Meraviglia New York-worst embarkation ever!!

[RN Cruiser1]

29 minutes ago, CruisingFox27 said:

I think this is why I'm confused dex, even when sailing from Miami we've arrived curbside, handed our cases in at the YC tent to an MSC attired person and then off to check in. Elsewhere there's always been a YC or Aurea luggage drop off area at the terminal entrance. I feel uncomfortable giving our luggage to a non MSC person, especially with the reports that it may end up in the river!

 

When we arrive at YC tent in POM there is always a Porter taking the luggage and piling them onto the YC carts. Then we wait for a Butler to come and escort us through security. At least that has been our experience. 

[capriccio]

This was Meraviglia's first American disembarkation/embarkation port for the season correct?  If so, the delay could easily be due to that fact.  Ships arriving in the States for the first time each season are subjected to increased scrutiny of both their crews (making sure paperwork is okay) and the ship itself with special government inspections which can delay both disembarkation and embarkation.  The cruise lines have absolutely no control over this.  Many times (at least at Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale which I am most familiar with) the cruise lines notify embarkingpassengers that embarkation will be delayed a few hours because in addition to having no control over the inspections they can't predict exactly how long this will take.   Every year when the ships return to Port Everglades on their TAs in the fall there are similar horror stories, especially if passengers weren't notified in advance of the anticipated delay.

 

I hope that was the case and for the sake for all future passengers embarking on the Meraviglia (including us in January) New York and Miami get their process worked out.

[sidari]

Meraviglia arrived Monday and sailed Tuesday, little excuse really for what happened.

[Frode]

If you thought that the boarding process was messy, wait to see the disembarkation the last day 😫 
Based on my own experience from MSC Meraviglia in Europe, it is likely that there will be very long queues 😨 aboard the ship before everyone arrives ashore. And then...new queues are waiting in the terminal 😵

[Nextcruise42]

As a New Yorker I have to say I dread leaving from Manhattan.  We always seem to encounter long lines and disembarking last February was unbelievably slow. We booked YC hoping to avoid this. (Price was also fabulous compared to haven)

[sverigecruiser]

10 minutes ago, Frode said:

it is likely that there will be very long queues 😨 aboard the ship before everyone arrives ashore

 

This doesn't work if everyone does it but the easy solution is to wait somewhere else instead of in the queue! (The problem might then be worse after leaving the ship when you are the last in line!)

[capriccio]

1 hour ago, sidari said:

Meraviglia arrived Monday and sailed Tuesday, little excuse really for what happened.

I didn't realize that.  I agree that the delay most likely wasn't due to inspections unless something unforeseen had to be corrected.

[Cruising89143]

If you have a Facebook account look up Ken Muskat. Ken is the current EVP/COO of MSC North America.....He is pushing MSC hard on his FB page. Hopefully he reads Cruise Critic on a normal basis and I’m sure he has to know about the issues but sometimes it helps to bring it directly to their attention. Sounds like it was a mess. Blame could probably split between the port and MSC but MSC needs to get it straightened out.

[April42749]

2 hours ago, Nextcruise42 said:

As a New Yorker I have to say I dread leaving from Manhattan.  We always seem to encounter long lines and disembarking last February was unbelievably slow. We booked YC hoping to avoid this. (Price was also fabulous compared to haven)

It's a bit premature to blow this up.

The only time I had those horrible disembarkation lines was on NCL Breakaway (5 times....mostly bad).  I sailed NCL Escape twice without problems.  I sailed other NCL ships without problems.  I never had a problem on Carnival; sailed many of the smaller ships in addition to Horizon, Sunshine and Sunrise...all large ships....no problems.   Mostly we had balcony cabins, so no special services.

Sometimes it took 30 minutes and sometimes we just walked right off. (I will admit...30 minutes on a cold day isn't fun....but it's not a horror story either.)

Keep in mind, OP got there at 11:45.  Boarding doesn't start until 1pm.

DH and I are going to leave home about 3 pm.  By that time the thousands of early birds should be taken care of and I expect to sail thru embarkation.

If you know "the game" you can play it to your advantage.

 

Edited October 9, 2019 by April42749

[Nextcruise42]

Maybe we should aim for a later arrival at terminal.

[sidari]

One of the latest complaints is that the ship will leave Quebec at 0100 on the 15th October and not 1800 as posted on Whats in a port website. Despite advertising an overnight call.

[BermudaBound2014]

2 hours ago, sidari said:

One of the latest complaints is that the ship will leave Quebec at 0100 on the 15th October and not 1800 as posted on Whats in a port website. Despite advertising an overnight call.

 

That is a big change.

 

I believe merg was using pier 88 in nyc. We used that pier for ncl Breakaway and it was a mess then too. The building isn’t big enough to hold the crowds and once the line wraps into Manhattan streets it gets ugly. Hopefully they will have worked out the kinks for next sailing. I’m sure beam and cf will let us know :).

[stromer]

I too was in line for the disastrous embarkation.  I talked to the cruise director at the cruise critic ship sponsored meeting yesterday and he said the problem was a slow disembarkation.  That might have been partially true but I also heard the Longshormen wanted more money and MSC said no.  I also heard the computers were partially down and saw that they were only boarding at one location.  That is ridiculous for that many passangers.  When I was on the final boarding ramp they opened a 2nd boarding ramp.  The main management problem is that they never apologized for this disaster and still deny it was their problem.  Thus there is no consensus about what caused this to happen since management to date has not made an official announcement.

Regarding the reduced day in Quebec, the Captain said to me that due to whales in the ocean where the ship travels the Canadian authorities will not allow full speed travel thus increasing the travel time to New York requiring a early departure from Quebec.  They still have not made an official statement to the passangers regarding this.  Most people still do not know this.  Another management misque.  Overall I agree with the previous post about onboard personnel being great, but management communication is poor.     

[QueenofEverything]

21 hours ago, April42749 said:

 

Keep in mind, OP got there at 11:45.  Boarding doesn't start until 1pm.

Actually our boarding time was supposed to be noon. All aboard was 3 and sail away was supposed to be at 5. We left at 7:30. We are going to be an hour late today into Sydney and our second day In Quebec  (1/2 day) has been cut. We are now leaving Quebec at 1 am instead of 1 pm

[QueenofEverything]

5 hours ago, sidari said:

One of the latest complaints is that the ship will leave Quebec at 0100 on the 15th October and not 1800 as posted on Whats in a port website. Despite advertising an overnight call.

It was supposed to leave at 13:00 and is now 1:00

[GOLDENBONNY]

45 minutes ago, QueenofEverything said:

Actually our boarding time was supposed to be noon. All aboard was 3 and sail away was supposed to be at 5. We left at 7:30. We are going to be an hour late today into Sydney and our second day In Quebec  (1/2 day) has been cut. We are now leaving Quebec at 1 am instead of 1 pm

How is your cruise? what shows do you have? How is food ?

[Até]

Perhaps they are cutting Quebec short to get back to NYC earlier, more time to swap out passengers.  I think they will get back to NYC well before the scheduled 9am and most likely be asked to vacate earlier also.

[QueenofEverything]

6 minutes ago, GOLDENBONNY said:

How is your cruise? what shows do you have? How is food ?

The weather was really rough and rainy yesterday so everyone was inside. Things were a bit crowded but staff is lovely and the ship is beautiful. We did not make the show the first night due to the embarkation fiasco. Last night’s show (at least the first one) was cancelled early to rough seas (Cirque was cancelled also). The food is ok. Some are complaining but don’t people always complain about the food?  For those interested in cabin entertainment, there isn’t any. Don’t think I’ve ever been on a ship without at least one English news channel. In English your choice is TBS or TCN. 
 

[April42749]

Rough seas and the whale situation....after that embarkation (sorry OP...I assumed it was the same time as ours)....shows being cancelled.....not sounding like "the trip to paradise" so far.

You still have over a week....I hope it's smooth sailing from this point on.

 

How does the ship handle the rough weather?  Lots of those "sea sick bags" around?

 

Have you had the pizza?  Silly as it sounds, that's "my thing".

[QueenofEverything]

They just cancelled Sydney. Said yesterday’s weather slowed them down too much. $300 per cabin onboard credit

[QueenofEverything]

56 minutes ago, April42749 said:

Rough seas and the whale situation....after that embarkation (sorry OP...I assumed it was the same time as ours)....shows being cancelled.....not sounding like "the trip to paradise" so far.

You still have over a week....I hope it's smooth sailing from this point on.

 

How does the ship handle the rough weather?  Lots of those "sea sick bags" around?

 

Have you had the pizza?  Silly as it sounds, that's "my thing".

 

[QueenofEverything]

Didn’t see any sea sick bags. Saw one person get sick in the casino. Mostly just wobbly walking. Only had one piece of pizza. It was ok but didn’t have much on it. Probably picked the wrong kind. Will try again and let you know!

[Nextcruise42]

We sailed NCL to Quebec 2 yrs. ago, same time of year and were notified prior to sailing of change in time in Quebec due to whales.

[GOLDENBONNY]

2 hours ago, April42749 said:

Rough seas and the whale situation....after that embarkation (sorry OP...I assumed it was the same time as ours)....shows being cancelled.....not sounding like "the trip to paradise" so far.

You still have over a week....I hope it's smooth sailing from this point on.

 

How does the ship handle the rough weather?  Lots of those "sea sick bags" around?

 

Have you had the pizza?  Silly as it sounds, that's "my thing".

first cruise from  USA and to Canada was not supposed to be trip to paradise  LOL . I did cruise once out of NY winter time and even a  free cruise will not make me to do it again. 🤐

[GOLDENBONNY]

2 hours ago, QueenofEverything said:

The weather was really rough and rainy yesterday so everyone was inside. Things were a bit crowded but staff is lovely and the ship is beautiful. We did not make the show the first night due to the embarkation fiasco. Last night’s show (at least the first one) was cancelled early to rough seas (Cirque was cancelled also). The food is ok. Some are complaining but don’t people always complain about the food?  For those interested in cabin entertainment, there isn’t any. Don’t think I’ve ever been on a ship without at least one English news channel. In English your choice is TBS or TCN. 
 

Have a nice cruise. Cabin entertainment never been on my lit so i will have no problem lol