newbrunswicker

We boarded the Grand Princess on June 5th and luggage drop off was on the street level on the left side of Canada Place. There were lots of people holding signs telling you where to go for luggage drop off.

This is our experience on boarding the Grand Princess on June 5th. We received an email 2 days before boarding we were notified that the ship will undergo a routine Port State Inspection upon arrival into Vancouver and that boarding would not start until 12:30. We took the Sky Train from our hotel near the airport at 11:30 and got to Canada Place at 12:15. There were 2 ships in that day with the Zaandam being the other. All cruise ship passengers were directed to the left side street level for luggage drop-off. We then headed downstairs where there were signs for each cruise ship. We were in the Blue Lane because we had to pick up our medallions. We walked right up to the counter, collected medallions and headed through security. After that we went through Customs. They scanned our faces, (passports didn’t have to be shown) and we were off to the ship. We were on the ship by 12:40. Disembarkation was even simpler. We chose a late time as our flight home wasn’t until 11:30. We picked up our luggage, handed over our declaration form and off we went. Time picking up luggage until on the street was 2 minutes. A little info for those wishing to leave luggage at the Pan Pacific if you have a late flight home. They will check bags for $5 each if picking up by 3 PM. If picking up after 3 it will be $10 per bag. Hope this info helps.

This is our experience on boarding the Grand Princess on June 5th. We received an email 2 days before boarding we were notified that the ship will undergo a routine Port State Inspection upon arrival into Vancouver and that boarding would not start until 12:30. We took the Sky Train from our hotel near the airport at 11:30 and got to Canada Place at 12:15. There were 2 ships in that day with the Zaandam being the other. All cruise ship passengers were directed to the left side street level for luggage drop-off. We then headed downstairs where there were signs for each cruise ship. We were in the Blue Lane because we had to pick up our medallions. We walked right up to the counter, collected medallions and headed through security. After that we went through Customs. They scanned our faces, (passports didn’t have to be shown) and we were off to the ship. We were on the ship by 12:40. Disembarkation was even simpler. We chose a late time as our flight home wasn’t until 11:30. We picked up our luggage, handed over our declaration form and off we went. Time picking up luggage until on the street was 2 minutes. A little info for those wishing to leave luggage at the Pan Pacific Hotel if you have a late flight home. They will check bags for $5 each if picking up by 3 PM. If picking up after 3 it will be $10 per bag. Hope this info helps.

We did this cruise on the Idi in November 2022 and stayed at the Pullman Montparnasse. It was a beautiful hotel across the street from the train station.

We are just recently off Viking Idi and stayed in cabin 100, first on the right. We had no problem with noise from the reception area. It was a great location.

We disembarked on Sept 2nd and it was credited to our MasterCard on the 17th. I thought it would come as a cheque in about 6 weeks but they must have changed that procedure.

Hi, recently off the Sky Princess to Norway. Being Canadian, purchase of on board credits was offered at a rate of 20%. I purchased the maximum allowed and after purchasing excursions and drinks had a fair amount of OBC left. On my last 3 Princess cruises the left over OBC was sent by cheque in about 6 weeks and was in US funds. I use this refund as I spend 3 months in the US in the winter. This time the refund was credited to the Mastercard it was purchased on. It came through in about 2 weeks. It was converted at the current exchange rate although the bank would take their usual 2.5%. Is this a change in procedure as it has been 3 years since sailing on Princess.

We too just did a Christmas Market cruise on Monarch Queen in December. This is our 3rd river cruise with Gate 1 and all were excellent. I haven't cruised any other river cruise lines so not able to compare but I have found level of service to be on a par with Celebrity or Princess for ocean cruises. As Honey-Jan said, only free wine or beer at supper but your glass never goes empty.

Glad to hear POD49, we have a Christmas Market cruise booked for Dec 13th. It was supposed to be on the Monarch Empress but was changed to the River Voyager. It looks like it is a fairly modern ship.