How has Vancouver checkin been with the new procedures? How is people flow, immigration delays etc.?

[westcoasttech]

Can anyone report real time experience at Canada Place yet?

 

In previous years arriving between noon and 1:30pm was a bad idea, if more than 1 ship in, due to almost guaranteed delays getting through US border immigration.

 

This year I’m embarking on a 3 ship day and due to various issues I can’t arrive early, like I always attempted to previously.  I’m tempted to wait and head in later  after the main rush hour(s).  How is the people flow being managed with the added health checks?  I REALLY don’t want to end up in a long queue in the downstairs area of Canada Place with 5,000 other pax!  I’ve seen that whole area full of people more than once, in the “before times”….

[texasweather]

I've heard it is bad but I have no firsthand information..  But I'm definitely worried.  I have a 12:45 pm on a 3-ship day and I'm starting to fear I won't make it.

[martincath]

Following!

 

Given the dynamic use of space since the rebuild to cope with all the ships post-Ballantyne closure, the reports so far have all been from 'easier' days with just a ship or two so haven't confirmed what to expect on those busier days when multiple levels were essential even in TheBeforeTimes. especially interested in whether boarding slots, at best a suggestion in the past here, are being enforced in an attempt to spread the pax load...

[Tracey/Thom]

We arrived at Canada Place on May 8th, via Yellow Cab from our hotel. Cab took us straight to Holland America check in, unloaded our cases, HAL took them and never saw them again until we got to our cabin. The check in was fast, efficient, NO CROWDS, and we were on the ship in 30 minutes (our check in was scheduled for 12:30 and we arrived about 15 minutes early. I don't know how many ships were there that day. We used Verifly and AmeriCAN, those QR codes were a godsend, and the reason everything flowed so quickly I think. (That and the fact that May 8 was the beginning of the season).

[westcoasttech]

On 5/30/2022 at 8:31 AM, Tracey/Thom said:

We arrived at Canada Place on May 8th, via Yellow Cab from our hotel. Cab took us straight to Holland America check in, unloaded our cases, HAL took them and never saw them again until we got to our cabin. The check in was fast, efficient, NO CROWDS, and we were on the ship in 30 minutes (our check in was scheduled for 12:30 and we arrived about 15 minutes early. I don't know how many ships were there that day. We used Verifly and AmeriCAN, those QR codes were a godsend, and the reason everything flowed so quickly I think. (That and the fact that May 8 was the beginning of the season).

May 8 had 2 ships, HAL and RCCL Serenade of the Seas, so 2 "medium" sized ships, possibly at lower capacity as it was still early season.  Generally Canada Place can handle 2 ships, it's when you add in that 3rd one (or one of the "super sized" ones at the beginning/end of season) that can causes problems...

[volk904]

We cruised on the Senerade on May 29. 3 ship day.  Our check in was 11:30. Worst port we have even checked in at.  Very confusing because all 3 ships are the same building and the luggage check for all 3 are very close together.  Once we got the luggage checked it took about 75 min get through check in but I heard it was worse later. The process in cloves going up down and around 2 levels. Very strange because you go up sown and then back up.  One way or another you will get on the ship.  I don’t think they pay a lot of attention to check in times.   
 

That said lesson learned.  Find a cab that will take you in the garage to the baggage check area or walk your bags down the roadway to the baggage check.  In our case the hotel shuttle dropped us in front of the upper level hotel and told us to take the elevator down.  It only goes down 1 level and they put you in a line pen to take another small elevator down to level 2 to check bags. This process took 3o extra minutes.   
 

 

[outoftowner]

Do we have to check our bags. Can we just carry them in?

[5waldos]

This thread had me concerned but we are lucky- only two ships in port when we are there and one is <1,000 people, other one 2,100.  So a reasonably easy day, I hope! Reading this I remember our last time in Vancouver- it was a ZOO. And we have the earliest boarding time so if all goes well we should be onboard quickly. 

[westcoasttech]

June 5 embark - they were not checking appointment times.  3 ship day and they were using the upstairs convention centre for the actual check in.  I arrived a little later than I planned (20 minute wait for an Uber) at about 11:35am.  Pretty busy, but as long as you had your luggage already tagged you can just hand in to the longshoremen - there was a long line of people who didn't have their tags (WHY???) and they had to line up for one guy at a desk to get their tags.

 

Directed upstairs and through to checkin - no real wait, was pretty constantly moving forward, but some people seemed confused about ArriveCAN and their questions were slowing down the staff a little.  Once docs checked, sent back downstairs and into a line for security, but was pretty constantly moving forward.  Through detectors and then into US Customs - Canadians and US travelers can use the machines, and that was pretty quick to then hand print out to the officer and then on to gangway to board. Other nationalities normally have to see an actual officer and may have to have their fingerprints scanned - so a bit of a slower process.  

 

Probably about 30 mins from arrival at the port to getting to my room onboard - so not too bad.  Would have probably been even faster if I had arrived closer to 11am as originally planned.  As a Vancouver local and frequent Alaska cruiser I always recommend to arrive around 11am or after 2pm - anytime between noon and 2pm can be a zoo for security and customs.  I did hear of delays later in the day, and was told of delays at airport customs for people arriving day of.  We seemed to be late in sailing out (the captain announced we would sail at 4:30pm and then we hung around for another hour and sailed closer to 5:30pm) so I think we may have been waiting for fly/cruise pax to get through the airport.  

 

I do appreciate for 1st timers at Canada Place it can get a bit confusing with the upstairs/downstairs routing, and there is only one elevator.  Head for the escalator, if you can manage it, but it is a bit hidden in the corner.  

 

Great cruise, a bit cloudy at sail away in Vancouver, but glorious sunshine at Hubbard Glacier, Icy Strait and Juneau.  Rain in Ketchikan - as per usual!

 

For the poster above wanting to take their luggage on themselves ... please don't ... you have to get them through the x-ray machines in security (which are just the normal ones designed for hand luggage, so if you have large suitcases you will have to find a way to lift them up on the belt and hope they fit!) and it really is just not necessary.  

 

Returned on Sunday (4 ship day!) and was surprised that they seem to be handling it quite smoothly.  They now have multiple lines to hand in your Canadian Customs form - which has eased a previous bottleneck in the people flow.  I think there was a long line for taxis, but I headed for the Uber pick up spot (look for the light blue phone app pick up spot signage), which is outside the new part of the Conference Centre across the road from Canada Place and a block west.  5 minute wait for pick up and home by 9:30am!

[volk904]

My opinion but unless you pack extremely light which is hard for Alaska I don’t think you want drag all those bags through check in and then around the ship waiting for your cabin.  Dropping the bags is not hard as long as get to level 2.  Just double check the ship porters you give them to.  They do have signs.  Like the other poster said make sure you have your luggage tags.  That line was long.  

[3rdGenCunarder]

Hell, hell, hell. 

They were not checking times. So go at 11:00. People who did said it was easy. I went at 12:45 because my time was 1:15. I would say at least 75 percent of the people had not done arriveCAN. Those of us who had were stuck in line shuffling along behind all those unready people. There should have been a way for those of us who knew what we were doing to move ahead. Two people were checking arriveCAN and writing down names on paper. What the bleep is the point of a QR code if they aren't going to scan it???????

We were sent from person to person, each asking to see some document or other. Two different people photographed my passpoart--and that isn't counting the immigration kiosk. No computers! They were all using cell phones. I had to answer the heath questions (which I had submitted to Cunard on time) because they had no access to any records. 

Total sh*tsh*w.

PEOPLE, PLEASE do arriveCAN BEFORE you get to the port!!!!!!!!!

Edited June 15, 2022 by 3rdGenCunarder

[nw gardener]

I embarked June 5 as well,  3 ship day. Was assigned 1100 check in and driving up to Vancouver from WA and prepaid parking at Canada place.  EASIEST embarkation and disembarking ever! I was pleasantly surprised to say the least because I've experienced the opposite too. Decided to get to the Peace Arch border crossing early , 0845, no line, quick and painless. Traffic was light,   pulled off to do our second ArriveCan trip, got to Canada place before 10. Passed off luggage in the parking garage,  super easy.  Went up to check in area and waited 10 minutes until they opened it up.  Quick check in and on to security,  again no line and quick. US customs next,  again no line, then a 15 minute wait before we could actually board. Lots of people helping to point you in the right direction,  for anyone with mobility issues there is a lot of walking for the whole process.  The worst choke point is the escalator going down to security,  there was a helper at the bottom to direct and a large family ahead of us decided they needed to stop and ask questions.  Blocking getting off the escalator..visions of dying on an escalator lol! I  yelled to move,  nada..got to bottom and had to push 2 adults out of the way. Still didn't seem to comprehend the issue,  thankfully the employee moved them.

      Disembarking,  walked off with luggage and no line through customs at Canada place or the border crossing.  Very stress free both directions for me,  go early and get off early. I am, sadly,  always amazed at the number of people who aren't prepared with their paperwork,  luggage tags,  ID, etc that slow down the process for everyone...sigh.

[volk904]

Sounds like you hit a winner going extra early.  I would agree that Disembarking was pretty easy at Canada place.   

[Cruisin Kay D]

Are there any wheelchairs in the check-in area(s) of Canada Place?   My husband cannot stand in lines....usually we get him into a wheelchair to go through the maze of lines.   

We will be boarding  Royal Princess on July 9.   The port cruise schedule shows Royal Princess at the East Berth,  Koningsdam at the West Berth and Ocean Victory at the North Berth.  

[jsglow]

I'll ask an ArriveCAN question here.  We'll cross the border by bus the day prior to the cruise and know we'll need ArriveCan for that.  Will we also need that same ArriveCan 'trip' for boarding the ship as we'll already have been cleared at the border?  Will we need a totally new ArriveCan? Are we 'exempt' from ArriveCan at the ship embarkation?  Sorry.  Just a little confusing still.

[nw gardener]

58 minutes ago, jsglow said:

I'll ask an ArriveCAN question here.  We'll cross the border by bus the day prior to the cruise and know we'll need ArriveCan for that.  Will we also need that same ArriveCan 'trip' for boarding the ship as we'll already have been cleared at the border?  Will we need a totally new ArriveCan? Are we 'exempt' from ArriveCan at the ship embarkation?  Sorry.  Just a little confusing still.

Anytime after you cross the border,  you delete the "trip" and create a new one for embarkation (assuming you are doing a RT out of Vancouver). The new ArriveCan trip you are creating is for entering Canada on the return/disembarking.  ArriveCan is tied to your passport so you probably won't even need to physically show it as they can see it when your passport is scanned. Think of ArriveCan is to be used whenever you enter the country with a new trip for each entry. If you are doing a one way cruise to AK,  no need for a second entry as you are not "entering " Canada again.

[3rdGenCunarder]

The daily program (QE) says we have to go to the purser's desk and show our ArriveCAN. Since I've already done it for Victoria in order to board the ship, I wanted to know if I had to do it again, just to get a fresh QR code. She checked my account and said I was already in the system. My concern was getting to Victoria and having a repeat of the mess on the pier, delaying getting off the ship. She said that almost everyone is already in the system. 

 

She also said that the reason Cunard made us show the ArriveCAN at the pier was because they hadn't done it on the previous cruise and were caught by surprise when they discovered it DID have to be done for Victoria. "We didn't know the Canadians would be taking it so seriously." Really, that's what she said. Like Cunard thought it was optional. As a result, lots of people were unprepared at Victoria and they had the same kind of issues then with people not knowing how to do ArriveCAN.

 

So, again, my message is if your cruise line asks you to do ArriveCAN for boarding just DO IT.

[jsglow]

9 hours ago, nw gardener said:

Anytime after you cross the border,  you delete the "trip" and create a new one for embarkation (assuming you are doing a RT out of Vancouver). The new ArriveCan trip you are creating is for entering Canada on the return/disembarking.  ArriveCan is tied to your passport so you probably won't even need to physically show it as they can see it when your passport is scanned. Think of ArriveCan is to be used whenever you enter the country with a new trip for each entry. If you are doing a one way cruise to AK,  no need for a second entry as you are not "entering " Canada again.

Gotcha.  We ARE doing a one way so it makes sense as we cross the border by bus into Canada.  We overnight in Vancouver and then board Royal Princess not setting foot in Canada again during the trip to AK.  As I think about a RT instead, that's entering Canada twice. Thanks!

[texasweather]

I embarked on June 26 and am going home today. Everything went INCREDIBLY smoothly both getting on and getting off. Honestly easiest cruise boarding experience I’ve ever had. As long as you have your documents, apps, and everything in order it should be smooth!

[oakridger]

Thanks!

[steve4031]

I too have a question about wheelchair procedure.  Also, what directions can you give a cab or ride-share driver to ensure they drop you off in the parking garage?   Do they get charged for doing this?  

[oakridger]

I just asked the driver to take us to the cruise port luggage drop off area.  The porters came right up to the car and took the bags.  There was no charge to the driver to just drop off.  Have fun!

 

~Nancy

[flpenguin]

On 6/15/2022 at 10:28 AM, nw gardener said:

I embarked June 5 as well,  3 ship day. Was assigned 1100 check in and driving up to Vancouver from WA and prepaid parking at Canada place.  EASIEST embarkation and disembarking ever! I was pleasantly surprised to say the least because I've experienced the opposite too. Decided to get to the Peace Arch border crossing early , 0845, no line, quick and painless. Traffic was light,   pulled off to do our second ArriveCan trip, got to Canada place before 10. Passed off luggage in the parking garage,  super easy.  Went up to check in area and waited 10 minutes until they opened it up.  Quick check in and on to security,  again no line and quick. US customs next,  again no line, then a 15 minute wait before we could actually board. Lots of people helping to point you in the right direction,  for anyone with mobility issues there is a lot of walking for the whole process.  The worst choke point is the escalator going down to security,  there was a helper at the bottom to direct and a large family ahead of us decided they needed to stop and ask questions.  Blocking getting off the escalator..visions of dying on an escalator lol! I  yelled to move,  nada..got to bottom and had to push 2 adults out of the way. Still didn't seem to comprehend the issue,  thankfully the employee moved them.

      Disembarking,  walked off with luggage and no line through customs at Canada place or the border crossing.  Very stress free both directions for me,  go early and get off early. I am, sadly,  always amazed at the number of people who aren't prepared with their paperwork,  luggage tags,  ID, etc that slow down the process for everyone...sigh.

Thanks for all your information.  Can you tell me how you prepaid the Canada Place parking?? Online or did you have to call?? I've been getting conflicting information and we need to keep our rent a car at Canada Place during our cruise since we can't do a one way rental from Vancouver to Seattle.

[nw gardener]

I prepaid  online through westpark  at Canada Place, I think I did it by following a link on Canada Place website if I remember correctly.  With the exchange rate it came to $188 for the week.