Insane disembarkation at Canada Place today!

In preparing for our Alaska cruise which sadly ended today, I completely forgot to check to see how many ships would be disembarking this morning. Unless one ship left very early last weekend, when we boarded the Coral last Saturday around 2 pm, there was just us and a Holland America ship in port, so I figured today wouldn't be too crazy of a day. Boy, was I wrong! There were three of us docked this morning, and man, was it nuts!

We docked about 30 minutes late, which of course delayed everything else at least 30-45 minutes. Getting off the ship wasn't so bad - we were in the 8:50 group and I think we were off by 9:15. Finding our luggage was a mess - nothing was where it should be and there was a mass of confused people looking for their baggage, so that was nuts; it took a good 20 minutes to locate both of our bags. From there we made our way out to the taxi line, where we waited for 1.5 hours to make our way to the front of the line. We hopped in a cab at 11:10 and ended up missing our 12:15 flight out of YVR as we arrived too late for them to get our bags on the plane. Luckily for us there was a another flight at 1:15 so we were able to get on that one, but we did not enjoy ending our relaxing cruise with such chaos! In future when we sail out of Canada Place, if there are more than 2 ships docked when we return, we'll either use the Princess transfers or arrange for a car to pick us up - there are not enough taxis in Vancouver to handle 3 ships plus locals needing taxis! Just a warning for future cruisers :D We did have a fantastic cruise and experienced some of the best weather southern Alaska has had in months (based on what locals in all ports told us) so that makes up for the messy ending to our trip!

They said on the news that Monday was going to be the same.

I always tell friends if they've never cruised to check how many ships in Port of Vancouver as it can be chaotic.

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on our last Princess voyage on Caribbean Princess, something went wrong with the customs/immigration and we didn't get off the ship until after noon... Thankfully, our flight was at 5 pm, because the check-the-luggage line at the airport took another hour and security took some time as well.

Finding our luggage was a mess - nothing was where it should be and there was a mass of confused people looking for their baggage, so that was nuts; it took a good 20 minutes to locate both of our bags. From there we made our way out to the taxi line, where we waited for 1.5 hours to make our way to the front of the line. We hopped in a cab at 11:10 and ended up missing our 12:15 flight out of YVR as we arrived too late for them to get our bags on the plane. Luckily for us there was a another flight at 1:15 so we were able to get on that one, but we did not enjoy ending our relaxing cruise with such chaos! In future when we sail out of Canada Place, if there are more than 2 ships docked when we return, we'll either use the Princess transfers or arrange for a car to pick us up - there are not enough taxis in Vancouver to handle 3 ships plus locals needing taxis! Just a warning for future cruisers :D

Good idea!!

It would also help if you're able...to do walk off with your bags. We try to pack so that we can just schlep everything with us when we leave the ship.

Good idea!!

It would also help if you're able...to do walk off with your bags. We try to pack so that we can just schlep everything with us when we leave the ship.

We usually do that on Caribbean cruises, but there was no way that was happening on this cruise; our bags were full when we arrived! I even had to use the Princess tote bag to carry the souvenirs home because they wouldn't fit in the suitcases, lol.

Waterfront station is only 300m (It is less from the front of the Pan Pacific if you take the taxi there) from Canada Place and trains run every 6 minutes. In cases people have written about getting the train would have been far better.

In preparing for our Alaska cruise which sadly ended today, I completely forgot to check to see how many ships would be disembarking this morning. Unless one ship left very early last weekend, when we boarded the Coral last Saturday around 2 pm, there was just us and a Holland America ship in port, so I figured today wouldn't be too crazy of a day. Boy, was I wrong! There were three of us docked this morning, and man, was it nuts!

 

 

 

We docked about 30 minutes late, which of course delayed everything else at least 30-45 minutes. Getting off the ship wasn't so bad - we were in the 8:50 group and I think we were off by 9:15. Finding our luggage was a mess - nothing was where it should be and there was a mass of confused people looking for their baggage, so that was nuts; it took a good 20 minutes to locate both of our bags. From there we made our way out to the taxi line, where we waited for 1.5 hours to make our way to the front of the line. We hopped in a cab at 11:10 and ended up missing our 12:15 flight out of YVR as we arrived too late for them to get our bags on the plane. Luckily for us there was a another flight at 1:15 so we were able to get on that one, but we did not enjoy ending our relaxing cruise with such chaos! In future when we sail out of Canada Place, if there are more than 2 ships docked when we return, we'll either use the Princess transfers or arrange for a car to pick us up - there are not enough taxis in Vancouver to handle 3 ships plus locals needing taxis! Just a warning for future cruisers :D We did have a fantastic cruise and experienced some of the best weather southern Alaska has had in months (based on what locals in all ports told us) so that makes up for the messy ending to our trip!

Definitely a disappointing way to end an otherwise a fantastcic cruise,

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Not a great ending for sure.

We learned from past experience with long cab lines at Canada Place and/or the Pan Pacific we grab a free baggage cart, walk away from the pier and hail a cab down the street.

In preparing for our Alaska cruise which sadly ended today, I completely forgot to check to see how many ships would be disembarking this morning. Unless one ship left very early last weekend, when we boarded the Coral last Saturday around 2 pm, there was just us and a Holland America ship in port, so I figured today wouldn't be too crazy of a day. Boy, was I wrong! There were three of us docked this morning, and man, was it nuts!

 

 

 

We docked about 30 minutes late, which of course delayed everything else at least 30-45 minutes. Getting off the ship wasn't so bad - we were in the 8:50 group and I think we were off by 9:15. Finding our luggage was a mess - nothing was where it should be and there was a mass of confused people looking for their baggage, so that was nuts; it took a good 20 minutes to locate both of our bags. From there we made our way out to the taxi line, where we waited for 1.5 hours to make our way to the front of the line. We hopped in a cab at 11:10 and ended up missing our 12:15 flight out of YVR as we arrived too late for them to get our bags on the plane. Luckily for us there was a another flight at 1:15 so we were able to get on that one, but we did not enjoy ending our relaxing cruise with such chaos! In future when we sail out of Canada Place, if there are more than 2 ships docked when we return, we'll either use the Princess transfers or arrange for a car to pick us up - there are not enough taxis in Vancouver to handle 3 ships plus locals needing taxis! Just a warning for future cruisers :D We did have a fantastic cruise and experienced some of the best weather southern Alaska has had in months (based on what locals in all ports told us) so that makes up for the messy ending to our trip!

The train at Waterfront Station is just a block away. Easy access to the airport in 30-40 mins. Your cruise line should definitely publicize this!

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The train at Waterfront Station is just a block away. Easy access to the airport in 30-40 mins. Your cruise line should definitely publicize this!

 

 

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Actually, one entrance for Waterfront is directly in front of Canada Place. I hate you had this experience!

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That would make me crazy. Terrible way to end a great cruise.

Tony

I'm embarking Monday morning with three ships in Port so I'm planning on a long long wait. Taxi Driver tonight said there will be three ships in tomorrow also everybody's in transit it seems.

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That's really too bad to hear. I wish you had known about the Canada Line (skytrain/subway) that goes directly to YVR from just around the corner from Canada Place (Waterfront station). Easy direct ride for a few $$$ each. A tip for next time. :)

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When we cruise we often book a hotel for the night following embarkation. We have a better choice of flights and are able to relax and be the last off the ship (really easy to find luggage). We have a relaxed day and resume travel the next day. This really preserves the cruise relaxation mode!

Wow that must have been stressful! Thanks for the reminder, and that's why we always stay overnight in our cruise disembarkation city and fly home the next day.

We had a horrible embarkation in Vancouver last May ... and I am pretty sure the disembarking passengers would have said the exact same thing. Sheer chaos with 3 ships in port that day ...so I feel your pain.

I now think long and hard about booking cruises that start or end at that port.

I have taken the sky train before and that is definitely the way to go but maybe some Vancouverites can chime in on this. I noticed that at least one has recommended the sky train but then I read on here that luggage is not allowed on the Sky Train ... maybe this was just on weekdays. Is this true?? When we went, there were many others with carry on luggage on the train. But, is this a no no or is it just not enforced?? BTW ...for us, it was a very convenient way to get from the train station to Canada place, even with a small amount of luggage. Not sure if it would be quite as convenient with a couple larger pieces luggage, especially if it is raining.

Debarkation? Great idea.. especially if you can get off the flight and go right to the ship for to embark. Getting a hotel ahead of time I hate because things get out of place and you have to repack to go the next morning but I think it's a splendid idea spend time and relax afterwards.

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Gotta checj that out.

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Unfortunately Canada Place doesn't operate well with three ships in port including taxis.

Keith

From waterfront station there are two trains..canada line and sky train.

Canada line runs to the airport and takes luggage, bikes,buggies and any other crap you have.

Sky train runs to the burbs and the trains have no dedicated luggage space.

Hope this helps

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From waterfront station there are two trains..canada line and sky train.

Canada line runs to the airport and takes luggage, bikes,buggies and any other crap you have.

Sky train runs to the burbs and the trains have no dedicated luggage space.

Hope this helps

 

 

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One slight correction, Skytrain is referring to the whole system, the Expo, Millenium, and Evergreen lines run to the other areas in the lower mainland./the burbs. [emoji4]

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It has been a while, but I have been on a b2b when there were multiple ships in port. A true nightmare. I've included a couple of links.

https://www.portvancouver.com/cruise/faqs/

I'm not sure about this one. The information on their home page seems to be from 2016...but....

I have used them before. Instead of turning right to get to the taxis...you exit left. They did have someone holding a sign after you cleared customs. Worth checking out by calling them directly.

https://www.vancouvershuttle.ca/product-category/bookings

If you decide to stay in Vancouver, I have recommended Tour Guys before. They are a "free" (accepts tips) for wonderful walking tours of several areas.

From waterfront station there are two trains..canada line and sky train.

Canada line runs to the airport and takes luggage, bikes,buggies and any other crap you have.

Sky train runs to the burbs and the trains have no dedicated luggage space.

Hope this helps

 

 

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Great info! Thanks to you (and everyone else) who mentioned the train - I hadn't even thought of it even though I knew there was a train stop nearby (wouldn't have known what to do once we got there anyway, lol). We'll sail out of Vancouver around this time next year so I will have to look into taking the train back to the airport once the cruise is done (we'll spend a few days in town before we sail but will have to head straight home afterwards).

Thank you for sharing your awful experience! I'm now gonna check our day because we planned on taking a taxi.

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Thank you for sharing your awful experience! I'm now gonna check our day because we planned on taking a taxi.

 

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Me too. I appreciate the update on the situation there and have adjusted my mode of travel due to the OP's post.