Vancouver flight time

We disembark in Vancouver and wonder what is the earliest flight time we should be comfortable with. Our non-stop flight choices are 11:45 or 6 pm. Obviously we would like to book the earlier flight but not if it would be cutting it too close.

Thank you.

Personally I would book the later one. When we disembarked in Vancouver the Skytrain was not running and therefore all the taxis were taken. It doesn't stop running too often but there is always the possibility. Maybe best to give yourselves a bit of leeway.

Don't a flight before noon. If you arrive on a three ship day , you could be delayed disembarkation by an hour and the taxi wait could be an hour.

I would think a 11:45 is doable if you self disembark or have priority disembarkation like in a suite. I would personally grab a skytrain. You can grab skytrain at Waterfront Station which is only 1,000 feet away (5 minute walk).

The trip to the airport is 26 minutes and SkyTrain goes right into the airport.

One thing to keep in mind is that the combination of Security, Immigration and U.S. Immigration and Customs can take a good 30 minutes to 1 hour. If you have Global Entry they have a separate area to expedite your clearance.

What time do you dock? Also, if you can find out how many ships are in port that day, that would help you answer the question. Last Sunday, there were 4, but that's unusual. As Jim said, do the self disembarkation (it's a good idea to get in line early, on the ship, before the doors open for disembarkation) and take the skytrain, then 11:45AM should be doable.

Celebrity has a time before which they will not book air through their system. Call and ask and that will give you guidance

Depends on when your ship docks. I tend to use the "five hour" rule, which means that if the ship docks at 7 AM, I don't book a flight before noon. You can push it with four hours, but not beyond that. The good part is that taxis are always waiting at the Port Vancouver Cruise Terminal.

One thing to be aware of when flying out out of YVR (Vancouver Airport) is that if you are boarding a United States flight, you will be passing through United States Customs before boarding your flight through their pre-clearance program. (It took 45 minutes for my mother and myself to go though US Customs.) This effectively turns your flight into a domestic flight rather than a international flight. Also, if your flight departs from gates 90-96.... it's a long hike to that gate area. Bring comfortable shoes.

What is your destination? That is a factor, too. Answers so far have assumed it’s the US, but maybe not so?

Another option?

Has anyone taken the Celebrity tour with an airport drop off? We are flying to Seattle to visit family. My DH is not able to walk far so we thought this would be the best way to see a little of Vancouver before we leave. Would this be an international flight? Is customs at disembarkation?

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Out of Vancouver you go through US Customs and Immigration right in the airport, so then the flight becomes a domestic flight.

There will no no further Costoms/Immigration on arrival at Seattle.

We disembarked Solstice last week and had an 11:30am flight. Our original flight was at 1:40pm, but when I checked in on line the day prior, United offered us to switch to a 11:30am flight for $75. This was an attractive offer to us for a variety of reasons, but before I took the offer I confirmed with Guest Relations they offered express walk-off, plus checked the Port of Vancouver schedule for any other ships at Canada Place. We did express walk-off that, fortunately, started right on time at 7:30am. I looked at my watch as we got into the cab and it was 7:38am! However this was under the best of conditions as we did not have to clear Canadian Immigration since the ship had called in Victoria the day prior. The HAL Eurodam was also there, however their “official” arrival time was 8:00am whereas Solstice was at 7:00am. Since express walk-off began before Eurodam was ready to start theirs, this no doubt contributed to no line for taxis.

Arriving at the airport just after 8:00am was really nice because we were ahead of the crush of cruise passengers. We were through all of the various processes just after 8:30am, and we did not have Nexis or anything that would speed us through US Immigration or security.

Again, we were under the best of conditions, something you can’t assume and take for granted. Later this summer we will again be disembarking in Vancouver, but our circumstances will be different and we will not use express walk-off and therefore will book a later flight. If there are multiple ships at Canada Place the day you disembark, compare the arrival times of each ship, whether you’ll have to clear Canadian Immigration, etc.

Good luck with your decision!

11:45 is close to the earliest recommended time but risky enough that I wouldn’t recommend it. The Vancouver Airport can take quite a while to traverse. First, you have about a 25 min drive to the airport, you then check in, then put your luggage through a machine, then wait in the security line (which is often verrrrrrrrry long), then clear US Passport Control, and then make your way to your gate, which could be quite a trek away. I personally feel best booking flights that depart after 12:30 there. The good news is that if you do go with the 6:00 flight, you can have an enjoyable day. Store your luggage at the port (company is right in the terminal), and you can easily explore downtown on foot or via HOHO bus (located right outside the terminal). Then, get a taxi to the airport comfortably in the early afternoon.

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The good news is that if you do go with the 6:00 flight, you can have an enjoyable day. Store your luggage at the port (company is right in the terminal), and you can easily explore downtown on foot or via HOHO bus (located right outside the terminal). Then, get a taxi to the airport comfortably in the early afternoon.

If you're going to book a later flight, Celebrity also has a city tour with airport drop-off for $39. We did this last year for a 5:30pm flight and it worked out great. Tour takes you all over the city as well as Stanley Park.

We just got off a cruise in Vancouver. The taxi ride to the airport took us only 30 minutes but it was very light traffic. In heavy traffic it can take up to an hour. It took us an hour and a half just to get to our gate after checking in for our flight. Luggage machine, Immigration and security lines were awfully long.

I'd take the later flight and enjoy a little bit of what Vancouver has to offer. That being said, last time we got off in Vancouver, it only took 5 minutes before we were outside. We had to wait until the car rental place opened to get our car for the day. Skytrain would have got us to the airport by 8:00AM.

We just got off a cruise in Vancouver. The taxi ride to the airport took us only 30 minutes but it was very light traffic. In heavy traffic it can take up to an hour. It took us an hour and a half just to get to our gate after checking in for our flight. Luggage machine, Immigration and security lines were awfully long.

You were caught in holiday traffic. Given the date you have posted you were in the Canadian long weekend rush. Our May long weekend is the one before the American Memorial Day weekend. So traffic was light but the passenger traffic was not!

Two questions. (1) What is Plan B if you miss your 11:45 flight? (2) How stressed do you want to be about possibly missing the earlier flight?

The first question really leads into the second one.

When traveling, it's always important to know your "Plan B" in case you miss your flight, it's delayed, etc.

Thus, you need to look into the later flight. How large (# passengers) is the aircraft -- meaning how many seats are potentially available? Is the later flight usually fully booked? What happens if you miss your flight for reasons beyond the airline's control? IOW, do you have to pay a fee/penalty to take the later flight, especially if it's more expensive than the earlier one? Will they rebook you or will you have to stand by (see earlier question on size of plane for likelihood of getting seats). Are there any connecting flights that would be an option?

Also, what is your status with the airline and what type of fare are you using? Obviously, if you're paying the cheapest price on an airline you never/rarely fly, your options will be much more limited than if you're a frequent flyer and have bought a more expensive ticket.

Once you know the answers to the above (and the ones posed by other posters), you can decide how much risk you want to take and how much stress you will endure worrying about missing your flight. Again, if it's pretty easy to catch the later flight and there's no financial penalty, not a huge deal. If missing your flight means you may have to pay a lot more or maybe not get home for a couple of days . . . well, that may not be worth those few extra hours.