Reboarding Ship after visiting Canada Place?

[Northshorecruisers]

We will be sailing Zuiderdam our of Vancouver in 2 weeks. We planned to get checked into the ship and drop our bags in our cabin, then head to walk around Canada Place for an hour or so.

 

How easy is it to walk back on the ship? Will we just be able to scan our cards and walk on or will we need to stand in a line with people who haven't checked in yet?

[Putterdude]

You will go thru the lines of security and US customs before boarding the Zudi then the lines at Canadian customs when you get off, then the lines at security and US customs when you re-board. If you don't want to deal with all that then I would suggest that you drop your luggage with the porters at Canada Place between 0'930 and 1000 then head off on your tour Vancouver. Then when finished come back and go the process just once.

[Tweedy]

You will go thru the lines of security and US customs before boarding the Zudi then the lines at Canadian customs when you get off, then the lines at security and US customs when you re-board. If you don't want to deal with all that then I would suggest that you drop your luggage with the porters at Canada Place between 0'930 and 1000 then head off on your tour Vancouver. Then when finished come back and go the process just once.

 

Putterdue is right. This is exactly what you should do. I was down at Canada Place today with the Zuiderdam and Sapphire Princess docked. I have never seen as long of lines to go through security as I did today. It was insane. At about 1:15pm the line zigged then zagged then zigged again then it continued into just a looooong line.

 

It seems to me that if someone was to just want to walk around Canada Place before sailaway, it wouldn't be worth the hassle to get on board then get off then on again. One thing to note, the east side of Canada Place is currently closed for refurbishment so you won't be able to walk all the way around. The Zuiderdam does dock on the west side of Canada Place.

[scottbee]

We will be sailing Zuiderdam our of Vancouver in 2 weeks. We planned to get checked into the ship and drop our bags in our cabin, then head to walk around Canada Place for an hour or so.

 

How easy is it to walk back on the ship? Will we just be able to scan our cards and walk on or will we need to stand in a line with people who haven't checked in yet?

 

You wont be able to do what you're wanting to do. Prior to boarding the ship, you clear US Customs & Immigration (so you dont have to in Alaska), so to leave the ship, you'd have to re-enter Canada through Immigration and Customs (if they're even still processing people off ships at that point).

 

You could however bag drop, and come back to check in/clear security/immigration later.

[Keith1010]

I just want to note that if there is another ship in port the lines could (it can vary) be long. That was the case for us to get back on our ship last August. Our ship did not start or end in Canada place but just transited there. But there was a Disney ship embarking that day and there was not as many immigration personnel as we would have desired so the lines were long for a couple of hours. Later in the day they were fine.

 

Keith

[Northshorecruisers]

The car service is picking us up in Coquitlam at 10. So we will be at the port fairly early. Don't want to hand off our carry on baggage to the porters as we might not have our luggage in our room by dinner time. Is there a place we could store our carry on's so we can just grab them before we check in for the ship?

[martincath]

The car service is picking us up in Coquitlam at 10. So we will be at the port fairly early. Don't want to hand off our carry on baggage to the porters as we might not have our luggage in our room by dinner time. Is there a place we could store our carry on's so we can just grab them before we check in for the ship?

Priority Baggage inside the cruise terminal ($5 per piece for carry-ons)

[Northshorecruisers]

Thanks! Sounds like spending a few bucks will save us a lot of hassle in boarding the ship twice.

[Putterdude]

The car service is picking us up in Coquitlam at 10. So we will be at the port fairly early. Don't want to hand off our carry on baggage to the porters as we might not have our luggage in our room by dinner time. Is there a place we could store our carry on's so we can just grab them before we check in for the ship?

 

Yet another idea would be to take them to the bell desk at the Pan Pacific or Fairmont's Waterfront hotel across the street and give them a tip to put them in their lockup. Obviously valuables like jewelry, cameras, etc should be carried with you what ever you decide to do.

[pcur]

What was mentioned above wasn't our experience at Canada Place. We were on the Rhapsody a few years ago.

 

Yes, you have to go through the usual customs, etc, once you board but when we had our boarding passes after check-in, we scanned in and turned around and went back out. When you return, you go through the sidewalk on the side of the building and show your ship's card. You go through a separate entrance (usually the one used by the crew). You may have to go through a security scan again, but it wasn't a big deal since there weren't as many people going through that way.

 

This is because once you have that ship's card, you have already been cleared by the Canadian authorities.

 

Maybe it's changed since then????

[Keith1010]

pcur, unfortunately that was not our experience last August in port.

 

Keith

[pcur]

pcur, unfortunately that was not our experience last August in port.

 

Keith

 

That's really too bad; it keeps people on the ship when they would like to see the local area. And, it hurts the local businesses that lose out on the tourist trade on that day.

 

I would be a little nervous not checking in first, though.

[Keith1010]

That's really too bad; it keeps people on the ship when they would like to see the local area. And, it hurts the local businesses that lose out on the tourist trade on that day.

 

I would be a little nervous not checking in first, though.

 

I agree with you on all of this.

 

Keith

[scottbee]

That's really too bad; it keeps people on the ship when they would like to see the local area. And, it hurts the local businesses that lose out on the tourist trade on that day.

 

I would be a little nervous not checking in first, though.

 

There's very little that can be done about it. As you clear US Immigration before you board (so you don't have to do it in Alaska); if you got off the ship, you'd need to re-clear Canadian Immigration/Customs to go back and visit Vancouver, and then re-clear US Immigration/Customs again to get back on the ship.

[Putterdude]

That's really too bad; it keeps people on the ship when they would like to see the local area. And, it hurts the local businesses that lose out on the tourist trade on that day.

 

I would be a little nervous not checking in first, though.

 

The basic issue here is that when you pass thru US customs and board the ship you enter what is essentially a "in bond" situation in anticipation of sailing to US state of Alaska. If you leave the ship then you are leaving that "in bond" area. Leaving the ship in the early afternoon is not the problem, the lines would be gone and all you would have so do is show your passport and cruise card to Canadian customs, explain that you are go on a bit of a walk about and they would waive you through. However on your return the ship, the cruise line is not going to let you back on without going thru security and US customs is not going to let you re-enter that "in bond" situation without knowing who you are and what you may have purchased ashore.

You may be certain that the local merchants and service providers would love to have you coming and going.

[pcur]

The basic issue here is that when you pass thru US customs and board the ship you enter what is essentially a "in bond" situation in anticipation of sailing to US state of Alaska. If you leave the ship then you are leaving that "in bond" area. Leaving the ship in the early afternoon is not the problem, the lines would be gone and all you would have so do is show your passport and cruise card to Canadian customs, explain that you are go on a bit of a walk about and they would waive you through. However on your return the ship, the cruise line is not going to let you back on without going thru security and US customs is not going to let you re-enter that "in bond" situation without knowing who you are and what you may have purchased ashore.

You may be certain that the local merchants and service providers would love to have you coming and going.

 

Yes, I understand this. However, neither my husband or I remember having to go through customs a second time. We went through a security check, as we do in all our departure ports.

 

It might be a moot point, however, as my husband reminded me that getting back on the ship later in the afternoon is when there are fewer people, and the lines move very quickly.

 

Perhaps that's why I don't remember the customs recheck: there was no one else there, and we just breezed through.