Harbour-Air out of Vancouver/Post-Cruise Stay

[Zoolander]

Interested in taking harbour-air out on one of our legs either to Victoria, or from Victoria to the airport.

 

http://www.harbour-air.com/

 

Will be docking in Vancouver, on the Mariner on May 27, 2009.

 

We will only be able to meet the 50# limitation per person, so that limits us on which flight we can take. And since I don't know where we are docking, I don't know which schedule/fare form to read.

 

Anybody done this and have any recommendations?

We will be doing PacificCoachLine on the other leg.

 

Guess at this point I would be leaning towards taking harbour-air back to the airport, since we would be more in control of the timing, just in case we come into port late or are not able to get off of the boat in time.

 

Thanks in advance.

[OrpingtonT]

I haven't flown with Harbour Air, but I have sat on Mariner watching their seaplanes taking off and landing right by the ship. Mariner docks at Canada Place, two blocks from the boarding point.

[mariners]

Checking out Harbour Air it appears as if they have two locations in Vancouver. The first is at the Vancouver International Airport and the second is two blocks from Canada Place on the Harbour. When we cruised Regent from Alaska to Vancouver, we docked at Canada Place. If you are flying home from Vancouver International Airport, either option would work well. I've never travelled by bus to the Island so can't comment on where they pick up/drop off/their service, etc. However, taking the ferry across can be a wonderful experience on its own (though I've only taken it in the summer). Clearing customs can take quite a time, especially if you are Canadian and have things to declare, so you have to weigh that into the schedule you choose. Also, check policies with Harbour Air as some of our smaller airlines allow passengers who miss an earlier flight to rebook on a later flight without penalty as long as you inform them before your original flight leaves and they have space on a later flight. Hopefully, some of the Vancouver/Victoria members can give you additional information.

[crusinbanjo]

The Jet Copter service. they take off from a pad within walking distance from the ship terminal and fly direct to Victoria, they also fly from Victoria to the airport in Vancouver. the service is faster and more comfortable than the seaplane service. and is able to opperate in marginal weather, when the seaplanes are more limited. the only downside is that you will need to forward most of your luggage.

 

The wife & I used this on our last Alaska cruise on the Mariner, it was fantastic.

[englishlee]

I can probably help answer some of these questions.

 

HA baggage allowance is 25lbs per person including hand baggage. They will take the extra baggage (free of charge) if they have space available. Alternatively they will send it on the next available flight, again at no extra charge, but of course that might not be the next flight just the next flight when they have space (which could be the following day). The third option (and probably the best) is that you can buy an additional seat which gives you a further 176lbs of baggage allowance which should be more than enough - but this needs to be booked at the same time as you book your own seats.

 

Regent normally docks at Canada Place which is a comfortable walk to the HA terminal in Coal Harbour, although at the moment with the construction work they are doing on the new convention centre there are a number of steps to negotiate. Flights from Coal Harbour to Victoria are far more frequent than those from Victoria to Richmond. Bear in mind that Richmond is a short drive 5-10 minutes from the international airport, HA will normally shuttle people there if requested.

 

FYI flights are great, although legroom is tight. If you speak nicely to the pilot he'll let you take the co-pilot's seat for the journey. They fly at a relatively low altitude and it is not unknown to see pods of Orca's en-route

 

Hope this helps.