Embarkation in Vancouver

[Gunther1]

We took a one night repo from Vancouver to Seattle….boarded in Vancouver yesterday and am home in Seattle today.

 

Due to very bad signage( more specifically, no signage), one of the terminal check-in employees pointing us in the wrong area, and our mistake in not verifying that we were in the correct line, we ended up in the Carnival line.

 

‘To say is was a madhouse is an understatement.  
 

Among other things, the check-in employee ( as you probably know, they are contractors), wouldn’t accept our COVID test results ( which were in the correct time frame) and had no idea what verifly was.

 

At that point , I skied if this was for the HAL embarkation and was pointed to the correct line.  
 

My point:  (1)if in doubt, ask if you in the correct queue ( they had NO signs saying “Carnival” and (2)  be grateful if you are on HAL.  The difference was night and day re check-in.

[muffin]

Short west trip, glad HAL did themselves proud at least in the check in! 

[puppycanducruise]

Sorry you had problems getting to the right check in line.  Glad you made it onboard on HAL.

[syesmar]

Had something similar happen in Vancouver for our first cruise in 2007. Someone errantly told where to drop our bags before heading to the line. We did so, and then quickly realized it was for another cruise line. Thankfully, we were able to retrieve our luggage before it went bye-bye! I remember the pianist with the HAL Cats, Mitzi I believe her name was, was passing by and helped point us in the right direction. 😀

[xlxo]

On 4/30/2022 at 1:51 PM, Gunther1 said:

our mistake in not verifying that we were in the correct line, we ended up in the Carnival line.

 

I too was on the Vancouver 2 day repo...  There was no "Carnival line".  Only the Royal Princess and the Koningsdam were docked in Vancouver on April 28th.

 

I'm not sure the story on the Royal Princess.  It's been docked in Vancouver for a week and leaving today.

 

On 4/30/2022 at 1:51 PM, Gunther1 said:

wouldn’t accept our COVID test results ( which were in the correct time frame) and had no idea what verifly was.

 

My point:  (1)if in doubt, ask if you in the correct queue ( they had NO signs saying “Carnival” and (2)  be grateful if you are on HAL.  The difference was night and day re check-in.

 

There was someone at the Covid screening section asking if I had VeriFLY.  I said yes and she directed me to the express kiosks which had staff to help push the buttons.   So glad I had VeriFLY as I didn't need to be standing in that massive queue of people doing manual Covid verifications.

 

From street to holding area was like 20 minutes for me.  Very quick.

• Slowest part was security screening with the Xray's and waiting for the ship to load as they wanted extra time to sanitize a Code Orange situation.
• the HAL navigator app kept logging out for me
• I had a paper boarding pass where others were slowly swiping and tapping their way to the barcodes making others behind them wait.

Edited May 2, 2022 by xlxo

[five.]

We are staying at Pan Pacific Vancouver, which has an elevator down to the CS (cruise ship level) and directly to Canada place. Do you have any additional information so that others avoid this misstep?

[xlxo]

7 minutes ago, five. said:

Do you have any additional information so that others avoid this misstep?

If you are cruisin Holland America.... have your VeriFLY completed ahead of time will shave you 30-60 minutes off your check-in time as they don't need to do manual Covid verifications.

• If you are still at home, also have a printed boarding pass so you minimize the number of phone swipes and taps.  It just increases the delays to the people in line behind you.  While I like the idea of being paperless, I don't like it when it increases delays.
• make sure your phone is charged and have an external charger
• I discovered a bug in the Navigator app where it sometimes logs me off every 5 minutes.  If you are using one of those cryptic password managers like me... be prepared to enter that passward frequently during the checkin.

[rover16]

We had a similar experience a few years ago, little of any signage that gets you into the HAL line, esp.. if some well-meaning individuals point in the wrong direction. This time we are Disembarking in Vancouver and it expect it will be easier.

[koolforkatz]

We're just off the Koningsdam two-nighter on the weekend. Disembarkation was a breeze. Embarkation not so much. But I tried to keep in mind most of the shoreside staff are probably either new or haven't done this for two seasons. I  will also know for next time to do Verifly. Having said that, everyone had to wait quite a while in the holding area to get on board anyway. Rumours were they were doing a "deep clean" because of Covid but who knows. All good once we got on. Had a fabulous time!

[MoneyGuy]

On 4/30/2022 at 2:51 PM, Gunther1 said:

We took a one night repo from Vancouver to Seattle….boarded in Vancouver yesterday and am home in Seattle today.

 

Due to very bad signage( more specifically, no signage), one of the terminal check-in employees pointing us in the wrong area, and our mistake in not verifying that we were in the correct line, we ended up in the Carnival line.

 

‘To say is was a madhouse is an understatement.  
 

Among other things, the check-in employee ( as you probably know, they are contractors), wouldn’t accept our COVID test results ( which were in the correct time frame) and had no idea what verifly was.

 

At that point , I skied if this was for the HAL embarkation and was pointed to the correct line.  
 

My point:  (1)if in doubt, ask if you in the correct queue ( they had NO signs saying “Carnival” and (2)  be grateful if you are on HAL.  The difference was night and day re check-in.

Glad you made in onboard with HAL. Carnival would be dreadful. Apologies to Carnival fans; it’s not our style. 

Edited May 2, 2022 by MoneyGuy

[rj59]

Vancouver can be a confusing maze/zoo, especially since they don't have a second terminal, as Seattle does downtown. It's going to be fairly busy and stressful at every terminal and every port this summer, though, with lots of new employees and a huge number of ships and passengers--I remember pre-Covid a HAL ship had to tender passengers ashore in Juneau, because there were no berth spaces left. Difficulty finding employees in Alaska for tours and shopping/dining places will also test everyone's patience. I learned the hard way about Carnival lines while sailing out of Long Beach last fall, waiting in a check-in line for over an hour, whereas for Royal and Princess I was on the ship in 15 minutes. I'm taking Carnival again to Alaska at the end of May--I couldn't resist $90 for a solo inside for 6 nights, but since I'm a local I'm going to board later in the afternoon, after the lines have died down, hopefully. Fortunately, I'm taking HAL next week out of San Diego, and by filling out immigration forms before Victoria, disembarking there is a breeze, especially before peak Alaska season. 

[NCTribeFan]

17 hours ago, MoneyGuy said:

Glad you made in onboard with HAL. Carnival would be dreadful. Apologies to Carnival fans; it’s not our style. 

As someone with >30 Carnival cruises, I get really tired of reading comments like this.  If it isn't your style, it isn't your style.  No need to disparage a cruise line just because you prefer a different one.

 

I prefer HAL these day, but I'll be spending 30+ days on Carnival Pride this fall on a B2B2B Med/Med/TA.  Yes, the ship decor is hideous, but at least that ship is one of 4 in their Spirit class, which is a similar size/layout to the Vista and Signature classes.

 

Anyway, thanks to OP for pointing out that there is little signage at the port.  I'll be on Zuiderdam for a B2B beginning June 1 and have never sailed from Vancouver.  I'll also be sure to use VeriFly and also to print my boarding pass before leaving home.

[oakridger]

Maybe the signs will appear soon at Vancouver Canada Place. I have embarked three times there in June and July and there were signs each time indicating which way to go for each ship.  The nice shore staff were there pointing people in the right direction also.

 

~Nancy

[MountainsAndRivers]

On 5/3/2022 at 7:04 AM, NCTribeFan said:

As someone with >30 Carnival cruises, I get really tired of reading comments like this.  If it isn't your style, it isn't your style.  No need to disparage a cruise line just because you prefer a different one.

 

I agree, my Mom used to say, if you don't have anything nice to say, shut your mouth  😀.   Love Carnival!!!   Love Princess, love NCL, love Royal...   This will be our first HAL cruise, hopefully it will won't be "dreadful"  🤣

 

Thanks for all the Vancouver info, have our VeriFly app ready to go, 25 days to go...   

[RRFan]

Hope this question is allowed.  Can someone point me to a thread specifically for covid testing about Vancouver and in and out of CAN?  We have a late summer sea/land/sea tour with a HAL cruise that will embark in VC, get off in Skagway and do a 9-day land then 7-day SB cruise back to Vancouver.  I'm wondering about the test protocols in and out of CAN several times.   TIA

[NCTribeFan]

HAL just updated their FAQ.  I'd start there, then check the Canadian Cruisers board.

[gilboman]

15 hours ago, RRFan said:

Hope this question is allowed.  Can someone point me to a thread specifically for covid testing about Vancouver and in and out of CAN?  We have a late summer sea/land/sea tour with a HAL cruise that will embark in VC, get off in Skagway and do a 9-day land then 7-day SB cruise back to Vancouver.  I'm wondering about the test protocols in and out of CAN several times.   TIA

Canada doesn't require test other than within 72hrs of embarkation of a cruise ship which includes stops in canada

 

so in your situation, it's basically 2 separate cruises.  You need to test before getting on in Vancouver, and then after your land tour, test to embark.

 

you will need to fill out arrivecan two times (for each cruixe) 

 

but don't rely on threads..read direct from gov't website as things change and i've read lots of incorrect info 

 

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/diseases-conditions/entering-leaving-canada-cruise-ship-covid-19.html

 

 

Edited May 5, 2022 by gilboman