Vancouver airport-long lines, long waits

[Esha]

Lotsofkids :

 

Yes you have to clear Canadian customs/immigration on arrival at the cruise ship pier, then clear US customs/immigration at the airport when flying into America. It was the US clearance that took us 2 hours.

 

We did the self disembarkation at the end of our cruise, which means we wheeled all of our luggage off the ship....that way we could get off as soon as the ship had been cleared in Vancouver.

 

In fact we waited with our luggage on the sofas by the exit gangplank for it to be opened. We had already filled in our Canadian customs form and had our passports in our hand. As soon as passengers were allowed to get off the ship, we did.

 

The Canadian customs/entry officers were superb. We literally walked right through, pausing only temporarily to hand in our customs form and very briefly show our passport. We hardly broke our stride. (We were maybe the 3rd set of couples off the boat).

 

So I suggest your sister do the self disembarkation and be down by the gangplank to leave the ship before it is opened. Hopefully things will go smoothly for her. If she's not capable of getting herself and all her luggage off the boat, then I think she really could have problems making her flight.

 

Wishing her good luck, Helen

 

Forgot to say that our cruise ship was the only one at Canada Place, so maybe that speeded up our Canadian customs/immigration passage.

[lotsofkids]

Thanks Helen and to all the others that offered info.

 

She has decided to keep her reservation "as is" with worst case scenario that she misses her connection, in which case her airline would re-route her on a later flight. (so she might as well try) She will only have 1 suitcase and 1 carry-on and plans on taking Helen's advise of rolling them off herself and being one of the first off the ship! She will then flag the first taxi waiting and head to YVR. We disembark at Ballentyne Pier and I think we are one of two ships at Ballentyne that day. (there will be 5 ships in total at the piers) so she MUST get to the airport before the rush! Anyhow, thanks for your help... We will all be hoping she makes her flight!

 

I'll try and followup in a month and let you know "if" she actually made it!

 

Diane

[cruiseryyc]

she misses her connection, in which case her airline would re-route her on a later flight. (Diane

 

As long as she realizes that she would have to pay for this re-routing as it would be her fault she missed her flight. Will be interested to see how this turns out and really hope she does make the flight.

[boulders]

Peachy. We're flying into Vancouver. Looks like 2 American flights arriving within 15 minutes of us and a flight from Hong Kong is arriving at the exact same time. So not looking good for us. I only gave us about 15 minutes to get to the car rental place. Does anyone know if they'll cancel the reservation if we're very late? Guess I should see if I can change the pickup time just to be sure. Never been through customs at an airport. We usually drive into Canada. Did have our car searched one time. Which was creepy. But I understand the need for security. It's neither Canada's or the US's fault that we have to have super critical security at customs.:( Anyway....Thanks for the link to the flight schedule! That really helped out!

 

I've been told by airport car rental agencies that they keep your reservation for 24 hours. Don't stress if you're 30-60 minutes "late".

[theZsatsea]

My group will be arriving at Canada Place on 9/16 at 7:00 AM. From what I can find, the Radiance will be the only ship in port that day. We also have a 11:16 am flight going to ORD. Our plan, up to now, was to disembark as early as possible and get a cab to the International Terminal, US Departures at YVR.

 

However, we are planning to use the Luggage Valet so that we minimize the amount of luggage we are carrying. I do not see any mention of the Valet plan by anyone on this thread. Am I missing something?

[scottbee]

My group will be arriving at Canada Place on 9/16 at 7:00 AM. From what I can find, the Radiance will be the only ship in port that day. We also have a 11:16 am flight going to ORD. Our plan, up to now, was to disembark as early as possible and get a cab to the International Terminal, US Departures at YVR.

 

However, we are planning to use the Luggage Valet so that we minimize the amount of luggage we are carrying. I do not see any mention of the Valet plan by anyone on this thread. Am I missing something?

 

If you're not bothering with luggage, walk the 3 blocks to Waterfront station and take the Skytrain rather than a taxi. It's faster, and at $3.75/ea a lot cheaper. The station on the YVR end is across the street from US departures (the station is on the roof of short term parkade at YVR)

 

However, I'm not entirely sure you're able to luggage valet check your luggage to the airport, as you potentially need it when passing through US CBP at YVR

[Putterdude]

My group will be arriving at Canada Place on 9/16 at 7:00 AM. From what I can find, the Radiance will be the only ship in port that day. We also have a 11:16 am flight going to ORD. Our plan, up to now, was to disembark as early as possible and get a cab to the International Terminal, US Departures at YVR.

 

However, we are planning to use the Luggage Valet so that we minimize the amount of luggage we are carrying. I do not see any mention of the Valet plan by anyone on this thread. Am I missing something?

 

In the normal course of events a ship's transfer is required to use Luggage Valet, that said I am aware that Princess will allow independent transfers but you may not have a flight time before 2pm if going the independent route... so perhaps you would get a better answer is you posed this question on the RCL forum or if you contacted RCL directly.

[ROCruiser]

We had no problem at the Vancouver airport security or the US Immigration. There were lines but they all seemed to be efficient. I found that the US Immigration at Vancouver airport was better than many other airports. The one line that held us up was checking in at the US Airways counter. The line was building up quickly and the staff didn't seem to want to open the counters and all the chech-in kiosk were not working right.

[lotsofkids]

The "luggage valet" option from our cruise line (NCL) would have been an option (if) my sisters flight was after 1pm. They will not accept transferring anyone with earlier arrangements as they cannot guarantee you'll make your flight! It would have been $25pp and NCL would provide transportation to YVR and your luggage would be fast tracked through a special holding area for the cruise passengers. We did not think this out thoroughly when arranging our return flights. Live and learn. : (

Keeping our fingers crossed that she'll still get out on time : )

[Sally Forth]

Peachy. We're flying into Vancouver. Looks like 2 American flights arriving within 15 minutes of us and a flight from Hong Kong is arriving at the exact same time. So not looking good for us. I only gave us about 15 minutes to get to the car rental place. Does anyone know if they'll cancel the reservation if we're very late? Guess I should see if I can change the pickup time just to be sure. Never been through customs at an airport. We usually drive into Canada. Did have our car searched one time. Which was creepy. But I understand the need for security. It's neither Canada's or the US's fault that we have to have super critical security at customs.:( Anyway....Thanks for the link to the flight schedule! That really helped out!

 

It's not too bad coming in. Canada Customs will put on extra staff. A lot of the people coming in from Hong Kong will have Canadian passports, too.

 

Viv

[Sally Forth]

A win for both of us can't wait for the snow birds to show up from Canada

 

I take public transit to and from work in Vancouver and am asked questions by tourists literally every day. (I think it's because I'm the only one without earbuds on and I look approachable) I love it and am so thrilled that people enjoy this city and province my family has called home for 150 years. Even though I am not directly employed in tourism, tourists create thousands of jobs in this province. (sort of like the snowbirds do in your state) Yes, it means that downtown gets crowded when there are lots of ships in port but who cares? It just adds to the vibe of the city. Most people I know in Vancouver feel the same way and we are very grateful to the cruise ships and other tourists.

 

It sounds like you had what most experienced travelers would just regard as a a fairly normal post 9-11 travel experience. Methinks a bit of it might be your attitude.

 

Viv

[Putterdude]

A win for both of us can't wait for the snow birds to show up from Canada

 

I would imagine you would....retailers and service providers in the area of Arizona we spend 5 months each winter love us....they tell me we represent 25 to 30% of their gross sales and obviously are overjoyed to see us. The state and county governments love us as well, we pay real estate and sales taxes and make virtually no demands on your systems. See you in 2 months.:D

[GweninTX]

We came thru YVR yesterday and the lines moved quickly and we were pleased with how efficient it all was! We also took a taxi from the Coral Princess to the airport and it was quick, beautiful ride thru downtown and was only $35! Plan ahead for the long lines and then be happy if you get thru them quickly like we did! We made it in record time! Princess handled it super and so did Vancouver airport and customs in my opinion!

[scottbee]

I take public transit to and from work in Vancouver and am asked questions by tourists literally every day. (I think it's because I'm the only one without earbuds on and I look approachable) I love it and am so thrilled that people enjoy this city and province my family has called home for 150 years. Even though I am not directly employed in tourism, tourists create thousands of jobs in this province. (sort of like the snowbirds do in your state) Yes, it means that downtown gets crowded when there are lots of ships in port but who cares? It just adds to the vibe of the city. Most people I know in Vancouver feel the same way and we are very grateful to the cruise ships and other tourists.

 

It sounds like you had what most experienced travelers would just regard as a a fairly normal post 9-11 travel experience. Methinks a bit of it might be your attitude.

 

In fact on Friday I directed some cruisers toward the YWCA after they stepped off Skytrain at Stadium Stn. I see people all the time. Amuzingly one of the most common questions I hear from cruisers is "Where can I get a great cup of coffee because I've been on a cruise for the past week"

[Sally Forth]

In fact on Friday I directed some cruisers toward the YWCA after they stepped off Skytrain at Stadium Stn. I see people all the time. Amuzingly one of the most common questions I hear from cruisers is "Where can I get a great cup of coffee because I've been on a cruise for the past week"

 

LOL! The coffee choices here are endless.

 

Viv

[gone2sead]

I've been told by airport car rental agencies that they keep your reservation for 24 hours. Don't stress if you're 30-60 minutes "late".

 

It's not too bad coming in. Canada Customs will put on extra staff. A lot of the people coming in from Hong Kong will have Canadian passports, too.

Sorry, I'm kinda new and didn't know how to use the "multi quote" on this thing.

Thanks for the replies! I guess we'll find out on Wednesday.

BTW- We've been to Canada 4 times (going on 5) and have really enjoyed it every time. Vancouver is a beautiful city and the people are super nice all over BC. Apparently they loooove coffee because coffee shops are on just about every corner. ha! Seems like donuts are a big hit too. Can't remember the name of that donut shop chain, but there are a lot of them and they've always been busy when we've been there. Kind of like Dunkin Donuts here in the States I guess.

[Putterdude]

You are thinking of Tim Horton's.

[CPAMom]

We arrived in Vancouver on the Zuiderdam Saturday morning 8/27. I believe there was at least one other cruise ship docking that morning. May have been more. We had an 11:00 am flight.

 

So -- we definitely knew we would want to be one of the first off the ship and carried our own luggage. The Zuiderdam began letting people off at 7:30 am. We got off at 7:45 am. There were no lines for us anywhere! We did not have to wait more than a minute for anything - even for a cab and we needed a van since there were 4 of us and 5 suitcases. I was very glad I had filled out all the customs forms ahead of time -- since there were no delays.

 

We flew united and had to make other arrangements for our connecting flight home because of the hurricane. Even that took next to no time -- but we were lucky, there were flights available into Dulles the next morning.

 

So -- bottom line sounds like the earlier you can get the airport, the better, if you have a morning flight. I know flying from YVR to the East coast didn't leave a whole lot of options because of the time differences.

 

Good luck

Laurie

[lotsofkids]

Thanks Laurie and gweninTX.... There is hope! Lol!

[Putterdude]

Thanks Laurie and gweninTX.... There is hope! Lol!

 

You could have a problem with lines...sorry. On 9/25 there are 5 cruise ships in port. The Pearl will be using the seldom used Ballantyne pier with the Golden Princess and the other 3 ships will be at Canada Place. So I would want to be at YVR ASAP. I can guarantee you that this forum will be full of line complaints that day....sort of reminds you of FLL on a busy day but at YVR you have to throw in the dynamic of having to clear US customs and immigration.

[lotsofkids]

Thanks so much "putter"

 

I did see that we are in Ballantyne and on that day and we will ultimately be competing with FIVE ships! Yikes!

 

It is very good to hear it a few more times to make SURE she will be the FIRST of our ship! Lol.

 

The key to her success or failure will be getting into YVR just ahead of the crush!

[Putterdude]

If you can self-desembark, try to get off the ship ASAP, clear customs, grab a cab and go....I hope your flight is not to early.

[cruiseryyc]

Putt I believe the flight they are trying to catch is at 11:15; it will be a push to make it.

[Putterdude]

I agree, with the 5 ships in port it will be extremely tight. I would be looking for a flight in the early afternoon.

[lotsofkids]

Lol....her flight is 11:16am (that extra minute could be important)

 

She was limited with flights going to East Coast (Boston) as they would bring her in much too late. (3hr time difference)

 

At this point we are all highly motivated to get her off the boat FIRST in line! And she feels, if she doesn't make it, then she will deal with her airline re-routing her on a later flight. Of course at that point, she will arrive home in the wee hours, but would have given it her best shot. I'll let you know in a couple of weeks how it all panned out!