On Board Check-in for Flights?

[Diva Onboard]

We are still searching for a definitive answer regarding the onboard check-in for flights.

 

Does anyone have information about this procedure? Somewhere on another thread, it was mentioned that you can register with the purser a few days before disembarkation for onboard check-in with your airline. You would incur an additional charge of about $10 for this service. You would place your bags outside your cabin and they would be taken to the airline for you. You would be taken to Area F where you have been precleared for customs and then you would go on to your gate at the terminal.

 

We are trying to confirm this information.

 

If anyone out there knows, please tell us. Thanks!

[saltan]

I also had trouble finding info. I e-mailed "customer service" at my outgoing airport , Vancouver. It took a day or two and a few more e-mails to explain what info I needed. The process was expained to me in a way that I am very comfortable with. The biggest thing is if your ship is a participating ship and you are a US Resident.

Norwegian Sun

9/12/04

[Diva Onboard]

Thanks Sultan -

 

 

I do believe our ship is a participating ship. I also sent an email to someone at Vancouver airport and I am awaiting a response.

 

I hope others who have experienced the system will post in on the thread.

 

Thank you for your comments.

[Krazy4Kruisin']

This should answer your questions about on board checkin. This guy is one of the nicest I have encountered. He wrote back immediately and we emailed several times about our hotel, things to do in Vancouver, etc. His email is below if you have any more questions for him.

 

 

-----Original Message-----

From: Drew Pankrath [mailto:Drew_Pankrath@yvr.ca]

Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2004 2:07 PM

Subject: RE: return flights after a cruise

 

 

Good Morning!

 

Funny, I have had a few emails to my inbox directed from Cruise Critic. I am happy that people have found a good source of information and I am happy to assist in any way that I can. I believe personally that a vacation is a time to relax and not have to worry about anything therefore I am more to happy to answer any concerns about arrivals and departures from Vancouver International Airport.

 

Yes, upon arrival at our Airport, you will proceed through Canada Customs and then collect your baggage prior to exiting into the arrivals area of the terminal. If you have not rented a car, I would be more than happy to answer any transfer questions if you have any. I will keep my fingers crossed that the weather for your entire vacation on the West Coast is wonderful.

 

During your cruise, you will be required to advise RCCL of your flight information for when arrive Vancouver. Since your flight does depart before noon, you should be one of the first groups to disembark the ship. Once off the ship, you will be required to pass through Canada Customs formalities again after retrieving your luggage. From there, you will pick up your limousine transportation and make your way to the airport.

 

Upon arrival at the airport, you will proceed with your luggage to the Continental Airlines check in counter for your flight. At this time if you are a US Citizen, or permanent US Resident you can proceed to the US Departures Area 'F' where you are taken airside by shuttle are processed through security and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and off to your gate. You can also proceed through the Duty Free store and through US Customs and Border Protection clearance formalities, and screening and off to your gate for departure.

 

Your other option is to check in for your flight onboard the ship the night before (program called 'On Board Check in'). There is a cost of $10.00, however you are issued a boarding pass and your bags are handled for you until you arrive at your final destination. You will also be given a pink card that you show when you enter the terminal, where you are directed to Departures area 'F'. From there, you are taken airside by shuttle and processed by security and CBP. This process allows you to skip the entire check in portion for your flight at the airport, as it has already been done the night before on the ship. You luggage is tagged, screened and boarded on to your aircraft! How easy is that!

 

I hope the above eases your concerns about the processing options for passengers at our airport. I am convinced that either way, you will have a seamless departure from our airport. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me directly again.

 

Have a great vacation and let me know how your trip was when you return!

 

Drew

[ejhall]

Krazy4Kruisin'

 

Thanks for posting that letter! It is refreshing to get that kind of response to a question, nice and informative! Once I know my flight arrangements I will contact him myself, to ensure things haven't changed in any way.

[Diva Onboard]

Thanks Krazy4cruisin -

 

 

Great info. I emailed the same gentleman in Vancouver. I'm still waiting for his response. I'm sure it will be the same.

 

There is still one question out there though - do we have to collect our luggage from the baggage claim upon arrival? Or, if we put our RCCL baggage tags on our luggage before we check them with the airline, will they be automatically taken for us to the ship?

 

In my cruise docs it states the following, and I quote -

 

"Exception - if your flight has arrived in Vancouver from the United States and you have placed your ship baggage tags on your luggage before checking it with your airline, you do not have to claim your luggage as it will automatically be transferred to your stateroom onboard the ship."

 

 

This is the other point I wanted to confirm. If anyone out there has recently followed this exception with success, please let us know.

 

In the past, we have claimed our luggage and the baggage claim upon arrival and carried it to the transfer coach or taxi.

 

Thanks to everyone for your help.

[Krazy4Kruisin']

ebielik,

I am not sure the answer to your question. Since we are arriving in Vancouver 3 days before the cruise, that didn't concern me. You might try getting hold of someone from RCCL, although I suspect they don't know the answer at all. If you do get a definitive answer, please post it so others will know. Have a great cruise.

[saltan]

Drew is the same person that I e-mailed back and forth with. Very polite and to the point. I also am spending a pre-cruise night so I can't say anything about your baggage on arrival.

Short quote from Drew:

To give you a little more information, when you register for the On

Board Program, the ship will issue you a boarding pass, and take your

baggage the night before from outside your cabin door. Your bags will be

tagged to your final destination, so make sure that you take out

anything that you think you might need for your flight home. The ship

will also provide you with at pink card that will direct you to our East

Concourse and Departures area F. For the limo driver, just have him take

you to Continental Airlines, as the facility is just steps away from

their check in counter. Once you arrive at the front doors to the

terminal, we will have students in yellow vests directing passengers.

Show them the pink card and they will show you were to go. Those

passengers holding the pink cards, will go to a special queue, where

they will go down an escalator and onto a shuttle bus that will take

them airside to Departures area F for security screening and US Customs

and Immigration (btw - only US Residents or Citizens are able to use

this process). From there you exit right at the gates for your flight.

Have a great one

Norwegian Sun 9/12/04

[Cruiser62]

I called RCI today on another matter and asked about the onboard check in for Radiance of the Seas. They told me that if I didn't book my airfare through RCI I couldn't participate in the onboard check in. I don 't know what to believe anymore. Everyday it's a new story. We're leaving Saturday so I guess I'll know for sure next week.

[saltan]

cruiser62, good luck and I hope it works for you. Please let me know how it works out for you. I ended up canceling my cruise air, found a good price for a one stop flight from Buffalo so i took it. If I get to worried I'll give NCL a call.

Have a great one

[yjl869]

Is there onboard check-in in Anchorage too?

[Diva Onboard]

Hello Everyone!

 

 

Just received this email from Drew at Vancouver Airport. He explains the procedure completely. I know that for the extra $$ we will do the onboard check in.

 

 

"Thank you for your email. I emailed you the other day to ask if I could

call you to discuss this over the phone as sometimes a dialogue is much

easier than emailing back and forth. I have been receiving a lot of

emails for readers of Cruise Critic.com so I assume that is where you

received my email. With regards to your questions below here is some

further clarification to your questions:

 

If you baggage is tagged with your cruiseship tags and your flight

arrives on the same day as your cruise departure, your baggage will be

taken directly to the cruiseship terminal and placed in your cabin on

board your ship (some Cruise Lines do not participate in this program.

Carnival, Princess, Holland America, RCCL and Celebrity do). Please be

sure to check with a cruiseline representative in the Canada Customs

Hall or arrivals area prior to transferring to the pier.

 

With regards to the 'On Board Program' you are correct that there is an

additional charge however you are not precleared by Customs as you state

in your email. The program allows passengers to check in for flights the

night before on the ship and receive your boarding passes. At that time,

your baggage is also tagged and you won't see it until you are waiting

at the baggage carousel at your final destination (bags are taken

directly to the airport and onto the appropriate flights). With your

boarding cards, you will also receive a pink card which is provided by

the cruise lines prior to arriving in Vancouver. Upon arrival at the

port, you will have to pass through Canada Customs. From there, you can

make your way to the airport. Once at the airport, Summer Students in

yellow vests will be at the doors assisting passengers with directions.

With your pink card in hand, you will be directed into the East

Concourse (Departures Area F) and down an escalator where you will be

taken by shuttle to our Satellite Facility. Once there, you will proceed

through screening and US Customs and Immigration. From there, you will

exit into the terminal and at your gate.

 

I hope this helps. If you have any other questions, please do not

hesitate to let me know."

 

With thanks,

 

 

Drew C. Pankrath

Customer Relations Representative

 

 

* * * *

 

I know this answers all of our questions. Hope it helps everyone else.

[nannyny]

I am still a little confused - what if you did not purchase airfare with the cruise line - does this mean you cannot participate in this program? Thanks very much,

Nancy

[ajdegumbia]

Just off the Volendam on 6/30. They did NOT offer this special checkin. However, disembarkation was a breeze, probably because it was a Wednesday. I made it to my gate with 3+ hours to spare. While sitting there I was talking to the gate agent at Alaska Airlines and 13 people missed their flight because of immigration/customs/security. The US side was not busy but for anyone holding foreign passports the lines were terrible. I understand that later in the day about 11:30 the lines to get to customs was all the way through the gift shop. I guess I hit it at the right time.

[Kathysum]

We are sailing next week on the Diamond Princess leaving from Seattle, WA. We are using Princess Air. Does anyone know whether on-board check-in is available from the Diamond through the Seattle, WA (SEA/TAC) airport?

 

Thanks!

 

Kathy

[Diva Onboard]

Sorry Kathysum - I don't know the procedure for your cruiseline. Did you try posting a thread on the Princess Board?

 

 

Wish I could have helped you out.

 

Have a great cruise!

[saltan]

shorts e-mails to and from Drew:

 

 

Drew C. Pankrath

Customer Relations Representative

-----Original Message-----

From: mark [mailto:saltan@adelphia.net]

Sent: Saturday, July 03, 2004 2:39 AM

To: Drew Pankrath

Subject: Re: YVR Web Site Contact Us Page Comments

 

 

Hello,

I have seen that your are getting questions thru the boards, which is

great, people can find correct answers. I have one question. Does

Norwegian Cruise Line or YVR require you to have "cruise air" to be

eligable for the On Board Program?

 

Thax

Mark

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good Afternoon,

 

Last year, passengers were required to have purchased their cruise air

through the Cruise Company to participate in the program. This year,

passengers can be independent of this requirement and have purchased

their air separately and not with the cruise line.

 

With thanks,

 

 

thought I would pass this on.

[DerekDun8]

Having just done this i can tell you exactly the procedure. On the second day of your cruise your steward will leave a yellow piece of paper on your bed. You are to fill out all the information (flights, times, home airport ect...) You have to have it returned to the pursers desk that night by midnight. You also have to be a US citizen leaving the same day you debark from your ship. You had to buy your air wiht your cruiseline. You will get a notification on the night before you debark telling you if you were selected to be in this program. If you were selected you get a barcoded bag tag in which you apply on your bag the night before you leave. This will be all you have to do to your bags, once you put them outside your door, you will not see them again till you are at your final destinations airport. On the final day you will be told to meet in a designated place (for all those participating in this program) During this you will be called by flight times, in which you will get boarding passes for all your flights. You will need photo ID to get these though. Once you have received your boarding passes, you will be told where to go to take you to the buses that take you to the airport. The bus i was on was taken to its own garage at the airport in which the 45 of us on the bus when through our own designated customs lines and security (i mean the only ones in this line were the people on my bus). Once you are through security and customs you are free to go to your gate. THe price per person was $15 not $10. But very worth it. We were the first ones to the airport from the Radiance. Customs and security took 15 mins for us to get through since we did not have to wait in those long lines that i heard took 1.5 hrs. Any more questions let me know

[sarahjane]

I'm confused now, as other info in this thread has assured us that you did NOT have to purchase your air through the cruise line for this program. Now DerekDun8 has told us that he just got back, and you DID have to have cruise/air package to qualify for on-board check-in. It seems like every day we get a different answer! Anyone else really frustrated with this???

sarahjane

[schoolmarm]

Yes, I'm confused too. I really would like to use this feature. I wonder if I call Princess they will give me an answer. We booked our own airfare but are using Princess transfers so will I be able to use the on board check in? :confused:

[saltan]

Just off the phone with Travelocity Agent, who called NCL, there is confussion, mainly because it is a "new" program. NCL says that as a courtesy that they will pick up and tag baggage the nite before you arrive in port. BUT to check with the front desk the 1st day of cruise. SO ....check with your cruiseline. It sounds that different cruiselines have different systems.

[Diva Onboard]

Dereckdun - thanks for the clarification. We are going to check with the pursur on the first night.

[Krazy4Kruisin']

I am on the Serenade as I write this. When we got back in our cabin tonight, there was a form to fill out and return by Wednesday at noon. It says that only U.S. residents departing Vancouver on a direct flight to the United States on the same day the ship arrives into Vancouver are eligible to participate. Additionally, you have to have a confirmed reservation on a participating airline to be eligible. Those participating are:Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Air Canada, Continental Airlines and United Airlines.

It continues to say that you will coplete all airline check-in formalities on board the ship prior to disembarkation. You will receive your boarding cards on board and the next time you see your luggage will be at your final destination in the United States. You will receive priority disembarkation for early flights. You will have expedited customs and security clearances at Vancouver Airpot.

You are allowed only 2 checked bags, same as airline rules. If you have more, you have to pay extra $5/bag on your sea pass card. The regular cost for this service will be $15/person. Charged to your sea pass.

The form lists your name and stateroom. You fill out your flight info and your final destination. Also your frequent flyer number, if applicable.

 

I hope this clears up any confusion for RCCL cruisers.

 

While on the topic, let me tell you that embarkation was the easiest thing I have ever done. We arrived at the Ballentyne Pier about 11:30 and were on the ship before noon. We walked straight up to the security area. I didn't even have to take my laptop out of the case, although my friend who is traveling with us had to do it. Next went to a line to get our Sea Pass cards. We are Platinum and there is a separate line for those and Diamond members, along with those in a suite. All other lines are by deck number. There was no line and we just walked right up. Next went up an escalator and waited about 5 minutes before they called Platinum/Diamond members to go through customs. Took about 2 minutes for that. All they did was look at our passport. Then we were ready to board. Walked down a hallway, had our welcome abord picture taken, had our picture taken with the Sea Pass card (so that when you get off for shore excursions and then get back on, your picture comes up on a screen when you show your card). Then walked right on board. Our cabin was ready when we got here. We walked around the ship, had lunch in the Windjammer, walked around some more and then came back to the cabin. Three of 4 bags were already there, and the last one came about 7:00.

When we get back, I will write a long review, as I am keeping a diary using Word. One more quick note--- in cabin connection has been 45.2 kbps every time I have logged on. That's not bad at all.

[Cruiser62]

Ebielik,

 

Just back from Radiance two days ago. The onboard check in was a breeze. I made a separate post about it. Have fun on your cruise!! I wish we didn't have to come home!

[nannyny]

We are on the Celebrity Infinity - would anyone know for sure if they are also participating. Thanks very much.