Self disembarkation?

[B-Russell]

Does Princess have self disembarkation in Vancouver?  I have used this on NCL and found it easy and convenient. 

[cr8tiv1]

Yes, as long as you can handle all of your luggage by yourself, you can be the "first" to walk off. 

[SargassoPirate]

9 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Yes, as long as you can handle all of your luggage by yourself, you can be the "first" to walk off. 

Or the "last" if you are not in a big toot to catch a flight. 

[Expat Cruise]

9 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Yes, as long as you can handle all of your luggage by yourself, you can be the "first" to walk off. 

We always use self disembarkation, so we have total control. And yes, Princess Cruises says you must be able to handle your own luggage, but the truth is this slows down getting off the ship itself, onto the ramp. So they always have extra crew available to help speed up the disembarkation. Good roller bags make it easy to walk off with luggage. 

[world_traveler_et]

I disembark from the Sapphire Princess on June 28 (Ship arrives at 7:30AM with 2670 passengers) in Vancouver .  On that Wednesday there are two other ships that arrive at 7AM (Volendam 1432 passengers and the Regent Seven Seas 750 passengers).

 

My flight is at 12:40PM.

 

I am considering self embarking and I am traveling solo with a Suitcase a carry and a backpack with my camera gear. both suitcases have spinner wheels.  I think I can manage but my concern is when I exit the ship will I have to navigate the bags on an escalator or stairs to get to the customs area and than make my way to the taxi stand.  Just want to make I can manage.

 

Also with three ships in port and the Sapphire being the last to arrive do you think there will be a long wait to get a taxi?  Is the 12:40PM flight doable?

 

I have managed on international flights with two large suitcases and two carry on stacked on the bigger bags but I was assisting an elderly person.  Not sure I can manage an escalator or stairs.

 

Thanks in advance for your comments!

 

 

[voljeep]

at least in PE, Princess is pretty strict that you MUST have one free hand if your use the escalators

 

with balance issues, we use the elevators.

[Pluto_fan]

world_traveler, we will be sadly disembarking with you that same day, and heading to YVR for a 12:55 flight.  We're planning to take the Skytrain.  On the West Coast Departures board, there are a few very helpful Vancouver residents who have spelled out exactly how to do it; you might want to check there 

[martincath]

47 minutes ago, world_traveler_et said:

...  I think I can manage but my concern is when I exit the ship will I have to navigate the bags on an escalator or stairs to get to the customs area and than make my way to the taxi stand.  Just want to make I can manage.
...

The issue you'll have is on the pier - there's usually a staff member guarding the escalators to prevent anyone without a free hand using it. There is an elevator available, but queues for that can get looooooooong - although most self-disembarking pax are pretty mobile so don't use it, it shouldn't be too bad during the first stage of the process (but as soon as the first 'Bags On Pier, Early Bus To Airport' mob start leaving it can get real messy - check your paperwork that lists all the disembarkation slots and be SURE to choose one of the Self slots that comes BEFORE the first 'regular' slot!)

 

I would simply take a couple of bungee cords myself, to securely lash the carryon to the top of the larger rollercase - not just for the escalator, but frankly to make it easier along your entire route. A few seconds delay unstrapping them to load the cab, or to slide the big case under the SkyTrain seat, but then you only have one wheelie thing to drag around the rest of the time which makes life just that little bit easier.

 

We always self-disembark, and doing so in Vancouver I always walk home with the cases while the missus goes straight to work - two roller cases CAN be steered along our sidewalks, they are in generally great condition, smooth, and wide, but at the time you're getting off there are also a whole passel of commuters arriving downtown sharing the sidewalks. Steering through the crowds is a lot easier when you can just pull one along behind you rather than having to steer one in front and one behind (because rolling them both along next to you, making yourself the width of three people basically, is a serious breach of Wheaton's Law on a busy sidewalk!)

 

I would strongly advise planning to use SkyTrain - while the other ships are small enough that it's really more of a light 2 ship day in numbers, as you say if they are scheduled to arrive before yours they may both be cleared before yours so ALL the self-disembarkers from both might already have taken the first tranche of cabs. If you plan for SkyTrain, but then as you walk out see that the cab queue is short, great - join it! But SkyTrain is trivially easy, ever since the US joined the rest of the civilized world with Chips on credit cards 😉 You don't even have to figure out the ticket machines any more - just tap any Mastercard or Visa with the wee WiFi symbol under the chip (or tap a smartphone you have loaded a credit card into their payment system), and the gate opens - tap again at the airport to get off the platform and all the math gets done for you in terms of which Zones you need to pay for). All at interbank rates too! You will literally walk further with your bags from your cabin to the street than you would from the street around to SkyTrain, so everyone who can self-disembark is physically capable of using it.

 

The problem with cabs is that on busy days you have a combo of limited access to Canada Place (one lane, so if there are lots of cabs trying to get there it becomes one-in, one-out) plus a limited fleet (just over 700 total licensed cabs - while many of those do come to the pier on cruise days, not all do) plus the time it takes to get another pickup at YVR... It's at least 90mins, more likely 2 hours for a cab to get to YVR, circulate round the back to join the 'pick up pax inbound' queue, load those pax and get back to the pier - but every cabbie with an airport medallion has to do the same dance, the drop and pickupo areas are separated so that it's first-come, first-served to keep things fair to them all. So the only cabs rapidly turning around back to the pier are the ones who got unlucky with a short ride to a downtown hotel!

 

These days with Uber, Lyft, and local alternative Kabu the cab queue should never get as bad as it did historically - even if you don't use rideshares yourself, others will. With your flight well after noon, and only ~4500 other pax possibly heading to the airport (of which obviously some will have post-cruise tours, others hotel stays), your risks really are minimal even if you waited two hours for a cab so I wouldn't be at all worried in your position. Indeed, if you get to the airport before 9:40am (pretty likely if self-disembarking) you may find yourself being stuck outside security for a while as you cannot drop your bags until 3 hours pre-flight!

[theloo]

13 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

Or the "last" if you are not in a big toot to catch a flight. 

That's us.  We always try to stay on vacation as long as possible.

[StrawberryHill]

17 hours ago, world_traveler_et said:

I disembark from the Sapphire Princess on June 28 (Ship arrives at 7:30AM with 2670 passengers) in Vancouver .  On that Wednesday there are two other ships that arrive at 7AM (Volendam 1432 passengers and the Regent Seven Seas 750 passengers).

 

My flight is at 12:40PM.

 

I am considering self embarking and I am traveling solo with a Suitcase a carry and a backpack with my camera gear. both suitcases have spinner wheels.  I think I can manage but my concern is when I exit the ship will I have to navigate the bags on an escalator or stairs to get to the customs area and than make my way to the taxi stand.  Just want to make I can manage.

 

Also with three ships in port and the Sapphire being the last to arrive do you think there will be a long wait to get a taxi?  Is the 12:40PM flight doable?

 

I have managed on international flights with two large suitcases and two carry on stacked on the bigger bags but I was assisting an elderly person.  Not sure I can manage an escalator or stairs.

 

Thanks in advance for your comments!

 

 

We disembarked in Vancouver once ( with a Princess transfer ) with two other cruise ships.  It was a disaster in the bus loading area.  No organization from Princess at all. The other two ships had people with signs and organized bus loading lines.  We ended up walking to the sky train station in the rain.  Emailed Princess afterward and they sent us a refund for our post cruise transfer.   When we got to the airport we checked in with people who took the Princess bus and had gotten off the ship an hour before we did.  They got to the airport after we did. The train is so much easier.

[Bgwest]

11 hours ago, theloo said:

That's us.  We always try to stay on vacation as long as possible.

When you hear your name being paged at about 10 or 10:30, you know you’ve soaked about as much out of that beet as its capable of giving. 

[world_traveler_et]

I should know the answer to my own question as I have disembarked twice from a Princess ship in Vancouver but sadly I do not recall or was not paying attention as I had Princess transfers (One to the airport and the other to Seattle)

 

When I self disembark the ship and roll my suitcase down the gangway ramp and into the building it sounds like I might have to navigate an escalator or use an elevator to get to the customs area or to the taxi stand area?

 

I am trying to debate doing self assist or booking the Princess transfer.   Thank you to everyone suggesting the train but for me as a solo I am not comfortable taking the train.

[wen_c82]

Just disembarked from Majestic Princess  in Vancouver 5/27. Ship arrived at 7 am but disembarkation didn’t start until after 8 am - I think dock workers didn’t start until close to 8 am. Honestly I have never seen so many people wanted to self disembark with luggages in any ports, long lines. We were on first group independent (Princess handled our luggages) which was scheduled to disembark around 8:50 am but actual time was around 9:15 am. Taxi wait was about 15 minutes, not bad for a 3 ships day.
 

There was a down  escalator or elevator to pick up  luggages and walked through customs doors then direct to gate B for taxis. Lots workers along the way to direct traffics. 

 Our flight was at 1:15 pm and got to airport with plenty time to go through US customs. 

[martincath]

2 hours ago, world_traveler_et said:

...When I self disembark the ship and roll my suitcase down the gangway ramp and into the building it sounds like I might have to navigate an escalator or use an elevator to get to the customs area or to the taxi stand area?

 

I am trying to debate doing self assist or booking the Princess transfer.   Thank you to everyone suggesting the train but for me as a solo I am not comfortable taking the train.

Yes, there's an escalator (or elevator - if you do not have one hand free you will be prevented from using the escalator on Health & Safety grounds!) - and if you really don't want to take SkyTrain (which is the cheapest, usually the fastest, probably also the safest as you have zero interaction with any other traffic so no collisions, idiot drivers etc. to worry about, and no longer even requires use of a ticket machine if you have a tappable credit card or Apple/Google Pay on your phone), for a solo the next-best value by a huge margin is the indy airport shuttle run by Ace Charters. CAD$18 vs US$29 pays for several overpriced airport coffees, beers, lunch etc. before boarding your flight!!!

[OlderSailor]

Hi,thank you for your valuable information.

I don't have a new issue but have a tight connection disembarking out of Vancouver in June - scheduled arrival 0900 and i have a flight to New York at 1240 hours . Its 3 hours 40 minutes and the itinerary says minimum of 4 hours.

I know its tight but i need to get tho NY for an important meeting.

We are travelling in First on the aircraft which may help with checkin etc but I am looking for further thoughts to get off the ship and get to YVR as soon as possible .

Thanking you in advance.

[westcoastBC]

It might be helpful to prebook a spot for security. YVR.ca and go to YVR Express.

[OlderSailor]

Thank you .

Do I need to book for a specific time because I'm not sure when i will arrive at the security line - maybe 1030 or 1130 - it that certainty understood when i make the booking?

[DHP1]

On 5/29/2023 at 11:12 PM, B-Russell said:

Does Princess have self disembarkation in Vancouver?  I have used this on NCL and found it easy and convenient. 

Yes. And if you need to get to the airport fast, take the subway which is located around the corner. It takes you directly to the airport. No need to buy a ticket, just swipe your cc. 

[DCThunder]

I have an Alaska  cruise RT from Vancouver but my flight back east is a red-eye not departing until 10:00 pm.  So I will have all day to kill in Vancouver. I don't want to be schlepping luggage around to do a little sightseeing, but I also don't want to sit around the airport all day either, especially since I can't check my luggage until late afternoon.

 

So, is there anyplace to temporarily store luggage in the downtown Vancouver area, before heading to the airport in the afternoon?

[martincath]

2 hours ago, OlderSailor said:

Thank you .

Do I need to book for a specific time because I'm not sure when i will arrive at the security line - maybe 1030 or 1130 - it that certainty understood when i make the booking?

Yes, specific time slot needed. Anecdotally if you book a time, but show up not too much earlier or later, they'll still let you into the express line. 

 

How quickly you are likely to be able to get off the ship and to the airport depends on how many other ships are in port that day, how big they are, whether you need help to disembark, and how you choose to travel, but since you will hit the hard cap for checking bags no later than 1 hour preflight the latest Security timeslot to consider would be ~11:45am.

 

Another thing you might consider is applying for Global Entry - I see that processing time for new applicants is running 4-6 months, so with a little luck it might come through in time, and that would let you walk into both the short queue for Security and also the dedicated lane for Trusted Travelers at CBP, but if you are able-bodied enough to carry your own bags off then self-disembarking ASAP and riding SkyTrain if you can't hop right in a cab/get an uber within 5 minutes will be the biggest time saving option.

 

All-in-all though, unless this is a seriously busy day (3 big or any 4 ships) a 12:40pm flight isn't really much concern - most cruiselines would even let you book a transfer, as the risk of missing the flight is very low.

[martincath]

1 hour ago, DCThunder said:

...So, is there anyplace to temporarily store luggage in the downtown Vancouver area, before heading to the airport in the afternoon?

Bucketloads! Living close enought to walk means I've never used any personally, but if you want to arrange it in advance you can book through several 'gig economy' agencies that hook you up with a local store or hotel to hold bags, with hefty insurance policies, for ballpark $7-10 per bag (just google 'Vancouver Luggage Storage' and choose one which will confirm actual locations in advance, so you can ensure they are actually convenient to walk to from the pier).

 

Or if you're a 'play it by ear' type the Pan Pacific hotel directly above the pier has a bell desk at street level who will hold bags even for non-guests, for what was widely reported last season as $10ea (NB: no change given if you pay in USD!) Just don't waste your time at the official pier storage - it's not just the highest priced ($12 last year) but is also hands-down the least convenient for you, as you must return to collect the bags by 4:30pm! Anywhere else you can leave them until after you have dinner downtown and want to head straight to the airport (and any evening, given the single zone pricing, it's really hard to beat SkyTrain then for less than US$3pp and <30mins)

[OlderSailor]

14 minutes ago, martincath said:

Yes, specific time slot needed. Anecdotally if you book a time, but show up not too much earlier or later, they'll still let you into the express line. 

 

How quickly you are likely to be able to get off the ship and to the airport depends on how many other ships are in port that day, how big they are, whether you need help to disembark, and how you choose to travel, but since you will hit the hard cap for checking bags no later than 1 hour preflight the latest Security timeslot to consider would be ~11:45am.

 

Another thing you might consider is applying for Global Entry - I see that processing time for new applicants is running 4-6 months, so with a little luck it might come through in time, and that would let you walk into both the short queue for Security and also the dedicated lane for Trusted Travelers at CBP, but if you are able-bodied enough to carry your own bags off then self-disembarking ASAP and riding SkyTrain if you can't hop right in a cab/get an uber within 5 minutes will be the biggest time saving option.

 

All-in-all though, unless this is a seriously busy day (3 big or any 4 ships) a 12:40pm flight isn't really much concern - most cruiselines would even let you book a transfer, as the risk of missing the flight is very low.

Thank you for that .

My flight has been booked separately from the Cruise and I am not a US citizen so do not have access to Global Entry.

I had hoped that my United Airlines elite status and having a First Class ticket would get me into a priority security queue but from what I can find , United does not offer that in Vancouver.

[martincath]

15 minutes ago, OlderSailor said:

Thank you for that .

My flight has been booked separately from the Cruise and I am not a US citizen so do not have access to Global Entry.

I had hoped that my United Airlines elite status and having a First Class ticket would get me into a priority security queue but from what I can find , United does not offer that in Vancouver.

Sorry, I did assume because you mentioned NY that you were American heading back there - but there are actually quite a few other citizenships who can apply for GE!

 

But again - even with no special treatment whatsoever, a 12:40pm flight really isn't much of a concern.

[DCThunder]

12 hours ago, martincath said:

Bucketloads! Living close enought to walk means I've never used any personally, but if you want to arrange it in advance you can book through several 'gig economy' agencies that hook you up with a local store or hotel to hold bags, with hefty insurance policies, for ballpark $7-10 per bag (just google 'Vancouver Luggage Storage' and choose one which will confirm actual locations in advance, so you can ensure they are actually convenient to walk to from the pier).

 

Or if you're a 'play it by ear' type the Pan Pacific hotel directly above the pier has a bell desk at street level who will hold bags even for non-guests, for what was widely reported last season as $10ea (NB: no change given if you pay in USD!) Just don't waste your time at the official pier storage - it's not just the highest priced ($12 last year) but is also hands-down the least convenient for you, as you must return to collect the bags by 4:30pm! Anywhere else you can leave them until after you have dinner downtown and want to head straight to the airport (and any evening, given the single zone pricing, it's really hard to beat SkyTrain then for less than US$3pp and <30mins)

Thanks!

[Steelers36]

12 hours ago, OlderSailor said:

United does not offer that in Vancouver.

It is not an airline prerogative to offer priority security screening.  The government agency CATSA (a.k.a. Canadian version of US TSA) is in charge of that.  AFAIK, the only priority access at YVR is something called YVR Express where you can book a time in advance.  I have no idea how much time that might save.

 

At YYZ (Toronto), I believe AMEX has an arrangement where certain cardholders get a level of priority.

 

The best priority access is for Global Entry or NEXUS members.  CATSA also has a Trusted Traveler program now which you could look into for future.