Vancouver International Airport urges travelers to arrive early for flights » 2 hours domestic and 3 hours US/International

[sunsetme]

will try to make an 11am flight home which is the only non stop on Sept 3  2 ships are debarking that day. have a back up plan , life will be easier if the US Covid test to return is lifted by then.

[don't-use-real-name]

39 minutes ago, sunsetme said:

will try to make an 11am flight home which is the only non stop on Sept 3  2 ships are debarking that day. have a back up plan , life will be easier if the US Covid test to return is lifted by then.

Get all the priority you can muster - with no complications - you should make it with limited

stress - the big hold up is the TSA and Customs pre-clearance lines.

Once pass that gauntlet you have a walk-off home run.

Fortunately you are not without timely options - getting to your Scottsdale Phoenix location

you have connection flights to UGG Los Angeles and oddly Salt Lake City and other not so

convenient routings.

Good Luck !

[xlxo]

15 hours ago, sunsetme said:

will try to make an 11am flight home which is the only non stop on Sept 3  2 ships are debarking that day. have a back up plan , life will be easier if the US Covid test to return is lifted by then.

• The Koningsdam and the Royal Princess are debarking on Sept 3.  These high capacity ships will feel like a three shipper day, especially if they return to full capacity.
• Keep in mind, Sept 3 is the start of a long weekend.  That will be a popular day to travel, especially for international students.  Might want to have a Plan B and Plan C ready.
• The Covid test being lifted does not impact a workforce shortage.  As more restrictions are lifted, expect revenge travel to surge upward.  Hopefully in the next 3 months, the airport is able to hire more staff.

[cruiseryyc]

17 hours ago, sunsetme said:

will try to make an 11am flight home which is the only non stop on Sept 3  2 ships are debarking that day. have a back up plan , life will be easier if the US Covid test to return is lifted by then.

I'll lay odds that you're not going to make that flight!  Even without the current issues of long lines at Security, you probably wouldn't make it.  Never book a flight out of Vancouver after cruise before noon.

[MBP&O2/O]

One UK airport is experiencing massive delays .... nothing to do with staff shortages of course ... and they are blaming the passengers? They say too many people are turning up three hours before departure .... as per some airlines recommendations... and that these people are causing unnecessary crowding!!

[PhotoGal07]

20 hours ago, don't-use-real-name said:

Get all the priority you can muster - with no complications - you should make it with limited

stress - the big hold up is the TSA and Customs pre-clearance lines.

Once pass that gauntlet you have a walk-off home run.

Fortunately you are not without timely options - getting to your Scottsdale Phoenix location

you have connection flights to UGG Los Angeles and oddly Salt Lake City and other not so

convenient routings.

Good Luck !

We're in the same boat and definitely not by choice.  We originally were booked on a 1pm flight, but the airline just changed it to 11am.  Moving it meant taking a red eye flight (to a different home airport), with 2 different stops, and losing our seats in business.  We ended up booking the airport service to help us get through the airport with minimal fuss, and putting a back up plan in place as well.  Such a headache.

[CarlieInSF]

On 5/9/2022 at 8:48 AM, Italy52 said:

Let me know if you were able to secure transport with Princess.  I was advised that a poster had trouble with it.  So I am curious.  Thanks

@Italy52 we have moved our flight to leave out of Seattle and we were indeed able to book a shuttle through Princess from Vancouver to SEA-TAC.  Thank you so much.  We had to call to make the arrangements.  We booked our flights through Princess though so once we moved our flight we had them add the shuttle.  Feeling much more calm about the disembarkation now. 

[Italy52]

9 minutes ago, CarlieInSF said:

@Italy52 we have moved our flight to leave out of Seattle and we were indeed able to book a shuttle through Princess from Vancouver to SEA-TAC.  Thank you so much.  We had to call to make the arrangements.  We booked our flights through Princess though so once we moved our flight we had them add the shuttle.  Feeling much more calm about the disembarkation now. 

Glad to hear that it all worked out for you.  Enjoy your cruise!

[NavyCruiser]

So what's the best mode of transport from Canada place cruise port to Vancouver airport?

Google maps says 29 minutes via car/Uber/taxi, 33 minutes via Canada line train/subway.

So if we get off ship by 9am, let's say an hour to catch train, think we'll get to airport via train by 10 am?

Enough time for 12:30pm flight?

[cruiseryyc]

1 hour ago, NavyCruiser said:

So what's the best mode of transport from Canada place cruise port to Vancouver airport?

Google maps says 29 minutes via car/Uber/taxi, 33 minutes via Canada line train/subway.

So if we get off ship by 9am, let's say an hour to catch train, think we'll get to airport via train by 10 am?

Enough time for 12:30pm flight?

 

For a 12:30 flight you need to be at the airport by at least 9:30.  You will be going through US Border Services in the airport which adds time.  As has been mentioned, at the moment there are exceptionally long lines to get through Security (which is the reason for this entire thread).  Don't believe Google Maps, the drive from the cruise port to the airport is more like 45 minutes.

[martincath]

And further expanding on the reply above - the wait time to get IN a cab/uber is a bigger problem on a busy day than traffic. SkyTrain time is almost 100% reliable - the only variable is in service frequency, which is about 7mins in the morning... so if you just miss a train you are delayed by at most 7mins extra. Cabs though...

 

In TheBeforeTimes, self-disembarkation and SkyTrain meant that getting to YVR well before 9am was feasible, and that meant that a US bound flight as early as 10:30am was not-particularly-difficult to catch.

 

Now, with the security issues on top of Covid testing I'd want at least an extra hour of padding - and I'm familiar with transit, airport layout, and have NEXUS to get into short security lines and be expedited though CBP as well. If you have Global Entry @NavyCruiser and can hustle with bags, I'd say your 12:30pm flight is still quite plausible - but it might be stressful!

[PKNC]

 Any opinions on how early to get to the Vancouver airport in summer 2023? I'm looking at flights from Vancouver to the East Coast. Unless I want to pay an exorbitant fare, I have to leave at 10 AM or wait until the evening and fly overnight. Alaska Air states on its website to arrive at Vancouver airport 2 hours early for international flights as of today. We arrive in port on Saturday, Aug. 5th at 6:30 AM on a large ship, the Majestic Princess. HAL's Koningsdam will be arriving the same day. I know Vancouver is incredible but at the end of our journey, I don't think we'll be up for it. We will definitely consider a return trip though! If we have a day to hang around, what's an easy, relaxing activity to do with luggage before a flight at 6 or 9 PM or so? What's the latest that we can leave the ship, typrically?

[martincath]

13 hours ago, PKNC said:

 ...Unless I want to pay an exorbitant fare, I have to leave at 10 AM or wait until the evening and fly overnight... We arrive in port on Saturday, Aug. 5th at 6:30 AM on a large ship, the Majestic Princess. HAL's Koningsdam will be arriving the same day. ... If we have a day to hang around, what's an easy, relaxing activity to do with luggage before a flight at 6 or 9 PM or so? What's the latest that we can leave the ship, typically?

First, while Majestic and the other Royal class ships tend to port at very odd times (they're too tall to get under the bridge except right at low tide - and Princess never seem to check tide timetables until a few weeks before the season starts, so the 6:30am arrival could actually be 1am, 3am, etc.) but that doesn't actually matter at all - since CBSA need to be working before anyone is allowed off, and they don't arrive at the pier until 7am, the first people rarely disembark much before 7:30am from any ship.

 

Secondly, back in TheBeforeTimes, I'd have said that a 10am flight to the US is doable but risky - it's even riskier now, despite security staffing levels having climbed back up to normal-ish.

 

If you have Global Entry or NEXUS, the risks drop significantly - Security and CBP preclearance are expedited. With checked bags you still have to arrive at least an hour before the flight, so that becomes the limiting factor (using the short queues you can reliably get through both in ~30mins); no GE/NEXUS? You can easily find yourself waiting 20+mins at each queue, so you really need to get to YVR 75min early or more.

 

If you can self-disembark and roll your bags to the SkyTrain you should be leaving downtown before 8am and therefore reaching YVR by 8:30am, which should be enough most days to board a 10am flight. Can't self-disembark, need help with bags? Do not book a 10am flight, it's that easy!

 

Last folks are booted off no later than 9:30am - post-cruise bus tours that bring you and your bags to the airport afterward really aren't long enough for an evening flight. The typical sightseeing ride is 4 hrs; a longer North Shore experience with Grouse Mountain, Capilano, the salmon hatchery run longer but still only about 6hrs. A full day trip up to Whistler would eat your time up fine, but not cheap.

 

Best bet by far is stash bags for the day - there are tons of sites offering secure storage these days, prices run from $5 a piece up, mostly around $8 for a big suitcase. The Pan Pacific Hotel is the best ad hoc option, rather than prebooking online - you don't have to be a guest, and it's right at the pier. IIRC reports from last season had the price up to $10, rather than the $5 it used to be pre-Covid, but that's still cheaper and easier than the official pier storage which is mad pricey these days - $12+ per bag and huge queues, as everyone walking off without a planned bag storage location sees the sign and lines up!

 

Once your bags are stashed, take the HOHO for the simplest option. Pootle around all day, if you book a 9pm or later flight have dinner somewhere downtown (airport options are inflated in price and options limited) and go collect your bags at least a couple of hours preflight, take SkyTrain to YVR, breeze through all the queues as it's much quieter than in the mornings. Note also that late flights do not do preclearance - so there's one less thing to do at YVR, but of course you have to then see CBP at your first US airport which is a real annoyance if you have a transfer! CBP stop work at 8:30pm, so flights after 9pm tend to not preclear.

[PKNC]

Thank you for this comprehensive info, I will explore these options!