Latest boarding time?

[Bxc53]

Normally I’m a day ahead to a cruise port guy, but this is a different situation.

 

The cruise is one way Vancouver to Honolulu in early October. Departure is 7 PM.

We live in the US but only about an hour drive away from the terminal  and we wont be flying back to Vancouver, so driving and parking at the terminal is not practical ( and quite expensive anyway) .

The cross border bus earliest arrival is 2:30PM but it’s (in)famously late and the border inspection is a wildcard.

 

So I’m hoping for feedback on the Vancouver cruise terminal Last on board time Vs the actual departure time.

 

Thanks 

[Biker19]

37 minutes ago, Bxc53 said:

So I’m hoping for feedback on the Vancouver cruise terminal Last on board time Vs the actual departure time.

Typically it's 90 min (check in) before sail away.

[Bxc53]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

Typically it's 90 min (check in) before sail away.

 

Thanks.   That would leave enough buffer that I can suppress my day early habit.. I suppose in a worst case, we could meet the ship at the next port- Victoria. Heck, we could beat it there 😉  

[kitkat343]

Also, I think there's a number you can call if you are running a little late.  No guarantee they will be able to help you (especially with initial boarding) but I've read you are supposed to call the port if you are running a little late on an excursion.

[Biker19]

2 minutes ago, Bxc53 said:

I suppose in a worst case, we could meet the ship at the next port- Victoria.

RCI doesn't do downline embarkations any more.

[cello56]

Why start your vacation with this added stress? Take the bus the day before and relax overnight in a hotel near the port. Think of the hotel as a financial swap since you are not having to pay for parking,

[mapleleaves]

From the RCI web site:

Royal Caribbean International requires guests to be checked in no later than 60 minutes prior to the scheduled sailing time*. Guests arriving late will not be permitted to sail. 

 

 

 

 

[Bound4Bermuda]

I don’t think you necessarily need to go an entire day in advance when you only live an hour away, but I would maybe reconsider driving in so you can leave in the morning or whenever you feel comfortable arriving for an earlier scheduled embarkation time rather than cutting it before last call onboard. Does Lyft or Uber run cross border? If so, you might want to price that out both ways vs parking. But, if it were me, I’d just pay for parking.

[rudeney]

5 minutes ago, mapleleaves said:

From the RCI web site:

Royal Caribbean International requires guests to be checked in no later than 60 minutes prior to the scheduled sailing time*. Guests arriving late will not be permitted to sail. 

 

But you can "check-in" 45 days before your cruise, so.... 😜

[Bxc53]

Thanks for the suggestions. Just to close the loop:

 

Taking the bus the day before was Plan A, but the sail away changed from 5 PM to 7PM since we booked. It looks like the “ Miss the boat “ time is 5:30 and the bus ( Quick Shuttle) arrives directly to the pier at 2:30- if it’s on time.  Still a 3 hr buffer, so that’s likely what we will do.

 

We fly back from Hawaii to a US airport( Bellingham) so port parking at Canada Place just doesn’t work. The bus leaves for the  cruise port from the BLI airport as well.

 

No cross border Uber or Lyft. Lots of regulations in the way, apparently.

 

And, digging deep in the RCL website FAQ’s there is apparently a provision for possible downline boarding if a scheduled carrier causes the delay.  The Emergency Travel Team makes the final decision. Biker 19 is correct for pre-planned downline embarkation.
 

This really should be a lot simpler 🙂. 

Edited June 22, 2022 by Bxc53

[njkruzer]

2 hours ago, Bxc53 said:

Thanks for the suggestions. Just to close the loop:

 

Taking the bus the day before was Plan A, but the sail away changed from 5 PM to 7PM since we booked. It looks like the “ Miss the boat “ time is 5:30 and the bus ( Quick Shuttle) arrives directly to the pier at 2:30- if it’s on time.  Still a 3 hr buffer, so that’s likely what we will do.

 

We fly back from Hawaii to a US airport( Bellingham) so port parking at Canada Place just doesn’t work. The bus leaves for the  cruise port from the BLI airport as well.

 

No cross border Uber or Lyft. Lots of regulations in the way, apparently.

 

And, digging deep in the RCL website FAQ’s there is apparently a provision for possible downline boarding if a scheduled carrier causes the delay.  The Emergency Travel Team makes the final decision. Biker 19 is correct for pre-planned downline embarkation.
 

This really should be a lot simpler 🙂. 

Beware of scheduled departure time. In April our scheduled sailing on Jewel forcTA was 6 pm.  Sailed at 5 pm.  No idea why.

[Merion_Mom]

10 hours ago, cello56 said:

Why start your vacation with this added stress? Take the bus the day before and relax overnight in a hotel near the port. Think of the hotel as a financial swap since you are not having to pay for parking,

 

Merion Mom endorses every word of this post.  🙂