QM2 Q2 Brooklyn Disembarkation

[jollyjones]

Thanks all for the info.

 

Looks like a trade off between hating having to get going so early in the morning, and hating standing in queues.

 

What happens if you wait till after the rush? Presumably latest time to disembark is 9.30 or 10am (I know I'd be out of my cabin before then) - would I be at the back of loooong queues or would they have started to go down?

 

I'm not in a mad rush, I have to overnight somewhere on the way home, so I've got all afternoon to get to wherever I choose that somewhere to be.

 

 

[tv24]

We are usually not in a hurry to leave and arrange to depart with the last of the PAX.  The last 3 times (December, 2020;  June, 2022;  and June 2023), this sort of backfired as the back up of PAX waiting to get through passport control was so bad that Cunard kept PAX in a queue on board waiting to leave.  Folks who tried to disembark around 8:30 were still waiting in line after 10:30 to get through passport control.  In 2022 we had to beg and plead to get off the ship because we had a 1:30 flight from JFK.  They let us off the ship at about 10:45 while hundreds were still waiting, we picked up our luggage and used a porter to get us into the express line through passport control.  The cab ride to JFK took almost an hour so we barely made it.  Not a relaxing end to a cruise.

[jollyjones]

15 hours ago, tv24 said:

We are usually not in a hurry to leave and arrange to depart with the last of the PAX.  The last 3 times (December, 2020;  June, 2022;  and June 2023), this sort of backfired as the back up of PAX waiting to get through passport control was so bad that Cunard kept PAX in a queue on board waiting to leave.  Folks who tried to disembark around 8:30 were still waiting in line after 10:30 to get through passport control.  In 2022 we had to beg and plead to get off the ship because we had a 1:30 flight from JFK.  They let us off the ship at about 10:45 while hundreds were still waiting, we picked up our luggage and used a porter to get us into the express line through passport control.  The cab ride to JFK took almost an hour so we barely made it.  Not a relaxing end to a cruise.

 

Yowser!

 

I'm not a morning person but I may have to just grit my teeth and go for a walkoff at the earliest time allowed.

 

Anyone else got thoughts or suggestions?

 

 

 

[ClipperinSFO]

Fwiw -- I like getting off the ship around 8-ish.  The vibe on the ship changes so dramatically on the day of arriva that it's really hard not to feel like a guest that has overstayed his welcome at a great party.  Also getting off QM2 is somewhat painful, so I just like to rip the band-aid (plaster) off quickly, and early and get back to my non-QM2 life. I hung around onboard once until around 10am waiting for a limo pick-up, and it felt weird and uncomfortable.

[BklynBoy8]

1 hour ago, ClipperinSFO said:

Fwiw -- I like getting off the ship around 8-ish.  The vibe on the ship changes so dramatically on the day of arriva that it's really hard not to feel like a guest that has overstayed his welcome at a great party.  Also getting off QM2 is somewhat painful, so I just like to rip the band-aid (plaster) off quickly, and early and get back to my non-QM2 life. I hung around onboard once until around 10am waiting for a limo pick-up, and it felt weird and uncomfortable.

 

Bravo.........Same Feelings on each and every sailing.

 

But we go with the flow and watch those others...

[57eric]

23 hours ago, tv24 said:

We are usually not in a hurry to leave and arrange to depart with the last of the PAX.  The last 3 times (December, 2020;  June, 2022;  and June 2023), this sort of backfired as the back up of PAX waiting to get through passport control was so bad that Cunard kept PAX in a queue on board waiting to leave.  Folks who tried to disembark around 8:30 were still waiting in line after 10:30 to get through passport control.  In 2022 we had to beg and plead to get off the ship because we had a 1:30 flight from JFK.  They let us off the ship at about 10:45 while hundreds were still waiting, we picked up our luggage and used a porter to get us into the express line through passport control.  The cab ride to JFK took almost an hour so we barely made it.  Not a relaxing end to a cruise.

When is the end of a cruise ever relaxing? 

[exlondoner]

7 minutes ago, 57eric said:

When is the end of a cruise ever relaxing? 

When you’ve just come through a major gale. 🙂

[ClipperinSFO]

49 minutes ago, 57eric said:

When is the end of a cruise ever relaxing? 

 

When you're on a back-to-back! 🙂 

[BklynBoy8]

28 minutes ago, ClipperinSFO said:

When you're on a back-to-back! 🙂 

The solemn occasion starts on ours at breakfast when we pick the time after lunch to start some packing the morning before. Attend tea. Continue to get at least one bag before dinner out. After the show we continue with some more bags. Out in hallway. One more outing to walk around and the feel of the ship lessering.

 

Back to the room for the last bags before 1AM.. Again, the solemn hallway silence and vacant feeling.

 

Getting up to see the entrance into the harbor and rustling in the hallway. Elevators busy to the restaurants. The same feeling for the "Last Breakfast" as was at the First Dinner Time except in reverse. Goodbyes turned from those Hello's.....

 

Anticipating the Announcement after docking who goes first. Our Turn......

 

Elevators crowded, halt at Gangway, Proceed. Who's going to get into the Luggage Terminal part first..

 

The last time a Porter followed us kindly and helped which helped us. Past Customs down the long hallway of the Brooklyn Terminal and into the bright Sunshine and Chaos of the Sidewalk Ballet..

 

Every Car Service was ours, nope, next, nope, next, nope, next YES!!!!!. Pack up and head out of the terminal proper... Not Looking back...... 

 

 "back to my non-QM2 life"......... Who's cooking tonight, what's for dinner, do we call take out ????

 

"back to my non-QM2 life"

 

Edited November 4, 2023 by BklynBoy8

[NE John]

1 hour ago, BklynBoy8 said:

back to my non-QM2 life"...

…No one puts the napkin on you lap

[rmsEtruria]

re: hiring a porter for disembarkation at Brooklyn. When, where, and how (and how much)?

[TheOldBear]

10 hours ago, rmsEtruria said:

re: hiring a porter for disembarkation at Brooklyn. When, where, and how (and how much)?

You meet them in the luggage hall - they are displaying credentials, and will have a luggage cart.

 

Since we are over-packers we tend to tip generously [$50-60 ]

[rmsEtruria]

5 hours ago, TheOldBear said:

You meet them in the luggage hall - they are displaying credentials, and will have a luggage cart.

 

Since we are over-packers we tend to tip generously [$50-60 ]

Thank you—good to know! I suspect we will be over-packers, too . . . .

[rog747]

(I am a UK passport holder)

Sadly the prospect of getting off the ship at RedHook always fills me with horror and frankly now like a pal (Ted Scull) I would self-disembark the moment the ship is 'cleared' which is normally by 7am and get down the plank and through Immigration etc PDQ and get the hell out of there.
Ted tells me he is off the ship by 7am, and sometimes back home in his Manhattan Apartment before 7.30am.
OK, he is a US Passport holder which speeds up the process, but foreign nationals like me get off quick too at this time.

This of course makes the end to a wonderful leisurely cruise/Voyage all then pale into insignificance by chugging your own bags off the ship,  but since US Border Controls no longer pre-clear the ship on board like they used to in days gone by, then be prepared for ugly delays getting through to the Taxi pick up area outside.

Good Luck.

[jollyjones]

 

I'm glad to have read this information but only because forewarned is forearmed.

What a dreadful way to end a cruise but I fear I shall have to follow rog747's mode of exit because I can't bear the thought of being stuck forever in long queues to get into the US, then get a taxi to the airport to get out of the US shortly thereafter.

Sigh ...

[BlueRiband]

Used what is now called "Express Disembarkation" today.  It was a much less painful procedure than dealing with the baggage hall.  (The only time I took the advice to hire a porter it went terribly wrong.)

 

However today neither the escaltor nor the elevator was working at the Brooklyn terminal!   Everyone had to decend the stairs but Cunard sent crew members over to carry our bags down the staircase for us.  I don't know what they did about the mobility impaired passengers.

[rog747]

Thanks for the latest post re the chaos continues at the Brooklyn terminal for arrivals from QM2! 

It sounds worse than a 3rd World arrival point.

[Underwatr]

Yesterday was the easiest Brooklyn disembarkation I've ever experienced.

The Caribbean voyage operates as a closed loop so every disembarking passenger (with very few exceptions for crew and entertainers) either boarded in New York or was processed into New York when QM2 entered prior to the voyage. This enables C&BP to run a streamlined entry. An agent looked at my passport photo to verify that it appeared to be me and that was all there was to it.

As another note, passengers continuing on to Southampton who didn't desire to go off into New York for the day had the option of staying on - there was no forced "clearing" of the ship reqiring all passengers to pass through immigration.

 

The only simpler disembarkation I've ever done on a cruise was leaving a closed-loop Alaska cruise in Seattle in 2017 on HAL. They didn't even look at IDs that time.

 

12 hours ago, BlueRiband said:

However today neither the escaltor nor the elevator was working at the Brooklyn terminal!   Everyone had to decend the stairs but Cunard sent crew members over to carry our bags down the staircase for us.  I don't know what they did about the mobility impaired passengers.

When we got off, around 9:15-9:30, both the escalator and elevator(s) were working.

[NE John]

2 hours ago, Underwatr said:

As another note, passengers continuing on to Southampton who didn't desire to go off into New York for the day had the option of staying on - there was no forced "clearing" of the ship reqiring all passengers to pass through immigration

That is welcoming news and takes the pressure off those who really need to debark quickly to catch a flight. 
I hope that trend continues. 

[Underwatr]

23 minutes ago, NE John said:

I hope that trend continues. 

It won't on the transatlantics or the Quebec-NYC one-way trips because passengers won't be disembarking from a closed loop itinerary.

[IB2]

It’s normally mayhem.

[2Oldpeopleinlove]

We disembarked today, and I will forever after this use a porter. For a $20 tip, he got our bags, moved us to a very short line that bypassed a very long one, took our bags and us to a taxi and even tried to negotiate the price down a bit (didn’t work, but applause for effort).

[tv24]

On 11/4/2023 at 11:57 AM, 57eric said:

When is the end of a cruise ever relaxing? 

We recently disembarked from a re-positioning on another line.  While it was sad to leave the ship, departure day was relaxing.  A peaceful breakfast, a quiet wait for our time of departure, and we strolled off the ship after a departure handshake from the Cruise Director and Captain,.  Our luggage was waiting for us.  We passed through Miami immigration in 2 minutes and we were quickly into a cab riding to the airport.

[tv24]

1 hour ago, 2Oldpeopleinlove said:

We disembarked today, and I will forever after this use a porter. For a $20 tip, he got our bags, moved us to a very short line that bypassed a very long one, took our bags and us to a taxi and even tried to negotiate the price down a bit (didn’t work, but applause for effort).

Smart move.  I would pay twice that for such service.

[BklynBoy8]

17 hours ago, 2Oldpeopleinlove said:

We disembarked today, and I will forever after this use a porter. For a $20 tip, he got our bags, moved us to a very short line that bypassed a very long one, took our bags and us to a taxi and even tried to negotiate the price down a bit (didn’t work, but applause for effort).

 So happy you experienced Brooklyn Courtesy.

 

Steamerdors and Teamester are Great Guys....I got them as friends.

 

The tips help too!