Crown Princess Alaska RT Vancouver 5/6

[CU64]

Altho we knew 3 ships in Port and that security and customs likely to be slow, we went at 2:30 and sat in a huge room for 4 hrs waiting to get called for Security line/ then Customs, got on ship at 7PM....lost 6 hrs. Some went at 12 and got on at 6PM.

 

Capt had to reroute us next day because we lost entry to Glacier Bay due to this delay,........

The weather was unbelievably gorgeous the whole trip. However, it felt like a 6day cruise.......never again will I tolerate this. One person with us had Global Entry and was able to use it AFTER we went through security (4 hrs). There were not enough interpreters for the foreign groups + too many people.

[Robinsoncruiseso]

Sorry you had such a hard time. We embarked at Canada Place on 5/7. 2 ships in port. Got in security line at 11:00 and on ship before noon. (cleared immigration at Canada Place)

[Wishing on a star]

Sounds like there was some issue going on???

 

Did the Crown sail from Vancouver on this first Alaska sailing?

You boarded at about 7... And, assuming that you were some of the last to board, did the ship depart shortly after?

 

Seems they could have made up that time overnight???

 

You mentioned re-routing/scheduling... Does that mean the ship completely missed Glacier Bay, and was not able to make up that day?

 

IMHO, missing Glacier Bay on an Alaskan Cruise would warrant some serious accommodation/offers.

[CruisinChris]

Ship's track info shows they went to Glacier Bay.

 

Ship was scheduled to leave at 4:30 according to Port of Vancouver website and left at 8:30 according to tracking info. The other two ships were scheduled to leave at 5. I wonder if Canadian authorities were conducting some type of inspection which delayed everything?

[Bilali]

The late Crown departure was discussed in this thread.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2353736

 

Apparently not enough immigration staff to deal with 8000 passengers. It was the first time this season that 3 ships were in port and they clearly were not prepared. So the Crown missed the tidal window to get to Glacier Bay.

[trrn2016]

Would you share the website for the number of ships in each port daily? Thanks

[redtop101]

https://www.portvancouver.com/cruise/cruise-schedule/

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Working 2 Cruise]

Altho we knew 3 ships in Port and that security and customs likely to be slow, we went at 2:30 and sat in a huge room for 4 hrs waiting to get called for Security line/ then Customs, got on ship at 7PM....lost 6 hrs. Some went at 12 and got on at 6PM.

 

Capt had to reroute us next day because we lost entry to Glacier Bay due to this delay,........

The weather was unbelievably gorgeous the whole trip. However, it felt like a 6day cruise.......never again will I tolerate this. One person with us had Global Entry and was able to use it AFTER we went through security (4 hrs). There were not enough interpreters for the foreign groups + too many people.

 

I'm sorry there were issues, already discussed. However, I take issue with your comment "I will not tolerate this..." Things do happen when you travel, either by air or ship, or car... How exactly would you not tolerate something if and when unexpected events occur? The only way of that happening is to stop traveling altogether....:eek:

[ggprincess2004]

It is not Canadian customs and immigration, it is US ICE that is the problem there. They clear the passengers before boarding so they don't have to clear the passengers at an Alaskan port.

 

And - yes - Vancouver is a mess when more than one ship is in port. We experienced that issue last year when boarding the Grand.

 

Not a whole lot can be done about it (besides having a whole lot more US ICE staffing), except to limit the number of ships sailing out of Vancouver on any given day, or have US clearance done at the first US port of the cruise...which would also be a mess and cost lots of passengers lots of time in port. Again, during season there can be 5 or 6 ships in a tiny port on any given day.

[Astro Flyer]

I'm sorry there were issues, already discussed. However, I take issue with your comment "I will not tolerate this..." Things do happen when you travel, either by air or ship, or car... How exactly would you not tolerate something if and when unexpected events occur? The only way of that happening is to stop traveling altogether....:eek:

With the :mad: icon & the title the subject of this thread is deceptive to me...the delay had nothing to do with the ship nor the itinerary but is a result of government security delays.

 

I agree, good luck with telling a government agent that "never again will I tolerate this". Anyone would be upset but that's not a solution...it's not wise to argue with government agents.

 

Ridiculously long lines to get through understaffed TSA security lines is already happening. Getting upset with understaffed agents is not a way to not "tolerate" delays...blame the government for such delays & not the agents. :eek:

Edited May 14, 2016 by Astro Flyer

[Putterdude]

Early this week I received a personal email from a person who is very close to the scene at Canada Place concerning what happened at Canada Place last Friday. Because he posts on CC from time to time I have undertaken not to identify him or disclose actual numbers. However, evidently the US CBP turned out 1/3 of the required officers that they would normally need to clear the 3 ships at Canada Place. They are severely undermanned both at YVR and Canada Place. They will not allow more than 50 people in line at a time and that is why passengers were held back. Every passenger embarking at Canada Place is charged a fee for preclearance by CBP of $7 and this is included in port charges and taxes. This fee is remitted to the CBP. People last Friday did not get what they were paying for but was not Princess's, the Port of Vancouver's or anyone else's fault other then the US CBP. There is no question that what went on at Canada Place was a gong show and I would encourage you to write your elected federal officials and tell them how disappointed you are in CBP's lack of performance.

 

The reason CBP does preclearance at Canada Place, YVR, and a host of airports in Canada, key airports abroad and looking to add more to the list is not to convenience passengers; it because it is economically efficient rather than have officers in every Alaskan port and every airport in the US that receives international flights.

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks 'Putterdude' for sharing that info which confirms what I thought was the cause...insufficient US CBP agents. :(

 

Not sure if the cause was mismanagement or a lack of personnel. TSA lines for flights have become terrible due to a lack of sufficient agents & I read that 7,000 passengers missed their AA flights during one week in March due to lengthy security delays. :eek:

Edited May 15, 2016 by Astro Flyer

[Magellan321]

Early this week I received a personal email from a person who is very close to the scene at Canada Place concerning what happened at Canada Place last Friday. Because he posts on CC from time to time I have undertaken not to identify him or disclose actual numbers. However, evidently the US CBP turned out 1/3 of the required officers that they would normally need to clear the 3 ships at Canada Place. They are severely undermanned both at YVR and Canada Place. They will not allow more than 50 people in line at a time and that is why passengers were held back. Every passenger embarking at Canada Place is charged a fee for preclearance by CBP of $7 and this is included in port charges and taxes. This fee is remitted to the CBP. People last Friday did not get what they were paying for but was not Princess's, the Port of Vancouver's or anyone else's fault other then the US CBP. There is no question that what went on at Canada Place was a gong show and I would encourage you to write your elected federal officials and tell them how disappointed you are in CBP's lack of performance.

 

The reason CBP does preclearance at Canada Place, YVR, and a host of airports in Canada, key airports abroad and looking to add more to the list is not to convenience passengers; it because it is economically efficient rather than have officers in every Alaskan port and every airport in the US that receives international flights.

 

Thanks Putterdude! Totally on point. I was on the ship and thankfully made it thru the line in 2 and 1/2 hours.....sadly people that got to the port twenty minutes after we did were on line for four+ hours. At 6pm the captain announced we were waiting on 500...yes...500 to clear and would leave in 20 minutes...we knew at that point we would be waaaaay later. We sailed after 8 pm. Between noon and 12:30 multiple agents simply got up...placed a closed sign on their station and left the room. I cannot fault them for taking their scheduled lunch....however they were waaaaay understaffed and this caused a cascade of issues that lingered for days past sail away.

[dforeigner]

It is not Canadian customs and immigration, it is US ICE that is the problem there. They clear the passengers before boarding so they don't have to clear the passengers at an Alaskan port.

 

And - yes - Vancouver is a mess when more than one ship is in port. We experienced that issue last year when boarding the Grand.

 

Not a whole lot can be done about it (besides having a whole lot more US ICE staffing), except to limit the number of ships sailing out of Vancouver on any given day, or have US clearance done at the first US port of the cruise...which would also be a mess and cost lots of passengers lots of time in port. Again, during season there can be 5 or 6 ships in a tiny port on any given day.

 

Actually it is Customs and Border Protection Field Operations (CBP/OFO). ICE has nothing to do with admitting inspecting and admitting people requesting entry into the United States.

[Putterdude]

The Coral and the New Amsterdam have just sailed by the house about an hour late and Ship Tracker still shows the Star along side at Canada Place. So you wonder what's up.

[Magellan321]

The Coral and the New Amsterdam have just sailed by the house about an hour late and Ship Tracker still shows the Star along side at Canada Place. So you wonder what's up.

 

Oh my....I had hoped that any issues were resolved with our 5/6 sailing

[Bilali]

The Coral and the New Amsterdam have just sailed by the house about an hour late and Ship Tracker still shows the Star along side at Canada Place. So you wonder what's up.

 

Yeah I'm on the Star to Alaska next Saturday - 3 ships in port that day too. I was hoping to see her get away on time today but she is still docked at Canada Place almost 4 hours late. Guess I better find a good book for next weekend!

[HI-C-Dubs]

The reason CBP does preclearance at Canada Place, YVR, and a host of airports in Canada, key airports abroad and looking to add more to the list is not to convenience passengers; it because it is economically efficient rather than have officers in every Alaskan port and every airport in the US that receives international flights.

 

Yup. It's supposed to help allow a better experience in the US when you land, at least that's why YVR does it at the airport (and it allows for late YVR-HNL flights to happen without adding manpower in the Hawaii).

 

To me, the probable cause for understaffing is that they work their agents on a regular work week (never heard of a part-time CPB agent) and on most days, these numbers don't exist. So they don't want to have tons of extra agents with nothing to do the rest of the week. However if they are charging $7 pp for this, it would behove them to fly up some agents each weekend help handle the influx.

 

Proves that the smartest and brightest aren't necessarily those at the top of the CPB. :cool:

 

Word of wisdom to those sailing from Canada Place... get there early :D

[Putterdude]

We can't quite see the Star yet, she is abeam of Bowen Is. and about 15 mins away from us....this makes her a full 3 hours late. Back to say that I just checked the tides in Seymour Narrows and she should get thru on a slack tide around 1 am so her itinerary should work just fine.

Edited May 15, 2016 by Putterdude

[Urban trekker]

"Again, during season there can be 5 or 6 ships in a tiny port on any given day."

 

If the tiny port you are referring to is Vancouver what is your source of info that 5 or 6 ships are in port on any given day. Canada Place can only berth three of the larger ships on any given day and with no Ballantyne Pier anymore that is the total number on any given day.

 

Let's see if there were 7000 cruisers boarding at $7.00 a head that equals $49,000. Would 15 agents costs that much or are cruisers in Vancouver subsidizing their costs in other ports.

 

Just some thoughts.

 

I have a three ship day boarding next Friday - it's only a one nighter to Seattle but it will still be interesting at what time we sail.

 

Cheers!

 

Dennis

[CU64]

I'm sorry there were issues, already discussed. However, I take issue with your comment "I will not tolerate this..." Things do happen when you travel, either by air or ship, or car... How exactly would you not tolerate something if and when unexpected events occur? The only way of that happening is to stop traveling altogether....:eek:

 

The way I won't tolerate it is: never go out of Canada Place so early in season/as much as I love Vancover, we will probably go out of Seattle next time/ if possible, check how many ships in port at once...we are getting Global at this point, worth it at airports and now port Customs

[kruisey]

Had onshore excursion booked but due to USA customs immigration under staffing only had 1 hour for the tour.Too many ships in port at same time.

It is always the same at Canada Place too many ship shortage of USA customs immigration officers.....

[abbydancer2003]

Thanks Putterdude! Totally on point. I was on the ship and thankfully made it thru the line in 2 and 1/2 hours.....sadly people that got to the port twenty minutes after we did were on line for four+ hours. At 6pm the captain announced we were waiting on 500...yes...500 to clear and would leave in 20 minutes...we knew at that point we would be waaaaay later. We sailed after 8 pm. Between noon and 12:30 multiple agents simply got up...placed a closed sign on their station and left the room. I cannot fault them for taking their scheduled lunch....however they were waaaaay understaffed and this caused a cascade of issues that lingered for days past sail away.

 

I was just ahead of Magellan321 (hi!) and it took us about 1.5 hours - we got there around 12:15 and sailed through security (friends later took an hour) and it was about 1 hour 10-15 minutes total with immigration. Slow but they had chairs so people didn't wait standing for hours, and the lines were organized.

 

Because of the delay, and missing the tide, we had a wacky itinerary. We made all our ports, although hours were different affecting tours - our only excursion was cancelled - and we had a full day in Glacier Bay. The routing was Juneau- GB - Skagway - Ketchikan.

 

I think they did the best they could have with what happened. I'm sure that we could have gone to the Glaciers that the Seattle RTs do, but they made Glacier Bay work.

[olesiabr]

Just out of curiosity, would it be better to cruise southbound? Do you encounter the same delays ending the cruise in Vancouver? How early is it recommended to get to the Vancouver airport after disembarking the ship?

[Magellan321]

I was just ahead of Magellan321 (hi!) and it took us about 1.5 hours - we got there around 12:15 and sailed through security (friends later took an hour) and it was about 1 hour 10-15 minutes total with immigration. Slow but they had chairs so people didn't wait standing for hours, and the lines were organized.

 

Because of the delay, and missing the tide, we had a wacky itinerary. We made all our ports, although hours were different affecting tours - our only excursion was cancelled - and we had a full day in Glacier Bay. The routing was Juneau- GB - Skagway - Ketchikan.

 

I think they did the best they could have with what happened. I'm sure that we could have gone to the Glaciers that the Seattle RTs do, but they made Glacier Bay work.

 

Good Morning! It seems to be all about timing and what line you get stuck in going thru those scanners:rolleyes:. We lost time in the first room when they were parking us and handing out number cards...and again at the scanners for a group that refused to walk thru. The wait time wasn't bad once we got to you in the pre hold for immigration. Sorry your excursion was cancelled! Ours got all juggled around and shifted to a different vendor...i think we should have just cancelled and not taken the replacement guy. Thankfully we had awesome weather and hit every port:p. We were the second couple off the ship and breezed to the airport.

Edited May 15, 2016 by Magellan321