Disembarkation in Vancouver - family pick up?

[go4ak]

I will be on a Princess cruise that disembarks in Vancouver.

My family will be driving up to pick me up at the Canada Place Pier.

I plan on doing a walk off disembarkation.

 

If there is anyone that has done this - do you have any recommendations as to "where" I would try to meet up with someone arriving by car?

 

The plan is that I will call them when I'm getting off the ship.

I'm wondering if the cruise terminal is anything like an airport terminal - where I could say... I'll be at the arrival area at xxx. :confused:

 

Thank so much in advance for any advice.

[xlxo]

My advice...

• wait until you have your designated debarkation time mid-cruise... (oops, you plan to do a walk off)
  
• wait until you have decided if you plan to be enjoying your breakfast...
  
• once you have that determined... email them Thursday night when you plan to be walking off the ship. Budget 15 minutes for picking up your luggage and customs. You could call, but that can be expensive until the boat is docked.
  
• I recommend you have your receiving party drive their vehicle onto P2 of the cruise terminal and plan to pay for parking at your determined time. Tell them you will meet them at the elevator at the parkade centre (not the hotel elevator)
  
• Take the elevator (next to cruise car rental) down to meet them there.
  
• Load your luggage and off you go... hopefully just paying for 30 minutes parking.
  

Other possible locations....

• wheel your luggage and meet outside the Pan Pacific hotel for pickup. That area can get congested with other cruise passengers. Thus I recommend the parkade.
  
• wheel your luggage over to the Fairmont Waterfront for pickup. Not sure if the Waterfront people will exactly be happy to see you
  
• take a taxi to some other location (a parking lot?) to meet your party
  

Edited January 8, 2015 by xlxo

[Putterdude]

Yes, it is it is very doable and I would simply have your family meet you in from the Pan Pacific Hotel which forms part of Canada Place or in front of the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel which is immediately across the street from Canada Place. If you ship arrives at 0700 which is likely the case, with self-disembarkation a pick up time of about 0800 should work very well.

[Earl Rosebery]

They can park in the Canada place parkade and take the elevator to the cruise terminal lobby. By lobby, I mean the entry to US customs for embarking passengers and exit from Canada customs for disembarking passengers. I have met disembarking friends there.

[martincath]

All sensible suggestions above about the parkade/hotels - depending how comfortable your family is driving around downtown in rush hour traffic though I'd be inclined to choose somewhere a conveniently short distance away that avoids getting snarled in the vehicles coming & going through the entrance of Canada Place at Howe.

 

Even a block along Canada Place to the other half of the convention centre will cut out a chunk of the traffic - the parking in there is likely to be less congested than in the port half (where if you are self-disembarking early, all of the cars left by folks disembarking your cruise will still be there as well as all the folks showing up early to board the ship) and the entrance lobby at Burrard & Canada Place makes a super-easy indoor meetup spot as there's a huge rotating globe - this area is always accessible to the public even if a convention taking up all the space is on.

 

Here's a Google Streetview of the relevant corner - you can see the globe through the window, parking access has a dedicated lane on the left side of the image, and coming up Burrard to here to turn left is quieter than turning right towards the port (and on leaving, turn right again towards Thurlow).

[LeftcoastBC]

#1. If Party picking you up is comfortable with the madhouse traffic around Pan Pacific when ships come and go. Just walk off and get picked up right in front of the Hotel. Cell phone contact would be a big help.

 

Other than that. Have them go to Elevator in P2 parking (keep right as you drive under) beneath the Pan Pacific and you take the elevator down to meet them. Parking is not cheap.

 

The elevator you take down is just in front of you as you get out of customs and are about to walk either left or right out into the vehicle loading/unloading area on the cruise level.

 

If you go for #1 continue walking keeping rightish and out of harms way past the line for taxi's out into the loading area to where you can see the ramp leading to the street.

There is a door into the hotel and an elevator. Go to street level and walk out front keeping right. If line up for elevator and you can do the slight ramp to the street do that and meet your party along the front of the hotel to the right somewhere.

[go4ak]

Thank you so much for all of the detailed info.

We're from southern California - so we really don't have fear of traffic - but we'll certainly try to avoid it whenever possible.

Thanks Martincath for the street view link - that made my husband very happy.

[BCHappyGal]

I have met many friends disembarking at Canada Place

The best and easiest place to meet is the front entrance (just outside) of the Pan Pacific Hotel which sits on top of the cruise ship terminal. Usually there is very short term meter parking directly across the street from the Pan Pacific

I find getting into the parkade on a cruise ship day is a nightmare :) as one is competing with all the buses and taxis...

 

To find your family and arrive at the Pan Pacific entrance when you disembark the ship follow these directions:

Once you exit thru customs and get into the terminal keep to your right and follow the big overhead signs that say "To Buses & City Centre"

This will lead you to a set of double exit doors and you will find all the buses parked just outside these doors (you are in an underground parkade)

Continue walking past the buses and the sign will now say "To City Centre"

You will come to another set of entry doors under a sign that says "Hotel & Convention Centre" enter here and take the elevator up 1 level to "M"

Leaving the elevator turn left and walk out the front entrance of the Pan Pacific to your family.