Lazz

I was just on her this past June and from a passenger point of view she looked wonderful and modern. 

We were on the Majestic last month and loved it!  Service and entertainment staff was excellent.  We did the Southbound trip from Whittier.  The only problem we noticed is that they were running out of a few things (small bottle water, some booze brands. etc.)  Rumor has it that they don't restock in Whittier, only in Vancouver.  Can someone confirm that?

12 hours ago, George C said:

No it was a port on our cruise.

Which cruise line?

I am looking at a Celebrity Silhouette Med cruise that stops in Messina.  I wanted to get to Palermo to visit the city where my grandfather was born.  Does anyone know if their are ship tours to Palermo or the best way to get to Palermo so I can get back to the ship on time?

I am trying to purchase some private transportation and I was wondering what time I can tell them I  will be at curbside?  

I am a US citizens getting off a ship in Vancouver and heading to the Vancouver airport.  It was suggested that I download a app to help get through Canadian Customs.  I believe it is called Arrive Can?  Thanks for your advice.

10 minutes ago, martincath said:

Understandable then - there are very narrow sets of circumstances where I do recommend just using a transfer, and this is one of them. Someone else schlepping your bags is built-in, whereas we do have issues with insufficient porters on busy days so finding someone to help you get your bags to cab/uber etc. might be a hassle. Otherwise, for folks on a really busy day with a higher chance of missing their flight, if they also bought the flight via the cruiseline then at least the line is on the hook to get them home if their transfer fails to have them at the airport quickly enough, so that certainty might be worth it - but it's going to mean more time waiting in queues overall than arranging your own transport!

 

Compared to even 2pax at $60, I'd be inclined to book a limo with a Meet'n'Greet - standard fees for that run about the same price (including all taxes and expected tip) for a towncar, you'd be met by a uniformed driver with your name on a sign who can take your bags for you, and you'd be off on your merry way before they even finished loading the bus... since it sounds like taking transit isn't at all feasible for you, the most consistently quick way is out but a limo booked for before 9am would get you to YVR before the buses, even if you can't beat the self-disembarkers.

 

Whether the colon position or an extra 5 was the mis-key, either way you are probably safe with a cruise transfer - flights 12:30pm and later usually work. BUT if it's one of our early-season 3 or 4 ship days, be aware that even cruise transfers are not always able to get you to YVR in time! By rushing, you guarantee sitting around at the airport - but fail to rush and instead you face a much less pleasant standing-around-in-various-queues at the airport, for a total wait time that ends up far greater.

 

You should be at the airport, checking in, 3 hours in advance to be fully-compliant with YVRs standards for US or international departures. Even that is not enough when things go terribly wrong - while this summers multiple-hour Security queues in theory won't happen again now that staffing-up again post-Covid flight shutdowns has happened, things do still get a little worse than in TheBeforeTimes as staff levels topped out slightly lower - fundamentally it's a stressful job with relatively crappy pay, so fewer interested people!

 

A flight that early means zero time to actually go sightseeing - so you may as well be at the airport ASAP. The biggest downside of cruise transfers is that you simply CANNOT arrive early enough to beat the queues - as soon as the first bus rolls in more people are arriving than can be processed efficiently through the queues, so Check-in, Bag Drop, Security, and CBP Preclearance all start to get longer and longer... and none of them start dropping in volume until the buses stop, late morning.

 

Unless you are physically incapable of handling your own bags, the most efficient way to minimise all your queue time is by self-disembarking - this basically guarantees you are off your ship before all of the 'we need help with bags' groups from ALL of the ships in port. If it's a 3 or 4 ship day you still have to fight with the other self-disembarkers of course - but if you can manage to walk ~400 yards with your bags then you can use SkyTrain to avoid a long cab queue and save both time and money. If the cab queue is short, timing is very comparable - driving takes about 5-10 mins longer than the train, but you skip the walk to the station.

 

Waterfront is the start of the line, commuter flow is mostly inbound, so you can find seats easily - and even big suitcases fit under them on the Canada Line trains, which have extra legroom that fits your carryon and yourself too. Plus fully automated trains mean that travel time varies only by seconds - and the cost is dirt-cheap (about US$3.25pp for an adult weekday fare, less on weekends, even less for Seniors/kids).

 

Get to YVR before 9am and you will probably spend a total of 20-30mins in all of the queues - arrive on anything after the very first cruise bus of the day and those times will be two or three times longer!

 

Another big timesaver that might be available to you - gain Trusted Traveler status. Either NEXUS or Global Entry work when departing YVR - only NEXUS helps when arriving. TSA Pre is worthless - no TSA up here! If you do not already have one of these cards, the best time to apply is right now - backlogs from no interviews during the Pandemic are starting to be addressed, but for first-time applicants the delays are many months long. If you can manage to get to the Canadian border conveniently, NEXUS is the best option - it gives you all Global Entry benefits for a lower price, as well as quicker entry to Canada (we even have our very own bridge at Niagara Falls which nobody except NEXUS members can use!) but if you don't come to Canada often GE is less hassle to get and just as good everywhere else.

 

Having NEXUS/GE enables two of the queues to be expedited - Security and Preclearance - and if you ever have issues with e.g. Real ID compliant driving licenses not being available in your state, you gain a wallet-size Gov't issued photo ID that proves both ID and citizenship to a better-than-Real ID standard.

Can you reccommend a good limo company for 5 people to take to the airport?

7 hours ago, david,Mississauga said:

 

The time factor is not as important to us as the convenience of not having to stand in a lengthy queue. My wife has poor mobility, although she requests wheelchair assistance only rarely. For boarding in Vancouver a wheelchair is helpful given the start at lower level, then going up to the convention level, then back down, then security, then dealing with U.S. immigration. Disembarking is much easier, although we will request wheelchair assistance if we are going to take a taxi. 

 

The cost of the transfer with Cunard is high: it is Can.$60 pp if booked in advance or US$60 pp if booked on board. I recall the taxi was about $40.

 

As for the original question, we have had three arrivals in Vancouver (one on HAL, two on Cunard) over the past six years and there has been no immigration/customs procedure at all. Even this year with ArriveCan in effect, Cunard had all our information which was given to the Canadian officials so we simply walked off the ship as if it was a ferry boat. 

All the information on this thread is very helpful.  We have Princess transportation to the airport as part of our package.  Our flight does not leave until 1:255pm, so we do not have to rush.  

This is our first Princess Cruise and we are disembarking at the Port of Vancouver.  When disembarking from other cruise lines at US ports, we have always taken advantage of expedited departure where we carried our own luggage and walked off the ship first.  Does Princess have this option?  Thanks.

When disembarking at a US port, I have always used a porter to help speed me through Immigration and get me to the correct bus or get a quick taxi.  Does this work at the Vancouver cruise port?  We are disembarking from a Princess Cruise and have Princess transportation to the airport.

On 11/21/2022 at 7:52 AM, CruiserBruce said:

I would call an 11:20 flight risky. Remember you need to clear Canadian Immigration at the port, and US Immigration and Customs at Vancouver airport. You are flying on Labor Day, a pretty busy holiday. 

 

If you try it, it is going to be pretty stressful. I would spend the night and catch that flight, or a better (earlier)one the next morning.

We are disembarking from a Princess Cruise next May.  Can you explain the customs process at the Vancouver airport for US Citizens?  Thank you.

Thank you.  This is our first Princess Cruise.  The other lines I have been on did not have self serve Laundry, but they ran laundry specials.  Our last Cruise Tour night before boarding is at the Princess Mt. McKinley hotel.  It state they have Laundry facilities.  Does anyone know the price to wash and dry? 

Taking an Alaska cruise tour next year and was wondering if the ships offer any laundry specials?  I am hoping to pack  lighter and have some laundry done.

6 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

How many days is your land portion?

Yes, a gallon would be a lot to carry and then last 8 days.  How about filling two liter bottles before leaving the ship, which would be roughly 68 ounces and last four days, a typical land portion. Fifth day, a half liter, 17 oz bottle. Bulk reduces with time.

 

 

I am doing the Land portion first. 7 days land followed by the cruise.  I was thinking of contacting each of the lodges and request distilled water for the room.  

I have a medical condition that requires me to use 16 ounces of distilled water a day for a nasal rinse.  The ship will provide me with an ample supply, but how can I deal with the need while on the land portion?   It would be very awkward lugging a big bottle of water on and off busses and trains every day.  Can I request distilled water from each hotel I stay at every night?  Thanks in advance for your advice. 

If I pre pay my gratuities, will that include our guide(s) for the land portion?  If not, what is the suggested gratuity rate?  Thank you in advance.

Is early June a good time to spot whales? 

My Princess Cruise Land tour portion includes the Denali Tundra Wilderness Tour.  The bus tour stops and turns around at Mile Marker 43.  I read that everyone must turn around because a land slide has closed the road until some time in 2024.  Did the Tundra Wilderness tour continue on the road before the land slide, or was mile marker 43 always the turn around point?  

Could it be they did not flush out the ship's plumbing after sitting unused for so long?

Reminds me of the destruction of the SS Norway/SS France.  At least someone was wise enough to remove the tip of the bow and return it to France

If  businesses and government agencies can not demand proof of a vaccine or a negative test, how can a cruise ship require if for passage?

 https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2021/04/30/florida-lawmakers-pass-vaccine-passport-ban/

Thanks.  There is a Princess tour out of Juneau that goes to Mendenhall glacier and whale watching.  Is that too much for one tour?

I would love to book a whale watching shore excursion, but what are may chances of spotting whales the first week of June?

We are booked on a Princess Cruise tour with the actual cruise setting sail on June 1, 2022.  I just got an e mail inviting us to book Princess shore excursions.  Is this standard practice for a Princess Alaska Cruise?  Over 13 months out seems very early.

4 minutes ago, K.T.B. said:

 

So you're ok with potentially infecting others who haven't been vaccinated yet.

 

Got it.

I have to ask that if you have had the shots, why would it matter?  After all, you are protected, correct?  Please understand that this question is asked not to start an argument, but to understand the logic.  If the shots protect you from the virus, it should not matter whether someone else wears a mask.  Those who are not taking the shots do not seem to be worried about catching the virus.  Why should those who have taken the shots be worried?  Am I wrong somewhere?