Check-in for Alaska cruises

[emilygrace]

Third time's the charm.....I've tried posting this twice and it got lost in cyberspace.

 

If you have cruised to Alaska out of Vancouver BC, can you tell me how smoothly the check-in process goes at Ballantyne pier? I have only disembarked in Vancouver, so have no experience with this. We like to get on the ship as early as possible in order to enjoy the most of that first day.

 

Thank you!

[Travelgrrl]

Smooth as pie. One of my easier check ins. However, this was my all time worst disembarkation, for some reason. It took HOURS from the time our color was called until we got to the taxi line, then a couple hours more to go through immigration at the airport.

[critterchick]

I agree with Travelgrl (I know I got that spelling wrong) - it was very smooth. We arrived at the pier a little after noon, and there weren't that many people going through security. We are Platinum, so we went to that checkin line, but the regular lines were almost empty, too. There was a bit of a wait to board once we were done with that, but we were on the ship before 1, which is when they let us into the cabins.

 

If you want to get off the ship quickly and you are flying directly back home, for $15pp you can check your luggage from the ship all the way through to your home airport and get your boarding passes on board the ship. Once you're at the airport, you bypass the checkin line & go straight to customs & secuirty. They will have you meet early (although we discovered that you don't have to be there right on time because they call the RCI excursions first) in one of the lounges. After you get your boarding pass, you get off the ship before anybody else. No hunting for your bag in the cavernous baggage claim area, and if you're off early, no line for customs.

[taylortroop]

Sailing on the Radiance, June 11, 2005. This disembark process sounds awesome and certainly worth the $15 pp. How do you sign up for this process?

[Onessa]

No problem with check-in other than a workman accidently snapped a fire alarm off the wall and we had to evacuate! Fortunately we were there very early and there were only 100-150 pax there. RCCL apologized (it wasn't their fault!) and gave us each an on-board credit.Be aware - it is an older building and there are some stairs. The area for taxi drop off and pick up is a bit small.