Insane disembarkation at Canada Place today!

Me too. I appreciate the update on the situation there and have adjusted my mode of travel due to the OP's post.

Also, the Canada Line terminates at Waterfront Station, so you should have plenty of space to get your bags settled and out of the way before people start piling in at other stops. [emoji847]

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Thank you for sharing your awful experience! I'm now gonna check our day because we planned on taking a taxi.

 

 

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Me too. I appreciate the update on the situation there and have adjusted my mode of travel due to the OP's post.

I'm glad something positive came from our experience :D It could have been a lot worse - luckily the airline we were flying has frequent flights back to Ontario each day so at worst, we only would've had to wait a few hours to catch another flight. We have been travelling for 15 years and this is the first time we've ever missed a flight - it was bound to happen some time so I'm thankful it happened at home!

From waterfront station there are two trains..canada line and sky train.

Canada line runs to the airport and takes luggage, bikes,buggies and any other crap you have.

Sky train runs to the burbs and the trains have no dedicated luggage space.

Hope this helps

 

 

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It helps a LOT! Thank you!

I'm glad something positive came from our experience :D It could have been a lot worse - luckily the airline we were flying has frequent flights back to Ontario each day so at worst, we only would've had to wait a few hours to catch another flight. We have been travelling for 15 years and this is the first time we've ever missed a flight - it was bound to happen some time so I'm thankful it happened at home!

Glad you got an acceptable solution in the end.

Oh man. The sky train goes straight from Canada place out to YVR. Way cheaper and quicker. Next time!

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We had a horrible embarkation in Vancouver last May ... and I am pretty sure the disembarking passengers would have said the exact same thing. Sheer chaos with 3 ships in port that day ...so I feel your pain.

 

I now think long and hard about booking cruises that start or end at that port.

 

I have taken the sky train before and that is definitely the way to go but maybe some Vancouverites can chime in on this. I noticed that at least one has recommended the sky train but then I read on here that luggage is not allowed on the Sky Train ... maybe this was just on weekdays. Is this true?? When we went, there were many others with carry on luggage on the train. But, is this a no no or is it just not enforced?? BTW ...for us, it was a very convenient way to get from the train station to Canada place, even with a small amount of luggage. Not sure if it would be quite as convenient with a couple larger pieces luggage, especially if it is raining.

We live in the suburbs and regularly hop on the skytrain to the cruise port or the airport. No problems with taking luggage.

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I have taken the sky train before and that is definitely the way to go but maybe some Vancouverites can chime in on this. I noticed that at least one has recommended the sky train but then I read on here that luggage is not allowed on the Sky Train ... maybe this was just on weekdays. Is this true?? When we went, there were many others with carry on luggage on the train. But, is this a no no or is it just not enforced??

Canada Line (the only one of relevance for 95% of cruisers) handles luggage just fine. Different rolling stock than the commuter lines to the 'burbs. Same rules apply across all modes of transit - luggage (or anything else) is not allowed to block another seat, the aisle, or wheelchair/bike spots. The only timed restrictions are No Bikes on weekday rush hour - they take up standing room for at least 3 or 4 people and that's a big deal on the commuter runs.

In practical terms this means that you can take a large suitcase and a carryon easily on Canada Line to and from YVR - but the other lines have no underseat storage or storage racks anywhere, so unless it fits on your lap or under your knees it's a violation. Enforcement is very lax on SkyTrain - automated so no drivers, and transit cops are a very small force - but extremely common on busy buses. I see tourists with suitcases or big backpacks prevented from boarding the C23 almost every trip I make from April to October.

Canada Line (the only one of relevance for 95% of cruisers) handles luggage just fine. Different rolling stock than the commuter lines to the 'burbs. Same rules apply across all modes of transit - luggage (or anything else) is not allowed to block another seat, the aisle, or wheelchair/bike spots. The only timed restrictions are No Bikes on weekday rush hour - they take up standing room for at least 3 or 4 people and that's a big deal on the commuter runs.

 

 

In practical terms this means that you can take a large suitcase and a carryon easily on Canada Line to and from YVR - but the other lines have no underseat storage or storage racks anywhere, so unless it fits on your lap or under your knees it's a violation. Enforcement is very lax on SkyTrain - automated so no drivers, and transit cops are a very small force - but extremely common on busy buses. I see tourists with suitcases or big backpacks prevented from boarding the C23 almost every trip I make from April to October.

Good to know. thanks to all for the expert responses.

So good vacation with a bad ending.

Thank you everyone for the solution to this problem.

My cruise will have 2 ships in port and a flight at 12:30PM. I now know what to do.

We had a horrible embarkation in Vancouver last May ... and I am pretty sure the disembarking passengers would have said the exact same thing. Sheer chaos with 3 ships in port that day ...so I feel your pain.

I now think long and hard about booking cruises that start or end at that port.

I have taken the sky train before and that is definitely the way to go but maybe some Vancouverites can chime in on this. I noticed that at least one has recommended the sky train but then I read on here that luggage is not allowed on the Sky Train ... maybe this was just on weekdays. Is this true?? When we went, there were many others with carry on luggage on the train. But, is this a no no or is it just not enforced?? BTW ...for us, it was a very convenient way to get from the train station to Canada place, even with a small amount of luggage. Not sure if it would be quite as convenient with a couple larger pieces luggage, especially if it is raining.

Wasn't that fun last May? We arrived at 1pm and swiftly got onboard at 5:15pm! Never again with 3 ships in port!

We did get off the Emerald today, but we were cleared very early, so no issues. Plus the Oosterdam had only 300 passengers from what we were told.The Dawn must have been a full ship!

Wasn't that fun last May? We arrived at 1pm and swiftly got onboard at 5:15pm! Never again with 3 ships in port!

 

Indeed!! We ignored the advice of the cruiseline indicating that we should arrive later in the day because we had an early flight into YVR. We were going to drop off our luggage and meet up with some friends that live in the area for breakfast in the downtown area. When we arrived, the lines were already crazy long and it was only 10:00 or so. We thought better of taking off to come back at a later time ... so glad we had. As it was, we didn't get onboard until after 3 hours of standing in line after line after line. However, most people had a long wait than us ... especially those that showed up at the suggested later time. From what I understand, some people had endured up to nearly 6 hours in those lines. Guess we were fortunate. Well, when we got onboard, we hit the Passport Bar and we were really the only ones there for at least 90 minutes. And ... from that point on ... the cruise itself was sheer perfection.

Yes ... we definitely will think twice if more than one ship in port at a time at Canada Place.

It also didn't help that this particular weekend also had multiple road closures in the area, a major bridge nearby closed and work being done on the Expo/Millenium skytrain lines. Enough so that it made it onto the local news

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For US residents: You might consider mailing the (s)crap you have collected in Alaska prior to leaving your final Alaska port. Then you can carry your own baggage? USPS is quite cheap.