Disembarking in Vancouver for early flight

[andrek]

I am wondering if anyone has any experience disembarking from the Nieuw Amsterdam or any other HAL ship in Vancouver. We will be disembarking on May 7th. We have an early morning flight and I know it goes against all the rules of travel but it was the only one we could get at the time. It leaves at 10am. We will have only carryons so will walk off the ship as soon as they pass immigration, hopefully sometime after 7am.

 

My question is how available are cabs or other transportation options to the airport at that time? It is a Saturday morning. How long does it take to get to the airport from the cruise dock? Do you recommend any other transportation options? Is the airport usually crowded on Saturday morning? How long does it take to go through customs? We are flying to Los Angeles on Air Canada, and are US citizens. I will have a back up plan if we miss the flight. Any help will be appreciated. I know it is risky, but we are willing to take the chance.

Andrea

[Putterdude]

You are really pushing the envelope but here goes.....there will be a cab line at Canada Place and IF YOU CAN be first off the ship say by 0715 you just may be in a cab by 0730/0745 and be at YVR by 0845 and if the line are not to long at security and CBP.....you just might make it. This nothing that any sane person would recommend but as you have a plan B, well what more can I say.

[andrek]

Putterdude, does it take an hour to get to the airport? It will be a Saturday am. Are there sufficient taxis outside the port? Wow, I really need to think this through. Thanks

[Putterdude]

Oops, my math was off, it's about 30/35 mins from Canada Place to YVR so you could be there by 0815 if all stars align. Cabs, yes there are a lot of cabs at Canada Place but the line of pax for them gets longer as the morning goes on....if there is a long line then go over to the Pan Pacific or the Fairmont Waterfront hotel and grab a cab from there. Again, this timing is not recognized as something a person wants to take on....but if you like stress at the end of a vacation then go for it as long as you have a plan B.

[Kamloops50]

I am wondering if anyone has any experience disembarking from the Nieuw Amsterdam or any other HAL ship in Vancouver. We will be disembarking on May 7th. We have an early morning flight and I know it goes against all the rules of travel but it was the only one we could get at the time. It leaves at 10am. We will have only carryons so will walk off the ship as soon as they pass immigration, hopefully sometime after 7am.

 

My question is how available are cabs or other transportation options to the airport at that time? It is a Saturday morning. How long does it take to get to the airport from the cruise dock? Do you recommend any other transportation options? Is the airport usually crowded on Saturday morning? How long does it take to go through customs? We are flying to Los Angeles on Air Canada, and are US citizens. I will have a back up plan if we miss the flight. Any help will be appreciated. I know it is risky, but we are willing to take the chance.

Andrea

 

With ship docking at 7AM don't expect to clear the ship and customs until around 7:45 to 8:00. The customs and security at YVR can take up to two hours . I wouldn't take a flight leaving much before noon. Airport is 30 to 45 minutes by taxi from the pier.

[andrek]

We have global entry so I am not sure but it might speed up going through immigration at airport in Vancouver. Also we will not have any checked luggage. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hope for the best. We have done it before in other cities, but it is very stressful and not a common pratice we like.

[cruiseryyc]

Your chances of making a 10:00 am flight are slim and none. In Vancouver each individual passenger must speak directly to a Canadian Customs agent after the ship has docked so getting off by 8:00 is probably not going to happen and 8 is when you need to be at the airport. Make different flight arrangements.

[Kamloops50]

We have global entry so I am not sure but it might speed up going through immigration at airport in Vancouver. Also we will not have any checked luggage. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hope for the best. We have done it before in other cities, but it is very stressful and not a common pratice we like.

 

You still have to go thru the Canadian version of the TSA. I have seen the line nexus and global entry to be 30 minutes .

[hapster85]

Putterdude, does it take an hour to get to the airport? It will be a Saturday am. Are there sufficient taxis outside the port? Wow, I really need to think this through. Thanks

It took us 45 minutes by bus last summer on a Friday, so I'd definitely think it to be faster by cab on a Saturday, but as Putterdude said, you are really pushing it. Good luck to you. That would be well beyond my comfort zone.

[andrek]

Let's say the ship docks on time and they start letting passengers off at 7am. If we are one of the first to exit then we go through customs (we already have our luggage as it is carryon), it will take 1 hour? Why does it take so long to go through the customs at the dock? I am more concerned about getting a taxi.

If you have global entry you usually just use the kiosk machines at immigration and then you go through. Is there also a customs person you need to talk with on the US side? I have never had to talk to an agent unless my fingerprints were not good enough and they take you ahead of others. In Vancouver if you have global entry to the US you still need to talk with an agent? Wow, what a process. I am sure it is for our safety and I am okay with that.

[andrek]

Thank you all for your pre warnings. We will be dilligent and hope for the best. If not, more time in Vancouver or perhaps Seattle.

[hapster85]

Your chances of making a 10:00 am flight are slim and none. In Vancouver each individual passenger must speak directly to a Canadian Customs agent after the ship has docked so getting off by 8:00 is probably not going to happen and 8 is when you need to be at the airport. Make different flight arrangements.

No to dispute you, but our encounter with Canadian Customs as we disembarked last summer, consisted of handing the agent our declaration form, after grabbing our luggage, en route to the buses. We said "good morning" and she said "welcome to Canada". We didn't even slow down.

Edited April 23, 2016 by hapster85

[Kamloops50]

My son and Daughter in law didn't start disembarking this week until 730 on a 7am arrival. They didn't get to Richmond until 830 am .

[Putterdude]

A Saturday ride to YVR is closer to 30 mins then 45 mins....regardless a 1000 hr flight is doable, it's not necessarily recommended and it will be stressful. The OP claims to have a plan a B .... with Global Entry, passport scanners, pre-check in, only carry on luggage they will be ahead of mob the I find it very hard to say "don't do it". That said I would prefer a flight time after 1030 hrs.

Edited April 23, 2016 by Putterdude

[xlxo]

Agreed... while the ride will be 35 minutes..... debarkation will be your bottleneck as the ship is being emptied. A bigger issue when multiple ships are debarking at same time.

 

YVR check-in, security and customs will be your second choke point.... many will be heading to the airport.

 

Vancouver is a great place to be stuck in without a boat or plane.... just don't plan to live there.

 

Otherwise... you can Greyhound your way back to LA.

Edited April 23, 2016 by xlxo

[Putterdude]

No to dispute you, but our encounter with Canadian Customs as we disembarked last summer, consisted of handing the agent our declaration form, after grabbing our luggage, en route to the buses. We said "good morning" and she said "welcome to Canada". We didn't even slow down.

 

Glad that you were treated so well by our CBSA. Candidly what they are looking for is immigration issues, criminality, inadmissibility and drugs. An American citizen getting off a cruise ship in Canada with the declaration from complete and a passport heading for YVR is a pretty low risk. Additionally, depending upon the ship and cruise it is likely the pax has already been cleared by CBSA within the week. However like customs all over the world you never know when you are going to run into Col. Klink on a bad day.:eek:

[Urban trekker]

Just a note - there are two ships at Canada Place on May 7th - there is no guarantee that the one you are on will be the first to dock and the first to start to disembark - if you are the second ship the line for taxis etc will be much more intense - have you thought of possibly looking into arranging for a private limo to meet you and get you to the airport.

 

Cheers and good luck.

 

Dennis

[Kamloops50]

Glad that you were treated so well by our CBSA. Candidly what they are looking for is immigration issues, criminality, inadmissibility and drugs. An American citizen getting off a cruise ship in Canada with the declaration from complete and a passport heading for YVR is a pretty low risk. Additionally, depending upon the ship and cruise it is likely the pax has already been cleared by CBSA within the week. However like customs all over the world you never know when you are going to run into Col. Klink on a bad day.:eek:

 

We had the same thing on two Alaska cruises last summer . They did pull some people into secondary inspection on one cruise. One a 11 day Alaska cruise from Seattle . There wasn't any CBSA because we were all cleared in Victoria and also stopped in Naniamo as well.

[martincath]

I'd add that if you get off and can get straight into a cab, do it - but if there's a line of more than a few dozen people already, taking SkyTrain will be faster. 3 block walk from the pier (straight outside, hang a left on Cordova - do not go down the tempting escalator on Howe as it goes to the wrong Skytrain line! - and a couple of blocks down to Waterfront Station).

 

Ticket Vending Machines are easy to use - Saturday AM you just need 2 adult 1 zone fares, $2.75pp each; buy them both in a single transaction with credit card (ideally a Chip & PIN, but as long as it's a card you have used outside the US before it should work).

 

Downstairs following sings to Canada Line platform - check electronic displays for next train to YVR (they alternate, so if you just miss one the next train will go elsewhere). Once you're onboard, 26mins later you should be at the end of the line in YVR - follow signs to US departures.

 

I have never seen the GE/Nexus security queue longer than 2 minutes wait on Saturday mornings before the cruise pax start to roll in. In fact usually the biggest delay is me getting my phone, keys etc. out of pockets because we've never actually stopped walking!

 

As with everyone else I would never recommend a 10am flight, but as long as you are off the ship ASAP it's very possible, especially with GE. Our average time from stepping off platform/out of cab at YVR to sitting at the gate waiting to board a weekend US-bound flight is about half-an-hour - we're almost always on flights in the 7-9am window, so as long as you beat the first buses of fellow cruisers your experience should not radically differ from ours. Just ask the captain to make sure they avoid hitting whales, and the chief engineer to keep those azipods in good condition, and keep your fingers crossed!

Edited April 23, 2016 by martincath
spelling

[Putterdude]

We had the same thing on two Alaska cruises last summer . They did pull some people into secondary inspection on one cruise. One a 11 day Alaska cruise from Seattle . There wasn't any CBSA because we were all cleared in Victoria and also stopped in Naniamo as well.

 

We have also pulled in for secondary at Canada Place by CBSA. They were very concerned about a native Indian bear mask we purchased in Skagway and had declared. CBSA's concern was that it was a wood product, however when I showed them it was done by a Sechelt Indian Band carver they were OK with it....but the process probably took a good half hour or so.

[hapster85]

However like customs all over the world you never know when you are going to run into Col. Klink on a bad day.:eek:

 

Lol yes, this is true.

 

Things were definitely more involved at the airport, going through US customs. The line moved quickly, but still took us a good 20 minutes to clear. Which is yet another reason I'm doubtful of the OP being able to make a 10 am flight.

[Kamloops50]

We count on about an hour to get to the gate after arriving at the airport.

[Kamloops50]

OP should keep in mind that they usually start loading about 45 minutes before the flight. Last call is usually 10 minutes before scheduled departure.

[andrek]

Does anyone have any recommendations for transportation companies to take us to the airport. My concern is where do they wait for us and where do we meet them. Do we tell them 7am or 730am? How is it done? Again thank you all for your ideas and concerns. Believe me we are concerned as well but will go ahead and try to make it. I will have one carryon and am very able to move fast if need be. My husband is the same. We usually do not buy anything on our trips unless we are checking baggage and have room for it. So nothing to declare. I will let you know how it works out.

Andrea

[Putterdude]

Does anyone have any recommendations for transportation companies to take us to the airport. My concern is where do they wait for us and where do we meet them. Do we tell them 7am or 730am? How is it done? Again thank you all for your ideas and concerns. Believe me we are concerned as well but will go ahead and try to make it. I will have one carryon and am very able to move fast if need be. My husband is the same. We usually do not buy anything on our trips unless we are checking baggage and have room for it. So nothing to declare. I will let you know how it works out.

Andrea

 

Between a taxi from Canada Place, the Pan Pacific which forms part of Canada Place, the Fairmont Waterfront hotel which is directly across the street from Canada Place you shouldn't have a problem. However, if you want insurance then you could make a reservation with AeroCar, I would recommend a 0730 pick up in front of the Pan Pacific so as to avoid the chaos in front of the cruise terminal in their reservation the allow a wait time.

 

http://aerocar.ca