Vancouver BC Airport

[2flacruisers]

We booked our first Alaskan cruise sailing early May, 2016 and I'm sure I will have many questions later, but one that comes to mind now is whether getting into Vancouver at 11:47 am is enough time to have Celebrity pick us up and have us to the cruise port prior to sailing...

[vedettes1]

It could easily be an hour drive from the airport to the cruise terminal. I guess it depends on whether your flight is on time, how long to clear immigration and how far ahead of sailing you must be on board. If your flight is on time, you should have no problem. If you book your flight through Celebrity (Choice Air) maybe they give you assurance.

[Cruise Junky]

Have you booked your flights yet? You're cutting it too close if there are any delays and unless you're in Infinity there will be no catching the ship at the next port.

[bigbenboys]

I found this online.

 

Taxi is $35 and 30 minutes. Vancouver is like any other large city. Traffic can be bad at times. Canada Line subway is a few dollars, loads 100 yards from the cruise ship and takes just under 30 minutes and ends right at the airport.

 

http://www.translink.ca/en/Schedules-and-Maps.aspx

[fleckle]

Also if planning to check any luggage, figure the time at baggage claim, and also sufficient time for waiting in line to file a missing luggage report if your checked luggage does not arrive on the same flight.

 

It is probably fastest getting from the airport to Canada Place via the sky train, if you are capable of handling your own luggage.

 

Here is a link to Scottbee's great slide show for the trip from arrival at YVR airport to Canada Place Waterfront Station.

 

Canada Line - YVR to Canada Place(Waterfront Station)

 

 

[xlxo]

Have you booked your flights yet? You're cutting it too close if there are any delays and unless you're in Infinity there will be no catching the ship at the next port.

Agreed.... I'm not concerned about YVR to the cruise terminal travel time... I'm more concerned about the flight running into mechanical or weather issues. And then there are the random secondary searches when security wants to know you better.

 

Then again getting stuck in another country for a week without boat can be kinda fun. We'll be here to give you advice on what to do fill that time when the boat returns. Whistler? Victoria? Banff?

 

[YOUTUBE]BRI-A3vakVg[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]ExZ3Qa0YEX8[/YOUTUBE]

 

If hotel costs are a concern... look to hotels a few blocks away from the cruise terminal for significant savings. Go there a few days early.... there's lots to see and do in that bonus port.

 

[YOUTUBE]ZLL6du--lQA[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]vIvtsz1b60Q[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]EvH_ROLyUZQ[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]Gcyt8Xdvsgs[/YOUTUBE]

Edited October 27, 2015 by xlxo

[Cruise Junky]

Yes, travel time to the ship would be the least if my worries. Arriving at Canada customs and immigration with a few planes from Asia would worry me. As well as my own flight delays. Arriving at that time either the train or a cab will get you downtown in 30 minutes.

[chrismakris]

I would personally fly in the day before. Would be easier in case something goes wrong(especially missing luggage) and you can stay out by the airport if you want and take the Skytrain in the next morning. Cheaper than staying downtown.

Edited October 27, 2015 by chrismakris

[Constance331]

Arriving at Canada customs and immigration with a few planes from Asia would worry me.

 

This was the problem I encountered. Customs line took us nearly 1-1/2 hours.:eek: It was a total zoo with those jumbo jets arriving from Asia! Fortunately, we arrived one day prior to sailing, so I did not freak out about rushing to embark.

 

I highly recommend going in a day early if you can. Vancouver is a beautiful city to check out. It also gave us time to unwind, get a good night's rest, and arrive at the dock bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.:)

[Langley Cruisers]

As well, when you embark in Vancouver for an Alaskan cruise, you go through U.S. Customs and Immigration pre-clearance at the pier. This adds extra time and can get very bogged down, especially if there is more than one ship embarking that day.

 

The Celebrity transfers are charged per person and are always more expensive than other options. You may also have to wait for that shuttle to fill up if there are more passengers than just those in your party. If I were you, I would take a taxi, neat and sweet.

 

PLEASE fly in a day early. I cannot emphasize this enough. In all honesty, I like to be on board ship already at 11:47 am. :p Flying in on the day is way too stressful for me.

.

[DrivesLikeMario]

That's PLENTY of time to get to the ship. We almost always fly in the day of the cruise. I don't like doing that, but if we don't, we don't get to cruise.

 

So, I would recommend having a Plan B. If your flight into YVR isn't a non-stop, be prepared with information on another flight (or two) that you can get on just in case your second flight isn't on time. Be prepared to "jump ship" to another airline to get to YVR on time.

 

Make sure you include your itinerary INSIDE your luggage so that if it gets separated from you, they can look inside the bag to see exactly what port you'll be at and during what hours, minimizing the risk of traveling the whole week without your belongings.

 

Get to the (sometimes) massive immigration line in YVR ASAP. Don't dilly-dally; get the lead out so you're ahead of most of those on your flight.

 

Watch your incoming flight to YVR for a few days prior to leaving. Has it arrived on time or close to it? If it's habitually late, call the airline and get on a different flight.

 

These things should help minimize your risk of missing the ship. It pays to be aware and informed when you fly in the day of embarkation. ;)

[alcpa1]

Fly in at least a day before. There are quite a few modestly priced hotels in Richmond/airport with shuttles. For one of our cruises we hired a van that picked up at the Hilton, the Marriott (next door) and at least one additional hotel and delievered us into the mayhem of three ships at Canada Place.

YVR customs and immigration can take a while. We've flown into YVR four or five times for cruising and land trips and it has always taken a good 1 1/2 - 2 hrs from landing to curb.

It's a shame they cannot reintate the Celebrity program that bypassed c & i and took us to the ship in a sealed bus. That would be the only way I would consider arriving on your 11:47 flight.

If your departure is at 4 you can't realistically make it onboard by the 2:30 cut off.

On the other hand, there are few cities in North America that are worth a week's vacation. Vancouver is definitely one of them....enjoy Granville Island and the HOHO!!!!

[Langley Cruisers]

On the other hand, there are few cities in North America that are worth a week's vacation. Vancouver is definitely one of them....enjoy Granville Island and the HOHO!!!!

 

Agree completely! At first I thought you meant because they will miss their ship with that late arrival! But then it hit me that's not what you meant. :D

 

OP, I hope you have a back-up plan if you do miss the ship. I'm not trying to be mean or to scare you, but it's a real possibility when you fly in on the day. We missed a flight in Toronto once by 5 minutes... the next flight out was at 3:30 that afternoon. We were two days early but obviously had it been the same day, we would have missed our ship.

 

I just checked flights to Juneau out of curiosity (just as a starting point for reference) - from Vancouver or Seattle you are looking at close to $300.00 per person. Pretty costly if you miss the ship. :(

 

.

[Cruise Junky]

Agree completely! At first I thought you meant because they will miss their ship with that late arrival! But then it hit me that's not what you meant. :D

 

OP, I hope you have a back-up plan if you do miss the ship. I'm not trying to be mean or to scare you, but it's a real possibility when you fly in on the day. We missed a flight in Toronto once by 5 minutes... the next flight out was at 3:30 that afternoon. We were two days early but obviously had it been the same day, we would have missed our ship.

 

I just checked flights to Juneau out of curiosity (just as a starting point for reference) - from Vancouver or Seattle you are looking at close to $300.00 per person. Pretty costly if you miss the ship. :(

 

.

 

Unless they're doing the Vancouver return they wouldn't be able to board at the next port because of the PVSA. Such a risk flying in the same day. Hope everything works out.

[Langley Cruisers]

Unless they're doing the Vancouver return they wouldn't be able to board at the next port because of the PVSA.

 

Yeah, I wasn't sure about that and even searched online and here on the boards. I have absolutely heard the same thing; for some reason I thought it might have been only Seattle-return.

 

All said, there is just too much that could go wrong, and I certainly hope s/he comes back to this thread and reads the comments. :)

 

.

[dodger1964]

We booked our first Alaskan cruise sailing early May, 2016 and I'm sure I will have many questions later, but one that comes to mind now is whether getting into Vancouver at 11:47 am is enough time to have Celebrity pick us up and have us to the cruise port prior to sailing...

 

 

I would find out (sorry, I don't know the answer), what the flight arrival cut off time is for X to do ship transfers.

[SevenSeas1492]

Wouldn't even think of cutting it this close. When we flew into Vancouver, the customs lines were extremely long. We took the train, and while probably faster than a taxi, we still had somewhat of a long walk to Canada Place. Like others have said, flying in the day before would be the ideal solution if feasible for you. Vancouver is beautiful!

[cheriooo]

We booked our first Alaskan cruise sailing early May, 2016 and I'm sure I will have many questions later, but one that comes to mind now is whether getting into Vancouver at 11:47 am is enough time to have Celebrity pick us up and have us to the cruise port prior to sailing...

My first question if your expecting "Celebrity Transportation" from airport to cruise terminal I would ask Celebrity that question. I dont believe they offer that at all ports. Secondly I would ask how big a gambler are you? We left last year from Vancouver cruise port to Alaska and I have to second the previous post about the time it took to go through Canadian Customs (even with trusted traveler program). We arrived early and spent 3 days in Seattle and Vancouver. Both beautiful cities and very tourist friendly. There are a number of hotels by Vancouver Airport that handle cruise passenger transfers. I am all about making cruising easy and I try to avoid same day arrivals because so much of travel is beyond the control of the passenger. No sense in creating alot of stress if you can avoid it. I can second the comments about how busy Vancouver Airport is with international travel and waiting to go through customs. When you first see the line it looks very overwhelming but it does move amazingly fast. It boils down to "how big a risk taker are you"?

[K.T.B.]

IMO, I hate flying in the day of the cruise, I always come in the day before just in case there any issues.

 

With that said, assuming no issues whatsoever and on time arrival, you should be fine since the ship leaves at 4;30. Based on my lone experience in going through Vancouver airport, it went incredibly smoothly. We were out of the airport within an hour of getting off the plane.

 

Fair warning though, it's a LONG walk to get to customs and, unless it's been changed in the past 9 years, there are no bathrooms along the way.... Something my wife discovered a bit too late. ;)

[2flacruisers]

I appreciate everyone's input...I think we have decided to fly in the day before...thanks!

[K.T.B.]

I appreciate everyone's input...I think we have decided to fly in the day before...thanks!

 

Great!

 

And as long as you stay at a hotel downtown, you're near the port.

 

By the way, which date for your cruise??

[bigbenboys]

This was the problem I encountered. Customs line took us nearly 1-1/2 hours.:eek: It was a total zoo with those jumbo jets arriving from Asia! Fortunately, we arrived one day prior to sailing, so I did not freak out about rushing to embark.

 

I highly recommend going in a day early if you can. Vancouver is a beautiful city to check out. It also gave us time to unwind, get a good night's rest, and arrive at the dock bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.:)

 

As we live in Seattle we took the Celebrity cruise to Hawaii out of Vancouver. We took a bus from SeaTac airport to Vancouver cruise terminal. We stopped at the Bellingham airport (BLI). Customs was quick and easy at the boarder.

[Langley Cruisers]

I appreciate everyone's input...I think we have decided to fly in the day before...thanks!

 

Yea!! I know you have made the right decision.

 

Now you can go over to the Canada board and the West Coast departures board and find a hotel for Vancouver. This is discussed frequently there. :)

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=413

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=39

 

.

[Dick in Falls Church]

Going in a day early is very smart. You might also want to check prices on flights. We were meeting friends for the voyage. When they checked, it was cheaper for then to fly into Seattle, stay overnight, rent a car and drive on in (dropping the car at Canada Place) than to fly didrect to Vancouver.

 

We were using Frequent Flyer miles, and found we could get better connections and better seats for same number of miles by joining them in Seattle.

 

Have done this twice now. Of course, we did hit a downside once--Microsoft was have a big do, and motels were jammed. We ended up in an almost dump- but the cruise was great!

[chrismakris]

I appreciate everyone's input...I think we have decided to fly in the day before...thanks!

 

Without a doubt the right call. Try to get in as early as possible Drop off your bags at the hotel and explore. If it's a nice day out, head to Granville Island grab some lunch at one of the vendors, go outside by the water and enjoy. There's usually someone there playing music. One of my favorite things to do.