Lisbon is where our kids and grandkids joined us.  It was not a smooth reunion.   We planned to be back to the ship by about 1 PM to greet the kids if they came in early.  We were about 15 minutes late because the Tuk Tuk got stuck in traffic.  Kevin said they arrived at the cruise terminal at 12:30.   We caught first glimpse of Kevin, Shannon and Elias at 3:16, (metadata on the picture) from our cabin as they made the last leg of their embarkation process.   We saw them on board at around 3:30. The Boarding process took them about 3 hours.  Brian, Liz, Liam and Fiona arrived at the cruise terminal at 2:30 and it only took them two hours.

There were several problems.  The line for Oosterdam formed on the side of the terminal where a Norwegian ship was berthed and the line for the Norskies formed on the Dutch side.  The lines crossed each other.  Several passengers got on the wrong line and that slowed things down.  Then, according to a letter we got from the Guest Services:

Several factors contributed to the delays, including insufficient staffing at the luggage drop off area serving both ships, an additional passport verification process instigated by the Lisbon Immigration Police and the required terminal security screening procedures. 

The letter said that HAL contacted the port officials requesting additional personnel but the request was not approved.

Suzi and I knew something was badly amiss when we re-boarded the ship after our tuk tuk tour.  There were long lines and people milling around wondering where to go.  We had to ask several times how to get back on the ship and finally found a uniformed HAL rep who waved us through the worst of it.  But we could see the confusion.  There was no clear signage of which passengers should get on which line until they were mostly through the line.  Furthermore, the lines didn’t just cross each other, they seemed to be braded at times. 

We were waved past border control because we were ongoing passengers and were led to a separate line at security which allowed us to cut in front of those with carryon luggage (almost like TSA pre-check).   When we got on the ship, we followed the texts between Kevin and Brian.  Kevin had been in line for almost two hours before Brian arrived and he told them to bring water for the wait in the sun.  (Although the HAL line was more in shade than the Norwegian line.) 

I was copied on the texts and followed the saga.  I called Guest services with two suggestions.  That they have someone outside with big signs that said Oosterdam who would walk the Norwegian line and rescue any passengers in the wrong line, and that they bring a trolly with water and cool, damp towels for people standing on the line.  Guest Services told me that they had taken it up with management.  I called a second time when Brian texted that there was no water for Holland passengers but the Norwegians were providing water for their passengers.  Brian told me that Holland provided wet towels. 

Our kids said the mood on their line was friendly and people were joking, supporting each other and making the best of it.  But on the priority line (5 star and suite passengers) people were more unhappy.  They finally got on board but it did not make a good first impression.  While the delay was not Holland’s fault, they did not react properly to mitigate the situation.  It was my kids and grandkids on that line on a hot summer European day and I was angry.

While we were waiting, I did get to take several pictures of Lisbon, and while Brian and family got on just at the official “All aboard” everyone seemed to be cleared by 5 PM and we left on time with a beautiful sail out from Lisbon. 

Holland provided us with a big round table for 9 in the dining room and we had a great family reunion dinner and after dinner enjoyed a beautiful sunset with calm seas and smooth sailing.