DAllenTCY Posted September 13, 2017 #1 Share Posted September 13, 2017 The B Street Pier now has a guest escalator. Among many needed improvements it also brings a sense of worry to me. Please do not use this conveyance if you do not have one hand free to hold the moving railing. There are still 2 elevators. Upcoming sailings are "Maasdam" (San Diego - Sydney), "Zaandam" (San Diego - Rio), "Oosterdam" (San Diego - Mexico), and "Amsterdam" (San Diego - Hong Kong). Bon Voyage. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankc98376 Posted September 13, 2017 #2 Share Posted September 13, 2017 Good news- thanks David!! Should free up some of the bottleneck with the stairs. We'll be coming in on the 30th on Oosterdam from Vancouver on 12 night. Did you say previously that there will be a separate entrance for continuing passengers? If so which entrance? Was kind of confusing last year. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qsuzi Posted September 13, 2017 #3 Share Posted September 13, 2017 DAllen- thanks so much for sharing this welcome news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KroozNut Posted September 13, 2017 #4 Share Posted September 13, 2017 Good to know... thanks. Leaving from SD on Oosterdam in two weeks. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted September 13, 2017 #5 Share Posted September 13, 2017 Thank you for the information. It was a nightmare when we got off the Westerdam in 2016. One elevator was out of service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAllenTCY Posted September 14, 2017 Author #6 Share Posted September 14, 2017 (edited) The problem with your particular itinerary is that I do not know if you'll clear US Customs in Astoria, Oregon. Therefore, I can't answer with any confidence as to how you might re-board your B2B sailing here. David Edited September 14, 2017 by DAllenTCY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankc98376 Posted September 14, 2017 #7 Share Posted September 14, 2017 From past experience Customs normally comes onboard to clear everyone in Astoria. We are not on a B2B cruise. Our cruise was sold and is booked as a 12 night cruise with San Diego as our third port call. Later they added the 5 night Coastal and 7 night Mexico. Last year several on the same cruise on Westerdam had problems reboarding and the and GSM had to clear it up in the terminal. We received an apology card and a bottle of wine on board that evening. Announcement was made on board at about 8:30 or 9:00 am advising that the ship had been cleared and passengers that were not disembarking in San Diego were free to come and go as they please and advised the all aboard time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted September 14, 2017 #8 Share Posted September 14, 2017 Good news indeed David! This should really help, I hope. Thanks so much for letting us know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankc98376 Posted September 14, 2017 #9 Share Posted September 14, 2017 Screenshot from HAL website- 12 night cruise. Not listed as Collectors or B2B San Diego is listed as a normal port day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankc98376 Posted October 13, 2017 #10 Share Posted October 13, 2017 Was not operational on Oct 7. Shoreside staff said likely a few more weeks due to city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhsocal Posted October 16, 2017 #11 Share Posted October 16, 2017 franc, a related question. Did you have a long wait to clear customs? Just departed the "O" in San Diego on the 14th, many of us elected late time. There was a double line from customs to the far end on the luggage area, believe only one officer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxmantoo Posted October 16, 2017 #12 Share Posted October 16, 2017 franc, a related question. Did you have a long wait to clear customs? Just departed the "O" in San Diego on the 14th, many of us elected late time. There was a double line from customs to the far end on the luggage area, believe only one officer. San Diego, going or coming, is almost always a mess. An escalator, while nice for people who need it, will do nothing to improve the effiency and effectiveness of the port workers, baggage handlers, cruise terminal security personnel and U.S. Customs & Border Protection who all contribute to slowing down the process in their own way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankc98376 Posted October 16, 2017 #13 Share Posted October 16, 2017 franc, a related question. Did you have a long wait to clear customs? Just departed the "O" in San Diego on the 14th, many of us elected late time. There was a double line from customs to the far end on the luggage area, believe only one officer. We left the ship at about 9 am, found our luggage and got in the line. Line was moving very fast- just showed the officers our passports and they waved us through. Less than 10 minutes from the ship to a taxi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KroozNut Posted October 16, 2017 #14 Share Posted October 16, 2017 We were on the same cruise as Frank and had a similar debarkation experience. We were off the ship by 8:30am, breezed through luggage retrieval and customs. We were outside the terminal waiting for our ride before 9am One thing I was surprised and/or curious about is that we didn't have to complete a customs form and turn it in. We've had to do this on every other trip we've taken to Mexico, cruise or land vacation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thinfool Posted October 16, 2017 #15 Share Posted October 16, 2017 I never hold onto the handrail on escalators. Who knows what kind of micro organisms have been left there by unknown strangers. Live wild! :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idiebabe Posted October 17, 2017 #16 Share Posted October 17, 2017 We left the ship at about 9 am, found our luggage and got in the line. Line was moving very fast- just showed the officers our passports and they waved us through. Less than 10 minutes from the ship to a taxi We had the same experience in February. Easy-Peasy Debark! Boarding the Oosterdam on Saturday and hoping for as easy an Embark as we had in February for Westerdam! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAllenTCY Posted October 17, 2017 Author #17 Share Posted October 17, 2017 The problem isn't CBP.....it is that guests do not have their passports available for the officers when they exit the terminal. Disembarkation has been within 10 minutes of scheduled time each and every ship this fall season. Backups are due to your fellow passengers who aren't prepared. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSR Posted October 17, 2017 #18 Share Posted October 17, 2017 One thing I was surprised and/or curious about is that we didn't have to complete a customs form and turn it in. We've had to do this on every other trip we've taken to Mexico, cruise or land vacation. The forms have been permanently discontinued.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KroozNut Posted October 17, 2017 #19 Share Posted October 17, 2017 The forms have been permanently discontinued.:) Wow... Interesting, and I didn't know that. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankc98376 Posted October 17, 2017 #20 Share Posted October 17, 2017 No forms when we arrived at Vancouver airport either- everything is done at Kiosks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveOKC Posted October 17, 2017 #21 Share Posted October 17, 2017 The problem with your particular itinerary is that I do not know if you'll clear US Customs in Astoria, Oregon. Therefore, I can't answer with any confidence as to how you might re-board your B2B sailing here. David We disembarked San Diego on Oct 5 and it was the quickest and easiest we ever had on 20 HAL cruises! It took all of 5 minutes from the time we were scanned off the ship (no waiting there either) to the time we got our luggage and were in a taxi. The reason was no customs, as we cleared in Vancouver (where we boarded) I assume?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igraf Posted October 17, 2017 #22 Share Posted October 17, 2017 We disembarked in San Diego a couple of weeks ago and there was very little trouble. You are wrong about the importance of the escalator. If I were to complain about anything it would have been the the lack of a gangway escalator (we went down the stairs to save time). The gangway elevator was the disembarkation bottleneck for passenger who could not use the stairs. igraf San Diego, going or coming, is almost always a mess.An escalator, while nice for people who need it, will do nothing to improve the effiency and effectiveness of the port workers, baggage handlers, cruise terminal security personnel and U.S. Customs & Border Protection who all contribute to slowing down the process in their own way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie68 Posted October 17, 2017 #23 Share Posted October 17, 2017 The problem isn't CBP.....it is that guests do not have their passports available for the officers when they exit the terminal. Disembarkation has been within 10 minutes of scheduled time each and every ship this fall season. Backups are due to your fellow passengers who aren't prepared. David Most ports and airports I have been through there is an agent telling you to have your passports and docs ready, so there is no holdup. Does no one do that in San Diego? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KroozNut Posted October 17, 2017 #24 Share Posted October 17, 2017 Most ports and airports I have been through there is an agent telling you to have your passports and docs ready, so there is no holdup. Does no one do that in San Diego? Yes they do, but unfortunately a lot of people don't seem to listen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatdrill Posted October 18, 2017 #25 Share Posted October 18, 2017 San Diego, going or coming, is almost always a mess.An escalator, while nice for people who need it, will do nothing to improve the effiency and effectiveness of the port workers, baggage handlers, cruise terminal security personnel and U.S. Customs & Border Protection who all contribute to slowing down the process in their own way. When Holland America ran their own shoreside operations in San Diego, the port was often rated the best in the country according to guest surveys. Both embark and debark were efficient unless there was a situation beyond anyone's control (such non-US pax showing up late for immigration onboard, which delayed debark.) A few years ago when HAL decided to hire an outside company to do the work for them, customer service took a dive, and most employees quit because of it. Some remained - like David - to carry the torch and try keep some semblance of dignity and class for Holland America's guests. 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