Disembarking in Rio





Our fabulous day in Rio was bookended by a dismal disembarkation system and an even worse boarding procedure at the airport. But in between it was great. More about that later.

Due to an unusual sea current which was completely unexpected in this part of the ocean, our already overdue arrival in Rio was delayed by a further 30 minutes bringing us to 11:30 at the dock. Original docking time was 7:00 a.m.
Luckily, we had let Princess know we had independent travel arrangements and were being met at 9:00 a.m. so we were amongst the first groups to disembark. However, that still took us to almost 1:30 and I wondered if Paulo, our tour guide who was meeting us at noon would still be there.

The entire delay can be laid at the feet of the Brazilian officials who have an archaic and ill planned system of granting entry. First, the officials had to board the ship and set themselves up, 4 here and 4 there, to personally view every passengers passport. Yes indeed. And once inspected for the appropriate visas which, by the way, cost us almost $450 including courier charges, they would stamp your passport and grant you a green entry card.

Like I said, we were in the second earliest group and it will took 2 hours. Some passengers had booked a transfer with Princess to take them from the ship to a hotel to relax, and then on to the airport. Due to the delays, they didn’t get off until 4, got to their hotel at 6, had to leave at 7 to get to the airport for 8:30. All for $88 each.

The good news for us was that we had had the foresight to book a private tour in Rio. Eight hours for $200 divided by three and an additional $60, divided by three, to take us to the airport. A much better deal.

Paulo, our guide, had sent instructions on where to meet him after we got off the ship but because we had to detour to pick up our bags, we were in the wrong area.
Leaving with our bags there were dozens of tour guides lined up, all holding signs with their customers names. No one had our names. I left Hans and Teddy and went looking and within about 5 minutes, found Paulo and his sign. Whew!

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