Disembarking Grand Princess in San Francisco - how late, and how much time needed?

[SantaFeFan]

We'll be on Grand Princess for the first time in June for an Alaska RT returning on Tuesday, June 27. Since we are local, we are going to have someone pick us up at the terminal. We will need to give them an approximate time they should pick us up.

 

How late can we stay aboard? And how long might we expect it to take from the ship to the curb?

 

Thank you for any insights!

[ggprincess2004]

We were on her for a b2b, and did disembark both times. They were quite efficient in clearing the ship, and things went easily. If you were in the last groups, you should still be off and ready for pick up before 1030. It was pretty crazy out there curbside before then when we went out on turnaround day, and we disembarked for our trip to the airport pretty much on schedule, clearing immigration was quick, getting our luggage and out the door, quick as well.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

I have only taken 4 cruises (all in the last 16 months), two of which were on the Grand. In my limited experience I have found that I am off the ship in about 20-30 minutes after my designated time. It seems they always run late. FYI we are in full suites and we have our luggage taken down the night before just in case that matters.

 

However, once off the ship the rest has gone quickly and I've been outside on the curb ready for pickup in another half hour.

I usually ask for a pickup for 1 hour after my prearranged walk off time. I text my ride keeping them apprised of my progress.

[Colo Cruiser]

Out of the cabin by 8:00.

Most will be off by 9:30.

[4cats4me]

We were off the ship and walking across the street to get our car from the garage by 8:30 last Oct and home by 9:15. Very sparse at that time of the morning. It was on a Saturday.

 

 

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[partybarbie]

I disembarked the Grand in February. My disembarkation time was 9:00 am. By the time I got off the ship, got my bags, and went through customs, it was 10:00 am.

[Thrak]

Disembarkation in SF used to be HORRIBLE. You had about a bazillion people on the curb along the Emarcadero in a huge "gob" trying to be picked up. The (fairly) recent addition of the new cruise port has greatly improved both embarkation and disembarkation. Don't try to stay aboard late. Have breakfast and then leave the ship. This may seem a bit harsh but, on the other hand, it is how Princess manages to have staterooms ready when new passengers embark.

[Yosef42]

On a related point: How bad is the backup in and out of the port from the Embarcadero? Would it be worth the trouble to schlep the luggage "offsite" for an easier pickup?

[ggprincess2004]

On a related point: How bad is the backup in and out of the port from the Embarcadero? Would it be worth the trouble to schlep the luggage "offsite" for an easier pickup?

 

 

The longer you wait the worse it gets. My suggestion is request an early disembarkation time, and things will be much smoother. The congestion builds as the morning goes on. So if you can plan to clear out of there before 9:30 things should go well. It is also important to advise your driver to approach the entrance to the port thoughtfully - I am not sure about the street name and direction, but they want to be turning across traffic to enter the pier pickup area, as the backup to get in the other way is absurd. All our private car and taxi drivers have taught us this one.

[skynight]

Whatever time you select to disembark, remember that you are requested to be out of your cabin by 8am. You can spend your time eating breakfast, and waiting in your designated lounge. Unless there is some unforeseen issue the last passengers are off the ship by around 10am. The first passengers to disembark are the early walk offs where you wheel your own luggage. These start around 7am.

[Cruise Raider]

When we don't take BART, we always ask our ride to pick us up at 9:30 AM when sailing into Pier 27 in the City. I imagine that is the pier you will be using as it is used for Princess about 98% of the time. Rarely, they have to switch over to Pier 35 and thank goodness it is a rare occurrence now. Pier 35 is a bit of a nightmare in comparison.

 

We then try to pick a time somewhere in the neighborhood of 8:50 to disembark to make certain we are out the door waiting to be picked up at the curb by 9:30. So far, this has worked really well for us and the traffic on the Bay Bridge and the Embarcadero has died down a bit.