Ferry_Watcher

Since the Alaska season hasn't opened yet for Celebrity, there isn't a definite answer. However, Celebrity passengers are usually welcomed to enter the terminal as they arrive at Pier 91. A large percentage of Celebrity passengers have completed their online check-in, which means that they can be quickly checked-in by agents using the handheld tablets. Terminal doors should be opened around 10-10:15 AM, and boarding usually starts 11-ish, or a bit after. The first boarding group will be the Retreat Guests, then the ADA folks. Last season the first 200 or so passengers received a 'boarding group ticket' which was used to meter the flow of passengers. After that it was a general line, then just open boarding. Celebrity embarkation usually flows pretty evenly (except if there is a delay in the ship being ready to receive passengers). Just make sure that when you arrive at Pier 91, that you head towards the side of the terminal building that the Edge is moored at, and don't get into the Ovation OTS line.

Some cruise lines will keep track of what you owe and you will be asked to acknowledge that you were informed of the outstanding debt at the check-in counter before you are embarked on your next cruise with the same cruise line.

Assuming that you are a US citizen, just make sure you are traveling with your passport book.

Not used with the equipment that we have in the terminal. All the equipment that we use actually belongs to the cruise lines, and comes off the ship every embarkation morning, and returns to the ship before the ship sails away. Eighty something precent (80+%) of passengers sailing from US homeports are American, so there are relatively few visas (from the other nationalities) that we need to deal with. For the Alaska cruise market, it's Canadian Visas that we are looking for, and double checking that these passengers also have their American Visa in their passport. We get a print out every morning letting us know how many passengers, what nationalities, etc. Passengers who need to show the required visas are flagged within the system, and directed to counter agents. It is all dealt with day of the cruise. The downside is that if someone needs a Canadian Visa to board a cruise ship with a port-of-call in Canada, and they don't have one, sadly they find out at check-in when they are denied boarding.

The title made me smile. : )

A good Visa information site for US Citizens planning to travel abroad. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel.html

I work in Seattle checking in folks for their Alaska cruises. Using the official Royal Consent for Minor travel form is the best and easiest option. Have the parents fill it out, and sign in front of a notary. It will make check-in that much easier for all of you.

We also were assigned a PCC. She was able to get us the AARP OBC on both our booked cruises, so that was wonderful. I chatted with her while she was doing some research for me, and I found out that she has worked for HAL for decades, lived in the Seattle area (use to work at the HAL headquarters before the pandemic), and was recently recognized at a HAL company event for her exceptional service. (This recognition had just happened, so she was still basking in the joy of it, but was still shy/modest about it). While I usually do my own bookings, I/we decided to use her services going forward. I also found out that it helps the PCC even more if they are the ones who book the cruise at the time of the deposit.

Some special recognition on board during the Captain's Meet, with maybe a bottle of champagne or flowers. In Seattle (at least a few years ago when it got started), a special escort thru check-in from someone from Seattle's HAL headquarters, but I doubt that happens now.

When we sailed out of Vancouver last May '23, we had stayed at the Pan Pacific and decided to just head down early to start the boarding process. We had no priority status and the terminal wasn't busy yet. After going thru the check-in, CBP, and security screening, it was still early and we were directed to a waiting area. The directional agents showed us to the 'next available row, where we told to take take the next empty seat until that row was filled, and then the next row was filled, and so on. When a passenger who had CO, or was in a suite, or had a higher (*) status, then those passengers were sent to a seating area closer towards the gangway. When it came time for the actual boarding, the passengers seared in the 'priority / ADA seating were sent on first, then the directional staff would stand near a row of passengers, allow them to head towards the gangway, then have then row after them stand then walk towards the ship. It's kinda' like when you are exiting a church after a wedding or funereal and the ushers are having each row stand and leave in an orderly fashion. The process in Vancouver is all very orderly and calm. It's isn't necessarily fast, but it is orderly.

A good first place to start looking for Visa info for US citizens traveling internationally. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel.html

Terminal doors will open around 10 AM, sometimes a bit sooner. As @Aquahound said, boarding can begin as early as 10:30 -10:45 AM. Be sure to do your online check-in for ease of check-in. The Quantum does sail close to capacity 4,900+, so even though it's the only ship at the pier, it will be busy with lines. It does go fairly quickly.

We were on a cruise ship early last May '23 out of Vancouver, BC and it was unseasonable warm. I really regretted not having at least one pair of capris and a short sleeve shirt with me. Also, sometimes we (Seattle) have very cold mornings due to Marine Layer, which is a weather inversion that traps cold air. There has been more than a few mornings when Pier 91 is so cold due to this marine air layer. You may see pier side staff all layered up, including hats and gloves. It's usually gone by 10-10:30 AM, but until then, it is chilly.

We did the TP Seattle - Japan, then 14 day circling Japan Oct '23 on the Westerdam. Loved it.

Wow - so sorry this happened to you.

Denied passengers experience an accelerated passage thru the Stages of Grief: Denial; Anger; Bargaining; Depression; & Acceptance It depends on the denial circumstances. If it is a US born citizen who showed up without documents for a closed loop cruise, there is still a real possibility that they can sail, if they get a copy of their US issued birth certificate.. These folks will either have hours to fix the situation (get their US BC), or deal with the possibility that they may not sail, giving them time to absorb the situation, and move thru the stages of grief. If it is a foreign national who needs a Canadian Visa to board a ship to Alaska, and doesn't have one, then it is a full stop denial. Sadly, there is no exceptions, or options for these people. It is often times these people who will verbally lash out, usually out of frustration, that they didn't know about the visa requirement. We have seen it before, we ae sympathetic, but it still isn't fun to be yelled at, or cursed at. It happens daily, and every effort is made to calm the situation. It's mostly the Documentation Team members who take the brunt of the lashing out, and if it gets too difficult, they can request security assistance. The denial situation can intensify because, not only has the passenger been denied, but they are usually sitting in the waiting area while their luggage is being looked for on the ship, so it can be returned back to the passenger. This can take hours, and while most denied passengers are calm, others can be very loud with their frustration.

Agree with my friend @julia, that walking off with your luggage, having TSA pre check, or registering for Spot Saver are extra measures that you can do to make your passage thru a very busy SeaTac Airport less stressful. Not sure if your 11:40 AM flight qualifies for Port Valet, but you might check that as another option. https://www.portseattle.org/SEAspotsaver https://visitseattle.org/things-to-do/cruise-information/port-valet/

@puckliny, please be sure to keep us updated.

You are correct that people must do their own due diligence. If a representative from a cruise line gave inaccurate information to a booked passenger, and this passenger showed up without the correct documents, it would not matter what the cruise line rep had said (even if the rep put it in an email). If that passenger didn't have the required documents, then they would be denied boarding. Let me give you an example: During the restart of the post pandemic Alaska season (July 2021), Canada was refusing to allow the typical large cruise ship to visit/stop at Canadian ports. And as you know. all these ships have to stop at a foreign port (US law). But, to save tourism in Alaska, and to help save the cruise industry, the US Senate voted to suspend that required foreign stop. So now we had ships allowed to sail from Seattle to Alaska without stopping in Canada. However, passengers still needed their passports or birth certificates. But, many passengers were arriving at the pier without these documents, having been told they didn't need them because the ship wasn't going to Canada. It didn't matter that they were given incorrect information - they still needed the proof of citizenship documents. Many were able to get copies of their US gov't issued birth certificates sent to the port, but if they couldn't, they were denied boarding. No doubt they received a refund from the cruise line - especially if the incorrect info came from a cruise rep, but they didn't sail. I remember that 2021 season (especially early in the season) as the worst year for document issues - so many people arrived without passports and/or their birth certificates. It was a mess.

We have lots of training just before the cruise season starts. In fact, we will have two days of training this week. We are taught not to guess about the use of a document, and encouraged to ask about the validity of a document. If we make a mistake, then it could lead to a passenger being disembarked before their cruise was to end. Luckily, with the check-in systems, there are all sorts of checks and balance measures to catch any mistakes (or questionable situations) before the ship sails. For the end of the season repositioning cruises, due to the various document requirements, there is special training for those days, and the Brand will send support staff from corporate to help support the check-in team. Everything has to be done correctly, and by the book.

Generally, yes. For example, this year the Canadian gov't has decided that all Mexican passport holders now need a Canadian visa to enter Canada (or to sail on ships that will enter a Canadian port-of-call). The US gov't is more relaxed about Mexican passport holders - in prior years, these these folks just need their Mexican passport, and either a simple visitor visa and/or a Border Crossing Card, or just a SENTRI card (like a NEXUS trusted traveler card) in order to board a closed loop Alaska bound ship. Now, because of the new Canadian requirements, if we have a Mexican passport holder standing in front of us at check-in, and if that passport doesn't have the now required Canadian visa, then that Mexican passport holder will be denied boarding. Last season (2023) there was no requirement, but this year they need the Canadian visa, and we have to follow the Canadian requirements.

In the closed loop Seattle - Alaska market, we have never denied boarding to a passenger that presented a passport that was expiring in less than 6 months from the day of embarkation. In fact, as long as the passport is still valid on the day the passenger disembarks the ship, we will accept it (closed loop). I personally have embarked a passenger whose passport expired the day after their cruise ended without any problems. Now, for other types of cruises like the end of the season repositioning cruises that leave Seattle and sail off to Japan or Australia, there is a entirely different set of travel documents requirements - including having at least 6 months remaining on your passport from the date that the cruise is scheduled to end. In these cases, we follow the requirements for the various countries that the ship will visit or end up in.

It affects the booking passengers - doesn't matter if the passenger is American, or any other nationality. There is no loophole around it.

You still need your card to swiped/scanned leave the ship during port-of-calls. Also, some passengers, like children and some portion of the adult passengers either don't have a smart phone, don't want to use their phones, or unable to use a phone (true elderly, etc) As for lanyards, from my observation, Lanyards users are in the minority - post-pandemic.

Like my friend, @CruiserBruce said, Carnival sails from Pier 91. The Spirit will be the only ship at the Pier. Please be sure to have a paper copy of your boarding pass for each member of your traveling party, and have your passport or birth certificate ready to show before you enter the terminal building. There will be a document check point close to where you will be dropping off your luggage. You will first drop off your luggage (or hand it off to a porter - your choice), then you will be in a line along the passenger drop off area (regardless of any type of 'priority' status).Each passenger should have their own passport (or birth certificate) & boarding pass in hand at this point. It is that this point you will do a 'show & go' of your passport or birth certificate, as well as showing your boarding pass. You will then enter the terminal building, and if you have priority status, you will be directed to that line. Assuming that you have completely done your online preregistration, and you have registered a credit card, you should be able to be fully and quickly embarked by an agent holding a tablet. If anything is missing from your online registration, you will be sent to a Counter Agent. After seeing the tablet agents, you will go up the escalator (or elevator), and then pass thru the Security Screening. The ship usually will begin boarding anytime between 11 AM - noon, and usually by 12;30 PM it open boarding. Carnival has not allowed fresh flowers to be brought onboard, so avoid bringing any flowers (even those lovely bouquets from Pike Place Market). Carnival does not allow any drinks in plastic bottle (soda or water), so it you plan to bring any, make sure it is in cans or cartons. Also, Carnival sends the longshore porters home at 2 PM sharp, so if you arrive at 2:01 PM or after, expect to have to carry your own luggage on to the ship. Have a great cruise!