First day on board

[ldubs]

11 hours ago, MBP&O2/O said:

I have no interest whatsoever in a sailaway ..... if I am free I may amble out onto the balcony but thereagain I might not.

A late sailaway is a good time for dining ... loads of people outside and minimal people in the restaurants.... 🙂

 

For a lot of ports I think I agree about the sail away.  For others, I find the sights enjoyable.  As an example, while San Francisco has fallen off as a place I want to visit, the sail away surrounded by pleasure craft in the bay and then under the Golden Gate is picturesque.   

[Flatbush Flyer]

7 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

One of those changes made during COVID that is probably here to stay.  

The first “slip and fall” lawsuit claiming cruise line negligence will fix that. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

14 hours ago, MBP&O2/O said:

I have no interest whatsoever in a sailaway ..... if I am free I may amble out onto the balcony but thereagain I might not.

A late sailaway is a good time for dining ... loads of people outside and minimal people in the restaurants.... 🙂

Sail out the Golden Gate at sundown and you’ll be snapping pix as fast as you can. 
Pretty much similar to NY Harbor at daybreak as you say “good morning” to Lady Liberty.

[shorne]

16 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

The first “slip and fall” lawsuit claiming cruise line negligence will fix that. 

 

Or the first outbreak of panic during an emergency, when people discover too late that maybe it would have been a good idea to learn the procedure just in case it was needed.

[ontheweb]

18 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

One of those changes made during COVID that is probably here to stay.  

Or until some incident happens when a real muster needs to be called, and neither the crew or the passengers are trained enough to make it work.

[sparks1093]

On 4/4/2023 at 12:16 AM, Flatbush Flyer said:

Not having an actual practice muster is ridiculous.

 

19 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

One of those changes made during COVID that is probably here to stay.  

I agree with the first post, muster isn't just for the passengers, it's also to allow the crew to train and practice the event in real time. Whether or not this change will remain post COVID remains to be seen, the regulatory bodies involved may re-institute it at some point because it does have benefit from a safety perspective.

[shorne]

Three years ago I tried to renew my long-expired certification in first aid. The course for which I had registered was cancelled because of COVID-19. When it was reinstituted a couple of years later, it was offered only on line. How exactly is one supposed to practise CPR over the Internet? I got my money back and gave up on renewing the certification.

 

I have similar concerns about delivering instruction on evacuating a ship in a format that won't be taken seriously.

 

[BklynBoy8]

1 minute ago, shorne said:

Three years ago I tried to renew my long-expired certification in first aid. The course for which I had registered was cancelled because of COVID-19. When it was reinstituted a couple of years later, it was offered only on line. How exactly is one supposed to practise CPR over the Internet? I got my money back and gave up on renewing the certification.

 

I have similar concerns about delivering instruction on evacuating a ship in a format that won't be taken seriously.

 

 

Being a retired EMT for 24 years and CPR certified, always try to re-cerify.

 

You never know when it can come in handle. Also learn Choke Techique along with CPR.

 

I saved someone off duty in a restaurant choking from a orange slice from a Whiskey Sour. It was close but made it and so rewarding.

 

Can't describe saving a life.

 

 

 

[ontheweb]

6 hours ago, shorne said:

Three years ago I tried to renew my long-expired certification in first aid. The course for which I had registered was cancelled because of COVID-19. When it was reinstituted a couple of years later, it was offered only on line. How exactly is one supposed to practise CPR over the Internet? I got my money back and gave up on renewing the certification.

 

I have similar concerns about delivering instruction on evacuating a ship in a format that won't be taken seriously.

 

And how can the crew be instructed on moving all the passengers when they do not get to drill with the passengers?

 

[neeuqdrazil]

I've been on four cruises, 3 of them TAs on QM2, and my cabin was always ready when I boarded, so I can't speak to the lugging around your carryon until the room is ready. 

 

I had a lovely lunch in the MDR on embarcation day on HAL last spring, and in the pub on QM2 last fall. The MDR was very quiet, and while the pub was busy, it's always busy at lunch, regardless of what day it is. The buffet is frequently a zoo. 

 

I'd recommend doing a wander of the ship, and as mentioned above, if you're physically able, to start at the top of the ship and walk down, to avoid the elevators, which are usually packed, with a number out of service for luggage transport. Visit the MDR and find out where your table is (if you're doing fixed dining), figure out where you might like to spend some time (lounges, bars, nooks and crannies), then sit back and relax and enjoy the start of your vacation! 

[shorne]

I was asked to select a window for boarding; seven or eight were offered, and I chose the second, because I can go straight from the hotel to the port in late morning and leave the later times for others.

 

Is this done just to spread boarding out, or also to make the rooms available earlier for those who arrive early?

 

[hallux]

@shorne it's more for vehicle traffic control entering the port.  Boarding can't start until every passenger from the previous trip is scanned off the ship, you will be waiting in the terminal until that time.  For my most recent cruise I got to the port around 9:45 or 10 and didn't get called for boarding until 11 or 11:30.  I selected a 9-9:30 check-in time when I completed my online check-in.

 

44 minutes ago, neeuqdrazil said:

with a number out of service for luggage transport.

This will be VERY ship-dependent.  I think it would be fair to say that all ships built in at least the last 10 years (if not 15) for mass-market lines have sufficient elevator capacity in the crew areas to support luggage distribution without occupying passenger elevators for the task.

[shorne]

6 minutes ago, hallux said:

@shorne it's more for vehicle traffic control entering the port.  Boarding can't start until every passenger from the previous trip is scanned off the ship, you will be waiting in the terminal until that time.  For my most recent cruise I got to the port around 9:45 or 10 and didn't get called for boarding until 11 or 11:30.  I selected a 9-9:30 check-in time when I completed my online check-in.

 

 

 

Thanks. I expected that it would take a few hours to clear the ship. The earliest time for checking in was around 11:00; I went with 11:30, thinking that I could check out of the hotel around 11:00 and go directly to the port by taxi. If the room is ready, great; if not, I can have a leisurely lunch or roam around until it is ready.

 

[ldubs]

Just now, shorne said:

 

Thanks. I expected that it would take a few hours to clear the ship. The earliest time for checking in was around 11:00; I went with 11:30, thinking that I could check out of the hotel around 11:00 and go directly to the port by taxi. If the room is ready, great; if not, I can have a leisurely lunch or roam around until it is ready.

 

 

If you want, that is also a good time to check in at your muster station.  You will see a couple staff standing around signs that say Muster A, B, etc.  Just ask one of them which is yours.  After that you will still need to watch the muster video.  

 

Our last couple Princess cruises the rooms were ready about 1 or 1:30.  

[TheOldBear]

The 'zeroing' or 'clearing' the ship applies only to embarkation  ports in the US - all 'in transit' passengers must disembark before any passengers may embark.

 

There are no similar restrictions that I am aware of for passengers embarking in Southampton, Hamburg or Le Havre.

 

In all three ports, the 'in transit' passengers could stay onboard, or come and go freely as they desired.

[Cruisercl]

3 hours ago, TheOldBear said:

The 'zeroing' or 'clearing' the ship applies only to embarkation  ports in the US - all 'in transit' passengers must disembark before any passengers may embark.

 

There are no similar restrictions that I am aware of for passengers embarking in Southampton, Hamburg or Le Havre.

 

In all three ports, the 'in transit' passengers could stay onboard, or come and go freely as they desired.

We did a B2B where the embark port was Copenhagen. We were required to leave the ship to clear it for the second part.

Every country is different apparently.

[shorne]

16 hours ago, TheOldBear said:

In all three ports, the 'in transit' passengers could stay onboard, or come and go freely as they desired.

 

Really? The people whose cruise has ended don't have to leave the ship before the new people embark? What happens if the old people don't get off the ship in time?

[TheOldBear]

For 'in transit' passengers, the port is not their disembarkation port. For example in 2019 I embarked in Brooklyn [onto a zeroed out ship], sailed to Southampton and we were 'in transit' passengers until the ship returned to Brooklyn.

Mrs Bear elected to stay on board, I took the ship's shuttle in to town for some shopping, and returned for lunch.

As an in transit passenger returning, I bypassed all the check in activity for newly arriving passengers, and just showed my card and walked on board.

We then sailed to Hamburg, and both of us took the ship's shuttle, and later returned. Again we bypassed check in and only needed to show a ship's card.

Same again back in Southampton & LeHavre [Excursion to D-Day beaches]

[in 2017 there was a need to carry passports and  have them stamped for the LeHavre stop - in 2019 no one wanted the passport at the port stops]

 

Southampton and Hamburg had large numbers of passengers disembarking and embarking - 40% or so turnover at each port. LeHavre only a few dozen, but the port was set up to accommodate them.

 

Sailing to Brooklyn, we disembarked - but in transit passengers [embarking in Southampton, Hamburg or LeHavre] did not have the option of remaining on the ship [next cruise was a New England & Canada sailing - a side trip on a Southampton to Southampton round trip]

[ontheweb]

7 hours ago, shorne said:

 

Really? The people whose cruise has ended don't have to leave the ship before the new people embark? What happens if the old people don't get off the ship in time?

I think that "in transit" passengers means they are on a back to back. They are not "old" people; they are staying on the ship for the next cruise.

[panoramaofthepast]

On our last two RCI cruises, we watched the safety video on the RCI app while on the train from DC to Port Liberty! Once on board, we checked in at the muster station and were done! 

I would add to the chorus of later arrivals. We got to the port around 12:30 and were checked in and on board within 30 minutes, almost no line.