Princess and Canada Place

[ggprincess2004]

We just returned from a b2b on the Grand out of Vancouver. We took the Princess transfer from SeaTac up to the pier in Vancouver, and then back from Vancouver to SeaTac at the end of our cruises, yesterday.

 

Canada Place simply is not adequate to handle two cruise ships at a time. Fellow cruisers who were able to board early when embarking out of Vancouver noted they had no difficulty and were through the process easily before 11 am, but I do not know how early they could actually board - I imagine shortly thereafter. We arrived about 1 and the lines were horrid. We had to clear US ICE of course, so that it wasn't necessary at our first port call, Ketchikan (which I imagine would have been about impossible). It took 75 minutes and we had a little boost due to using canes, to clear the ICE lines. Once we made it through that, Princess was quick, we were on board in less than 3 minutes, yup, less than 3 minutes from when we set eyes on the lovely Princess check in area. Could have been less than a minute, it was wonderfully speedy and efficient.

 

When we disembarked yesterday it could best be described as disorganized chaos. Someone mistakenly took a piece of luggage that belonged to a person in our little group, so we had to get that bit of paperwork done. We were to disembark at 8:10 which morphed into about 8:35 which is no big deal at all. Heavens, looking back, if they had waited to call us until 9:15 or later it would have been great. Figuring out which lines (that is a generous characterization) were for which locations was nearly impossible - my advice is keep asking until you are sure you are in the right place - and then nothing moved for a long, long time. Due to having canes (not wheelchair assist, just canes) we got moved to a little preboard spot for our transfer bus and were on by about 9:25 which was minutes after our bus actually pulled in to a parking space. We did not depart until 10:18, as they were waiting for 5 people who were never found. No wonder - chaos reigned. We were finally released to leave. Trip down was fine, situation at SeaTac was great.

 

 

I do not know what can be done about the situation at Canada Place, I suppose it is a different experience if you can get there earlier in the morning to embark, and can use a taxi or other private method to get out of there......I would highly recommend those choices.

 

And about that piece of luggage....about 15 minutes before we arrived at SeaTac No. 1 son got a phone call from someone who was at SeaTac and discovered she had his suitcase, did he have hers? No - he didn't pick up a "substitute" bag just because his was missing. Anyway, we suggested she leave that bag at the Princess/Holland America desk, which she did, and let them know she was now missing a bag. Got his with no problem and were on our way without delay. Please do put a cell phone number on that baggage tag...they really do help keep you and your luggage close together.

Edited June 7, 2015 by ggprincess2004

[Colo Cruiser]

Wow! Sorry to hear this. :(

[Putterdude]

Sorry you had such a poor experience at Canada Place, what you describe is quite common in the early part of the season with new hires and everyone getting used of their jobs. One of the big issues at Canada Place is clearing your US CPB and if they don't provide the manpower which they often don't then there is little that Canada Place or Princess can do. By the way Canada Place will be handling up to 3 ships this season as Balantyne has been closed, however the 3rd ship will be cleared from another level.

 

As for your disembarkation the fact that someone took a piece of your luggage is not the fault of Canada Place. I am just happy that you got it back. As for the chaos I have never found in any worse than that at Port Everglades as an example.

 

That all said I know after the experience you had it is easy to blame Canada Place.

[gizmodog]

How was your cruise on the Grand, did you enjoy the ship? So many negative reviews on her, hoping to hear a good one

[ggprincess2004]

Sorry you had such a poor experience at Canada Place, what you describe is quite common in the early part of the season with new hires and everyone getting used of their jobs. One of the big issues at Canada Place is clearing your US CPB and if they don't provide the manpower which they often don't then there is little that Canada Place or Princess can do. By the way Canada Place will be handling up to 3 ships this season as Balantyne has been closed, however the 3rd ship will be cleared from another level.

 

As for your disembarkation the fact that someone took a piece of your luggage is not the fault of Canada Place. I am just happy that you got it back. As for the chaos I have never found in any worse than that at Port Everglades as an example.

 

That all said I know after the experience you had it is easy to blame Canada Place.

 

Oh, most definitely not blaming Canada Place for the luggage mishap. Totally the fault of the person who failed to make sure a bag that looked a lot like hers really was hers. The rest - I think it was far worse than Port Everglades which usually is a great experience, but then I will say we get there early and enjoy the elite boarding experience. I don't think disembarkation at Port Everglades has ever looked this completely messy....I know it can be bad with not enough ICE agents, but not like this, no way. Just a complete sea of people who had no idea where they were supposed to be.

 

And I really didn't mean to sound like I was "blaming" Canada Place, just really a heads up on the situation. I do hope it gets better as the season goes on, but they just don't have the room to handle that many people easily.

Edited June 7, 2015 by ggprincess2004

[ggprincess2004]

How was your cruise on the Grand, did you enjoy the ship? So many negative reviews on her, hoping to hear a good one

 

We happen to have a soft spot for the Grand as we were married on her in 2004. That being said, don' t believe the horror stories. We had a marvelous time, she is in good shape, the crew is terrific, our adult kids had a problem in F305 with an overflowing toilet, which was fixed pretty promptly, other than that not a thing wrong. Do not hesitate to sail her. :D

[bagney]

Ginger,

 

Sorry to hear about the chaos at Canada Place - I am sure it was frustrating! On a positive note, it was wonderful meeting you and your family on the first segment of your b2b and thanks again for organizing our meet and greet. I will gladly echo your praises for the Grand Princess and was concerned about the horror stories I read here on CC. We didn't notice any mold/mildew odors and no leaking pipes or buckets! Ship appeared to be in great shape. They did clean our windows in our window suite prior to Glacier Bay which I was happy with. Wonderful staff and crew throughout the ship! Hopefully our paths will cross again in the future Ginger - say hi to your family from Brian & Gary!

Edited June 7, 2015 by bagney

[Urban trekker]

Wonder how long it would take to clear 2600 people in Ketchikan - probably more than 75 minutes - is it really Canada Place's fault if the DHS doesn't supply enough personnel to clear two ships - weren't the new automated passport reading machines functioning - that's suppose to help speed up the clearance. There are I believe 16 kiosks station for DHS - anyone know how many were actually manned.

 

Other than that it appears that you had a great cruise - I sailed on her a couple of times - most recent just before here wet dry dock here in Vancouver.

 

Did you notice any improvement - new carpets in the buffet areas etc.

 

Cheers!

 

Dennis

[kruisey]

We all had a bad experience in FLL this last fall well over two hours late getting off the ship for a curtailed on shore excursion,again in Houston.

So join "The Club' you are not alone.

These things happen and there is nothing we can do about it...:)

[ggprincess2004]

Wonder how long it would take to clear 2600 people in Ketchikan - probably more than 75 minutes - is it really Canada Place's fault if the DHS doesn't supply enough personnel to clear two ships - weren't the new automated passport reading machines functioning - that's suppose to help speed up the clearance. There are I believe 16 kiosks station for DHS - anyone know how many were actually manned.

 

Other than that it appears that you had a great cruise - I sailed on her a couple of times - most recent just before here wet dry dock here in Vancouver.

 

Did you notice any improvement - new carpets in the buffet areas etc.

 

Cheers!

 

Dennis

 

 

I agree, clearing two ships, let alone more would be a nightmare in Ketchikan, which is certainly why they do it in Vancouver. The automated passport things were in place, I am not sure they saved any time...there were helpers around, but not one per machine, more like one per four machines. There were a lot in operation. It is just that trying to board two ships the same day does stretch their resources badly.

 

Mainly, I just want people to be aware of the situation, because if anyone has a problem with standing in line for a couple of hours, it does become an issue. Also, if some arrive expecting to be able to have lunch within an hour or so of arriving at the pier, those expectations may need to be adjusted. While that might be an inconvenience for some, it may be a health problem for others. Whether young or old, one can have difficulties, it is best to be prepared and be aware. Could be rough on families with children, too. Most of the kids there were quite well behaved.....but I sure would not have wanted to have young children to entertain through that process.

[ggprincess2004]

We all had a bad experience in FLL this last fall well over two hours late getting off the ship for a curtailed on shore excursion,again in Houston.

So join "The Club' you are not alone.

These things happen and there is nothing we can do about it...:)

 

Yes, it can be nasty in FLL when ICE doesn't have enough staffing to handle things. The issue with disembarkation had nothing to do with clearing Canadian customs - that was smooth as silk. It had everything to do with a whole lot of people in rather compressed spaces and not enough room to "sort" them effectively, the inablility to bring in all the transportation that was needed in the appropriate timeframe - the logistics problems caused by insufficient space.

[ggprincess2004]

Ginger,

 

Sorry to hear about the chaos at Canada Place - I am sure it was frustrating! On a positive note, it was wonderful meeting you and your family on the first segment of your b2b and thanks again for organizing our meet and greet. I will gladly echo your praises for the Grand Princess and was concerned about the horror stories I read here on CC. We didn't notice any mold/mildew odors and no leaking pipes or buckets! Ship appeared to be in great shape. They did clean our windows in our window suite prior to Glacier Bay which I was happy with. Wonderful staff and crew throughout the ship! Hopefully our paths will cross again in the future Ginger - say hi to your family from Brian & Gary!

 

Hi Brian and Gary,

We hope to sail with both of you again, as well. Hope your trip home was smooth. If you go back to our roll call, you should find my e-mail address so we can keep in touch.

All the best,

Ginger

[Goldenpaw]

We sailed out of Vancouver a month ago and had similar issues with embarkation, except the added confusion and crowd of a 3d ship boarding.

 

We sailed back into Canada Place a week later and it was just as described, except our ship was delayed leaving San Francisco and didn't pull into port until 2:00. We managed to get off only to have to wait because the luggage was still on the ship! We had to catch the Amtrak back to Seattle and discovered after arriving at the station that one suitcase was damaged.

[bellebaby]

We sailed out of Vancouver a month ago and had similar issues with embarkation, except the added confusion and crowd of a 3d ship boarding.

 

We sailed out of Vancouver on May 9th, three ships, and total chaos. No clear sense of direction from the port or Princess employees. Even though it was one of the first sailings of the year, there didn't appear to be a "plan" or any employee training.

 

B

[ceilidh1]

I thought I would try to offer a little insight into what exactly goes on at Canada Place during embark and disembark - I worked there for a number of years so can give you first hand knowledge!

 

Firstly, let's look at embark:

 

1.The first point of contact (and lines) comes at the security check - the area where you walk through the metal detectors. This typically opens around 10:30am-11:00am but can be delayed as late as 11:30am-12:00pm if a ship is late disembarking that morning. Bear in mind that some folks can arrive at the pier as early as 9-10am, thus starting a line up before the checkpoint has even opened. Once open, if it is fully manned, there are 5 machines that passengers pass through while carry on is xrayed. Think how many times you have been behind someone that walks through with keys in their pocket and has to go back, empty their pockets, walk back through...the lines start to build. This is also the first point where your boarding pass is looked at to make sure that you are actually sailing. How many times have you been behind someone that has to rummage in their bag to locate it...the lines continue to build. The other piece about this area that not many folks know about is that if there is a significant line up in the US CBP, security is required to halt screening people until the line is clear...even more lines build.

 

2. Once through security, you pass through to US CBP (if the ship has its first port in the US, passengers will be pre-cleared so that it does not have to be done at the first port of call). Typically, there are not enough officers to meet the number of passengers at the beginning of the shift - the main reason being that many are dispatched from the airport where they have been processing passengers that left the ship earlier in the morning! The other aspect that can cause huge hold ups at CBP is the number of passengers boarding that are neither US or Canadian citizens. These passengers take far longer to process and, when there is a significant number, take up many more officers - often resulting in US/Canadian citizens having to rely on 4-5 officers to process them. Bear in mind that on a day with 2 ships in port, there can be around 2000 passengers that are non US/Canadian

 

3. Once through the first two processes, the check in is usually pretty painless and fast and you can generally get straight on board. The exception, of course, comes if a ship has been late in disembarking - the ship staff make the call as to what time the ship begins boarding. If they are not ready, you don't go onboard. Period.

 

4. Which leads to disembark....I must say that unless you have been a part of the process of organizing disembark you would never appreciate how much time and planning go into making it happen. Admittedly, it doesn't always go smoothly and can resemble chaos...but nonetheless it is the most time consuming portion of the process for shoreside staff! I won't bore you with details of the number of times we need to communicate back and forth with ship staff regarding which colour tags should go where, or what flight times should come off when, etc...but it really is a very finely tuned process and all it takes is one little glitch to make the whole thing spiral into chaos. The rules from Canadian CBSA requires that no one leaves the ship unless they are either carrying all of their luggage, or their luggage is in the terminal ready to be collected. Since passengers are assigned different colour tags depending on their travel plans, this means that the longshoremen and the ship staff work together to take luggage off the ship in the order that passengers are called off. Sadly, things can happen and luggage may be delayed coming off or may come off in the wrong order for whatever reason and this can equal disaster! I recall times when luggage has come out at the wrong times and the passengers for that colour group weren't ready to disembark, so now we have a bunch of luggage taking up space with no one collecting it and other luggage waiting to come out with nowhere to put it....

 

5. Assuming you make it off the ship and collect your luggage without too many tears (as a passenger travelling through Canada Place I totally get why folks get upset as it really is not an ideal area to hunt down bags) you then head out of the terminal to your transportation. Many folks have transfers to the airport - arranging the number of buses and the timing of those buses is another almighty feat since there are only a limited number of bays and each bus needs to be filled in order to accommodate everyone. This means if 10 people are stuck looking for bags or just decided not to leave the ship just yet, the whole domino effect starts happening! That bus waits to be filled, the bay isn't clear for the next bus, the next bus is late, etc, etc, etc...

 

6. As of this year, there are no "Princess" staff at Canada Place (other than in the office). The shoreside staff now work for Destination North America and process passengers for Princess and Holland....

 

Hope this helps explain a few things! Much as I loved this job, it was quite honestly one of the most demanding things I have ever had to do and it really made me appreciate the coordination, effort, and sheer hard work that goes into getting a ship in and out of port. As a passenger I do find myself starting to get frustrated if there is a delay boarding or getting off the ship, but then I take a step back and remember that, in all likelihood, there was probably some minor little thing that set off a domino effect and probably was not the fault of the ship, the staff, the port, or any one particular thing or person!

[caribill]

We all had a bad experience in FLL this last fall well over two hours late getting off the ship for a curtailed on shore excursion,again in Houston.

So join "The Club' you are not alone.

These things happen and there is nothing we can do about it...:)

 

Was your problem in Houston due to lines at customs or because of a delayed arrival?

 

We have disembarked three times in Houston and each time there were 10 or more ICE booths open and the line to them never stopped moving. Usually less than five minutes from locating luggage to leaving the building.

[kruisey]

Was your problem in Houston due to lines at customs or because of a delayed arrival?

 

We have disembarked three times in Houston and each time there were 10 or more ICE booths open and the line to them never stopped moving. Usually less than five minutes from locating luggage to leaving the building.

 

It was very bad trying to dock the ship it was swaying like mad trying to get docked.That was part of the delay.The other reason they did not tell us but we had under an hour to see the Space Museum and had to miss the best of the tour before the coach took us to the airport.:( In FLL we only had under an hour at the Shopping Mall excursion due to major delay after docking.

Edited June 8, 2015 by kruisey

[Putterdude]

I thought I would try to offer a little insight into what exactly goes on at Canada Place during embark and disembark - I worked there for a number of years so can give you first hand knowledge!

 

 

Thanks for the great essay on what goes on at Canada Place, I am sure that everyone will enjoy reading it.

[Coral]

I thought I would try to offer a little insight into what exactly goes on at Canada Place during embark and disembark - I worked there for a number of years so can give you first hand knowledge!

 

 

Thank you for the insight!

[Colo Cruiser]

It was very bad trying to dock the ship it was swaying like mad trying to get docked.That was part of the delay.The other reason they did not tell us but we had under an hour to see the Space Museum and had to miss the best of the tour before the coach took us to the airport.:( In FLL we only had under an hour at the Shopping Mall excursion due to major delay after docking.

 

 

Isn't this about Vancouver? :(

[Colo Cruiser]

I thought I would try to offer a little insight into what exactly goes on at Canada Place during embark and disembark - I worked there for a number of years so can give you first hand knowledge!

 

Firstly, let's look at embark:

 

1.The first point of contact (and lines) comes at the security check - the area where you walk through the metal detectors. This typically opens around 10:30am-11:00am but can be delayed as late as 11:30am-12:00pm if a ship is late disembarking that morning. Bear in mind that some folks can arrive at the pier as early as 9-10am, thus starting a line up before the checkpoint has even opened. Once open, if it is fully manned, there are 5 machines that passengers pass through while carry on is xrayed. Think how many times you have been behind someone that walks through with keys in their pocket and has to go back, empty their pockets, walk back through...the lines start to build. This is also the first point where your boarding pass is looked at to make sure that you are actually sailing. How many times have you been behind someone that has to rummage in their bag to locate it...the lines continue to build. The other piece about this area that not many folks know about is that if there is a significant line up in the US CBP, security is required to halt screening people until the line is clear...even more lines build.

 

2. Once through security, you pass through to US CBP (if the ship has its first port in the US, passengers will be pre-cleared so that it does not have to be done at the first port of call). Typically, there are not enough officers to meet the number of passengers at the beginning of the shift - the main reason being that many are dispatched from the airport where they have been processing passengers that left the ship earlier in the morning! The other aspect that can cause huge hold ups at CBP is the number of passengers boarding that are neither US or Canadian citizens. These passengers take far longer to process and, when there is a significant number, take up many more officers - often resulting in US/Canadian citizens having to rely on 4-5 officers to process them. Bear in mind that on a day with 2 ships in port, there can be around 2000 passengers that are non US/Canadian

 

3. Once through the first two processes, the check in is usually pretty painless and fast and you can generally get straight on board. The exception, of course, comes if a ship has been late in disembarking - the ship staff make the call as to what time the ship begins boarding. If they are not ready, you don't go onboard. Period.

 

4. Which leads to disembark....I must say that unless you have been a part of the process of organizing disembark you would never appreciate how much time and planning go into making it happen. Admittedly, it doesn't always go smoothly and can resemble chaos...but nonetheless it is the most time consuming portion of the process for shoreside staff! I won't bore you with details of the number of times we need to communicate back and forth with ship staff regarding which colour tags should go where, or what flight times should come off when, etc...but it really is a very finely tuned process and all it takes is one little glitch to make the whole thing spiral into chaos. The rules from Canadian CBSA requires that no one leaves the ship unless they are either carrying all of their luggage, or their luggage is in the terminal ready to be collected. Since passengers are assigned different colour tags depending on their travel plans, this means that the longshoremen and the ship staff work together to take luggage off the ship in the order that passengers are called off. Sadly, things can happen and luggage may be delayed coming off or may come off in the wrong order for whatever reason and this can equal disaster! I recall times when luggage has come out at the wrong times and the passengers for that colour group weren't ready to disembark, so now we have a bunch of luggage taking up space with no one collecting it and other luggage waiting to come out with nowhere to put it....

 

5. Assuming you make it off the ship and collect your luggage without too many tears (as a passenger travelling through Canada Place I totally get why folks get upset as it really is not an ideal area to hunt down bags) you then head out of the terminal to your transportation. Many folks have transfers to the airport - arranging the number of buses and the timing of those buses is another almighty feat since there are only a limited number of bays and each bus needs to be filled in order to accommodate everyone. This means if 10 people are stuck looking for bags or just decided not to leave the ship just yet, the whole domino effect starts happening! That bus waits to be filled, the bay isn't clear for the next bus, the next bus is late, etc, etc, etc...

 

6. As of this year, there are no "Princess" staff at Canada Place (other than in the office). The shoreside staff now work for Destination North America and process passengers for Princess and Holland....

 

Hope this helps explain a few things! Much as I loved this job, it was quite honestly one of the most demanding things I have ever had to do and it really made me appreciate the coordination, effort, and sheer hard work that goes into getting a ship in and out of port. As a passenger I do find myself starting to get frustrated if there is a delay boarding or getting off the ship, but then I take a step back and remember that, in all likelihood, there was probably some minor little thing that set off a domino effect and probably was not the fault of the ship, the staff, the port, or any one particular thing or person!

 

 

Thanks for this. :)

[kruisey]

Isn't this about Vancouver? :(

 

You will see another person asked me to explain the delay in the other ports I and many others experienced.

[bellebaby]

 

6. As of this year, there are no "Princess" staff at Canada Place (other than in the office). The shoreside staff now work for Destination North America and process passengers for Princess and Holland.

 

 

 

If their name tag says "Princess", I consider them to be a Princess representative. I don't think it matters if they're contract employees or work directly for Princess.

 

B

[TravelingEA]

The last time we sailed into Vancouver (May 2), we rented a car to drive to Seatac. Our cost was $51 for the rental and we could stop on our way. It was much better than taking Amtrak or Princess Transfer.

[Urban trekker]

Thanks for the lengthy explanation of the process at Canada Place and as far as I am concerned you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned people arriving as early as 9 AM before is even opened. As long as people, myself included, arrive when we want and not when the cruise line wants you are going to have waits.

 

On my recent 10 day coastal my boarding time according to Princess documents was suppose to be 1 PM - I arrive at little after 11 AM and yes it took me about 45 minutes to board the ship. It was a southbound so no DHS - people were grumbling about the wait - lets see 11 AM + 45 minutes = 11:45 AM which by my reckoning meant I was on the ship more than an hour before I was even suppose to start boarding.

 

Cheers!

 

Dennis