Eclipse 6 January. Boarding in Buenos Aires

[STLCRUISIN]

On 1/6/2024 at 4:13 PM, sheeng said:

OMG - After 50+ cruise the very worst embarkation ever! From taxi drop off at the port to boarding the shuttle to the ship was over 3 hours! The first half was out in the open in 88 degree heat. We did have some rain which was a relief. I cannot tell you how far the line stretched but it was many, many blocks. It got really ugly as we got close to the terminal entrance with buses unloading and passengers pushing to the front of ‘our’ queue. There was little attempt to control the crowd by terminal personnel. Once inside the warehouse like building some control was enforced but it was sweltering, still chaotic and zero communication!
Sail-away was scheduled for 5:00. It’s now 6:30 but not everyone in onboard. Our tile reports my bag to still be in the terminal.

I could go on and on but I won’t. Plenty blaim to go around but I now have a glass of wine in hand and life is good🤗

 

Sheila & Jim, We are so sorry to hear about your terrible embarkation. Hopefully, your cruise is going along perfectly and you both are having an amazing time!!

[sheeng]

After you placed your suitcases on the belt you moved to a different section of the warehouse to await transportation to the main terminal a 10 minute bus ride away.

I think, just to allow this situation to get moving faster, we didn’t have to scan our carry ons, backpacks or purses. We didn’t see the cases again until they were delivered to our cabins.

[sheeng]

12 hours ago, STLCRUISIN said:

Sheila & Jim, We are so sorry to hear about your terrible embarkation. Hopefully, your cruise is going along perfectly and you both are having an amazing time!!

Not amazing but nothing really to complain about. Somethings seem a bit ‘off’.  Michaels is so dark with no natural light and not as warm and welcoming. There is no assistant (no lovely Michelle) so service is slow. Our Gourmet Delights are nuts - only nut🫤

[tomcruiser1234]

Sheeng

 

Glad to hear your on board with your luggage.  Michaels can be iffy on some cruises.  We have seen it well supported by crew and passengers and then very quiet at times. 

 

Question. Were you having to move your luggage the whole time you waited before you could drop the large bags on the belt. No porters available to help. 

 

Thanks

[STLCRUISIN]

8 hours ago, sheeng said:

Not amazing but nothing really to complain about. Somethings seem a bit ‘off’.  Michaels is so dark with no natural light and not as warm and welcoming. There is no assistant (no lovely Michelle) so service is slow. Our Gourmet Delights are nuts - only nut🫤

Michaels is likely not as warm and welcoming because we're not there with you 😄. On a more serious note, yes, Michelle was the best and always had such a nice smile. Hope the rest of your cruise is great, Luminae, the ship and ports.

[sheeng]

7 hours ago, tomcruiser1234 said:

Sheeng

 

Glad to hear your on board with your luggage.  Michaels can be iffy on some cruises.  We have seen it well supported by crew and passengers and then very quiet at times. 

 

Question. Were you having to move your luggage the whole time you waited before you could drop the large bags on the belt. No porters available to help. 

 

Thanks

 

7 hours ago, tomcruiser1234 said:

Sheeng

 

Glad to hear your on board with your luggage.  Michaels can be iffy on some cruises.  We have seen it well supported by crew and passengers and then very quiet at times. 

 

Question. Were you having to move your luggage the whole time you waited before you could drop the large bags on the belt. No porters available to help. 

 

Thanks

No porters. No help of any kind. Only a couple of shore staff at the entrance to the warehouse. We were over and over hefting our cases over curbs and through muddy potholes on a very crude, uneven sidewalk. It was bad!

[tomcruiser1234]

If you had a friend willing to help. Could they stay with you until entering the warehouse or is access restricted.

 

We have some friends were eating breakfast with that morning

 

Thanks

 

[foodsvcmgr]

Hopefully this is one of the problems Celebrity is claiming they will make significant improvements on by the next embarkation on 1/20.

[sheeng]

12 hours ago, tomcruiser1234 said:

If you had a friend willing to help. Could they stay with you until entering the warehouse or is access restricted.

 

We have some friends were eating breakfast with that morning

 

Thanks

 

Yes, that would not be a problem. We were not in a restricted area.

[tomcruiser1234]

Good info

 

Thanks SHEENG

[Beth Y]

On 1/6/2024 at 2:13 PM, sheeng said:

OMG - After 50+ cruise the very worst embarkation ever! From taxi drop off at the port to boarding the shuttle to the ship was over 3 hours! The first half was out in the open in 88 degree heat. We did have some rain which was a relief. I cannot tell you how far the line stretched but it was many, many blocks. It got really ugly as we got close to the terminal entrance with buses unloading and passengers pushing to the front of ‘our’ queue. There was little attempt to control the crowd by terminal personnel. Once inside the warehouse like building some control was enforced but it was sweltering, still chaotic and zero communication!
Sail-away was scheduled for 5:00. It’s now 6:30 but not everyone in onboard. Our tile reports my bag to still be in the terminal.

I could go on and on but I won’t. Plenty blaim to go around but I now have a glass of wine in hand and life is good🤗

 

Wow.  Unacceptable.  We had an awful two-hour embarkation experience on the Eclipse in Valparaiso on December 23. It was my 53rd cruise and the worst ever boarding, with long lines in the chaotic terminal and then a long wait on the shuttle bus to the ship. The worst of it was my scary wheelchair ride up the dangerously steep gangway.  Then there was another wait as we stepped onboard while all of our names were radioed for approval.  I had a meeting with the Guest Services Director Marina (after a second request to Guest Services).  She listened to my story and explained some of the challenges that Celebrity had that day.  The immigration authorities required immediate passport collection onboard, which slowed everything down until Celebrity negotiated a day's extension (midway through the day) to collect them.  The changing tide made a lower (and safer) gangway unusable.  Data transfer from the terminal to ship had delays.  She sincerely apologized, and said that they would work to do better.  Then she treated my family of five to dinner at Murano's.  Please speak to her about your embarkation experience.  Celebrity needs to hear from us when something is unacceptable, or they won't change a thing.

[Oceangoer2]

Aside from a really bad boarding experience, can you comment on the condition of the ship and cabins?  Run down or appearing to be in good shape.

[sheeng]

1 hour ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Aside from a really bad boarding experience, can you comment on the condition of the ship and cabins?  Run down or appearing to be in good shape.

Nothing else to complain about except understaffing. The ship is in pretty good shape.

Crowding in OV is challenging.

[sheeng]

3 hours ago, Beth Y said:

Wow.  Unacceptable.  We had an awful two-hour embarkation experience on the Eclipse in Valparaiso on December 23. It was my 53rd cruise and the worst ever boarding, with long lines in the chaotic terminal and then a long wait on the shuttle bus to the ship. The worst of it was my scary wheelchair ride up the dangerously steep gangway.  Then there was another wait as we stepped onboard while all of our names were radioed for approval.  I had a meeting with the Guest Services Director Marina (after a second request to Guest Services).  She listened to my story and explained some of the challenges that Celebrity had that day.  The immigration authorities required immediate passport collection onboard, which slowed everything down until Celebrity negotiated a day's extension (midway through the day) to collect them.  The changing tide made a lower (and safer) gangway unusable.  Data transfer from the terminal to ship had delays.  She sincerely apologized, and said that they would work to do better.  Then she treated my family of five to dinner at Murano's.  Please speak to her about your embarkation experience.  Celebrity needs to hear from us when something is unacceptable, or they won't change a thing.

Are you still onboard, Beth? Celebrity is certainly hearing from us! We’ve had no sign they are listening though. We’ve made complaints to Guest Services and our Retreat Host.

[Oceangoer2]

1 hour ago, sheeng said:

Are you still onboard, Beth? Celebrity is certainly hearing from us! We’ve had no sign they are listening though. We’ve made complaints to Guest Services and our Retreat Host.

Perhaps email this CC link to President's Office?  

[Beth Y]

8 hours ago, sheeng said:

Are you still onboard, Beth? Celebrity is certainly hearing from us! We’ve had no sign they are listening though. We’ve made complaints to Guest Services and our Retreat Host.

No, we disembarked in Buenos Aires on the 6th.  My son-in-law's iPhone was stolen right outside of the port on the 5th.  When he was calling for an Uber a guy sped by on a bike and grabbed the phone right out of his hand.  Luckily no one was hurt.  My daughter and son-in-law thought that Buenos Aires was the worst city that they've visited safety-wise, and they've been to some sketchy places around the world.  We stayed at the Marriott downtown which was fine.  Had to stay an extra night, because our flights home on COPA Airlines were on Boeing 737 Max 9's that were grounded by the FAA. We scrambled to find replacement flights and returned to California after an exhausting twenty-four hours of travel, a rough ending after a great cruise.

[the penguins]

On 1/10/2024 at 9:24 PM, foodsvcmgr said:

Hopefully this is one of the problems Celebrity is claiming they will make significant improvements on by the next embarkation on 1/20.

shame as X had the solution way back in 2018 which worked well. X booked a conference centre where we checked in and  left our main bags. We were the bused in small groups to the ship. 

What X can't control is the height /steepness of the gangway which depending on the tide can be horrendous. As you can see from the pics it's steep and with no cover - it was much steeper when we returned to the ship at midnight after a visit to  a Tango Show - 3 crew members were needed to get just one wheelchair up the ramp.

[the penguins]

On 1/8/2024 at 1:02 AM, tomcruiser1234 said:

Hey all. Didn’t mean for my stupid knees to hijack this stream.  

 

Thanks for all your thoughts. 

 

There is about 5 cruises that will be using that port at Buenos before Eclipse heads to Liberty Jersey. 

Those flying in early may not want to go to the port until later in the afternoon   Most departures are not till after 6:00 pm. 

 

Hopefully not everybody will have to go through what Sheena did. 

 

 

see post 26 

[tomcruiser1234]

3 hours ago, the penguins said:

see post 26 

Certainly taking note.  Thanks

[the penguins]

7 hours ago, tomcruiser1234 said:

Certainly taking note.  Thanks

sorry meant Post 42 i.e. my pics of the ramp. When we returned to the ship after midnight it was cold, wet, no cover and it took the crew around 10 minutes to get just one wheelchair up the ramp - no one could pass while a chair was on the ramp so you can imagine the frustration. While we waited our turn to be helped up my wife was "rescued from the rain" by one of  the dancers who lent her his coat telling her "just to leave it at the top and Security would return it to him" - needless to say he got very wet. Not the way we planned to end our Golden Wedding celebration.

[CardowMD]

Can’t you enter the ship on a lower level? Deck 2or 3 like other ships?

[zitsky]

I got off that sailing.  It was just as bad getting on in Valparaiso.

 

We’ve decided no more South America cruises.

 

After excursions I’d see Retreat signs but not boarding the ship.

 

Our friend couldn’t stand and was escorted to the front of the line after she complained.  (In Valparaiso)

Edited January 13 by zitsky

[the penguins]

10 hours ago, CardowMD said:

Can’t you enter the ship on a lower level? Deck 2or 3 like other ships?

Not when the tide is high - the only access is via the ramp shown.