Vancouver Disembark - Arrive the Night Before

[Victorious8]

I am looking at booking an NCL cruise that ends in Vancouver. The cruise arrives in Vancouver at 11pm on Thursday, the schedule says 6:00am Disembark. Are people normally allowed off that evening? If I wanted to take a 10am flight on Friday could I make that happen? 

[cruiseryyc]

Contact your cruise line, they would know better than folks on a message board.

[martincath]

17 hours ago, Victorious8 said:

I am looking at booking an NCL cruise that ends in Vancouver. The cruise arrives in Vancouver at 11pm on Thursday, the schedule says 6:00am Disembark. Are people normally allowed off that evening? If I wanted to take a 10am flight on Friday could I make that happen? 

This is tricky - without more info about your specific date/route I can't say!

 

A theoretical answer though is that unless NCL are paying CBSA to work overnight at Canada Place (short answer - they absolutely won't be!), you might arrive at 11pm but you won't be cleared to leave the ship if this is the first Canadian port... but if you had a prior stop in e.g. Victoria, without any other US ports in-between, then immigration & customs was already taken care of so you can just walk off the ship whenever you like after it's tied up. So if you want to set your alarm for 4am, you might not be able to get your bags taken off for you before official disembark slots begin, but you would absolutely be able to self-disembark if you schlep all your own stuff.

 

A 10am flight is potentially doable even if you need to wait until 'regular hours' disembarkation, but again there are unknowns - the biggest factor is your mobility. If you can handle all your own bags, then even on a busy day with multiple ships SkyTrain to YVR is viable which means you can definitely be at the airport within ~45mins of leaving the pier (~10min walk, trains every 6-7 mins, <30min travel time). Say an hour to get to check-in as there's also a bit of a walk from the station to the check-in desks - which means as long as you leave downtown before 9am, you should meet the minimum 1 hour preflight cut-off to check bags. You'll also beat all the other folks who are waiting for cruise transfers - none of them arrive at YVR before about 9:30am - so all the queues should be pretty light, I'd expect to be at my gate within about 30mins even without NEXUS/Global Entry to get through US Preclearance super-fast.

 

If you need any help whatsoever with baggage though, abandon all plans for a 10am flight - there are just too many moving parts outside your control to make it worth the risk. None of the mainstream cruiselines even accept transfer requests for flights that early (noon, or even 12:30pm, is the usual cutoff as they know how busy it can get at the pier and airport and they don't want to be on the hook for folks missing flights!)

 

Personally though I would always advise staying over in Vancouver - unless you've been here many times and seen everything, we have more stuff to see and do than every AK coastal port put together so it's a real missed opportunity to be here and not take advantage of one of the best cities in the world! Us locals might b*tch about cost of living, but with our weaker CAD$ we're still a relative bargain for folks from the USA, especially if you're from any of the bigger cities in California!

 

Then by all means book a flight at 10am on another day when you can choose exactly when to leave your hotel - heck, you may even find a good 6am flight. The only thing to be aware of on those really early flights is that CBP do not start work until 4:30am, and start-of-shift briefing eats another 10-15mins - so arriving at Preclearance before 5am is basically pointless, even for a 6am flight. So many people obey the rule of thumb to be 3 hours early that there's always a lineup at the closed doors from 3am, which gets longer and longer until CBP actually start working around 4:45am...

[Urban trekker]

Martincath - the poster is likely talking about the Bliss cruise that arrives in Vancouver at 11PM on April 4th - I am on that cruise - it is likely that the arrival time is based on the tides to allow us to sail under the Lion's Gate bridge.

I too was wondering just what the procedure would be but we are in Victoria the day before so customs and immigration should be taken care of there.

So far nothing from NCL about how this will be handled.

This is not new - similar circumstances in previous year's when the Bliss has come into Vancouver.

Hopefully someone who has experienced this in previous year's will see these posts and response.

[martincath]

16 hours ago, Urban trekker said:

Martincath - the poster is likely talking about the Bliss cruise that arrives in Vancouver at 11PM on April 4th...

Happy New Year Dennis! That makes sense - I do recall in several prior years that Bliss has had rather unusual timings due to the bridge. I think one of our other locals, @ceilidh1, has done some of these Bliss repos and might be able to speak from experience how the ship/shore acess works off-hours?

[ceilidh1]

29 minutes ago, martincath said:

Happy New Year Dennis! That makes sense - I do recall in several prior years that Bliss has had rather unusual timings due to the bridge. I think one of our other locals, @ceilidh1, has done some of these Bliss repos and might be able to speak from experience how the ship/shore acess works off-hours?

Last year we arrived in vancouver around 8pm and folks were allowed off and on the ship. Some even chose to disembark that evening and it wasn't an issue. That being said, it is 100% dependent on the CBSA officials (if we don't do immigration in Victoria - last year I don't believe we did as I never got off the ship and was not asked for passport, but I could be wrong), port workers, and security. As long as the gangway is down and there is the potential for folks to get on and off, all those workers have to be in position. NCL never told us the plan on any of the previous sailings (I've done them all) - probably because they don't find out themselves until they arrive!

[Urban trekker]

and me getting off a midnight and having to use transit to get home in Surrey would be a challenge.

Dennis

[Victorious8]

Thank you everyone! You are correct I was looking at the Bliss repo! Just want some quiet time to myself but wanted to save PTO if possible/I love a direct flight. 
 

After considering things I will plan to take the 10am direct flight the next day (it’s the only direct flight for me). Since I am a fully remote worker I will just plan to leave the boat by 8am and then walk to my hotel. I’ll make sure to select one with a cozy lobby that I can use to catch up on work before exploring the city! Any recommendations are appreciated! I am an able bodied woman in her mid 30’s, definitely somewhat athletic so no fear in rolling hand luggage a mile or two. 
 

I’m from Northern California and it’s always been a dream of mine to sail in and out under the Golden Gate Bridge so that’s one of the things I am looking forward to most. My name is also Victoria and visiting Victoria has been on my bucket list since I first learned about the city as a child! Can’t wait!! 

[lidodeck03]

On 1/10/2024 at 12:33 PM, martincath said:

This is tricky - without more info about your specific date/route I can't say!

 

A theoretical answer though is that unless NCL are paying CBSA to work overnight at Canada Place (short answer - they absolutely won't be!), you might arrive at 11pm but you won't be cleared to leave the ship if this is the first Canadian port... but if you had a prior stop in e.g. Victoria, without any other US ports in-between, then immigration & customs was already taken care of so you can just walk off the ship whenever you like after it's tied up. So if you want to set your alarm for 4am, you might not be able to get your bags taken off for you before official disembark slots begin, but you would absolutely be able to self-disembark if you schlep all your own stuff.

 

A 10am flight is potentially doable even if you need to wait until 'regular hours' disembarkation, but again there are unknowns - the biggest factor is your mobility. If you can handle all your own bags, then even on a busy day with multiple ships SkyTrain to YVR is viable which means you can definitely be at the airport within ~45mins of leaving the pier (~10min walk, trains every 6-7 mins, <30min travel time). Say an hour to get to check-in as there's also a bit of a walk from the station to the check-in desks - which means as long as you leave downtown before 9am, you should meet the minimum 1 hour preflight cut-off to check bags. You'll also beat all the other folks who are waiting for cruise transfers - none of them arrive at YVR before about 9:30am - so all the queues should be pretty light, I'd expect to be at my gate within about 30mins even without NEXUS/Global Entry to get through US Preclearance super-fast.

 

If you need any help whatsoever with baggage though, abandon all plans for a 10am flight - there are just too many moving parts outside your control to make it worth the risk. None of the mainstream cruiselines even accept transfer requests for flights that early (noon, or even 12:30pm, is the usual cutoff as they know how busy it can get at the pier and airport and they don't want to be on the hook for folks missing flights!)

 

Personally though I would always advise staying over in Vancouver - unless you've been here many times and seen everything, we have more stuff to see and do than every AK coastal port put together so it's a real missed opportunity to be here and not take advantage of one of the best cities in the world! Us locals might b*tch about cost of living, but with our weaker CAD$ we're still a relative bargain for folks from the USA, especially if you're from any of the bigger cities in California!

 

Then by all means book a flight at 10am on another day when you can choose exactly when to leave your hotel - heck, you may even find a good 6am flight. The only thing to be aware of on those really early flights is that CBP do not start work until 4:30am, and start-of-shift briefing eats another 10-15mins - so arriving at Preclearance before 5am is basically pointless, even for a 6am flight. So many people obey the rule of thumb to be 3 hours early that there's always a lineup at the closed doors from 3am, which gets longer and longer until CBP actually start working around 4:45am...

 

Edited January 15 by lidodeck03

[lidodeck03]

We are planning on leaving on Princess Discovery leaving LA on May 27, 2024. We leave from Victoria, Ca. at 4:00pm on May 3, 2024 and arrive in Vancouver on May 3, 2024 at 11:15pm. and disembarkation on May 4, 2024 at 6:00am. It also states on the itinerary that between 11:15pm on May 3, and 6:00am on May 4 that it will be “Operational Overnight.” Does this mean we could disembark and carry off our own luggage and catch an early flight?

[martincath]

2 hours ago, lidodeck03 said:

We are planning on leaving on Princess Discovery leaving LA on May 27, 2024. We leave from Victoria, Ca. at 4:00pm on May 3, 2024 and arrive in Vancouver on May 3, 2024 at 11:15pm. and disembarkation on May 4, 2024 at 6:00am. It also states on the itinerary that between 11:15pm on May 3, and 6:00am on May 4 that it will be “Operational Overnight.” Does this mean we could disembark and carry off our own luggage and catch an early flight?

Probably... but even if plans are in place to have port security and longshoremen working to support folks entering and leaving the ship overnight, if you miss Victoria (high winds from the wrong direction do cause this a few times every season, and Bliss being a very tall vessel gives it slightly higher risk) then immigration checks involve CBSA staff rescheduling at short notice which could be problematic.

 

Especially given this is a Friday, so for most visitors getting home for work the next is not a factor, I'd be inclined to stick to my normal recommendation of at least one overnight then as early a flight as you want on another day. I certainly would not risk booking a flight at 7am because someone on the internet said it would probably be OK - I'd want the cruiseline to confirm in writing that I could disembark overnight!

 

Back to OP @Victorious8 who seems to have followed this advice to stay over - as a solo, you'll get even more 'win' than most from the YWCA hotel! They actually have single rooms, although I think all of those use hallway bathrooms rather than having your own en suite like the standard double/queen rooms do. It's 0.8miles away from the pier on foot, decent WiFi and lobby with free coffee to hang in if your room isn't available - I met folks there last summer to take on a walking tour who confirmed it's still a great option despite the low price. If you want to spend all day in Stanley Park something nearer the West End would be even more convenient, but if Gastown/Chinatown/Yaletown/False Creek are on the cards it's one of the best-located hotels too (although given how compact our core is, and that 90% of the hotels are there, we really don't have any poorly-located hotels downtown!)

 

Unfortunately this cruise is too early for you to triple-down on celebrating Victoria Day in Victoria, Victoria! But you could have a Victoria Gin while in Victoria 😉

Edited January 15 by martincath