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Really...how much time, ship to YVR?


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Here's the scenario:

 

3 ships disembarking Canada Place the same morning.

Part of our group needs to be at YVR for a 1pm flight and the others for a 2pm flight.

We're booking Aerocar to make life simple.

 

I've read a thread where the folks were able to breeze through Canadian customs with 3 ships in port (they were AT their hotel inside of 30 minutes) and another thread where a post was suggesting 1.5 hours total (disembarkation - baggage claim - customs - ground transportation) with only 1 ship in port.

 

So when do we want to leave the ship - 9am or 8:30am?

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Here's a possible timeline....

  • 7am most ships have docked
  • 7:30am takes about 30 minutes to tie up the ships and the flood of walk-offs begin
  • 9:25am is the latest you want to be cab, aerocar, or subway
  • 10am arrive at yvr to begin your 3 hours of pre-flight check-in, luggage, and security searches (luggage, carry-on, liquids, electronics, medication, ULU's, WMD's, NFL's, hand, body, and the random complimentary VIP secondary experience)
  • 1pm wheels up with dreams on returning because you didn't leave enough time at your bonus port.

The wildcard is what happens between 7:30am and 9:25am.... are you arriving in May or mid-summer. Early May arrivals can be a chaotic multi-hour vehicle wait as staff are trained up for the season.

Edited by xlxo
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The wildcard is what happens between 7:30am and 9:25am.... are you arriving in May or mid-summer. Early May arrivals can be a chaotic multi-hour vehicle wait as staff are trained up for the season.

 

 

It is an early May arrival (the 9th). So you think 1.5 hours from the time we walk the gang plank to curbside drop off at YVR is realistic? So leave the ship at 8:30am?

 

BTW, I've been to this wonderful bonus port twice before (though only for one-day visits) and while I'd love an overnight or longer stay, I'm really pushing it by being gone from work for 2.5 weeks as it is.

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May has a history of unpleasant delays....

  • I would try to be in that long line to be the first off the boat.
  • I'm not familiar with the Aerocar pickups. Perhaps someone else can clarify how it works.
  • the cab lines have a history on multi-hour waits with three ship days. If you don't like what you see.... I would be marching over to the subway station at 9:10am for the subway to ensure a 10am YVR arrival.

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One of the first 3-shippers of the season? Ouch.

 

With Aerocar booked in theory you should have only a few minutes wait for that - which avoids one of the bigger issues, the build-up of the cab queue (not unheard of to hit 3 hours, though unusual). But at either 8:30am or 9am you'll still have a ton of folks ahead of you in the CBSA queue - and many of them are also going straight to the airport...

 

Again, it's not unheard of to need the full recommended three hours AT the airport on days like these between check-in, bag drop, security and CBP. Unless your 1pm flight people all have Global Entry/NEXUS - so they can skip the long queues for both Security and CBP - I would aim for a 10am arrival at YVR. That means leaving downtown at 9:15am, so even with the cab wait out of the picture I'd go for 8:30am disembarkation slot rather than 9am. Even then, since disembarkation slots in Vancouver start as early as 7:15am, by 8:30am over half of all three ships worth of pax will be ahead of you...

 

Plenty of people get to their hotel within 30mins or less even on 3-shippers - Canada Place has a ton of hotels within a few minutes walk let alone drive. Take the extra YVR queues out of the equation and even with a 15min wait at CBP it's trivial to be in any of a dozen or more hotels, on foot, within 30mins from when you walk off the ship.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Our ship docks at 8 am on May 1. I'm looking at flights at 12 noon or 5:15.

 

Is 12 noon doable? I'm thinking no? Even though Carnival says don't book a flight before 11 am if you use their transfer service?

 

Thoughts, please. Thanks!

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Our ship docks at 8 am on May 1. I'm looking at flights at 12 noon or 5:15.

 

Is 12 noon doable? I'm thinking no? Even though Carnival says don't book a flight before 11 am if you use their transfer service?

 

Thoughts, please. Thanks!

Noon is easy on anything other than a three-shipper (and from all I can see, you are the only ship in port on May 1, 2018).

 

 

I'm assuming you meant Carnival suggesting not to book their transfers before 1pm, rather than 11am? Regardless, never ever book cruiseline transfers in Vancouver as they are usually the last to arrive at YVR and also far and away the most expensive (if you're a couple, your own cab is half the price - for 3+ people a LIMO is cheaper!)

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  • 1 month later...

I have a similar question.

 

We are getting into port at 6am on 21sep2018 aboard Celebrity Solstice. We are flying to Honolulu.

 

The best flight for us is 9.25am.

 

Is it possible to make this flight?

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Thanks. I thought it may be possible but will heed your advice.

 

One other thing.

 

We went on a cruise which visited Victoria BC but couldn't dock due to winds. They didn't seem bad but 3 ships were turned away. How common is this?

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I'd agree that 9:25am is just too risky - even with NEXUS/Global entry you'd have to be basically the very first people off the ship, no delays in docking/traffic, to be getting to YVR in enough time. If there's any way you can schedule a different time or day, do it.

 

As to Victoria - it happens, but I'd say it's definitely on the uncommon end of the spectrum. Offhand I can remember hearing about just a handful of other days, less than once a year I wager - although with cruise season spreading from early April until at least mid-October (we even had a December cruise in 2017!) it's probably going to be getting slightly more common.

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  • 4 months later...

Real time update: Golden Princess yesterday, 6/2. I think there were 3 ships in port. You guys can check. We were in Walk Off group #1. Carry your own luggage if you're able people. It makes a huge difference. Out of maybe 40 disembarkation slots, we were the first. Anyway, exited the ship with the final 'ding' at approximately 7:40a. We were seated at YVR Gate #83 by 8:30a. Every step was efficient and we beat every queueing line.

 

It literally took us much longer to retrieve our luggage and privately parked personal car at ORD in the middle of last night than to pass into two countries. God I hate ORD.

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I'd agree that 9:25am is just too risky - even with NEXUS/Global entry you'd have to be basically the very first people off the ship, no delays in docking/traffic, to be getting to YVR in enough time. If there's any way you can schedule a different time or day, do it.

 

As to Victoria - it happens, but I'd say it's definitely on the uncommon end of the spectrum. Offhand I can remember hearing about just a handful of other days, less than once a year I wager - although with cruise season spreading from early April until at least mid-October (we even had a December cruise in 2017!) it's probably going to be getting slightly more common.

 

Should also add:

 

I would agree the early departure is risky. If you look at at Air Canada or WestJet they may have other departures to Hawaii.

 

Victoria is more exposed to the pacific ocean and subject to rougher seas.

 

Vancouver is in a protected harbour, you should never have the problem with rough seas in Vancouver.

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Real time update: Golden Princess yesterday, 6/2. I think there were 3 ships in port. You guys can check. We were in Walk Off group #1. Carry your own luggage if you're able people. It makes a huge difference. Out of maybe 40 disembarkation slots, we were the first. Anyway, exited the ship with the final 'ding' at approximately 7:40a. We were seated at YVR Gate #83 by 8:30a. Every step was efficient and we beat every queueing line.

 

It literally took us much longer to retrieve our luggage and privately parked personal car at ORD in the middle of last night than to pass into two countries. God I hate ORD.

Actually yesterday was one of our FOUR ship days! All docked 7am to 4:30/5pm (officially - can't say whether any ships were particularly early or late). Your experience is exactly why you'll hear every sensible local on here saying the same thing about early flights - self-disembark! The first folks off avoid all the hassles.

 

 

The downside is of course that more than one ship adds a random factor - you have zero input into whether your ship is going to be the first one to 'open the gates' or the last, so even doing everything within your own control to be off ASAP, you might end up being first off your ship but still behind hundreds or even thousands of others. There's only one exit hall, one cab queue, and nowhere near enough cabs in the city to move 3+ ships worth of folks (even just the proportion who want to get straight to the airport).

 

Which is why I also add ensuring you have a Credit card or Canadian cash for SkyTrain, and figure out the route to the relevant platform for the Canada Line. Once you have made it through the pier, your worst-case travel time to YVR is still under 45mins by SkyTrain including the walk there whereas on a busy day you could easily be waiting in the cab line for longer than that then still face a 35min journey.

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No disagreement from me. I saw the massive rope lines ready for the swarms of folks that followed.

 

Actually, our physical movements were a blur. I remember the 'split' with cabs to the left and seemingly everything else to the right. We knew we were going to get a cab quickly so went that route. Would we have 'forked right' to walk out of the building? Once outside I recognized the route to what I'll call the subway train.

 

And we were actually the second customer at the Alaska Air counter. Bags on the checked bags conveyor. My only mistake was at Canadian TSA. The procedure was different with us having to scan our boarding pass and maybe even our passport (don't remember). Anyway, in the breathtaking speed I left my cellphone in my pocket as I scanned. The agent was nice as I got the 'full cavity' for my accidental oversight. An extra 2-3 minutes tops.

 

I made one more mistake at Immigration. My wife and I were each able to get our own terminal easily. So I was confused by the question 'Is somebody traveling with you?' What that really meant to capture was that you had a chance to check in multiple family members on one machine. Another 30 seconds to 'go back' and tell the computer I was 'solo' at that moment as she simultaneously did the same on another machine. Anyway, we got our slips of paper and handed them to our agent without problems. When he asked what we had with us my reply was 'just laundry'. He waived us through.

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...I remember the 'split' with cabs to the left and seemingly everything else to the right. We knew we were going to get a cab quickly so went that route. Would we have 'forked right' to walk out of the building?

It's more 'keep going straight' then actually turning anywhere I'd say (but it depends how you choose to get up to the street - if you actually walk up the ramp, then you have to go through one of the doorways on the same side as the folks getting in the cabs, as the cabs and buses etc. all come down and up that loop of roadway which the sidewalk ramp is next to; if you take an elevator up though you 'keep right' to use GPS type directional guidance).

 

Re: your airport wooshing-through-too-fast, we've gotten used to being spoiled at all sorts of queues thanks to our NEXUS membership so I have practised removing all of my pocket stuff, plus my belt, and placing it all in my hat while walking, to the extent it's now an ingrained habit and I do it even if I don't need technically to. So as soon as I reach the conveyor I just drop my hat into one of the trays, drop my backpack next to it, and can step right up to the scanner as soon as the agent waves me forward. Saves waiting for a 'small stuff' dish too.

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  • 1 month later...

Real time update from this morning: 3 ships in (one crystal, infinity, and Westerdam), left ship at 9am, no problem UNTIL hitting the train and cab lines. Huge lines and we needed a van for 5 passengers. Regular car taxis can only take 4 passengers. Taxi line was a mess, wheelchairs and porters cutting in front and long wait for vans. Taxi stand personnel not managing the line well. Took 1 hr to get a taxi to yvr and the train line looked even longer. Travel to yvr via taxi was only 30mins. I did not think/know to head up to the hotels but our taxi driver said the hotels were mad that they couldn’t get cabs since everyone was going to the cruise terminal. So, I would leave LOTS of time. Maybe we just caught a bad day.

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I am a little confused about your comment that the train line looked long - as a native Vancouverite - I don't see how you could see the train line as the main entrance is about two blocks away if you were standing outside the cruise terminal.

No doubt it was busy as it was a three ship day - as for the taxis I suspect that wheelchair users will get priority for the accessible cabs over people with a large party and lots of luggage.

Cheers!

Dennis!

:):)

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...Took 1 hr to get a taxi to yvr and the train line looked even longer.

Thanks for the update - but I'm really confused by your reference to the 'train line' as you cannot access SkyTrain from directly inside Canada Place. If you're in line for a cab, there's no way you can possibly see a SkyTrain entrance, let alone how busy the platforms are - you need to go up onto the street and walk a couple of blocks, or go very indirectly through the food court and tunnels under the area around Canada Place.

 

Personally I'm also glad to see that wheelchair users were being cut into the line for minivan cabs, as these only exist for disabled users - all the cab companies hate them as they cost more to run than the smaller cars but cannot charge extra, only legislation ensures there are any minivans at all. As able-bodied travelers you have the option of taking 2 cabs - but a wheelchair user of course can only make use of the minivans.

 

Edit - whoops, didn't see your reply when I started typing Dennis!

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