Vancouver Embarkation (HAL)--can we get off again after checking in?

[mcmarya]

We will be departing at 4:45 pm from Vancouver and hope to have a little time to walk around once we have checked in.  Can we get off again or do we have to stay on the ship?

Edited September 20, 2019 by mcmarya

[DAllenTCY]

You can always get off....be sure to take photo ID and cruise card.

 

The lines through security might be a challenge, since you must again.

 

David

[Langley Cruisers]

Assuming you are on an Alaskan cruise going to a U.S. port first, remember that you will be pre-clearing U.S. Customs and Immigration in Vancouver when you get to the terminal and check in. It's good that they do this as you are treated as a domestic arrival. However, there is only one line for this and it is incredibly busy on a multi-ship embarkation day. While you probably can get off the ship, sometimes it's not worth it because you will have to pre-clear again. I would ask inside the terminal, take the advice of of an employee there. 

 

Alternatively, you could check in later in the day and just stay on board.

[Keith1010]

You can get off and on as much as you want but you might end up in some very long lines if other ships are embarking that day.

 

We've been through this scenario before.

 

Keith

[scottbee]

14 hours ago, mcmarya said:

We will be departing at 4:45 pm from Vancouver and hope to have a little time to walk around once we have checked in.  Can we get off again or do we have to stay on the ship?

 

[Highly] Unlikely. 

 

If your next port stop is the United States; you will pre-clear US Immigration/Customs prior to boarding.  If you get off the ship, you would need to clear Canadian Immigration, and then re-clear US again prior to boarding.

 

 

[martincath]

The sensible question isn't whether you can, but whether you should! By all means go and drop your bags at the pier and go sightseeing, then come back later to check in. But checking in early, leaving, then coming back means going through most of the boarding rigamarole twice. Unless if it's one of the handful of cruises that goes to Victoria next, so no US Preclearance, it would be an utter waste of your time to get off again and deal with both CBSA and CBP - even if you're the only ship in port.

 

TL;DR - yes you can, but it's terribly inefficient so don't!

[xlxo]

I've done it... I needed a good long walk to work off that bonus embarkation lunch from a pre-noon check in.  You are treated as an in-transit passenger.  Just make sure you have your keycard.

 

You want to be checking back into the cruise terminal around 3pm to ensure you get back on for the mustard drill.

[Langley Cruisers]

13 hours ago, xlxo said:

I've done it...  You are treated as an in-transit passenger.  Just make sure you have your keycard.

 

Hmm. No offense, but how is that possible if the itinerary requires U.S. pre-clearance to get on and then Canadian clearance to get back off the ship? Even in-transit passengers would have to clear and re-clear, yes? (sincerely asking)

[xlxo]

9 minutes ago, Langley Cruisers said:

Even in-transit passengers would have to clear and re-clear, yes?

Yes, you will need to clear customs a second time...

• customs and security lines are much shorter after 3pm.
• my Nexus gives me express clearing in Lane 1
• my keycard means I've already checked in and I just walk straight onto the ship

[Langley Cruisers]

^ Understood now that you have elaborated. Thanks.

[mcmarya]

I am afraid our first stop is in a US port--San Francisco.  So, It sounds like we would have a difficult time getting off the ship and getting back on again.  But, my husband was once on a cruise that came from Victoria, stopped in Vancouver, then went on to Seattle (I had to get off earlier in the trip so I was not there).  He does not recall it being a big deal to get off and then back on again.  Not sure if does not remember or if things have changed.

 

We have a pre-arranged shuttle getting us to the ship and won't know our cabin number.  Since we are not regular passengers (guest presenter), it may be difficult to find our cabin number on a manifest.

Edited September 22, 2019 by mcmarya

[CynCyn]

I would check to see how many ships are in Vancouver before getting off.  We embarked on Saturday with 3 ships and our departure was delayed because the customs lines were so long! At Muster, we were missing over 1000 passengers who were still in line.  I was lucky to only stand in line for an hour.  

[mcmarya]

Thanks for the suggestion!  Only one ship for our embarkation day.  And, fortunately we actually do have a cabin number, a first, so we could drop off our suitcases.

 

[Langley Cruisers]

3 hours ago, mcmarya said:

 And, fortunately we actually do have a cabin number, a first, so we could drop off our suitcases.

It's been a while since we have cruised HAL but many lines make you wait until at least 1 or 1:30 pm before the cabins are accessible, even to drop off bags. If HAL lets you drop off immediately, that's excellent. If not, then you'll be carrying your carry-ons until later.

[martincath]

I think Karen is right that HAL are one of the 'no cabin access until an announcement' lines, and on top of that you still have the issue that even a single ship isn't going to start allowing anyone to even start the boarding process until about 11am so if you are arriving earlier, or here overnight, you're wasting potentially hours of sightseeing time just so you can drop your bags in your cabin.

 

If you are in a hotel the night before it's easy - leave them there, go sightseeing, then come back to check out when you plan to actually go and board (4:45pm departure means checking in by 3:15pm - as long as you stick to sights close enough to the pier to walk, the risk of waiting until even 3pm to hit the pier is minimal). If your hotel is at the airport, or you're flying in same day early, then you could instead stash your bags at the Pan Pacific bell desk - the entrance is on the street level of the same building as the pier. At $5 apiece, a small price to pay for freeing yourselves up from bags to sightsee totally unencumbered and maximize use of the time available.

[xlxo]

On 9/23/2019 at 11:08 AM, Langley Cruisers said:

we have cruised HAL but many lines make you wait until at least 1 or 1:30 pm before the cabins are accessible, even to drop off bags.

I think that depends on how fast the crews have the rooms ready.

 

I was in Seattle on the weekend with HAL.  I had access to my cabin at 11:30am.  While the bed was ready for a luggage drop, I noticed the coffee cups from the previous guest where still in the room.  I decided to take my carry-on's to the MDR for lunch to give cabin staff more space/time to clean.

Edited September 25, 2019 by xlxo

[mcmarya]

So glad I asked my questions since I had no idea how immigration works in Vancouver.  We will probably drop our suitcases off at 10 am and go do what we can't fit in on Friday.  We'll come back to the ship no later than 3.

[DaveOKC]

On 9/22/2019 at 3:23 PM, mcmarya said:

I am afraid our first stop is in a US port--San Francisco.  So, It sounds like we would have a difficult time getting off the ship and getting back on again.  But, my husband was once on a cruise that came from Victoria, stopped in Vancouver, then went on to Seattle (I had to get off earlier in the trip so I was not there).  He does not recall it being a big deal to get off and then back on again.  Not sure if does not remember or if things have changed.

 

We have a pre-arranged shuttle getting us to the ship and won't know our cabin number.  Since we are not regular passengers (guest presenter), it may be difficult to find our cabin number on a manifest.

We had the same route two years ago and they would not let us off the ship in Vancouver (after we boarded of course) even though we had a delayed departure until the next morning.  Of course, your situation might be different.

[mcmarya]

Thought I should check back in to report my experience.  Our hotel was near the airport so not practical to go downtown before our 10 am shuttle pick up.  The shuttle dropped us off at Canada Place around 11 and check in was very fast and easy.  By the time my husband got his key card straightened out, our cabin was ready.  After a quick lunch, I got off the ship to buy a few things and walk around.  Probably partly because we were the only ship in port it was no big deal.  The only thing I had to do leaving the ship was respond to all the inquiries about having my passport and key card (which I did)--no formalities about re-entering Canada.  After a couple of hours walking and shopping, I returned around 3 or so to no lines.  I was able to quickly go back through immigration and reboard the ship.  This would probably not work as seamlessly during busy times but I was glad I was able to spend some time walking around Vancouver on a beautiful day.

[martincath]

Thanks for coming back to report your experience on the day mcmarya, and glad you did manage to get on and off and on again without any hassle.