Alaska Cruise Departure Time

[minnesotasisu]

We will be taking our first Alaska cruise in July 2025. The schedule shows the Sapphire Princess arriving in the port at 12:30 am and departing at 8:30 pm. Those are both seem like odd times to me as we are used to Caribbean cruises that arrive in port in the morning and depart in the late afternoon.

 

I can't imagine they make passengers disembark in the middle of the night so I am assuming they disembark in the morning? With such a late departure time when do they start allowing passengers to start boarding the ship? Will MDR be available for dinner?

[oregonN]

2 hours ago, minnesotasisu said:

We will be taking our first Alaska cruise in July 2025. The schedule shows the Sapphire Princess arriving in the port at 12:30 am and departing at 8:30 pm. Those are both seem like odd times to me as we are used to Caribbean cruises that arrive in port in the morning and depart in the late afternoon.

 

I can't imagine they make passengers disembark in the middle of the night so I am assuming they disembark in the morning? With such a late departure time when do they start allowing passengers to start boarding the ship? Will MDR be available for dinner?

You get off the ship in the morning just like any other Princes cruise.

[XBGuy]

Arrival and departure times are often dictated by tides.  Are you embarking from Vancouver, BC?  There is a bridge that the ships must past on their transit to and from the dock.  It is very possible that the arrival and departure times are dictated by low tide for the ship to navigate past the bridge.

 

No, arriving passengers will not be required to rise in the middle of the night to disembark.  For on thing, I would expect that the government immigration officials that would be needed to process all passengers, would have to get up in the middle of the night and go to work,  Then there are all the other port workers who are needed--porters, agents to guide and assist both arriving and departing passengers.  Asking them to come to work in the early morning will incur additional expenses for the government and port.  So, I would expect that arriving passengers will start the disembarkation process some time after sunrise.

 

Yes, the dining rooms and restaurants will be open for dinner on your embarkation day.

 

Bon voyage.  You will have a great cruise.

[oregonN]

The MDR is open as usual.  People board between the usual times. They board well into the evening.

[arizonaperson]

@minnesotasisu I believe is embarking in Whittier? But not until July 2025 on Sapphire Princess. I think they’re asking about themselves embarking only ,not getting off the ship necessarily.

Sounds like they’re doing their own pre-cruise land tour and then getting to Whittier to catch the ship??

Edited July 9 by arizonaperson

[wallyj]

@minnesotasisu, I will guess you are talking about the Whittier port?

 

Yes, the ship will usually arrive just after midnight. Passengers will start disembarking early, around  7am. to catch trains to the wilderness and transfers to Anchorage, etc. 

 

I have done this sailing staying on for B2B, so it is weird to have the ship pretty empty till the trains and buses start arriving with the newly embarking passengers.

 

Because of the train and other transfer schedules, I believe passengers will arrive to embark till about 7:30pm. Passengers can check in as soon as it has been setup, which is probably around 10-10:30am.

 

Meal service is normal times, just like any other turnaround day. Whittier is one of the only ports I know in the US, where B2B passengers do not need to leave the ship and return for a zero count, probably because you are not going to a foreign port till you arrive in Vancouver.

[skynight]

If you look at a Google map of Whitter, Alaska you will see that College Fjord, the last 2 1/2 hour scenic sailing activity before docking at Whitter, is just across the water from the port. It will take a short time to sail from the fjord to the Whitter pier. If you are disembarking or boarding you will do that at the normal time in the morning. If you are sailing the 14 day itinerary with a turn around in Whitter then tours will begin in the morning at the normal times and will return in time for sailing at 8:30pm. Remember that at this time of year sunset in Whitter is around midnight with sunrise around 4am. An Alaska cruise is not like a Caribbean cruise.