really care. If we didn't have a flight to catch, it wouldn't have been an issue, but this time it was necessary for us to leave when called.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[ellieanne]

Since my first cruise in 1998, disembarkation has always been an exercise in herding cats. They've tried several variations of colors/numbers and having passengers what in public rooms or allowing passengers to remaining their cabins. Nothing works smoothly. I have been onboard a couple of cruises when disembarkation was stopped by the local officials because passengers would not wait in the designated areas, were crowding the gangway or sitting on the stairs. It's never been an easy, smooth process. Every cruise is the same thing; every cruise disembarkation is the worst part of it. I actually start mentally preparing for the nightmare of disembarkation a couple of days before the end of the cruise.

[Florida_gal_50]

On my recent cruises, they have been checking. There were people loitering around hoping to be first when their color was called, but they weren't being allowed off just because they showed up at the disembrakation area. I'm disappointed to hear that not all ships are handling this as well.

I'm glad to hear that they do it at least sometimes. I'm very close to 500 days with Hal and I've never been asked to produce it. I just got off a ship less than 2 weeks ago.

[lintom]

Agree it was the most unpleasant disembarkation in recent memory. That having been said HAL kept calling additional categories down when we were wrapped around in lines. Gangway FAR too steep and narrow for elderly, handicapped or those wheeling luggage. Resulted in SLOw process. I'd think montreal port could do better.

[cb at sea]

Nowadays, folks don't think rules apply to THEM! That's the issue. A breakdown in civilization.

[bUU]

Nowadays, folks don't think rules apply to THEM! That's the issue. A breakdown in civilization.

Specifically, a breakdown in regard for others. Even those who are just milling about are doing so based on presumption that among those with their color tags they themselves must surely be the most important and worthwhile people. I wonder how much of this behavior stems from trends in the upbringing of children in the last few generations with a far greater emphasis on treating each child as a special individual, and a much lesser focus on teaching children how to be honorable and contributing members of a society.

 

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[jhannah]

This irks me, too. The process is smooth ... when followed. Some folks think they can just go ahead and it won't make a difference. By the time 150 have done this, it makes a difference! So many people think that procedures and protocols are for other people. It seems to be getting worse.

[cavecreekguy]

The one time I had a similar experience was on the Volendam in Vancouver. When my color/number was called, I made my way leisurely to the departure deck. There was still a long line, so I went to the end of it. Then, when the line had moved enough so I was in front of the stairs, they called the next color/number. All of a sudden, all these people who were waiting on the stairway (in spite of all the announcements to NOT do that) came pouring down. Literally shoving their way into the line. Some people actually expressed indignation when I started yelling "You know, there is a queue! You need to go to the end of the queue! You can't just push your way in!"

 

My suggestion was to have a crew member at that stairway one deck above and one deck below the deck where the gangway is located. "Sorry this stairway is closed. You must go to the forward or aft stairway to disembark."

Edited May 7, 2017 by cavecreekguy

[iancal]

Avoiding this was an added bonus of self disembark.

[north29]

Not just on cruise ships. We have been on tours with "unfortunately large groups" where they were told who, what , wear and when to do necessary luggage and other travel needs and many just cannot seem to understand a much needed ducks in a row process.

Most of who I related to are OLDER and I fit that group,

One story, we were all told to bring our page down at 7PM, they would be safe and taken care of at that time, travelers were bringing them down at 3-4 PM, we had several bags go missing and they blamed the tour guide.

[wannagonow123]

This problem exists on just abut every cruise line. We now try to self-assist every cruise, but I understand that is no an option for some folks. A lot of the problem lies with the disembarkation survey everyone is asked to fill in and turn into guest services. The first time I got it, I ignored it, and was assigned a late time to get off. Maybe it should be filled in at check-in, with instructions to contact gest services by XX day if changes need to be made.

 

And talk about disembarkation horror stories, on a Carnival ship not too long ago, we had priority disembarkation.(At least we were supposed to). Weather was not wonderful, so everyone was ready to get off, and no one paid attention to the schedule. We could not even get off the elevator because there were so many people trying to get off. It took us 30 min of riding an elevator because no one could get off.

 

We are now at our assigned waiting area at least 45 min early. ( We have priority, so we have a special area, that if you can get to it, you can sit& wait in comfort)

[1of4]

We did have to show our coloured tag to disembark on one HAL cruise only. I guess since we are never one of the first groups to disembark we have never noticed this problem.

 

As for Montreal, due to flooding all over eastern Canada the St. Lawrence River is too high for ships to pass underneath the Bridge safely to reach to new port. It is only going to get worse as all the water from the flooding up the Ottawa River system and the Great Lakes flow past Montreal.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Avoiding this was an added bonus of self disembark.

 

We avoid the problem with the opposite approach. We rarely have tight connections for onward travel, so we tend to leave later than our time frame. On Cunard, we're diamond and get a disembarkation lounge with coffee (we used to get pastries, too, guess HAL isn't the only one making cuts ;p) so we linger there. On HAL, we usually get a NS, so we get priority disembarkation. Rather than go as soon as we're called, we hang out on our balcony if the weather is nice. I listen to the calls for the various colors and see what the time frame is. Usually it's about 15 minutes between groups. So we wait 10 minutes after a group is called and then we go. We're usually out the door before the next group is called, so we avoid the pushing.

 

Another minor peeve to do with disembarkation--no matter how many times the ship reminds people to have their cards out for scanning, the idiot in front of me will be unable to find his/hers. :mad:

[Tampa Girl]

Rules are for everyone else, not them :p. Hal should be checking tags as people leave and that might help with some cheaters.

 

They were doing that on the Oosterdam in early November, and it seemed to be working o.k.

[DocJohnB]

 

But there must be some other method that can be devised to avoid this type of needless frustration and anxiety of the herds converging at the gangway. Send non-co-operating guests to wait in the engine room perhaps ? A stern lecture from the captain ?

 

 

 

 

I'm thinking horsewhipping for first offenders :o and keel hauling for a subsequent attempt ;p.

Seriously, I agree with you. It is not a difficult procedure. If one feels they need to get off the ship earlier than their assigned time, they can either go to Guest Services and ask for an earlier time or do the walk off with luggage route.

[DaveOKC]

The procedure varies by ship, with expectedly different results. On the Koningsdam they had a LONG line controlled by ropes that forced people to get into line at the appropriate time (monitored by the crew of course). This worked well, as it prevented line jumping and wrong color issues.

 

HAL has improved alot in this IMO over the past several years. Of course they could do better. One issue that I experienced is that they should do a better job of explaining how the color codes are assigned an order to exit. For example, first the "self" disembarkers are let off (We can all understand this), often followed by a color such as Orange (or ?). The next color is normally the Neptune Suites and 4/5 stars. Often the NS or 4/5 stars try to get off when Orange (or whatever) is called, thinking that they are supposed to have VIP disembarking. What they do not realize is that their bags likely will not be ready anyway. Plus the Orange is usually people using the luggage program who have to be off early. A bit of explaining of this on the page explaining the process would greatly help IMO.

[wbrumel]

I have found a solution that works. I book either a late afternoon or evening flight home or stay an extra day or two. Relieves me of any stress to get off. In fact, my goal is to be the last off th.e ship. Relax on my balcony until I stop hearing colors called. Easy to find my luggage since there's few bags remaining.

[janmcn]

The Zuiderdam did it exceptionally well in January...funneled everyone down through the Queen's lounge (hallways to the disembarking area could not be accessed any other way)...they checked your tag and only allowed you to proceed if you had the proper tag...others were asked to sit in the lounge or one of the other areas well-away from the disembarkation area. Worked extremely well ...and we let Seattle know..wish they'd all adopt it!

 

 

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[RuthC]

Avoiding this was an added bonus of self disembark.

The self disembark group create their own problems for others by gathering at the disembarkation area long before they have been called, which they are told not to do.

People with cabins near what will be the gangway can't get out to go to breakfast, or return to their cabin because of the jam-up. All those people with all their luggage fill the area even more than people with only carry-ons.

There was the time I had a cabin next to the elevators by the future gangway. I had to get through there to go to the lounge reserved for those needing assistance. I left my cabin a full hour before I was told to, and at least a half hour before the self disembark were going to be called, and I could not get through, due to the crowd.

The entire disembarkation system, including self-disembark, needs to be made tighter, and enforced. When the ship and the gangway area allow for the line to start well away from it, that is a big step in the right direction. Unfortunately, not every ship, and not every gangway area, have this advantage.