When we sailed out of Vancouver, Mariner wasn't docked at the main cruise terminal; she was over at the cargo dock. In Ft. Lauderdale, we boarded from one pier and got off at another; could that have something to do with it? I know they had to process us onboard in Vancouver, now that I think about it; our waiting area was basically some chairs in a warehouse-type thing. And we had to really climb to get onboard there; maybe that's why we had help with the carry-ons, too.

Oh, and in Ft. Lauderdale, there was a HUGE group of travel agents touring different suites and having lunch in the dining room. That might have required a lot of the staff that would normally be greeters.