Early disembarkation in Whittier while doing B2B

[ndjoe]

First time doing a B2B. Since I am sure there are a lot of you that already have done one, what are the procedures with Princess in disembarking early on your day in Whittier? I am renting a car and want to get off the ship early so that I might get my car at 8am, and be through the Whittier tunnel at 9am. I have read that Princess gives you information the night before about meeting and receiving your new cruise card. Do they let all of the passengers ending their cruise off the ship first, or will they make an exception for us B2B's who might need to get off early?

[Budget Queen]

If you receive your new key card the night before, all you are going to do, is get in line and leave the ship. The only issue is the following week's keycard. You do not have to wait to be called, the right color etc. just walk off the ship. :)

 

But frankly, you could leave even at 8:30am and still be through the 9am tunnel. You aren't even a 10 minute walk away from the Harbor Store, and then a 3 minute drive to the staging lot.

[burtie]

I have the same question so I called Princess about 5 minutes age and here is what I was told--When we booked this cruise, we booked it as a 14 day cruise with 1 booking number, therefore they do not consider it a B2B, but ONE cruise. Since it is ONE cruise, I was told it is not necessary for us to get new key cards, therefore we should be able to get off of the ship beginning about 7:00-7:30 AM. I hope this is correct as I plan on setting up a car rental based on this info.

If anybody has experience with this, please let us know.

Thanks,

Burtie

[Budget Queen]

I have the same question so I called Princess about 5 minutes age and here is what I was told--When we booked this cruise, we booked it as a 14 day cruise with 1 booking number, therefore they do not consider it a B2B, but ONE cruise. Since it is ONE cruise, I was told it is not necessary for us to get new key cards, therefore we should be able to get off of the ship beginning about 7:00-7:30 AM. I hope this is correct as I plan on setting up a car rental based on this info.

If anybody has experience with this, please let us know.

Thanks,

Burtie

 

Avis, at the Harbor Store doesn't open until 8am and even then, may not be right on time. :)

[ndjoe]

Unfortunately, my cruises are booked as three individual cruises, Vancouver to Whittier, Whittier to Vancouver and Vancouver to Los Angeles. I have three booking numbers and just made three final payments to Princess.

 

 

I have the same question so I called Princess about 5 minutes age and here is what I was told--When we booked this cruise, we booked it as a 14 day cruise with 1 booking number, therefore they do not consider it a B2B, but ONE cruise. Since it is ONE cruise, I was told it is not necessary for us to get new key cards, therefore we should be able to get off of the ship beginning about 7:00-7:30 AM. I hope this is correct as I plan on setting up a car rental based on this info.

If anybody has experience with this, please let us know.

Thanks,

Burtie

[burtie]

Can't tell when you are going, but appears to be in the fall with a repositioning. We are embarking next Sat, 6/16 so I will let you know how it goes for us and will try to find out what people that have a B2B have to do. Will post after we get home, about 7/3.

Thanks,

Burtie

[ndjoe]

Burtie,

 

Enjoy your cruise next week. Yes, I am doing the last two cruises of the season on the Coral Princess, with a repositioning cruise to Los Angeles. I just got done talking with Princess too, with no definitive answer from them, other than going to the Pursers Desk to advise them of my plans to disembark the ship early. So,any information you can obtain while on your cruise, would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Joe

 

 

 

 

Can't tell when you are going, but appears to be in the fall with a repositioning. We are embarking next Sat, 6/16 so I will let you know how it goes for us and will try to find out what people that have a B2B have to do. Will post after we get home, about 7/3.

Thanks,

Burtie

[ndjoe]

Burtie,

 

Would you kindly check with Princess, while onboard the ship, the disembarkation procedures for B2B passengers in Whittier. I am particularly interested in who is allowed off of the ship and when. I am an Elite member and another couple traveling with us is Platinum. They read on the Princess web site, that Elite members can get priority disembarkaton but Platinum members do not. I didn't think that effected B2B passengers, but would appreciate you checking if you could. If you could tell me when disembarkation begins in Whittier, that would also be appreciated. Again, hope you have a great cruise.

 

Thank You

 

Joe

[Budget Queen]

Burtie,

 

Would you kindly check with Princess, while onboard the ship, the disembarkation procedures for B2B passengers in Whittier. I am particularly interested in who is allowed off of the ship and when. I am an Elite member and another couple traveling with us is Platinum. They read on the Princess web site, that Elite members can get priority disembarkaton but Platinum members do not. I didn't think that effected B2B passengers, but would appreciate you checking if you could. If you could tell me when disembarkation begins in Whittier, that would also be appreciated. Again, hope you have a great cruise.

 

Thank You

 

Joe

 

I have no idea about the proceedure for you getting your card for the following week, BUT as already mentioned, the gangway is usually set around 6am with it being no problem walking off the ship around 7am. They don't "screen" you getting off the ship. And don't care what "status" you are or if you own the ship. All You do is walk up, have your card scanned- good bye. The issue is baggage and it being set out, which it may not all be at 7am.

 

You are getting a rental car which is a 5 minute walk, to an office that may not be prompt on the time. You aren't going anywhere until 9am anyway. You will have no problem. I think once you are there, you will see what I am talking about. :)

[Putterdude]

My recollection when we did this as a b/b (two cruise numbers) we got our package with the new cruise cards the night before. We disembarked in Whittier with our old cards and embarked in the afternoon with our new ones. I believe we walked off about 0830, I left DW in her wheelchair under cover, walked over to the Harbor Store and picked up our Avis rental...there was no lines there. Came back, picked up DW and we still had to wait for the tunnel.

[Coral]

I had a B2B recently on the Sapphire.

 

You get your key cards the night before (we booked it as 3 cruises so we had 3 booking numbers).

 

There are instructions given the night before on how to leave and also what to do if you stay on the ship.

 

If I remember correctly, you leave the ship with your old card and then when you return, just tell them you are "in-transit" and then tell them when they scan your card when you get back on that you are using your new card so they can take a new picture.

 

You can leave the ship whenever. If you are not leaving the ship - they wanted everyone to show up at a certain time (10:30 or so) at the Patissere Bar and they had everyone check out with their old card and then use their new card. It took 2 minutes.

 

Different ships may handle this slightly different but not enough to make a difference. For example, in the past, if we were going to stay on the ship they just told us to show up anytime after 11 and have new pictures taken at the gangway.

 

Nothing to worry about.

[burtie]

Burtie,

 

Would you kindly check with Princess, while onboard the ship, the disembarkation procedures for B2B passengers in Whittier. I am particularly interested in who is allowed off of the ship and when. I am an Elite member and another couple traveling with us is Platinum. They read on the Princess web site, that Elite members can get priority disembarkaton but Platinum members do not. I didn't think that effected B2B passengers, but would appreciate you checking if you could. If you could tell me when disembarkation begins in Whittier, that would also be appreciated. Again, hope you have a great cruise.

 

Thank You

 

Joe

 

Hey Joe,

The information above from Coral is accurate! You will receive a new card and instructions in the afternoon on the last full day of your cruise. Then use the old card to check off the ship when you leave and the new card when you check back onto the ship. We were able to leave the ship about 7:00 AM, but the rental place didn't open until after 8:00AM.

 

Couple of hints--

1) Plan some extra time to get your car at the Avis office. This appears to be a two person operation and is pretty slow if they are busy. I waited in line about 45 min to get the car. Worked out OK as we made the tunnel OK but just by a couple of minutes.

2) There is a gas station on the highway at Girdwood that is the least expensive I saw anywhere. Fill up there (was $4.02 gal) and top off in Whittier (was about $5.00 gal). Took me .56 gal. The guy at Avis asked me if I filled up in Whittier and I told him no so he suggested I top of so he would not have to charge me the extra for them to do so.

3) When you come back to the ship, if there are alot of people in the terminal, find one of the Princess workers and tell them you are "in-transit" and they should take you to the area the crew uses to get on the ship. DON'T wait in a long line! We found a gentleman outside having a break and he took us right to the security guy to get in. He checked our picture ID and new card and let us thru.

Hope this helps.

Have a great trip,

Burtie

[ndjoe]

Burtie,

 

Thank you so much for the information. I hope you had a great time. How far is the Avis office from the ship? You said you waited in line for about 45 minutes to get your car. What time did you arrive at the Avis office and how many people where in front of you? I really need to be through the tunnel at 9am, because we have a tour booked at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center at 10am.

 

What kind of weather did you have? Any other information about your b2b that you think might interest me, would be greatly appreciated.

 

Joe

 

 

 

 

Hey Joe,

The information above from Coral is accurate! You will receive a new card and instructions in the afternoon on the last full day of your cruise. Then use the old card to check off the ship when you leave and the new card when you check back onto the ship. We were able to leave the ship about 7:00 AM, but the rental place didn't open until after 8:00AM.

 

Couple of hints--

1) Plan some extra time to get your car at the Avis office. This appears to be a two person operation and is pretty slow if they are busy. I waited in line about 45 min to get the car. Worked out OK as we made the tunnel OK but just by a couple of minutes.

2) There is a gas station on the highway at Girdwood that is the least expensive I saw anywhere. Fill up there (was $4.02 gal) and top off in Whittier (was about $5.00 gal). Took me .56 gal. The guy at Avis asked me if I filled up in Whittier and I told him no so he suggested I top of so he would not have to charge me the extra for them to do so.

3) When you come back to the ship, if there are alot of people in the terminal, find one of the Princess workers and tell them you are "in-transit" and they should take you to the area the crew uses to get on the ship. DON'T wait in a long line! We found a gentleman outside having a break and he took us right to the security guy to get in. He checked our picture ID and new card and let us thru.

Hope this helps.

Have a great trip,

Burtie

[burtie]

Joe,

The Avis office is about 2-3 blocks from the ship. We got there probably about 9:20 AM with a goal of making the tunnel at 10:00 AM. There were 6 or 7 people in front of us and only one young gal doing the paperwork. Once it was my turn, it took her about 5 minutes to get my info done. Have your reservation form, your drivers lisc, and your credit card ready. She will also ask for your cell number. We got out of there about 10:05 AM, loaded the car, and made the tunnel with a little extra time. The tunnel is open for 15 minutes, from the top of the hour leaving Whittier.

The weather was great on the North bound trip and sucked on the South bound part with lots of rain and fog! I think it was close to 75 on Saturday in Whittier and 70 the day before in College Fjord. On the north bound trip, we spent most of the time outside on deck 7, and on the south bound we spent most of the time on 14 inside.

Couple of warnings--

1) Stay away from the Casino. It is the tightest one I have ever been in. I did not talk to anyone that won anything. I played alot the 1st week and none the 2nd.

2) The second formal night the dinner menu includes lobster tail & prawns and beef wellington. I love beef wellington, but this was the worst I have ever been served, so watch out! If you enjoy prime rib, it is served the first night (Saturday) and according to my sopuse it was wonderful. Best ever!!! Have a GREAT trip! Burtie