Self disembarkation Vancouver & shuttle to airport?

[Ukulele girl]

After much hesitation I have dared to book a QE cruise from Vancouver to Alaska in June 2022. My husband and I are not getting any younger and life must move forward!

 

After the cruise we are collecting a car from the airport and driving through The Rockies before flying home from Calgary.

 

Question 1 - what time can we get off the ship if we self disembark so we can make the most of the day?

Question 2 - Is it possible to walk from the ship to a shuttle point for the airport? (We are fit and well and will only have one suitcase each)

 

Any help is gratefully received, thank you.

[Chart Room Princess]

You can take the rapid transit train to Vancouver airport. It is called the Canada Line. http://thecanadaline.com/  It is only a couple of blocks from the cruise terminal. It runs fairly continuously and is very convenient. Our group used this option and found it very efficient. 

[david,Mississauga]

This is a great cruise, one of our favourites. We  enjoyed the QE cruise in 2019 and have booked it again for next June.

 

Although we didn't take the self-help disembarkation, I recall it was called at approximately 7:30. Regular disembarkation started at 8:15 for the Grills then Diamond, etc.

 

We have used the Skytrain a few times. If you take that, follow the path to your left when leaving the terminal. There is an entrance to the Skytrain right there, but do not take that. It is not the line that goes to the airport. You would have to go down two levels and there is no down escalator to track level. Then you would have to go the length of the platform and then up to the main station. If it is raining heavily it might be worth the inconvenience, but it is easier to stay on the street. Go left again for a short distance to the Waterfront Station. 

 

We have also taken a metered taxi. It was only $30 - $35 or thereabouts. The Cunard coach transfer was an outrageous price so we didn't consider that.

 

[tv24]

There are lots of cabs at the cruise ship terminal.  After we retrieved our luggage, it was a very short walk to a cab.  We were headed to a hotel, not the airport, but the cab pick up at the cruise terminal was a total breeze.

[Ukulele girl]

Thank you all for this information, it is very helpful, as always from Cruise Critic devotees! We will self disembark and perhaps a taxi would be the easiest and quickest way to the airport. It would be great to be able to collect the hire car by 10.00am so we can get on our way to Kelowna and enjoy the scenery along the way.

[kmerlin14]

On 10/9/2021 at 12:41 PM, Ukulele girl said:

Thank you all for this information, it is very helpful, as always from Cruise Critic devotees! We will self disembark and perhaps a taxi would be the easiest and quickest way to the airport. It would be great to be able to collect the hire car by 10.00am so we can get on our way to Kelowna and enjoy the scenery along the way.

We didn't self-disembark when we were there in 2019, and I found that the taxi lineup took about an hour to go through. Hopefully it will be a little shorter if you self-disembark.  

[Lowyfer]

On 10/8/2021 at 2:18 PM, david,Mississauga said:

We have also taken a metered taxi. It was only $30 - $35 or thereabouts. The Cunard coach transfer was an outrageous price so we didn't consider that.

 

 

As a local I would just caution that traffic from the port to the airport requires two bridges minimum and that our traffic tends to pile up at them.

 

You would be for the most part going against traffic, however it would be rush hour if your cruise ends on a weekday. All it takes is one crash on one of the bridges and it can cause quite the delay.

 

I recommend you adding a bit of a buffer and worst case you get to the airport early and have a drink at the bar while cursing me for being too risk averse.

 

The skytrain would be a more consistant choice with a predictable travel time. As someone mentioned it is a very short walk from the port but requires just a little thought to get on the correct train to the airport. Everything is very nicely signed (though as a local I admit I may have rose coloured glasses on that).

 

 

 

 

 

[Ukulele girl]

Lowyfer - thank you for this. I am also risk averse and have a husband who likes to get somewhere early without stress. Therefore I think we will self disembark then go by train and will check out the station situation while we are in Vancouver prior to our cruise. We have been to Vancouver before so we won't be rushing round to do everything tourists are encouraged to do having done them last visit.

 

Excellent advice as always from Cruise Critic readers and one more logistic organised for the trip. Thanks again everyone.

[Lowyfer]

 

 

To help -

 

The port is waterfront station. (Top left of map). You will take the CANADA LINE, which is the one heading straight south on the map. The trains will alternate between ones that go to Richmond-Brighouse and ones which go to YVR-Airpot. The train itself will say something to that effect, and I believe they announce "this train is bound for..." to assist.

 

So just make sure to be on the YVR train.

 

The only other tricky part would be just getting into the station and going to the right platform which is where the signage comes into play. I can't help as easily with that because it depends which door (or stairs you go down) on your way from the port. The station is a block or less from the port.

 

Sadly our Cunard Alaska trip is in July otherwise we would personally escort you.