Vancouver Embarkation

[ricknroll]

We sailed with Grand Princess on May 9 from Canada Place, along with Golden and Noordam. It was the first big test of three ships from Canada Place this season, so I thought I'd share our experience.

 

We stayed at Pan Pacific prior to the cruise, and they transferred our luggage. About 11:15am we went to Expo Hall D, where we waiting in a line for the ship and received a numbered ticket around 11:35. We were yellow 19 (yellow looks more like orange to me by the way), and they were calling yellow 10. We took a seat in a sea of seats.

 

At 12pm they called yellow 19, and we lined up along the wall. From here there's a pretty treacherous staircase down to the cruise level. It's about 4 feet wide and the treads are very short. When they encourage you to check all your bags - they have good reason. We're young(ish), and managed it fine (in fact I was strongly encouraged to slow down), but I can imagine it being difficult for many cruisers.

 

From here we went through security and then were routed to another holding pen prior to customs. Here they directed a group into a row of seats and then excused the seats from the same direction, so the first into a row was the last out. A couple of rows after us, a group figured this out, and sat at the near end of the row, causing a traffic jam and one upset couple that had been at the front of the line and was now going to be in the back.

 

Customs was next, and I think the biggest bottleneck. They've got a dozen or so kiosks to complete the majority of the process and you just hand the slip to the officer (similar to Global Entry). I question a bit whether technology helps or hurts the situation with the typical Alaska cruise demographic. By luck of the draw I was directed straight to an agent - ironic because I'm both Global Entry and a computer software exec, so the kiosk would've been a piece of cake.

 

After customs was the health form, and virtually no line to check-in for the cruise. We were checked in at 1pm and walked directly onto the ship.

 

The whole process took us almost two hours, which looking back at it doesn't seem so bad, but I think the stop-go rat maze nature made it seem more tedious. I'm glad we got an early start - friends who came later spent 3 hours or more in the maze. I heard from one couple that transferred via Princess straight from the airport that it took 6 hours from airport pickup, including an hour of waiting on the bus to get into Canada Place. Our muster and sailaway were delayed over an hour.

 

It didn't seem as though they were disorganized. Most cruises don't require customs on the front end and that creates a bottleneck. I'm not sure there's any good way to move three ships worth of people through the security and customs funnel. I just thought I'd share our experience, because I think it's a bit better if you know what to expect. Start early, and make sure you packed some patience.

[mimmy52]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience at Canada Place. It helps to know how long it takes and what the process is.

[Urban trekker]

Vancouver is unique in that for Alaskan cruises you clear DHS at the port and not at the first Alaskan Port of Call so while there may be a wait imagine what it could be like in say Ketchikan or Skagway especially if there was more than one ship that needed to be cleared.

 

That staircase is only temporary - a new escalator is being installed - it's being installed just hasn't been put into operation as it hasn't passed all it's inspection and there is still some structural work going on around it.

 

It is my understanding in talking to Port Metro personal that this scenario will only be used when there are three ships in port but I guess time will tell on that one.

 

Cheers!

 

Dennis

[Langley Cruisers]

OP, agree with your assessment and comments. We did this same embarkation on May 1 with two ships embarking at Canada Place. In my opinion, it ran as smoothly as possible except for where you mention first in, last out - I have to admit I felt a little uneasy going ahead of others who had been waiting longer than me, but I just followed the lead of the Port rep.

 

Also know that everyone is shuffled into the same area, but not all of these people are going on your cruise with you. Some are headed to other ships.

 

Overall advice: get there early. We could have gone even earlier than we did (10:45), but thought it best to wait. We also stayed DT and could see passengers still disembarking from the ships... the check in process is in a completely different area and apparently started around 10 am.

.

[scottbee]

We sailed with Grand Princess on May 9 from Canada Place, along with Golden and Noordam. It was the first big test of three ships from Canada Place this season, so I thought I'd share our experience.

...

The whole process took us almost two hours, which looking back at it doesn't seem so bad, but I think the stop-go rat maze nature made it seem more tedious. I'm glad we got an early start - friends who came later spent 3 hours or more in the maze. I heard from one couple that transferred via Princess straight from the airport that it took 6 hours from airport pickup, including an hour of waiting on the bus to get into Canada Place. Our muster and sailaway were delayed over an hour.

 

It didn't seem as though they were disorganized. Most cruises don't require customs on the front end and that creates a bottleneck. I'm not sure there's any good way to move three ships worth of people through the security and customs funnel. I just thought I'd share our experience, because I think it's a bit better if you know what to expect. Start early, and make sure you packed some patience.

 

On behalf of Vancouverites I'd like to apologize for the tardiness of boarding at Canada Place, but understand that we have little to no control over the US Customs and Border pre-clearance which is almost always the bottleneck

[April7901]

I boarded on 5/7 for the NCL Pearl - only one ship in port. I didn't notice any issues, but there lots of complaints about the "port-managed" side of things (i.e. before we got to the NCL checkin).

 

It did seem to be going a bit slower than I was used to, but I chalked that up to customs and DHS clearance.

 

I completely agree, though - get there early, make sure you put on your patience pants, and make sure your sense of humor is unpacked.

[brentp]

Interesting write up - thanks for sharing the details.

 

This got me to go look at the port schedule, and as luck would have it, we are a one ship embarkation. :)

 

Hopefully, we will not experience too much of a delay as we plan to spend a good portion of the day seeing Vancouver prior to boarding.

[xlxo]

About 11:15am we went to Expo Hall D, where we waiting in a line for the ship and received a numbered ticket around 11:35.

 

After customs was the health form, and virtually no line to check-in for the cruise. We were checked in at 1pm and walked directly onto the ship.

 

The whole process took us almost two hours, which looking back at it doesn't seem so bad

Eeek.... that leaves me just 60 minutes at the lunch trough.

 

Another example for requesting the earliest PAT available when registering.

[knbcruisers]

To the OP... was there free WiFi in the terminal? This could help with the need "patience" of which DH is in short supply in situations like these.

[BCHappyGal]

I have boarded when there were 3 large ships in and the key is to arrive EARLY we did approx 10:30 and were aboard the ship by 11:45 :):)

 

Just ignore the ships notice saying when to arrive at the pier.

[Casey12]

The first two weeks of the season are always bad at Canada Place. You would think they would have their act together.

[azmaui]

What would you think of opposite - arriving really late? My ship boards 11-3 and suppose to depart 4:30. What if we showed up just before 3? I would think that most people would be aboard by then and I don't care about missing lunch. I'm traveling with my senior mom and she wouldn't be able to spend hours waiting in line.

[martincath]

What would you think of opposite - arriving really late? My ship boards 11-3 and suppose to depart 4:30. What if we showed up just before 3? I would think that most people would be aboard by then and I don't care about missing lunch. I'm traveling with my senior mom and she wouldn't be able to spend hours waiting in line.

I also boarded on the same 3-ship day as the OP. I did exactly as you want to, but misjudged just HOW late we'd need to show up. 2pm arrival had us sitting around until c.3:45pm in the holding area of the convention centre, which had water, washrooms, and a reasonable temperature - then once our number was called the security and Princess part took 15mins (NB: we were San Fran bound, so no US Immigration step).

 

Based on how the seats began emptying out I plan to arrive at 3pm next time on a 3 ship day, and will still expect to wait for an hour or more - but be aware that the staging process means you get to sit down, and only have to stand in line once your number is called. There have been several posts about this day on various roll calls and other threads and about 10-15mins standing while working through security is consistent; US CBP in theory should be less of a bottleneck for US/Canadian citizens now that they have installed the kiosks for customs declarations but exact timing is very hard to guess as ultimately it's up to US gov't employees to run it.

 

Whether you are really early or really late I'd assume 2 hours if you're Alaska-bound, of which maybe 20-30mins will be standing time - anything less will be a pleasant surprise.

[TexSea]

Thanks for this as I've been going back and forth on the best time to arrive.

 

We leave on the Grand soon. Hope you write up a brief review over on the Princess board.

[cruzgryphon]

I have a Nexus card and I was wondering if they have Global Sentry/ Nexus terminals at Canada Place for US CBP? If they don't do they have customs cards there that you can fill out - or do you not need them?

[Langley Cruisers]

...do they have customs cards there that you can fill out - or do you not need them?

 

No cards - it is done electronically as OP mentioned in the first post...

 

They've got a dozen or so kiosks to complete the majority of the process and you just hand the slip to the officer (similar to Global Entry).

 

.

[fleckle]

When we boarded the Celebrity Millennium on May 12, it was the only ship at Canada Place. We arrived there just before 2 pm when there was no traffic and very short lines with almost no waiting.

 

The crowds from the mad rush had already been cleared out.

There was no sitting around at all or waiting for a number to be called.

 

It probably took about 10 to 15 minutes in all from the time we entered the cruise terminal until we were on board the ship drinking our welcome aboard mimosas.

 

[Mercruiser]

When we boarded the Celebrity Millennium on May 12, it was the only ship at Canada Place. We arrived there just before 2 pm when there was no traffic and very short lines with almost no waiting.

 

The crowds from the mad rush had already been cleared out.

There was no sitting around at all or waiting for a number to be called.

 

It probably took about 10 to 15 minutes in all from the time we entered the cruise terminal until we were on board the ship drinking our welcome aboard mimosas.

 

Thanks for the report. I will be doing the same itinerary on June 19. I'm glad to hear the lines are minimal on a one-ship port day.

[TexSea]

We left on May 23 with two ships. We stepped out of the cab at 2:05 and were on board at 3:15. I'll say the pre-immigration chairs were about half full at 3:00, similar to what was reported earlier. So later is better to minimize waiting. In retrospect it wasn't too bad. Just not as nice and quick as other ports.

 

We did use the kiosks and I thought they were easy to use. We were able to skip ahead of others who were having problems or with lots of people in their party. ;-)

Edited May 25, 2015 by jaysonlf

[peety3]

Customs was next, and I think the biggest bottleneck. They've got a dozen or so kiosks to complete the majority of the process and you just hand the slip to the officer (similar to Global Entry). I question a bit whether technology helps or hurts the situation with the typical Alaska cruise demographic. By luck of the draw I was directed straight to an agent - ironic because I'm both Global Entry and a computer software exec, so the kiosk would've been a piece of cake.

 

The whole process took us almost two hours, which looking back at it doesn't seem so bad, but I think the stop-go rat maze nature made it seem more tedious. I'm glad we got an early start - friends who came later spent 3 hours or more in the maze. I heard from one couple that transferred via Princess straight from the airport that it took 6 hours from airport pickup, including an hour of waiting on the bus to get into Canada Place. Our muster and sailaway were delayed over an hour.

 

It didn't seem as though they were disorganized. Most cruises don't require customs on the front end and that creates a bottleneck. I'm not sure there's any good way to move three ships worth of people through the security and customs funnel. I just thought I'd share our experience, because I think it's a bit better if you know what to expect. Start early, and make sure you packed some patience.

DW and I cruised out of Canada Place on April 29th, perhaps the first cruise of the season but definitely a one-ship day. I concur that customs was the bottleneck. We felt we got through customs at a particularly messy time, as:

 

A couple behind us, who got directed to an agent instead of the kiosk, got to board before us.

A couple in front of us, who got a big black X on their "receipt" from the kiosk, got directed to an agent, and got to board before us.

A couple in front of us, who did not have a big black X on their receipt from the kiosk, came under intense scrutiny by the ONE AND ONLY officer checking the receipts. That officer escorted the couple to an agent, then worked with the agent to check something, then escorted the couple into a side room, before returning to resume checking receipts.

Many who were behind us, and got directed to agents due to the complete stoppage in the kiosk line, got to board before us.

 

We arrived at Canada Place around 12:20. We got to our cabin around 2:05. You can bet we'll be arriving for our cruises by 11:00 from now on and begging friends to join us for BVEs whenever possible...

[mek]

Thanks for this as I've been going back and forth on the best time to arrive.

 

We leave on the Grand soon. Hope you write up a brief review over on the Princess board.

 

We're sailing on Grand Princess next month and I have also been debating on our time. We're staying at the Marriott airport and using a shuttle service that picks us up at either 9:30 am with a 10 am arrival at Canada Place or 11:30 am pick up with arrival at noon. After reading this thread, I've decided the 9:30 shuttle is the best way to go.

[Daisy317]

We sail on Pacific Princess this coming Monday, June 1. Having read about the embark problems in Vancouver, I was thinking we'd go have lunch somewhere (may be our last chance for good Chinese food for a week) and then show up at Canada Place at 1:30 for a 4:00 sailaway. There is one other large ship embark that day, but Pac Princess is small, only about 800 pax, so I'm thinking it may not be quite as much of a zoo as it would be with two (or more) large ships. Should I rethink this? Thanks to the OP for starting this thread.

[martincath]

We sail on Pacific Princess this coming Monday, June 1. Having read about the embark problems in Vancouver, I was thinking we'd go have lunch somewhere (may be our last chance for good Chinese food for a week) and then show up at Canada Place at 1:30 for a 4:00 sailaway. There is one other large ship embark that day, but Pac Princess is small, only about 800 pax, so I'm thinking it may not be quite as much of a zoo as it would be with two (or more) large ships. Should I rethink this? Thanks to the OP for starting this thread.

So a one-and-a-half-ship day!? ;-)

 

The later you arrive, the quieter the queues - until after security and immigration you are stuck with all the other folks. Since the other ship is the Disney Wonder, you can probably assume every cabin will have more than two occupants, tons of kids too, so the theoretical 2400pax is going to be significantly higher - and kids always cause extra delays in security & immigration queues (not their fault, they're just much more likely to be doing it for the first time, scary environment, staff who are not experienced handling kids so don't tend to make it any easier for them etc. etc.)

 

Since you're already planning lunch - the only reason to fight to board Princess early is the main dining room lunch IMO, which stops at 1:30pm - you may as well board at 3pm. Besides, that gives you an hour or two extra to see Vancouver - you could go for early Dim Sum AND a late lunch then board!!!

[Daisy317]

Dim sum for breakfast, good idea! Thanks, martincath.

[Langley Cruisers]

...show up at Canada Place at 1:30 for a 4:00 sailaway...

 

Just be very mindful of the time. You do not want a delay of any kind (traffic, accident, congestion in the area, etc.). A 4:00 departure means you must be checked in and board 90 minutes prior - 2:30 pm. Personally, I wouldn't leave it that late, I just wouldn't. Up to you.

 

I feel that the first day is a day I've paid for and I am wanting to embark as soon as possible. My vacation doesn't start when the ship sails... it has already started by that time. :)

 

.

Edited May 28, 2015 by Langley Cruisers