How organized is Princess boarding in Vancouver?

[cdngrl]

The bottleneck always lies with CBP, remember you clear them at Canada Place rather than your first port of call in Alaska which would take hours but if you don't like the speed at which they process you then please write your congressman, there is nothing that Canada Place can do about it.

 

I've boarded in Vancouver numerous times. for me, its always been at its worst early in the season and my experience is definitely that the fault lies with cbp. often there are not enough agents and they are so slow.

Edited April 24, 2016 by cdngrl

[rebeccalouiseagain]

We were on the Star Princess out of Canada Place last June and it didn't ruin our trip (the embarkation) but since the OP asked- I think that they should know that the process could be a lengthy one. Many people wait to eat on the ship. In May of 2013 (we had snacks with us) there were families trying to board and didn't get on until 2PM- waiting since 9 AM like us (we had gotten off a US Pacific coastal cruise that morning and we taking a cruise to Alaska). So the kids were obviously antsy and cranky. Bring a light snack- protein bar- in your purse and a bottle of water (they do sell some food in the terminal) just in case it takes a while to board- and definitely use the toilet prior to entering the customs area.

 

For anyone who may have difficulty standing for two hours- get a wheelchair. I strongly recommend it. I'm healthy, but I felt badly for many of the elderly people who walk with canes and that sort of thing. There is one long line in the terminal- you think that it will be smooth sailing when you go through to security- but oh- no! There is a long line there for customs. It took (on a good day) 45 minutes and can take much longer.

Edited April 24, 2016 by rebeccalouiseagain

[Putterdude]

I've boarded in Vancouver numerous times. for me, its always been at its worst early in the season and my experience is definitely that the fault lies with cbp. often there are not enough agents and they are so slow.

 

You are absolutely correct, the CBP are doing preclearances at YVR and Pacific Central Station as well as Canada Place during the cruise season and while they shouldn't, they do get stretched thin during the cruise season.

 

Back when the earth was flat and I worked on a small cruise ship going to Alaska the US Customs officers used to board the ship out of Ketchikan as we entered US waters and each passenger and crew member had to parade in front of them with ID....passports weren't required then, with todays large ships that's really not practical. So the choice is pre-clear at Canada Place or later when you reach the first port of call be it Ketchikan, Juneau or wherever.

 

What people lose sight of is that Vancouver is likely the only port in North America where pre-clearance is done at the port of embarkation and that does take time and it certainly is not Princess's or the ports fault. The US Government and the CBP has deemed this to be the most economical and efficient way to deal with clearing passengers, they are likely correct and it is something that must be done. Can you imagine the howls if passengers had to wait in lines in the wind and rain at their first Alaskan port and missing their excursions.....or if they had to go to the ships theatre to get cleared by boarded CBP officers, not having their passports and being sent back their cabins to get them then starting the process all over.

 

Just before I close I would like to thank ceilidh1 for her explanation, we miss you and your posts on what's going on at Canada Place.:)

[cdngrl]

What people lose sight of is that Vancouver is likely the only port in North America where pre-clearance is done at the port of embarkation...

 

it makes me laugh as I go through, to see the "welcome to the USA" sign, IN the Vancouver terminal.

[fire&teacher]

Can someone explain what the process is like going thru customs to get on a ship? Have only gone thru customs to get off a ship.

[sunlover5]

We will be boarding the Star Princess on Sat., May 14. I see that there will be 3 ships in port that day. My DH and I discussed having a lunch somewhere in Vancouver before boarding the ship. So would it be safe to say....boarding between 1pm. and 2 p.m. would be good????

Thank you!

[Putterdude]

Can someone explain what the process is like going thru customs to get on a ship? Have only gone thru customs to get off a ship.

 

In Vancouver at Canada Place because you are leaving Canada to go to the US, likely Alaska you have to clear US CBP. The process is not unlike going thru CBP at say Port Everglades, except you will need a passport or other WHTI compliant document.

 

https://www.dhs.gov/western-hemisphere-travel-initiative

[ceilidh1]

I forgot to mention that on days when there are 3 or even 4 ships in port, Canada Place is a zoo! Due to so many passengers arriving and leaving, there is usually a necessity to have a "holding area" prior to security screening and CBP. This is often one of the large halls upstairs at the convention centre - it is comfortable enough with rows and rows of chairs, usually water/juice but if you find yourself in there just be prepared for a lengthy wait. As you enter you will be handed a card with a number and told to take a seat. They then call each number and take the groups downstairs to pass through security and immigration. Don't be fooled into thinking that once your number is called you're done waiting around - you will still be in long lines downstairs before you even get to checking in! I sailed last year on a 3 ship day and arrived at the port at 11am. I got card number 27 when I arrived in Hall C. I waited 50 minutes to get called downstairs. I waited 20 minutes to go through security screening and 30 minutes to get through the CBP line up. After CBP I was checked in and onboard within 15 minutes. This is not the norm by any means and only gets this bad when multiple ships are in port - just wanted to make you aware of it so you can be prepared for the worst that could happen!

 

All in all, I think everyone at Canada Place does a really good job given the unique circumstances they have going on there. Please bear all I have said in mind before complaining to the ground staff about long lines and waiting - there is nothing they can do about it and it's really not their fault! Another good thing to bear in mind before complaining to them is that they are on their feet from the time the ship gets into port at 6am until it leaves at 4:30pm and have to listen to these same complaints over and over but have no control over doing anything to change the situation! I can tell you first hand that these lovely people are not doing this job for the money, so please be gentle with them! :D

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Can someone explain what the process is like going thru customs to get on a ship? Have only gone thru customs to get off a ship.

 

There is a long line at customs- think Disney standing in line for the Peter Pan Ride. Who the heck knows why it takes so long, but it does. I've been at Canada Place now twice in the past three years and it took a long time. It doesn't matter what time you arrive. My parents got there at 2PM and it took forever for them- especially since they were traveling with a couple from Austria.

 

All I know is I sailed from Long Beach to Vancouver and had not problem in Long Beach or getting off in Vancouver (at another pier to the East of Canada Place). It's US customs at Canada Place that is the problem. It's not Canadian customs.

[martincath]

We will be boarding the Star Princess on Sat., May 14. I see that there will be 3 ships in port that day. My DH and I discussed having a lunch somewhere in Vancouver before boarding the ship. So would it be safe to say....boarding between 1pm. and 2 p.m. would be good????

Thank you!

I would actually plan to have a leisurely lunch and not show up until at least 2pm. As mentioned above, early in the season is when things go slowest. We boarded on a three-shipper with the new system in place early last season (holding areas in convention halls, then being brought down to Security/CBP/check-in in waves) and it was just horrible, an hour in the hall then another hour to go through the various stages and actually get on board.

 

Depending where your hotel is, you may find it more convenient to drop off your checked bags at the pier first then go wandering - you can usually do that before 10am, so there's even time to go visit an out-of-town site like Capilano and return in time to grab lunch and board long before check-in cut-off.

[VibeGuy]

I love Vancouver. The shopping, the scenery, the people. I visit regularly. (Yesterday, in fact).

 

But I loathe departing from Canada Place.

 

Arrivals are rarely an issue. The problem is universally with security and preclearance. There is simply insufficient dwell space between security and CBP for passengers who are not US or Canadian nationals nor from a Visa Waiver country. When CBP gets backed up with these passengers, there's no viable way to queue them. And when they haven't got a place to sit and wait, they stop processing passengers through security.

 

If I ran the zoo, I would reallocate the space a bit to give CBP even more space, and fully implement NEXUS, Global Entry and ReadyLane. A single lane of security could take these passengers as priority and if there's nobody waiting, screen the general population. The space used for luggage pickup and exit lane operations during disembarkation could be reconfigured quickly after that's finished, and used for a mix of pre-security waiting (on days they aren't using the halls upstairs) or CBP holding.

[sunlover5]

Thanks for the suggestion Martincath.....we will actually be in Vancouver 4 days before the cruise so will have already done the bridge, etc. But we have to check out at 11:00 so I think we will take the luggage to the port and head out to somewhere for a nice lunch and to soak in some more of the beautiful city.

[Putterdude]

 

If I ran the zoo, I would reallocate the space a bit to give CBP even more space, and fully implement NEXUS, Global Entry and ReadyLane. A single lane of security could take these passengers as priority and if there's nobody waiting, screen the general population. The space used for luggage pickup and exit lane operations during disembarkation could be reconfigured quickly after that's finished, and used for a mix of pre-security waiting (on days they aren't using the halls upstairs) or CBP holding.

 

While I don't disagree with your suggestions, what would help a lot is if CBP would provide enough officers to do the clearances on a timely basis. Unfortunately Canada Place far to often wears the hair shirt for the US CBP not turning out enough officers..

[VibeGuy]

I've had four-hour boardings with every lane staffed.

 

The guiding principals need to be:

 

1) minimize the time people spend standing up

2) minimize the distance they walk from sidewalk to gangway

3) isolate higher-complexity and higher-risk travelers from trusted travelers

4) get people from the hands of officious minor functionaries and government employees into the hand of hospitality professionals as quickly as possible.

 

But I'm with you: CBP operations for marine and air are paid by user fees. I don't understand why we can't get what we're paying for - the standard from

CBP is supposed to be 80% of entries processed within 15 minutes of arrival at the port of entry. I'm absolutely certain that Vancouver preclear at the marine terminal doesn't meet that standard.

[CU64]

I've had four-hour boardings with every lane staffed.

 

The guiding principals need to be:

 

1) minimize the time people spend standing up

2) minimize the distance they walk from sidewalk to gangway

3) isolate higher-complexity and higher-risk travelers from trusted travelers

4) get people from the hands of officious minor functionaries and government employees into the hand of hospitality professionals as quickly as possible.

 

But I'm with you: CBP operations for marine and air are paid by user fees. I don't understand why we can't get what we're paying for - the standard from

CBP is supposed to be 80% of entries processed within 15 minutes of arrival at the port of entry. I'm absolutely certain that Vancouver preclear at the marine terminal doesn't meet that standard.

 

Yikes.......when do you suggest?

[jcarlisle]

Do they actually do Global Entry at Canada Place?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Putterdude]

Yikes.......when do you suggest?

 

In the normal course of events an arrival after 2 pm will avoid most of the lines as is the case at any port. On a repositioning weekend in May and September when 3 ships are tied up at Canada Place....well there is no good time so you may as well arrive at 1000 and get into the fray.

[VibeGuy]

Yikes.......when do you suggest?

 

We've arrived early, we've arrived after two. On the one after two, there was a bride sobbing in her wedding dress because something had gone wrong with her pierside wedding plans and a bunch of the wedding party was still stuck at CBP at 4:30. There's no rhyme or reason. It has delayed muster and/or sailing at least a third of the time on our Vancouver departures.

 

We did the Ruby southbound post-drydock which was not precleared. I parked the car at 11:45 and we were seated for lunch in the MDR at 12:20. So it's not that it can't work when there's one ship and no preclearance. It's that preclearance and some decisions about space usage and three big ships in port are just gonna be rough.

[VibeGuy]

Only Port Everglades currently offers Global Entry. My suspicion is it will come to ports that are doing full-service clearance before it comes to Vancouver where what is done is technically just preadmission (the immigration function rather than Customs). But a boy can dream.

 

They have added the new kiosks that speed the administrative tasks, I hear.

[sterling2]

April 4 cruise to Hawaii - we got out of the cab, walked into the terminal and were on the ship in about 10 minutes - boarded about 11:50. We had to go through immigration in Hilo - took about 2 seconds because the majority of passengers were Canadian. Sounds like we were very lucky.