Even though you're not staying in Vancouver, you need to show your passport just to transfer through its port. Choose Vancouver if: You tend to get seasick. Vancouver you will sail entirely in the Inside Passage, where the waters are very calm. You will have two spots—one at the northern tip of Vancouver Island and the other at the northern tip of the Queen Charlotte Islands—where you can have some rough water, but it's no more than a few hours in each case.
You want more scenery. Unlike the route from Seattle, this itinerary stays behind Vancouver Island and stays more along the coastline, with more opportunities for wildlife and landscape views.
Want something different? In those cases, you can even choose day itineraries, with one end out of San Francisco or San Diego Choose the one-way strategy if: You want to add a land tour , which is easy to add on the Alaskan port end of the cruise. If you have a particularly early flight home, alert the front desk at least a day in advance, and they will give you priority disembarkation, as designated by the color-coded tags on your luggage. If you have a later flight, kick back and enjoy another cup of coffee.
This is not a process that goes particularly fast. Remember, you aren't allowed to get off earlier than the time designated by your luggage tags in order to avoid crowding at the gangway the ramp leading off the ship , which could cause delays for travelers who must disembark early. You can, however, get off later unless you have a scheduled transfer from the cruise pier that you'd be in danger of missing. While some lines let you stay in your cabins until it's time to leave, others request that those with later disembark times vacate staterooms by a specific time often around 9 a.
Once your group is called, you will proceed with any carry-on luggage to the designated lower deck where the gangway is. You will need to show your cruise card one final time; once you step off the ship, you can keep it as a souvenir. On the last morning of your cruise, most of the ship's public areas will be closed for cleaning and preparation for the next set of passengers, who will be coming aboard later the same day.
Your daily newsletter will outline when the various dining venues are open for breakfast, usually on an earlier schedule or with shortened hours. The gym and pools will be closed, but lounges will be open for people to wait with their bags once they've left their cabins. Cruise ship shops will also be closed, but some lines keep their photo galleries open for last-minute purchases and pickups. You will not be able to purchase additional Internet time after a certain time on your last evening aboard, but you can usually use pre-purchased minutes until you leave the ship.
You have two options for getting your bags off the ship. If you want crewmembers to carry your suitcases off the ship for you, you will need to have your bags packed, tagged with color-coded tags the ship will provide on the last day aboard and set outside your cabin door at a specified time the night before you disembark. Usually, the deadline is sometime between 10 p. Crewmembers will pick up your luggage, carry it off the ship in the morning and place the bags in sections, according to tag colors, at the cruise terminal for you to reclaim.
Before the deadline, ship's staff will return any confiscated items such as alcohol purchased in port to your cabin for you to pack. This procedure has its inconveniences. You have to remember to leave out everything you will need on your final morning, including the clothes you want to wear home. Anything you don't put in the checked bags -- nightclothes, toiletries, and so on -- has to fit in your carry-on.
Although most people report no problems, there is the opportunity for theft, so you might want to put TSA locks or cable-ties on your bags to secure your belongings. It's always wise to keep valuables and important medications with you. Note: If you're taking advantage of a cruise's luggage shipping program, you may have to claim your bags at customs and personally deliver them to the shipping representative. Check with the valet company handling your luggage as to disembarkation procedures.
The second option is "self disembarkation," which more and more cruise lines are offering, so long as you are able-bodied. With this option, you'll keep your luggage with you and leave the ship at any time during the disembarkation process, but you will have to carry your own bags. To disembark all passengers from a cruise ship takes a few hours. From the time your group is called, you can be off the ship in 15 minutes.
What takes the most time is getting down to the appropriate deck with all of your bags, since the elevators are always crowded on the final morning, and then waiting in line to show your cruise card one last time as you exit the ship.
Occasionally, an issue with clearing the ship delays passenger disembarkation and can create lines. The opposite of aft is forward. Some upper-tier cruise lines — Silversea, Crystal, Uniworld and others — tout their all-inclusive itineraries. It means you don't pay extra for specialty restaurants, for tipping, for drinks on board.
Read the fine print, because some cruise lines cover certain costs while others don't. Silversea's Silver Shadow. Your cruise fare covers the cost of the ship's regular dining rooms and buffets. On many ships you have the choice of dining at an alternative or specialty restaurant that offers a higher end or niche dining venue, generally for an additional price. MSC Orchestra's 4 Seasons.
Anti-rebating is a policy maintained by nearly all cruise lines that maintains a floor on pricing and prevents travel providers from engaging in price wars and client poaching. Some cruise ships give passengers assigned seating with fixed-time dining for their main dining rooms, letting you get to know the same fellow passengers for the duration of the cruise. Though this is becoming less common, a large ship might offer a first seating main seating and second seating.
Other ships have open seating or "freestyle" or "anytime" dining, and some cruisers choose to dine in specialty restaurants without assigned seating. Celebrity Solstice formal night.
An atoll pronounced uh-TOLE is a ring-shaped reef, island or chain of small islands formed of coral and encircling a lagoon. The atrium of a mid-size or large ship is the central passenger area, equivalent to the lobby of a hotel. You'll find the reception desk, shore excursion desk and other guest services in this multi-deck, often glitzy area. Some ships call this area the foyer, lobby or Centrum.
Queen Elizabeth atrium. On a ship, a berth means a bed. In a port, it means where the ship is docked. An individually or custom-made product or service. Bespoke travel is a type of traveling in which a trip is designed specifically for a client with a focus on unique, highly local experiences.
A booze cruise is the term for a cruise, typically only a few days long, that features free or low-cost alcohol and where the vibe is all about partying and drinking both on the ship and in port.
Bow is the front or forward section of a ship. The rear section of a ship is the stern. Calving is the break-up or splintering of a glacier or iceberg so as to produce a detached piece of ice.
Calving iceberg in Alaska. A canape CAN-a-pay is a small piece of bread or pastry with a savory topping, often served at a reception or to guests on a cruise ship. Captain's table. On some ships, it refers to a dinner event in which select passengers are selected to dine with the ship's captain and other guests. Cay pronounced key is a small sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. The word is used almost exclusively to refer to islets in the Caribbean.
Several cruise lines land for shore excursions at private cays. Beach at Great Stirrup Cay. Cenotes are natural swimming holes formed by the collapse of porous limestone bedrock, revealing a subterranean world of groundwater pools. Most cave cenotes have pure, clear, fresh water, perfect for swimming and diving.
A cenote in the Yucatan. Centrum is the Norwegian name for atrium. Royal Caribbean uses the term for the atrium or hub of its ships, which often features not just reception desks but a lively area for high-wire aerial entertainment, performances and games. Splendour of Seas' Centrum. In a charter, or group booking, any group of individuals — relatives, a company, an organization — can charter all or part of a cruise ship.
Christmas market. During the holidays, river cruise lines offer itineraries of Christmas markets, or holiday markets, featuring town squares festooned with the traditional sights, smells and tastes of Christmas.
Christmas market, Prague. In recent years, some cruise lines have adopted some informal terms to refer to norovirus outbreaks. Code Orange refers to early stages of a reported infection, where the buffet is no longer self-service but pools and public rooms remain open. Code Red refers to a wider outbreak of norovirus, which results in the closure of pools, whirlpools and self-service dining and requires the crew to scrub down all public areas each day. Remember to repeatedly wash your hands. A cruise card — also called a key card, cruise ship ID card, ship card and other names — is a plastic card the size of a credit card that is issued on embarkation day for several purposes: to allow entry and exit from the ship, to allow access to your room, to add purchases to your bill and for other uses.
A cruise ID card. On larger ships, a cruise director heads up the ship's entertainment staff and often emcees events. A cruise to nowhere is a sailing in which a ship will sail in open waters for one to three days without reaching a destination. Guests get the chance to experience the amenities of a cruise, including its casino. These are popular choices for family reunions, romantic getaways, bachelor or bachelorette parties, girlfriend retreats or to get a quick casino fix.
Cruise ship casino. A cruise tour, or cruisetour as the cruise lines call it , is a full land and sea vacation combining a cruise with a land journey before or after the cruise. Sometimes it comes with a host or guide. Denali National Park, Alaska. To leave a ship and go ashore is to debark.
Most often it's used to refer to departing the ship at the end of a voyage. By the way, definitely don't debark your dog! Opposite: to embark. To leave a ship and go ashore is to disembark though the proper term for leaving a ship — and not an airplane — is to "debark".
Double occupancy is a type of travel accommodation for two persons sharing the same room. Some cruise lines offer special fares for solo travelers. A couple on a Ponant cruise. Dry-dock is the period when ships are taken out of the water so external surfaces can be cleaned and machinery can be serviced.
A minor refurbishment may take a short time, while a major refurbishment can cost millions, last months and involve major upgrades to the entire ship. A Seabourn ship in dry dock. There is no tax or duty due on goods purchased at a duty-free shop on a ship sailing in foreign waters. Passengers can purchase liquor, cigarettes, perfume, jewelry and electronics tax free. Goods for sale will depend on ship. The rules are different for air travel, where travelers can purchase goods at duty-free shops without paying tax on the items if they're on their way out of a country usually a hour window applies ; U.
Silver Spirit duty-free shop. Many cruise ships offer enrichment programs, which let passengers sign up for short courses for self-improvement in art, cooking, digital photography, computers and other subjects, usually taught by art instructors, guest lecturers, chefs and other experts. Enrichment programs are sometimes free, often not.
Enrichment class. Expedition cruises, or adventure cruises, cater to those seeking more off-the-beaten-path itineraries in places like the Galapagos, Antarctica, eastern Russia or Svalbard. Gentoo penguin in Antarctica. FIT is a travel industry acronym for Fully or Freely Independent Travel — that is, an individual or small group vacationing without a packaged tour. Some suppliers, such as river cruise lines, use FIT to refer to individual bookings as opposed to group travel.
Flightseeing is a form of sightseeing from the air, generally done in a small aircraft. Flightseeing in Alaska. An onboard surf pool on some Royal Caribbean ships where guests can try their hand at surfing or boogie-boarding. A flyboard looks like a snowboard that you strap on to go flying over the water for sport. You mostly go straight up and down. Also see: hoverboard and kiteboard, two other hydro-sports.
Forward refers to a location or direction — the front section of a ship. The opposite of forward is aft. Freestyle Cruising. Norwegian Cruise Line's style of cruising, featuring casual dress and no set dinner times or assigned seating in restaurants. The idea is that you can dine when, where and with whomever you want.
Other cruise lines offer this as well. Norwegian Breakaway. French balcony. A French balcony is not really a balcony. It's a glass door or wall-to-wall window that opens to give you fresh air and the feel of a veranda, minus the veranda, tables and chairs.
Many river ships constrained by width limitations use them to give the feeling of turning your cabin into a veranda. A funicular is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope.
Travelers use them to ascend and descend steep walkways or to get to the top of hills, especially in some European cities. A gateway is a place or stop travelers use to reach their final destination. On an international trip from Miami to Rome, your gateway city might be Houston for the first leg of your journey to Miami. San Francisco International. GPS, or Global Positioning System, is a satellite navigation system that can be used to locate positions anywhere on the earth.
It's widely used in mobile devices, vehicles, planes, ships — almost anything that moves these days. A measurement of enclosed passenger space, including the space in cabins, lounges, showrooms and dining rooms. Although frequently misunderstood, GRT is a measure of volume, not weight.
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