Tahiti Embarkation & Debarkation Procedures

This information comes to you from our travel agent per Princess Cruises regarding boarding the ship and your exit. If you search around the internet for past passenger reviews, you will no doubt find that there is some flexibility in how early you can board the ship and how late you can remain on the last day. Don't forget that regardless of how early your flight comes in, it will take you a while to collect your luggage, go through immigration, and arrange for transportation.  There are several flights arriving early in the morning adding to the volume of passengers who need to be processed.

Embarkation
“Passengers should note they are not allowed to board the ship until 12:00 Noon. Transfers to the ship commence from the PPT Airport at 11:00 AM.

Staff are NOT available at the airport to meet early arriving flights between 1:00 AM and 5:00 AM. It is therefore recommended that passengers on these early morning flights make their own 1-night accommodations at a local hotel in Papeete. Taxis are available at the airport and at hotels.”

Disembarkation
“On disembarkation day, passengers stay on board their ship in Papeete until their late overnight flight back to LAX. Passengers arrive into LAX the morning after disembarkation.

Passengers on morning or mid-afternoon flights:
Upon disembarking the vessel, passengers are required to collect their luggage at the tent before boarding their ground transportation. Ground handler staff and porters are available at the pier to greet and direct the passengers to the luggage tent to collect/id their luggage.

Princess Transfer Passengers on late-departing flights (or early-morning flights the next day, i.e. 2:30 AM)
Princess Transfer Passengers on late-departing flights (9:30 PM onward) remain onboard the ship until their transfer to the airport. Their disembarkation begins at approximately 4 hours prior to flight departure.

Porters collect the luggage from the passengers and load it onto luggage vans. The luggage vans are sent ahead to the airport where bags are laid out for passengers to collect upon arrival. Airport porters and ground handler staff are available to assist the passengers with their luggage. For security reasons, passengers are required to carry their own luggage through security screening and to the airline check-in counters.

Passengers without Transfers
Passengers without transfers are responsible for securing their own transfer to the airport. Their luggage is laid out pierside for passenger identification and collection. All passengers without transfers must disembark by 11:00 AM. Once they have disembarked, passengers are directed by Princess Representatives to the luggage collection area, through Customs, and to their independent transportation or Taxi Dispatch area.

Passengers with an independent extended stay in Papeete
Passengers without transfers are responsible for securing their own transfer to the airport. Their luggage is laid out pierside for passenger identification and collection. All passengers without transfers must disembark by 11:00 AM. Once they have disembarked, passengers are directed by Princess Representatives to the luggage collection area, through Customs, and to their independent transportation or Taxi Dispatch area.

Groups with Private Transportation
Any groups that have arranged private transportation to meet them at the pier should advise the Pursers staff onboard the ship of the arrangement details (i.e., pickup time, number of passengers, and local transportation company contact numbers, etc.). This will ensure a smooth disembarkation. Please note, they must disembark by 11:00 AM.

Holding Location/Hospitality Lounge - Disembarkation
The ship is the holding location for Princess Transfer passengers departing on evening flights. Princess Transfer passengers are allowed to remain in their cabin until approximately 10:00 AM on the day of disembarkation. After this time, passengers with Princess transfer arrangements may remain on board and use the public facilities prior to their scheduled transfer to the airport for their return flight (passengers without Princess transfer arrangments must disembark by 11:00 AM). Passengers are transferred to the airport approximately 3 hours prior to their flight departure. Upon arrival at the airport, passengers identify their luggage and proceed directly to their flight check-in.

Meal Service: Passengers departing on evening flights have access to the ship's dining facilities for lunch and dinner, subject to the passengers' scheduled departure time to the airport. Ship to confirm designated venues for meals onboard.

Luggage: Passengers place their luggage outside their stateroom door the night before disembarkation (as directed to do so by ship's staff). On day of sailing, the passengers' luggage is off-loaded in the morning and secured in trucks until transfer time to the airport in the evening.”