Tips on getting through Vancouver Canada Place boarding

[CowPrincess]

It sounds like you had a good trip even though you found out cruising might not be for you. I appreciate the information on your experience at Canada Place. I have told everyone in my group to expect long lines and we might have to wait a couple of hours before boarding. I want them to expect the worse and hopefully we will be surprised with short lines!

 

 

I'm hoping like crazy that the experience at Canada Place improves -- we will be embarking with 3 other ships when we go in Sept. :eek: Two are small, but every person adds to the load.

[SwissMyst]

I have been in touch with a representative from Canada Place telling them about our concerns on this forum and in typical Canadian fashion they are as nice as they can be.

 

It does appear that May is a particularly impacted time for them when so many ships arrive all at once for re-positioning to start the Alaska season. They readily admit they had a breakdown due to the sheer volume of passengers they ended up handling on some of those May days - over 15,000 at worst.

 

While unfortunate news for those who had to endure this nightmare in May, it hopefully looks better for those of us now traveling later in the season when schedules have had time to sort out and stagger embarkation days.

 

Still looks like Saturday departures might be the worst, but with perhaps "only" 6000 passengers being served at one time rather than the 15,000 they had to accomodate on several days in May.

 

One more week and I can add one more first hand report about June departures at Canada Place - on a Saturday with at least two large ships in port that day: Zuiderdam and Coral Princess

 

Hopefully the only concern will be the gray dismal skies, but it looks like Alaska is opening to sunny and even warm weather and lots of daylight hours to enjoy it.

[CowPrincess]

I will be waiting with anticipation to read your report on Canada Place, SwissMyst. Is the 6000 you refer to the TOTAL load (3000 offloading and 3000 onloading), or embarking-only?

[SwissMyst]

I will be waiting with anticipation to read your report on Canada Place, SwissMyst. Is the 6000 you refer to the TOTAL load (3000 offloading and 3000 onloading), or embarking-only?

 

Gulp, you are right. There are as many getting off as getting on but I was assuming these activities would take place at different places and times with different personnel demands.

 

I was thinking of two approx. 2000 passenger ships (Zuiderdam and Coral Princess) and their crews to make a possible 6000. Though I don't know how many crew members also get on and off the ships at each port, but Canada Place should be able to handle at least this amount - since they have provisions for at least three ships at a time.

 

And they do want this to work. No city wants to lose the benefits of cruise ships. Fingers crossed. I told them we were on vacation when we start our trips at Canada Place; not going to a boot camp.

[askworldtraveler]

The Fairmont (as does the Pan Pacific) will pick your luggage up from your room and deliver it right to the ship- no need to lug it. Not sure there might be a small fee (one of the hotels, not sure which). My 'family" group on the July 3 trip will use this.

 

We got off the Zuiderdam in early May from the repositioning - as one Princess and another Dam ship pulled it. Off is no big deal - with the however of having your transportation lined up.

 

Looking forward to hearing about your trip as we sail a few weeks later. Have a fantastic time!

[SwissMyst]

The Fairmont (as does the Pan Pacific) will pick your luggage up from your room and deliver it right to the ship- no need to lug it. Not sure there might be a small fee (one of the hotels, not sure which). ........

 

We are staying at the Fairmont, but I heard the luggage service only came free for repeat President Club members. This will be our first visit with them, but it sounds like it is one of the services well worth the extra costs. And we get the lower grade suite perks on this trip too .... can hardly wait. Hope this means priority boarding for our SZ suite rating. Still waiting for our cabin number, with one week to go.

[SHERGIB]

We are staying at the Fairmont, but I heard the luggage service only came free for repeat President Club members. This will be our first visit with them, but it sounds like it is one of the services well worth the extra costs. And we get the lower grade suite perks on this trip too .... can hardly wait. Hope this means priority boarding for our SZ suite rating. Still waiting for our cabin number, with one week to go.

 

We stayed at the Waterfront last Sept. Our luggage was transferred to the pier at no cost, nor were we asked if we were President's Club members. The HAL rep also got a cab for my husband as well as another couple as both men were unable to walk to the embarkation point. The problem on the pier was being told there would be a 90 minute wait for a wheelchair. We opted to take it very slowly and were not given a help to get on board. It was a great cruise especially when we got to the counter and found we had been upgraded to a verandah suite. That was th frosting on the cake !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[RuthC]

We are staying at the Fairmont, but I heard the luggage service only came free for repeat President Club members.

Whenever I've stayed at the Fairmont, my luggage has been sent directly to the ship. This has been true when I was there on a HAL pre-cruise, and when I stayed independently.

I am not a Presidents' Club member.

[CowPrincess]

Gulp, you are right. There are as many getting off as getting on but I was assuming these activities would take place at different places and times with different personnel demands.

 

I was thinking of two approx. 2000 passenger ships (Zuiderdam and Coral Princess) and their crews to make a possible 6000. Though I don't know how many crew members also get on and off the ships at each port, but Canada Place should be able to handle at least this amount - since they have provisions for at least three ships at a time.

 

And they do want this to work. No city wants to lose the benefits of cruise ships. Fingers crossed. I told them we were on vacation when we start our trips at Canada Place; not going to a boot camp.

 

Last year I was on the first HAL cruise to Alaska, from Vancouver. The problems we encountered were as a result of 2 ships not clearing Customs (or Immigration or whatever it is!!!) as they were supposed to. So the pax that were to EMBARK had no place to go, backing up the terminal into a line-up that reached the street. Then once the ships had cleared, there can be no "mingling" of disembarking pax with embarking pax, so even once the lines to embark started moving, the lines had to be stopped frequently to permit disembarking pax to leave.

 

I'm hopeful that it is just start-up pains, and by the time we get there, it will be running as smoothly as it has in the past.

[SwissMyst]

cruisett website link that shows why it was such a breakdown at Canada Place last May when four ships were in the same days. This link lets you know who is sharing this port with you on your departure days, if any, and the number of passenger to be handled on that day too. Nightmare in May, and only a half nightmare on the Saturdays Zuiderdam has to share with one of the Princess ships of similar size. Choose your ship and your departure date with care when leaving from Vancouver: http://cruisett.com/ports.php?PortID=729&date=21

 

WARNING - WATCH OUT FOR SEPTEMBER 19 - NIGHTMARE REDUX - AND A LOT OF THEM ARE HAL SHIPS - OVER 8000 PASSENGERS ON THAT DAY!!!

[fionan]

All non-US passengers last year were herded into a special area to clear US immigration. This included having our fingerprints taken. The machine I had to use was gummy from other people's hand prints and there were no sanitising gel dispensers or restrooms available until I got on the ship about an hour later. Talk about a Code Red generator.

[hackwid]

Hi. I am traveling with a 70year old person and I wanted to get her a wheelchair to assist her on the ship. Once onboard she is ok. You mention in your post reserving one at the port. How do you do that? I have searched these boards and am not sure how I go about that. We are on the Radiance of the Seas, Royal Carribean on 9/10/2010.

Thanks for any help.

[RuthC]

Hi. I am traveling with a 70year old person and I wanted to get her a wheelchair to assist her on the ship. Once onboard she is ok. You mention in your post reserving one at the port. How do you do that? I have searched these boards and am not sure how I go about that. We are on the Radiance of the Seas, Royal Carribean on 9/10/2010.

Thanks for any help.

If you're sailing on RCCL, then you might be better off posing this question on that board. The procedures might be different.

I know that on HAL you don't reserve a wheelchair for (dis)embarkation---you merely may known that you need one, and one is provided. Sometimes there's a wait, though---once in a while it's a long wait.