How long does it usually take to get out of cruiseship terminal in Vancouver

[athenagirl]

We will be arriving on the Celebrity Solstice at the cruise ship terminal in Vancouver on May 8. We want to book a flight leaving the Vanc. airport for 12 noon. Does anyone have a general idea of how long it usually takes as we don't want to miss our flight? We will most likely be taking a shuttle bus to airport.

[sunviking90]

You'll be fine, particularly since you are flying within Canada and won't have to clear US customs at YVR. We've usually been off the ship by 9am. Things may take a little longer since this is one of the first arrivals of the season, but it isn't a weekend so should be fine.

I actually think the skytrain might be faster to the airport than a shuttle though.

[athenagirl]

Thanks for your reassurance.:) I wonder how many other ships will be in port that morning though. I remember one time it was an absolute zoo at the cruise terminal and it took forever. Isn't skytrain a little ways to walk? Do you walk out of the terminal to get to skytrain or is there an underground walkway to go thru?

[TeaBag]

Yes, you can walk out of the terminal to get to Skytrain. There will be another ship, Norwegian Pearl, along with Solstice, so it should not be too bad.

[TeaBag]

Yes, you can walk out of the terminal to get to Skytrain. There will be another ship, Norwegian Pearl, along with Solstice, so it should not be too bad.

 

Are you able to do express disembarkation? We did that one time and we were home (30 min ride) by 8:10AM.

[athenagirl]

Yes, we could do express disembarkation. Where do you catch skytrain? Would you enter on Cordova street and go downstairs or do you go downstairs at the Pan Pacific Hotel?

[martincath]

Either will get you there eventually, but if you want to be on the Canada Line as fast as possible walk around the corner, don't take the first set of stairs on Howe St - a) it's a longer route, and b) everyone who hasn't done their research will go in this way so you'll have more people and suitcases to navigate around.

[germanyboy]

I looked it up and Norwegian Pearl is in port that day, 2466 passengers.

 

I am on Solstice leaving that day.

[Urban trekker]

The Pearl is docking at Ballantyne Pier that day so there will only be one ship at Canada Place.

 

While a 12 noon plane is usually okay there are a couple of things that could hang you up.

 

At the start of the cruise season here in Vancouver there are a lot of new employees just starting their jobs so things could be a little slower.

 

Also sometimes the Coast Guard will want to do an inspection and health officials do a check of things - both of these could cause delays.

 

You will have to clear Canada Customs although that is usually fairly straightfoward.

 

If you could get a flight a little later it would probably be better. Less Worry

 

Hope this helps - I have arrived on these repo cruises in May before and have seen the problems first hand - not a big deal for me as I live in Vancouver'

 

Cheers!

 

Dennis