Grandeur in Tampa, Big problems loading

[ebandive]

We sailed on the Grandeur last week (left Thursday, got home Monday) out of Tampa. They had MAJOR issues getting passengers on & off the ship, both at the beginning and the end of the cruise.

 

Embarkation day - it took between 2.5 & 3 hours to get through the line & onboard. Much of the line is outdoors, exposed to the elements (it was a pretty hot day here Thursday). We decided to just sit down in the shade & let the line go through, and board at the end (no way was my 4 y/o boy going to stand patiently in that line). Ship was supposed to sail at 4, didn't leave until around 5:15. We completely missed the muster drill, as did (in my estimation) at least 1/3 - maybe 1/2 - of the passengers (who were in line with us). There were a lot of very unhappy cruisers, and most everyone was in a rather foul mood after showing up happy & excited.

 

Getting off the ship wasn't much better at the end of the cruise. Very long, slow process. Ship was docked in Tampa at 6am, nobody off until 8. We got off at around 11, and there were still a LOT of people onboard waiting to exit.

 

The cruise itself was very enjoyable. The ship is nice, the food excellent, the onboard entertainment quite good (especially the poolside band, they were outstanding & played for a long time).

 

But the loading & unloading procedures need some serious attention.

 

I had the same problem December 20th. Arrived at port at 11:30, didn't board until 3:00. Many many passengers missed the lifeboat drill, we were late leaving. It took 4.5 hours to debark. As the OP said, a great cruise, just a rough beginning and end.

[ebandive]

We sail on her in 2 weeks. What time do you suggest getting to the port? I DO NOT want to stand in a line. Early or late? We're driving over to Tampa from Miami.

 

Personally, I would get there as early as possible. In my opinion, I would rather be waiting sitting inside sipping on lemonade and eating cookies than standing outside in the heat just to get inside for another rediculous line. On my cruise, it got REALLY ugly about 1:00pm, right when the cruiseline recommends getting there.

 

And to anyone looking, I'm sorry, I scrapbooked most of my compasses. Sorry!

[JPV072900]

Hi everyone, I'm sailing on the Grandeur on Feb. 28th. Could you please email me a copy of the Compass??? My email address is jpv072900@comcast.net

 

Thanks in advance.

[Rancher Dave]

Howdy Y'all-

 

I plan to scan by Sunday evening the Compass and Adventuer Ocean 6-9 age group compass info and post it on one of my web sites. Once I have that done along with other chores, I will post a link here. I plan to link my review there and add some pictures there.

 

Have a great evening!!!

[Rancher Dave]

We sail on her in 2 weeks. What time do you suggest getting to the port? I DO NOT want to stand in a line. Early or late? We're driving over to Tampa from Miami.

 

Recommend getting to the port by 11am while the lines are still short. Most folks flying in would not be at TIA aka TPA just yet.

 

 

To the other CC'r who asked about getting into the port, I drove by a few S/Os and parked by two and didn't get a glance. Maybe if I were wearing less casual traveling american clothes I'd have drawn more attention. Note, you have to really watch the entry to the port, because it looked like a taxi entry so we had to loop around, cost a couple minutes of wasted time but oh well. I think it may even have said authorized vehicles on a sign by the entry area which was/is misleading.