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VIP Check In San Diego

venture123

By venture123,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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sfagent

sfagent

Posted
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They have some of the stations set aside for VIP and a separate entry line. Unlike many other ports however they do not have a separate waiting room or holding area if you get there before the ship starts boarding.

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Mikel1733

Mikel1733

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We cruised on Elation out of SD last October. It was our 9th CCL cruise so we weren't Platinium yet, but the embarkation was amazing. We arrived at 11:30 am and literally on the ship in 5 minutes. The longest stop was getting our picture taken. Couldn't see how the VIPs had any better experience.

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NeptunesGoddess

NeptunesGoddess

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Ugh..we had a nightmare at San Diego in October and I am glad we got to use the VIP line...BUT....we had to wait in the line outside the terminal for an hour just to get inside. There were no VIP lines outside. There were 3 ships in port that morning and traffic was horrendous. Some People got to the terminal at 11am and did not get on the ship until 3:30 or 4. Their set-up is not very good at San Diego, as they had all the ship's passengers going into one small door.

 

I am sure that if you are the only ship departing for the day, that it is much better...as must have been the case with the glowing reports about this terminal. However, it was chaotic with 3 ships in port. I suggest you check out this website to see how many ships will be in port the day you depart and then plan accordingly.

 

http://www.portofsandiego.org/sandiego_maritime/cruise/schedulesearch.asp

 

Also, take note, as SFAgent said, it is not full VIP like other terminals. You have a line you get to use once inside the terminal, but there is no waiting area for the VIP and to get on the ship they actually just handed us a handicap placquard to get immediate boarding. I guess they had run out of the VIP placquards. Then we had to go over and get in whatever group was called and show the placquard. It was not like other places where you sign in...go to a VIP holding area and then they just board you. I felt kinda bad holding this handicapped placquard in the midst of a bunch of people who must have been wondering why we got to push ahead and get on board when we were obviously able bodied.

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mjbearit

mjbearit

Posted
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Hey Neptune, everything I've read seems to bear out your theory. When there are multiple ships it can get somewhat chaotic. However, keep a good thought because they do have plans for the Port of San Diego, it's just going to take several years to complete. Apparently their aim is to address this issue of multiple ships as they want to draw even more ships into the port. It must be a pretty big project as the person I spoke to from the port told me it would be something like 2012 or something before they are done with it. I wish I could remember the whole thing, but that wasn't the main point of the phone call. It should get better, but as with all construction, it does take time.:D

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victory2020

victory2020

Posted
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Ugh..we had a nightmare at San Diego in October and I am glad we got to use the VIP line...BUT....we had to wait in the line outside the terminal for an hour just to get inside. There were no VIP lines outside. There were 3 ships in port that morning and traffic was horrendous. Some People got to the terminal at 11am and did not get on the ship until 3:30 or 4. Their set-up is not very good at San Diego, as they had all the ship's passengers going into one small door.

 

I am sure that if you are the only ship departing for the day, that it is much better...as must have been the case with the glowing reports about this terminal. However, it was chaotic with 3 ships in port. I suggest you check out this website to see how many ships will be in port the day you depart and then plan accordingly.

 

http://www.portofsandiego.org/sandiego_maritime/cruise/schedulesearch.asp

 

Also, take note, as SFAgent said, it is not full VIP like other terminals. You have a line you get to use once inside the terminal, but there is no waiting area for the VIP and to get on the ship they actually just handed us a handicap placquard to get immediate boarding. I guess they had run out of the VIP placquards. Then we had to go over and get in whatever group was called and show the placquard. It was not like other places where you sign in...go to a VIP holding area and then they just board you. I felt kinda bad holding this handicapped placquard in the midst of a bunch of people who must have been wondering why we got to push ahead and get on board when we were obviously able bodied.

Thayt website is cool but I noticed that the 2 day Dawn Princess I booked for May 4 isn't listed, so I wonder how accurate it is.

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Kurbanfan

Kurbanfan

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Do they have VIP Check In at the port

 

I agree with some of the others. Don't need VIP in San Diego. Best port we have ever sailed out of. On the ship in a matter of minutes.

We sailed on the Spirit and Elation out of San Diego.

There were 2 ships in port when we sailed on the Spirit and the Elation was the only ship in port at the time.

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bonstersd

bonstersd

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2 ships in port when I sail. My edocs say we cannot arrive before 1:30 but no later than 3 for a 4pm sailing. Doesn't leave much time for crowds. Do we really have to wait until 1:30? Our shuttle leaves the hotel at 11 so we'll be at the port around 11:15ish.

 

 

You can probably start boarding around 11, but you'll have a slight wait as that's when most people are getting there and boarding. I usually don't board until after 1pm. The VIP is just a line, but I don't need a private room in which to wait. San Diego is by far the best and fastest port I've been through, especially this last year. And, to make it even better, I live here!

 

BTW, I'll be cruising with you on the Spriit on the 13th

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