Alaska Cruise Flight Timing

[gdy0354]

Looking into HAL Inside Passage 7-day Alaska cruise from Vancouver Zuiderdam this summer.

Will be flying from New England. 

Looking for recommendations as to timing flying in. Time to leave from Boston.  Inexpensive hotel options before cruise.

[CruiserBruce]

I would be designing this the opposite way. What flight options do you have? I am sure there isn't a huge supply of convenient flights from Boston without multiple stops.

 

If you look on the Canada (West Coast) board, you'll find lots of hotels mentioned. 

[Northern Aurora]

Before he retired my husband had to fly to the East Coast on business 4 to 6 times a year.  Alaska Airlines had a non-stop between Seattle and Boston.  And their subsidiary has frequent flights between Seattle and Vancouver.

[MBP&O2/O]

 Check out Google Flights ???

[gdy0354]

I was just wondering if most people fly from the east coast the same day as cruise or fly in day early to avoid issues. How far is Vancouver airport to cruise terminal?

[Joseph2017China]

I'm flying East to West, and I doubt it is even possible to find flights leaving and arriving same day before the cruise.  I'm leaving at 8 am, and arriving near 9pm in Vancouver.  (the day before of course)

[gdy0354]

16 minutes ago, Joseph2017China said:

I'm flying East to West, and I doubt it is even possible to find flights leaving and arriving same day before the cruise.  I'm leaving at 8 am, and arriving near 9pm in Vancouver.  (the day before of course)

where are you staying?

[mamallama123]

2 hours ago, gdy0354 said:

I was just wondering if most people fly from the east coast the same day as cruise or fly in day early to avoid issues. How far is Vancouver airport to cruise terminal?

I have a non-stop flight from Raleigh to Seattle the day of that gets me in at 9:00am on Delta. I feel like there HAS to be an early non-stop from Boston as that is a much larger city. Good luck!

[neeuqdrazil]

I'd really strongly recommend flying the day before. You don't want to be panicking if your flight is delayed or cancelled (flight crews have been decimated by the pandemic, and flights get cancelled on short notice because they don't have enough crew.) I'm on Zuiderdam at the end of April, and I'm flying in from Toronto the day before - my flight leaves at noon ET, and arrives at around 2PM PT, so if the flight is cancelled, there are other options to get me across the country with enough time to catch the ship without too much panic. 

 

I can't speak to cheap hotel options in Vancouver - it is a very pricy city.  There are a lot of hotels right next to the cruise terminal (which is right downtown), but they're going to be spendy. There are probably some cheaper hotels out near the airport, and the Canada Line (public transit) runs from the airport down to the station next to the terminal (although depending on the number of people you're with, a taxi might be cheaper.) 

[Crew News]

If arriving in Vancouver on Embarkation Day, plan on two to three hours to clear Canadian Immigration, and 40-minute taxi ride to the Canada Place Cruise Terminal.  Note that the competition for larger taxis with room to carry cruise luggage on a cruise day is very high.  Arriving in Vancouver after noon will have you and many others in panic mode of missing the ship departure times.  If anything happens to delay a flight from the East Coast on cruise day, you will not make your cruise.

 

Arriving in Vancouver the day before your cruise is prudent.  If your arrival is a cruise departure day for others, avoid the afternoon Canadian Immigration cruise passenger surge and schedule your arrival after 3:00 PM.

 

Another option is arriving in Seattle the day before your cruise and spending the night in a much cheaper hotel price market. 

• A short flight to Vancouver the next morning before 10:00 AM to avoid the cruise passenger surge at noon is a great option and there are many flights on cruise days in case your is cancelled. 
• Making the five-hour rental car drive from Seattle and dropping off the car a few blocks from the cruise terminal or airport on Embarkation Day is another option. 
• There is also passenger bus service through the cruise line from the Seattle airport to Vancouver on Embarkation Day. Hotel shuttles in Seattle usually provide free service to the airport.
• I have also been told that there is also limo service from Seattle to Vancouver.

Whatever option that you choose, keep risk avoidance in mind.

[Joseph2017China]

5 hours ago, gdy0354 said:

where are you staying?

Pan Pacific.  The tram leaves from the airport and goes to the cruise terminal (2 or 3 blocks).  Pan Pacific is the hotel.  Not the cheapest but the most convenient. 

[Crew News]

8 minutes ago, Joseph2017China said:

Pan Pacific.  The tram leaves from the airport and goes to the cruise terminal (2 or 3 blocks).  Pan Pacific is the hotel.  Not the cheapest but the most convenient. 

In 2019, taxi fare from airport to the front door of the Pan Pacific was $32 CAD. 

 

Pan Pacific is my choice for its convenience (elevator ride down to the terminal).  Usually marked as "sold out" but available through travel agencies at a lower price than cruise line prices.

 

Great underground mall across the street from the Pan Pacific for Starbucks, snacks, fast food, toiletries, wine, etc.

[neeuqdrazil]

17 minutes ago, Joseph2017China said:

Pan Pacific.  The tram leaves from the airport and goes to the cruise terminal (2 or 3 blocks).  Pan Pacific is the hotel.  Not the cheapest but the most convenient. 

 

There are a number of hotels within easy walking distance of the terminal. I'm staying at Auberge, which is 1 block 'down' from Hastings, and just looking at Google maps, I can see probably a dozen other hotels within a couple of small blocks. 

[Kitty Ellas Mom]

I have to fly from a similar area, albeit a little more south than you.  I'm pretty nervous about missing the ship so I'm flying 2 days before embarkation.  I just don't trust the airlines not to have significant delays.  But, I also have the goal of doing a lot of things in the starting location before embarkation, which is why I'm not going just one day early..

[cruiseryyc]

On 3/29/2022 at 7:04 AM, gdy0354 said:

I was just wondering if most people fly from the east coast the same day as cruise or fly in day early to avoid issues. How far is Vancouver airport to cruise terminal?

 

Always fly in the day before your cruise; for flying home from Vancouver never book a flight before noon.  FYI - hotel rooms in Vancouver are booking up fast, so fly in the night before and get a hotel booked ASAP.

[Kitty Ellas Mom]

Cruiseryyc, I will be flying home from Vancouver.  Why never book a flight before noon?  Availability of taxis perhaps?

[neeuqdrazil]

If you're flying to the US, you have to get through US Customs & Border Control in Vancouver, which can add a lot of time between when you arrive at the airport and when you get to your gate. You'll also have to clear Canadian Customs when getting off the ship, which can add time to the process. 

 

This page has YVR's recommendation for timing for US flights: https://www.yvr.ca/en/passengers/navigate-yvr/cruise-ship-passengers/departing-cruise-ship-passengers

[Crew News]

2 minutes ago, Kitty Ellas Mom said:

Cruiseryyc, I will be flying home from Vancouver.  Why never book a flight before noon?  Availability of taxis perhaps?

According to my last taxi driver, Vancouver taxis can either pickup passengers at the cruise terminal or at the airport but not both.  Taxis picking up at the cruise terminal and dropping off at the airport will be gone for one hour+ before available for new cruise terminal passengers.

 

Medical evacuations may delay other passengers from disembarking.  If you are one of the first passengers off the ship, you will be in the first wave of taxis and have no trouble catching a pre-noon flight.  If not, you will join a long taxi queue.  Add in more ships disembarking passengers to the queue and the queue could be hours long.

 

Security check-in lines at the Vancouver airport are long with the surge of cruise passengers, so add at least an hour to process through them.

 

All could work fine but be aware of the risks that could cause you to miss a pre-noon flight.

[rsldonk]

We took the light rail to downtown (stayed at the Hyatt) and that was about 45 minutes or so.  We had to handle our own luggage, but it was like maybe $5 per person.  The Hyatt was like a 3 block walk to the terminal.  

 

Back planning  if your ship leaves at 4 pm, you'd probably want to be there no later than about 3, and figure its at least an hour from the airport.  Figure a good 2 1/2 hours to clear customs and also get luggage/clear the airport, so you would want to make sure your flight arrived no later than 12:30 if you arrived the same day as your ship departs.  Without looking up flights, I believe you'd have about 5-6 hours in the air on a direct flight, so you'd need to leave Boston about 6am or so.  

 

Since I'm not a fan of red eye flights and having frantic deadline driven rushes when I'm on vacation, I'd come in the day before or so.  Vancouver is a fantastic city and worth spending a day or more in.