Vancouver B.C. ship departure to airport.

[Schlepporello]

Hi everyone!

We've booked a cruise on the Maasdam which departs and returns to Vancouver B.C. The ship arrives in Vancouver at 8:00 AM and the outbound flight I'm looking at departs at 10:55 AM. Is this cutting it a bit close, or should I consider a later flight out? I'm planning on taking a cab to the airport from the ship to help cut the time spent getting to the airport.

Thanks!

Edited February 3, 2020 by Schlepporello

[Alberta Quilter]

Personally, I would book a later flight.  Disembarkation may not occur right away, there could be delays with customs/immigration (assuming your previous port was not Canadian) and how many ships are in that day with other disembarking passengers.  If you're flying back to the US, you should be at the airport about two hours ahead.  You need time for security at the airport, too.  

 

While your three hour time frame is probably doable, it would be cutting it way too close for me.  It's too stressful to even think about it!

Edited February 3, 2020 by Alberta Quilter

[CruiserBruce]

If you look on the West Coast Departures board, you will see flights before 11:30 are difficult. You need to clear US Immigration and Customs at the Vancouver airport. 

[Schlepporello]

Thanks Alberta, The only thing I don't like about the later departure is that we'd have a plane switch in Houston, not Denver. It irritates me with having to fly past where my home city is, that's just wasted time in my books. I may end up having to do this though if other flights aren't available.

[VennDiagram]

7 hours ago, Schlepporello said:

The only thing I don't like about the later departure is that we'd have a plane switch in Houston, not Denver. It irritates me with having to fly past where my home city is, that's just wasted time in my books.

 

Imagine how irritated you would be if disembarkation was late and you didn't make your flight.  Or there was a huge traffic tie-up on the way to the airport and you didn't make your flight. 

I'm with Alberta Cruiser. A 10:55 flight is cutting it way too close for my comfort level. 

[Schlepporello]

46 minutes ago, VennDiagram said:

 

Imagine how irritated you would be if disembarkation was late and you didn't make your flight.  Or there was a huge traffic tie-up on the way to the airport and you didn't make your flight. 

I'm with Alberta Cruiser. A 10:55 flight is cutting it way too close for my comfort level. 

Agreed.

It appears that there's only 1 flight that goes the way I want it to and that's too early. So I'm gonna have to settle for a flight with 2 stops that goes relatively close to the route I want to take. For that, I'll have to switch planes in Calgary, but it will go to Amarillo through Denver. I can live with that. Thanks everyone!

[VennDiagram]

Ugh on the flights. But imho still better than risking the earlier flight. 

 

If you have the flexibility and interest, would you consider staying over in Vancouver and catching your preferred flight the following day?

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, Schlepporello said:

Agreed.

It appears that there's only 1 flight that goes the way I want it to and that's too early. So I'm gonna have to settle for a flight with 2 stops that goes relatively close to the route I want to take. For that, I'll have to switch planes in Calgary, but it will go to Amarillo through Denver. I can live with that. Thanks everyone!

You will now clear US Immigration and Customs in Calgary.

[Alberta Quilter]

I agree with Venn Diagram. If you have the time, spend a night in Vancouver and take your preferred flight out the day after disembarkation.

[Schlepporello]

2 hours ago, Alberta Quilter said:

I agree with Venn Diagram. If you have the time, spend a night in Vancouver and take your preferred flight out the day after disembarkation.

I have the flexibility,  but I may not have the money. We'll be returning from a 14-day cruise. We've done late flights before, another one isn't going to kill us.

[martincath]

51 minutes ago, Schlepporello said:

I have the flexibility,  but I may not have the money. We'll be returning from a 14-day cruise. We've done late flights before, another one isn't going to kill us.

Depending HOW late the flight, you may also have to factor in missing out on Preclearance... CBP operates only two daily shifts in Canadian airports. I think everywhere except Toronto closes at 8:30pm local time - so if you are taking a flight YVR-YYC that is scheduled to leave YYC after 9pm, it would be a regular International flight (i.e. first US airport you do customs & immigration).

 

The main reason I bring this up is that if your first leg is domestic, you have an extra safety margin in the morning - so if you're concerned about an early flight you could change to a later flight OR change to a first-domestic-leg flight, doing both is gilding the lily.

 

Personally I have zero problems with even a first-timer going for a flight that's at 10:55am, provided that you are all in good enough shape to carry your own bags off. If you can do that you can also handle the logistics of SkyTrain - which means if the cab queue is busy you can just walk over there instead (26min trip, no traffic to worry about ever). Since you start in Vancouver you can easily check out where the station is so that your disembarkation morning is as smooth as possible.

 

Without having Global Entry or NEXUS I'd certainly be loathe to say go for a 10am flight, but 10:55am is not just plausible, you'd have be be seriously unlucky to miss it. First off your ship, even if other self-disembarkers are off 3 ships before you, you should be at YVR close to 8:30am. Since you'll beat all the cruise buses you will find the queues very mangeable, and likely be at your gate within an hour - giving enough time for a last Timmies before boarding.

 

Best advice I agree is to overnight just to give you even more of a safety margin (and spend extra time in Vancouver...) but the only way you'd be at serious risk is if you have to wait for a 'with help' disembark and then refuse to take transit. Even then, simply walking upstairs to the Pan Pacific or crossing the street to the Fairmont Waterfront means you have access to a different cab queue - with far, far fewer people fighting you for them!