Back to back question first timers......

[Qcruise]

My wife and I are booked on two cruises next year as HAL newbies.  Trying out the line (we're familiar with Princess, RCI, Carnival) with a four night repositioning from San Diego to Vancouver in April,  then upon debarkation in Vancouver we're boarding the Oosterdam to get us to Seattle overnight as a one day cruise.  Now please don't get started with the legalities of this as it's been discussed here already and we know it's allowed.  My question is this.....would we be able to give/check our bags to the porters so we'd be able to walk around Vancouver for the day before boarding the ship.?   Either to check in then leave the terminal to come back to board or drop the bags only to come back at say 2pm to check in and board.  It just made financial sense to pay $267 for the overnight cruise back to Seattle which covers all meals, transport and hotel than to stay at a hotel in Vancouver,  pay for all meals then pay more $$ to fly home out of Vancouver.  Our plan now is to rent a car in Seattle and spend a couple of nights exploring Whidbey Island  and fly out of Everett home.  Just need a plan to not have to lug our bags around until check in to the Oosterdam.  Thanks.......

[CruiserBruce]

Yes, you will be able to check your bags with the porters, but perhaps not until after 9 or so. At least I wouldn't be comfortable leaving my bags while bags were still coming off the ship.

[Qcruise]

2 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Yes, you will be able to check your bags with the porters, but perhaps not until after 9 or so. At least I wouldn't be comfortable leaving my bags while bags were still coming off the ship.

I think we should try to get as late a debarkation time as we can.......that would help.

[martincath]

Checking bags cannot be done officially until at least 10am (some time between 10 and 10:30am, depending how many ships are in port, i.e. how long it takes of offload the incoming pax) - but unofficially 9:30am is usually a pretty safe bet. So taking the last possible disembarkation slot makes sense - worst case you may need to wait around a short time before checking them.

 

OTOH you could also expedite your sightseeing by storing the bags for the day - which personally I feel is well worth the extra $5per! Just head upstairs to the Pan Pacific bell desk and ask to store them for the day - the price hasn't gone up in a decade, and they've never needed you to be a hotel guest either. Even if that does change next year for some reason the official storage at the pier will still be an option, it's just pricier (went up to $12 a bag when WestCoast took over running it this year - but they also give you a discount rate if you book one of their tours, e.g. the HOHO bus).

 

Given that the Seawall is right outside the pier, and you can access that 24/7 (and Stanley Park doesn't have gates) two of the most popular things to do can be done as soon as you step off the ship even if you're the very first people. Usually self-disembarkation starts well before 8am, so you could gain an extra two hours of quality sightseeing if you get off as early as possible and pay to store the bags...

 

[Qcruise]

Thanks to martincath for that information we might take that option for sure.....it's good information like this that makes CC so valuable and why we stay on the boards.