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First Princess Cruise - Questions

Crabby_Cruiser

By Crabby_Cruiser,
in Princess Cruises

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Pierlesscruisers

Pierlesscruisers

Posted
Posted (edited)
We're going to be going out from Seattle and have signed up for a Princess Transfer from the airport to the Pier (and reverse at the end of the cruise). I've been reading threads here and found conflicting information.

 

Can anyone who's done this recently tell me if they make you sit on the bus and wait for it to fill up before leaving for the ship? (Our plane gets in around 10:30am day of embarkation) Or do they have a continuous shuttle service to the pier? Same question for the back end. Is it a simple process getting off the ship, boarding the bus and getting to the airport? Can we carry our luggage with us off the ship if we signed up for a transfer?

 

I can't comment on exactly how the transfer from SeaTac to the pier is handled but as far as for the pier to SeaTac, the buses are dispatched from the pier as soon as they are filled or 20 minutes after the first passengers are loaded on the bus. The fastest I've ever seen a bus dispatched is 8 minutes after the first passenger is loaded. That usually only occurs when it's the firs or second bus leaving and most of the people have either very little baggage or they have used EZ-Check and their bags have already left the pier in their own truck. The last bus going to SeaTac may end up being held longer than 20 minutes to ensure that all the passengers going to the airport have left the ship and have exited the building.

 

If you have not signed up for EZ-Check, then it is your responsibility to pick up your bags in the luggage hall and bring them out to the bus where they will be loaded onto the bus either by the bus driver, or the porter who you have bring the bags out for you. If you bring your bags out to the bus then you leave the bags by the luggage bay of the bus you get on and the driver loads your bags onto the bus. All bags loaded onto the bus will be unloaded at the airport by the bus driver and it is your responsibility to transport them to your airline.

 

Traveling from the airport to the pier, if you have purchased a transfer to the pier, then you take your bags from the luggage carousel to a specified location where they will be loaded onto a truck which will take the bags to the pier. After dropping the bags off at the specified location previously mentioned, the next time you will see your bags will be when they arrive at your cabin on the ship.

 

Of critical importance is insuring that your travel documents (e.g. passport, passport card, birth certificate, etc.) remain on your person and are not placed in any bag that is transported to the pier by the luggage truck!! You will need your documents to enter the terminal building at the pier and to process through check-in! If those documents are in your checked luggage, that luggage must be found and brought off the ship so you can get the docs and be able to go through check-in!

 

Normal travel time between SeaTac and the pier is normally about 45 minutes to 1 hour but depending on what may be going on in Seattle as far as festivals, races, etc. may cause much longer delays. Today (13 June) for example, the Rock & Roll Marathon was going on and there were large delays in getting from SeaTac to the pier. Not sure how long it was taking buses or other modes (taxis, limos, etc.) to get from the pier to SeaTac, but the delays coming to the pier were anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour or more.

 

Tom

Edited by Pierlesscruisers
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Pierlesscruisers

Pierlesscruisers

Posted
Posted
The availability of E-Z check will depend on what time your flight is. It will likely not be available for morning flights before 11:30 or possibly later.

 

It also depends on whether the airline you are flying on participates in the EZ-Check program. Not all of them do.

 

Tom

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Pierlesscruisers

Pierlesscruisers

Posted
Posted
One advantage of walk off is that if the customs/immigration

line begins to build, you are near the beginning, hopefully

before it has become too long.

 

Although, for me in Seattle, the customs/immigration was super fast.

 

Also, I'm not sure of the exact cab fare to the airport, but it

might be comparable to the price of transfers for two people.

 

Taxi from Pier 91 to SeaTac is in the $42-$45 range according to what the taxi coordinator told me a couple of weeks ago.

 

Tom

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Pierlesscruisers

Pierlesscruisers

Posted
Posted (edited)
We're all flying domestic so would we still have to wait in a customs/immigration line? The cruise is for Alaska (with one stop in Victoria) so it's not like anyone has even left the country, I would think.:confused:

 

And do you know if cabs are lined up and waiting at the pier for passengers or would this be something that needed to be arranged ahead of time?

 

I see others have already explained that you have left the country so I won't repeat that. You will be provided a customs form on board the ship for you to fill out and if you lose or misplace yours they will also be available in the pier building right after you descend the escalator to the ground floor to the baggage area. Customs will be at the far end of the building after the luggage area.

 

As to the cabs, yes, there will be a line of Yellow Cabs waiting at the pier in front of the building, you don't have to call one. Flat rate to SeaTac is $42-$45 according to the taxi coordinator a couple of weeks ago.

Edited by Pierlesscruisers
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caribill

caribill

Posted
Posted
Just got off the Ruby for an AK cruise and i am also lactose intolerant. They did have soy milk and almond milk on board. Just make sure and tell the MaitreD what you need.

ALSO, do not forget to tell the head waiter of you section at the MDR that you are lactose intolerant. I learned the hard way that i needed to tell him. I thought just telling my main waiter that i was covered and i was WRONG! The first time in 35 cruises that i got sick and it was not fun.

 

As it says on the bottom of the menu:

 

"If you have any food related allergies or special dietary requirements, be sure to contact only your Headwaiter or Maitre d'Hotel."

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Crabby_Cruiser

Crabby_Cruiser

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Wow Tom, thank you so much for your detailed responses on everything! I really appreciate you taking the time to reply.

 

Also, thanks cheeseclan for the head's up on the milk choices. I'm only slightly lactose intolerant (just get an upset stomach from milk) and my only concern was to not have to worry about rootin' tootin' my way along the Promenade deck, if you get my meaning. :D

 

I can still eat most dairy items (like cheese and ice cream) so that isn't a worry, but I'm so glad to hear they have almond milk. This is my favorite to have in mochas and lattes.

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Crabby_Cruiser

Crabby_Cruiser

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I cannot have ice cream but i can have sorbet. They make new flavors everyday and they are WONDERFUL. You should give them a try. Some of the flavors are: strawberry, blueberry, watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe.

 

Oh, thank you for that info! I actually love sorbet and all those flavors sound really good. Haha, my mouth is watering a little just thinking about them.:D

Are they just in the MDR for dessert or also available in the buffet?

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cruisestitch "Live from...." Rare

cruisestitch

Posted
Posted

"We're all flying domestic so would we still have to wait in a customs/immigration line? The cruise is for Alaska (with one stop in Victoria) so it's not like anyone has even left the country, I would think."

 

You're confusing the customs/immigration requirements at the airport with those at the cruise terminal. Since you have a port stop in Victoria BC, you will have left the US, and thus will have to enter Canada (to visit Victoria) and then enter the US again after Victoria. That will take place at Seattle terminal, where you will pass through Customs and Border Patrol inspection.

 

At the airport there will be no CBP since you are flying domestically.

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Crabby_Cruiser

Crabby_Cruiser

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[quote name='cruisestitch']"We're all flying domestic so would we still have to wait in a customs/immigration line? The cruise is for Alaska (with one stop in Victoria) so it's not like anyone has even left the country, I would think."

You're confusing the customs/immigration requirements at the airport with those at the cruise terminal. Since you have a port stop in Victoria BC, you will have left the US, and thus will have to enter Canada (to visit Victoria) and then enter the US again after Victoria. That will take place at Seattle terminal, where you will pass through Customs and Border Patrol inspection.

At the airport there will be no CBP since you are flying domestically.[/quote]

Thank you for this. I thought everyone was saying I would have to go through customs at the airport because we stopped off in Victoria. THAT'S why I was so confused! Ha, I guess I need to write more articulately in the future to get my message across. :o
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