Getting off and back on in Vancouver BC

[Rowsby]

Our cruise will be leaving Seattle on Sept 29th.....we will be docking in Vancouver on Oct 1st...

 

How do we leave the ship to tour Vancouver.....and come back onboard.....without going thru all the cruisers embarking at Canada Place.....??

 

Is there an easy exit and entrance....??

[HUNKY]

You are the only ship in Vancouver port that day. Shouldn't be a problem.

[knittinggirl]

I think they give you an in-transit card to bypass the line. They should have a meeting explaining procedures.

 

 

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[DeepWaterMariner]

You'll be "in transit" and will received full instructions the night before on the ship. You can skip the check in line but you never get to skip the security check. You can leave the ship as soon as the ship is cleared and make sure your back for the all aboard time.

[Rowsby]

According to their cruise schedule.....there will be three ships that day.....Norwegian Bliss, Norwegian Pearl and Eurodam.......

 

The last time I was at Canada Place.....there was a large room at street level....under the Pan Pacific....that had some kind of entrance........not the lower levels where they do the check ins.....

 

Guess I'll have to wait and see.....:)

[Krazy Kruizers]

We got a letter the day before we got to Vancouver explaining what we had to do. We also got In Transit cards to show when we returned to the terminal. Only had to go through security.

We all had to use the same entrance to get back on the ship as they had to scan our ID cards.

[knittinggirl]

We were in-transit in May and had to wait about an hour or maybe an hour and a half total to get back on the ship. Twenty to thirty minutes was within site of the inside of the ship on the gangplank. We didn't go out to see the sites, but we did have to wait for customs and in the "sterilization area."

 

 

The next week we disembarked, and embarked a different ship the next day. That day, they ran us all over the cruise terminal. Starting on the first floor all the way down the hallway, then after they called our number, we went up a floor, and down another long hallway. And ended up in the "sterilization area" from the week before and waited. Passengers for different ships all go through the same line. Back and forth, sit and wait, etc.

 

 

 

Not sure how much of that you'll need to do on the way back in.

 

 

After the final screening, they finally divided us up by ship.

[Rowsby]

We were in-transit in May and had to wait about an hour or maybe an hour and a half total to get back on the ship. Twenty to thirty minutes was within site of the inside of the ship on the gangplank. We didn't go out to see the sites, but we did have to wait for customs and in the "sterilization area."

 

 

The next week we disembarked, and embarked a different ship the next day. That day, they ran us all over the cruise terminal. Starting on the first floor all the way down the hallway, then after they called our number, we went up a floor, and down another long hallway. And ended up in the "sterilization area" from the week before and waited. Passengers for different ships all go through the same line. Back and forth, sit and wait, etc.

 

 

 

Not sure how much of that you'll need to do on the way back in.

 

 

After the final screening, they finally divided us up by ship.

 

Ouch.....I was afraid of that......

 

My last trip embarking out of Canada Place was very similar......so I'm having second thoughts about even getting off the ship.....:)

[catl331]

According to their cruise schedule.....there will be three ships that day.....Norwegian Bliss, Norwegian Pearl and Eurodam.......

:)

When you say "their cruise schedule" do mean NCL's or Vancouver's?

 

cruisetimetables.com says the Pearl departs 9/30 at 16:00 and will be at sea on 10/1. It says the Bliss embarks on 9/30 and departs at 01:30 a.m. on 10/1. cruisett.com shows only the Eurodam in VCR on 10/1.

[AryMay]

Just thought I would add my 2 cents from our experience in May...

We were on the Zaandam 23-day Panama Canal cruise (Ft. Lauderdale to Seattle) but it was also sold in segments with passengers disembarking in San Diego and also Vancouver. There were also people boarding in Vancouver for a 1-night cruise to Seattle. Since we were staying on the extra day back to Seattle, we were given "in transit" cards when we got off the ship in Vancouver. Once in the terminal we followed painted lines on the floor marked "crew" and went up a level to the street.

We spent the morning doing the hop on hop off bus but decided to go back to the ship mid-afternoon for some lunch and a break. Besides the Zaandam the Westerdam and Noordam were also docked...all getting ready to begin their Alaska season. The lines of passengers trying to board went on FOREVER. I can't even imagine how long some of them had to wait.

But for us...with our in-transit card...we just retraced our steps from morning and got back on the ship with no waiting. I almost felt guilty when we walked past everyone.

After our break, we left the ship a second time...same route...and got back on the HOHO bus again. Stanley Park had been closed in the morning due to a marathon so that is where we went for the afternoon. All was well until we tried to reboard the bus and it was full. Buses were supposed to come by every 20 minutes, but it was much longer than that until a second bus stopped.

By the time we left Stanley Park we were starting to get a little nervous about getting back to the ship on time. All aboard time was 6:30 and it was 6:10 when we got off the bus at Canada Place. Whew!...or so we thought. We entered the terminal at the same place we had left and it was EMPTY...totally empty. The door leading to the escalator down to the lower level where the gangplank was located was locked. The long, long hallway that had been packed with people earlier was empty...not a soul was in the building. The ship was RIGHT THERE but we couldn't get to it and there was no one to ask for help!!

We went back outside and after some running around (no luck) I was able to lean over the railing and yell down to people on the ship who eventually got the attention of the crew working on the gangplank. Turns out the entrance had changed while we were gone! They told us that we should have entered the terminal through the Pan Pacific Hotel. From there we were to take an elevator down to the lower level, walk through a parking garage and finally get to where we could exit the building and go up the gangplank to the ship. TOTALLY DIFFERENT THAN EARLIER IN THE DAY!!!

It was exactly 6:30 pm when we set foot back on the ship and I'm guessing we were one of the last (if not THE last) people to board. We had a beautiful day in Vancouver, but it (and the whole cruise) ended on a stressful note.

So...get out and enjoy your day in Vancouver, but MAKE SURE you understand how and where you are to reboard!!

[Rowsby]

When you say "their cruise schedule" do mean NCL's or Vancouver's?

 

cruisetimetables.com says the Pearl departs 9/30 at 16:00 and will be at sea on 10/1. It says the Bliss embarks on 9/30 and departs at 01:30 a.m. on 10/1. cruisett.com shows only the Eurodam in VCR on 10/1.

 

I saw it on Canada Place's cruise schedule for 2018.....that would be great if we are the only ship....:)

[Rowsby]

Just thought I would add my 2 cents from our experience in May...

We were on the Zaandam 23-day Panama Canal cruise (Ft. Lauderdale to Seattle) but it was also sold in segments with passengers disembarking in San Diego and also Vancouver. There were also people boarding in Vancouver for a 1-night cruise to Seattle. Since we were staying on the extra day back to Seattle, we were given "in transit" cards when we got off the ship in Vancouver. Once in the terminal we followed painted lines on the floor marked "crew" and went up a level to the street.

We spent the morning doing the hop on hop off bus but decided to go back to the ship mid-afternoon for some lunch and a break. Besides the Zaandam the Westerdam and Noordam were also docked...all getting ready to begin their Alaska season. The lines of passengers trying to board went on FOREVER. I can't even imagine how long some of them had to wait.

But for us...with our in-transit card...we just retraced our steps from morning and got back on the ship with no waiting. I almost felt guilty when we walked past everyone.

After our break, we left the ship a second time...same route...and got back on the HOHO bus again. Stanley Park had been closed in the morning due to a marathon so that is where we went for the afternoon. All was well until we tried to reboard the bus and it was full. Buses were supposed to come by every 20 minutes, but it was much longer than that until a second bus stopped.

By the time we left Stanley Park we were starting to get a little nervous about getting back to the ship on time. All aboard time was 6:30 and it was 6:10 when we got off the bus at Canada Place. Whew!...or so we thought. We entered the terminal at the same place we had left and it was EMPTY...totally empty. The door leading to the escalator down to the lower level where the gangplank was located was locked. The long, long hallway that had been packed with people earlier was empty...not a soul was in the building. The ship was RIGHT THERE but we couldn't get to it and there was no one to ask for help!!

We went back outside and after some running around (no luck) I was able to lean over the railing and yell down to people on the ship who eventually got the attention of the crew working on the gangplank. Turns out the entrance had changed while we were gone! They told us that we should have entered the terminal through the Pan Pacific Hotel. From there we were to take an elevator down to the lower level, walk through a parking garage and finally get to where we could exit the building and go up the gangplank to the ship. TOTALLY DIFFERENT THAN EARLIER IN THE DAY!!!

It was exactly 6:30 pm when we set foot back on the ship and I'm guessing we were one of the last (if not THE last) people to board. We had a beautiful day in Vancouver, but it (and the whole cruise) ended on a stressful note.

So...get out and enjoy your day in Vancouver, but MAKE SURE you understand how and where you are to reboard!!

 

WOW.....that was way too scary......so glad you made it.....!!!!!

[Roz]

AryMay,

 

Thanks for posting your experience. I'm on a B2B cruise next year, and plan on getting off the ship in Vancouver and going on the HOHO bus. I think I'll have lunch while I'm out and then head back to the ship mid-afternoon after the crowd has died down.

 

Roz

[luvcruisn']

No need to go back to the ship for lunch. There are lots of places in Vancouver to get food. There are food trucks and all types of ethnic food available. There is also a food court in the lower level of the shopping center across from the Pan Pacific Hotel.

[bcummin]

Yes, we love that food court. Especially the little Greek restaurant. :)

 

Barbara