Just received "Important Notification" email for my upcoming cruise...

[oceanmom]

We got the same notice and it says

 

should expect delays during the security, US Immigration and check-in process

due to having 2 ships in port..

 

Only TWO ships which I would hesitate to call a multi-ship day when there will be 4 or 5 ships at each port we visit..... It does say 4* and 5* have priority boarding which I will assume includes Pinnacle and Neptune suites....

[cccole]

Should it be assumed that these suggested arrival times have nothing to do with the ability to drop off luggage? Getting rid of luggage is important so we can enjoy our morning/afternoon if there are lines for boarding. Cherie

[Kesstral]

Should it be assumed that these suggested arrival times have nothing to do with the ability to drop off luggage? Getting rid of luggage is important so we can enjoy our morning/afternoon if there are lines for boarding. Cherie

 

The luggage drop off is before check in so there should be no issue there.

 

I arrived at 10:30am on a 3 ship day and it was not busy (no line at check in or just starting to form). If you can get there 10/1030 I think you would wait a little bit after checking in but before they start letting people in through security/customs (we were in our cabin by 12) but should get on the ship fairly quickly. I haven't attempted arriving at 1pm or later to compare.

[jlnprt]

Possibly a stupid question (but it won't stop me from asking!!! LOL) ... where do I look to find out how any ships will be in port on my departure day?

[Fouremco]

Possibly a stupid question (but it won't stop me from asking!!! LOL) ... where do I look to find out how any ships will be in port on my departure day?

There are several sites, including http://www.cruisetimetables.com.

[martincath]

Since the site listed above managed to miss EVERY single HAL vessel in Vancouver for an entire season a couple of years ago, it's very wise to ignore the cruise time table 'amalgamation' sites and go direct to the horses mouth - port authorities for each port! For Vancouver this means going here, where the most up-to-date schedule is always posted.

 

Ignore 'suggestions' from cruiselines about boarding times entirely. If you've already visited Vancouver plenty of times and don't need to see it again, show up at 10:30am (bag drop has always opened by then - sometimes it's as early as 9:30am, usually by 10am). If you have not seen our fair city, with more people and stuff than all your other ports put together, then take the opportunity to spend even less time waiting around AND to go sightseeing by boarding much, much later in the day.

 

Take 2 hours off your ship's departure time (also listed on that schedule above) and show up then - by doing your 'close to the pier' sightseeing last, you can remove any risk of traffic delays etc. (our most historic neighbourhood, Gastown, is a few minutes walk and has plenty of good restos for lunch before boarding too).

 

This way you won't have to wait for security etc. to open, in fact most likely you will not even stop walking except to actually interact with the cruise check-in staff to get keycard, CBP to answer questions on the kiosk screen or in person, and perhaps a pause at security if you need to remove chunky belt buckles or similar before walking through the detectors... curb to cabin time of 20mins or less is the norm when we board late instead of wasting 90mins by being early, or even longer in peak noon to 1 or 2pm (depending how many ships the busy time drags further outward).