Boarding time?

[SLSD]

2 hours ago, whystayhome said:

During last summer's SAS strike and lunacy in all European airports [but thanks to a daredevil taxi driver who drove 60 MPH through the city streets] we arrived at the dock in Copenhagen at 4:55 with our luggage.  Sailaway was at 5:00. Staff flagged our taxi down, rushed us through check-in, and helped us wheel our luggage to our cabin.  I NEVER want to go through that again.

 

Linda

That sounds harrowing...

[whystayhome]

I was approaching a state of absolute hysteria. Another passenger arrived at the dock a little after us without his luggage.  Not sure when he finally got it.  One woman on board didn’t have her luggage for 32 days.  As everyone knows, European airports were rather zooish last summer.

Normally, we don’t fly in the day of embarkation, but we had spent time in Copenhagen before. We initially booked a nonstop flight through Seabourn that was arriving 7AM so we thought we’d be OK.  And then SAS went on strike and our substituted US-Paris flight was delayed so we missed our connection and then the Paris-CPH flight we were rebooked on was delayed, and there were 10,000 unclaimed suitcases in Copenhagen…

 

This time around, we are flying into London 2 days before we get on the ship in Dover for 36 days of relaxation and over-indulgence on the Quest.

 

l

Linda

 

[bitob]

We boarded yesterday

our boarding time was 2:40

we arrived at 1 and got right on

[Vineyard View]

Since we are sailing out of ‘Venice and need to take a bus to Fusima port, I wonder if there will be time protocols in place on when you can catch the bus. 

[cruisinsince75]

On 5/2/2023 at 9:07 AM, Vineyard View said:

Since we are sailing out of ‘Venice and need to take a bus to Fusima port, I wonder if there will be time protocols in place on when you can catch the bus. 

Are you doing Seabourn Air with transfers?

[Vineyard View]

6 hours ago, cruisinsince75 said:

Are you doing Seabourn Air with transfers?

We are not. Going into Venice several days prior. Our hotel will arrange transport for us to the old cruise terminal. I am hoping that soon we will know, via Source, what time to be there. According to previous communication that should be  available this Saturday, 14 days prior. 
We are also hoping to take the bus back to Venice morning of post cruise - with permission to park our bags at the hotel we stay at pre cruise, to spend the last day in Venice before taking the vaporetto to the airport later that day, then transfer to our hotel nearby. Our flight is at 6a the following morning. 

Edited May 11, 2023 by Vineyard View

[Techno123]

4 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

- with permission to park our bags at the hotel we stay at pre cruise, to spend the last day in Venice before taking the vaporetto to the airport later that day, then transfer to our hotel nearby. Our flight is at 6a the following morning. 

Have you thought about taking your bags straight to the hotel you are staying at overnight then going back into Venice on the Vaporetto? It would save you having to lug your cases with you at the end of a long day 😁

[Vineyard View]

6 hours ago, Techno123 said:

Have you thought about taking your bags straight to the hotel you are staying at overnight then going back into Venice on the Vaporetto? It would save you having to lug your cases with you at the end of a long day 😁

I have thought about that. I think that I need to find out if Seabourn will transfer us to the airport after we disembark even though we did not purchase airfare through them. Then we could catch a Marriott Courtyard shuttle to them, return to the airport and use the vaporetto round trip for the day.  it seems like that would eat up quite a bit of time though. I am sure open to any thoughts and suggestions 

[cruisinsince75]

12 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

We are not. Going into Venice several days prior. Our hotel will arrange transport for us to the old cruise terminal. I am hoping that soon we will know, via Source, what time to be there. According to previous communication that should be  available this Saturday, 14 days prior. 
We are also hoping to take the bus back to Venice morning of post cruise - with permission to park our bags at the hotel we stay at pre cruise, to spend the last day in Venice before taking the vaporetto to the airport later that day, then transfer to our hotel nearby. Our flight is at 6a the following morning. 

What a pain to have to check in at the old terminal and then be bussed to Fusina and back post cruise.  

 

Venice is lovely!  Enjoy your trip!

[Vineyard View]

I absolutely agree that it’s a pain, but a non optional pain to sail from Venice. I am just happy that it is not 2+ hours away as are many cruises. We are so looking forward to visiting Venice again! 

[Techno123]

18 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

I have thought about that. I think that I need to find out if Seabourn will transfer us to the airport after we disembark even though we did not purchase airfare through them. Then we could catch a Marriott Courtyard shuttle to them, return to the airport and use the vaporetto round trip for the day.  it seems like that would eat up quite a bit of time though. I am sure open to any thoughts and suggestions 

From memory you can pay for the transfer but it may be cheaper to get a taxi to your airport hotel - worth checking with them though. My thought was, wherever you end up in Venice on that last day, you will have to traipse back to your original hotel to pick up your luggage and then take it onto the Vaporetto which can be crowded - also, does the Marriot shuttle pick up from the dock or the airport? There is a moving walkway between the two but it is quite long, especially with cases.

 

We have done it both ways - car from airport to the cruise terminal when cruising and Vaporetto when staying in Venice (no cruise involved 😁)

[Vineyard View]

Thank you for this informative. I will reach out to Marriott and see what I can find out. I think disembarking at 0800 or whenever that time is, and spending the day at the Marriott Courtyard until out 0600 departure the next day is very unattractive sounding. So all your input is very helpful in trying to figure this out. 

[Techno123]

5 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

Thank you for this informative. I will reach out to Marriott and see what I can find out. I think disembarking at 0800 or whenever that time is, and spending the day at the Marriott Courtyard until out 0600 departure the next day is very unattractive sounding. So all your input is very helpful in trying to figure this out. 

You definitely want to spend that last day in Venice not in a hotel 😁. As you will have probably done all the 'sites' I found it was lovely to just wander and see where all the little lanes take you (usually to a dead end facing the canal 😂).
 

Our only scary moment doing this was walking back from a meal on the far side of the island from the Grand Canal, we came along a walkway attached to the walls and found ourselves near to the Arsenale late at night - there were quite a lot of homeless people in that area and the rustling was reminiscent of I Am Legend - a Vaporetto driver saw us standing at the stop and came to pick us up even though he shouldn't have stopped there. We had a thorough telling off in English and Italian for being in that area at that time of night 😱

[MBP&O2/O]

Good thread on faecesbook earlier ... 2 to 3 hr queues to board Odyssey in Vancouver. Most of the 'blame' is being attributed to slow progress at American immigration .... also in port were two other ships with 9000+ pax to board, all at the same time. Hoping they get a touch more organised, if that was the cause, as the AK season progresses.

[Vineyard View]

We will have four nights in Venice pre cruise and can’t wait to be back. It’s been a long time. Thinking this through after your good advice seems like we should take a taxi to the hotel  after we are bussed to the cruise terminal. Then either take shuttle to airport and vaporetto back to Venice or taxi back to Venice. I think at the end of the day we then vaporetto back again?  This just will eat up a lot of time, but we do not want to spend the day at the hotel with nothing to do. 

[Techno123]

1 hour ago, Vineyard View said:

We will have four nights in Venice pre cruise and can’t wait to be back. It’s been a long time. Thinking this through after your good advice seems like we should take a taxi to the hotel  after we are bussed to the cruise terminal. Then either take shuttle to airport and vaporetto back to Venice or taxi back to Venice. I think at the end of the day we then vaporetto back again?  This just will eat up a lot of time, but we do not want to spend the day at the hotel with nothing to do. 

Have you done Murano? that could be a possibility if not - 29 minutes from the airport dock according to the Alliaguna timetable 😁

[nancygp]

3 hours ago, MBP&O2/O said:

Good thread on faecesbook earlier ... 2 to 3 hr queues to board Odyssey in Vancouver. Most of the 'blame' is being attributed to slow progress at American immigration .... also in port were two other ships with 9000+ pax to board, all at the same time. Hoping they get a touch more organised, if that was the cause, as the AK season progresses.

The blame is solely attributed to American immigration as there were over 7,000 passenger on the other 2 ships.  Unfortunately, this is nothing new at the port of Vancouver and the process is totally dependent on the number of passengers embarking.  Fortunately, the largest ship in port yesterday won’t be there often yet there are many others in the 2000 plus another 1,000 or 2 that embark and disembark in Vancouver.  This is the first full Alaska season since the pandemic that Canada is fully open with no Covid restrictions…Alaska cruises are beyond 2019 volumes.  I will be on the odyssey in late July and there’s only one their ship embarking and disembarking while I’m there.  Luckily, that ship only holds around 2,100 passengers! 🤞😱😁. Hopefully, things will be better as the season progresses.

 

you can check the port of Vancouver website for the 2023 calendar.

 

Nancy

[MBP&O2/O]

I have been monitoring the schedule .... we are going in August 

We have Radiance of the Seas .... 2466 pax

Crown Princess ... 3080 pax

So unless someone pulls their finger out I am expecting carnage. Will try to get there early and hope for the best but plan for the worst ....  🙄🤪🤞😵‍💫

[nancygp]

9 minutes ago, MBP&O2/O said:

I have been monitoring the schedule .... we are going in August 

We have Radiance of the Seas .... 2466 pax

Crown Princess ... 3080 pax

So unless someone pulls their finger out I am expecting carnage. Will try to get there early and hope for the best but plan for the worst ....  🙄🤪🤞😵‍💫

Yikes!   Do get there early if you can.

 

as we are staying in Vancouver several days prior to embarkation day, we too will get there early…this is what we did several time on crystal prior to the pandemic…last time was in 2019

[Vineyard View]

I read an article last week. Cannot remember, the source but a good travel one. It suggested that with bookings even higher this travel season than last, and staffing not completely back up to even pre C days, that it’s fair to anticipate some real craziness again this year. Add in the strikes in the EU and pilot strikes in the US and it’s not a very pretty picture. 
I used to travel regularly to Vancouver on business. This is way before C. Their immigration then was often a nightmare. Loved working there, but didn’t like that piece. 

[Vineyard View]

9 hours ago, Techno123 said:

Have you done Murano? that could be a possibility if not - 29 minutes from the airport dock according to the Alliaguna timetable 😁

We have. We do want to go back. Our hotel provides a free boat there. 
‘we have not been to Burano though. We loved the needlework in Croatia last time and not sure major differences- - also not sure we need more! ha!

Edited May 13, 2023 by Vineyard View

[lincslady]

Burano is IMO more interesting and prettier to wander around than Murano.  The lace and needlework is lovely though pricey, and I am a bit cynical as to whether it is all produced there.  But well worth looking at.

[Vineyard View]

10 hours ago, lincslady said:

Burano is IMO more interesting and prettier to wander around than Murano.  The lace and needlework is lovely though pricey, and I am a bit cynical as to whether it is all produced there.  But well worth looking at.

Thank you for this observation. I am really not planning on buying any…..but then that isn’t how it always goes! Is this an all day type of place?  I will take a further look. I wasn’t really impressed with how pretty Mirano was, but I did find some beautiful items there years ago. I am looking for a special piece this time, but not sure Murano is the best place to buy from a price standpoint. 
It does sound like making the trek to the hotel just after disembarking though is the smart play. Then returning to Venice, Burano, or some other place someone might suggest for the day. 

[cruiseej]

Burano is good for a few hours, perhaps half a day if you have lunch there, but probably not all day in my opinion. In Murano, on different trips we've been to different glass factories, and they are all different — so unless you're not excited by Murano glass or have had your fill, re-visiting Murano could fill a few hours. (On our last trip, we were not looking to buy anything, but became attached to one glassblower's work; we debated whether to spend the money for a piece we liked, and then it turned out that the artist, a master glass sculptor, was stopping by — so we met him and had him create a custom piece for us. Great experience, and we haven't regretted the purchase!)

[Vineyard View]

We enjoyed Murano as well and are planning on going there one of the days pre cruise. The hotel we are staying at provides transportation there. It most certainly can be a great day. What a good memory you brought home to cherish!  It will likely be a day that we find treasures to take home as well. It was the last time. And a perfect way to start holiday shopping early! 
‘thank you for your input and insights. Much appreciated.