Vancouver embarkation

[vino100]

After reading all the posts about the long lines at the Vancouver port,  I’m concerned. 
We are a family of 16 and we all have priority boarding. Pinnacle suit, Neptune and the rest club orange. 
we sail on May 27th and do not have check in times yet. Not sure how or when we will get them. 
we are all staying at the Pan Pacific so we will send our luggage down early. 
question… should we just check in really early or wait until late. 
 

[Cruising-along]

3 minutes ago, vino100 said:

After reading all the posts about the long lines at the Vancouver port,  I’m concerned. 
We are a family of 16 and we all have priority boarding. Pinnacle suit, Neptune and the rest club orange. 
we sail on May 27th and do not have check in times yet. Not sure how or when we will get them. 
we are all staying at the Pan Pacific so we will send our luggage down early. 
question… should we just check in really early or wait until late. 
 

There will be a sign indicating the line for 4 & 5 star Mariners, Neptune Suites, Pinnacle Suites, and (I think) Club Orange.  When we boarded last week in Vancouver we had priority boarding and it went very fast (unlike the LONG line for the rest).  We had 3 ships there that day and everyone was thrown together in the long line.  But we were in our cabin by 12:30, it probably took only 15-20 minutes.  (Not sure if they still do it) but Pinnacle Suite guests would be escorted to their cabin first.

 

 

[Urban trekker]

Question for Cruise Along - did you use Hall C in the Convention Center for checking in and were then taken downstairs for security and US Customs and Immigration or did you just go down the ramp into the parkade and proceed from there.

Dennis

[Laminator]

2 hours ago, Cruising-along said:

There will be a sign indicating the line for 4 & 5 star Mariners, Neptune Suites, Pinnacle Suites, and (I think) Club Orange.  When we boarded last week in Vancouver we had priority boarding and it went very fast (unlike the LONG line for the rest).  We had 3 ships there that day and everyone was thrown together in the long line.  But we were in our cabin by 12:30, it probably took only 15-20 minutes.  (Not sure if they still do it) but Pinnacle Suite guests would be escorted to their cabin first.

 

 

We are boarding on the 20th. Can you please explain the process. I have friends on the Volendam and NA now who boarded this past weekend. They had priority boarding also. Both took over 2 hours. Is the priority lane clearly marked? Do you check in first and then go thru customs? They are pretty seasoned cruisers and they had issues. 

 

[Laminator]

2 hours ago, Cruising-along said:

There will be a sign indicating the line for 4 & 5 star Mariners, Neptune Suites, Pinnacle Suites, and (I think) Club Orange.  When we boarded last week in Vancouver we had priority boarding and it went very fast (unlike the LONG line for the rest).  We had 3 ships there that day and everyone was thrown together in the long line.  But we were in our cabin by 12:30, it probably took only 15-20 minutes.  (Not sure if they still do it) but Pinnacle Suite guests would be escorted to their cabin first.

 

 

I received my boarding time this past Saturday evening for the May 20th cruise. Seems like 2 weeks out is when they assign boarding times. 

 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

I would wait do a late check out from your hotel.

[DaveOKC]

6 hours ago, Laminator said:

We are boarding on the 20th. Can you please explain the process. I have friends on the Volendam and NA now who boarded this past weekend. They had priority boarding also. Both took over 2 hours. Is the priority lane clearly marked? Do you check in first and then go thru customs? They are pretty seasoned cruisers and they had issues. 

 

How was the Volendam boarding?  Since it departs on a Wednesday I would think that it would be alot easier.

 

[Laminator]

2 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

How was the Volendam boarding?  Since it departs on a Wednesday I would think that it would be alot easier.

 

It was on a 4 day cruise this past week. It departed on the 6th. My friend, with priority boarding, took nearly 3 hours from arriving to boarding. I, as well as you I am sure, are seeing different experiences posted here. I am trying to figure out if there is something they missed. I haven't cruised out of Vancouver since 2016 so I don't remember.

 

[vino100]

9 hours ago, Cruising-along said:

There will be a sign indicating the line for 4 & 5 star Mariners, Neptune Suites, Pinnacle Suites, and (I think) Club Orange.  When we boarded last week in Vancouver we had priority boarding and it went very fast (unlike the LONG line for the rest).  We had 3 ships there that day and everyone was thrown together in the long line.  But we were in our cabin by 12:30, it probably took only 15-20 minutes.  (Not sure if they still do it) but Pinnacle Suite guests would be escorted to their cabin first.

 

 

Thanks for the info. What time did you check in? 

[Cruising-along]

10 hours ago, Urban trekker said:

Question for Cruise Along - did you use Hall C in the Convention Center for checking in and were then taken downstairs for security and US Customs and Immigration or did you just go down the ramp into the parkade and proceed from there.

Dennis

I don't know the name of the hall, but yes, most likely Hall C. It was huge.  As soon as we were directed to the priority line they did the facial recognition there to match our passports.  From there we went down to Customs and Immigration and then boarded. 

8 hours ago, Laminator said:

We are boarding on the 20th. Can you please explain the process. I have friends on the Volendam and NA now who boarded this past weekend. They had priority boarding also. Both took over 2 hours. Is the priority lane clearly marked? Do you check in first and then go thru customs? They are pretty seasoned cruisers and they had issues. 

 

I'm very sorry to hear they had problems.  I wonder now if we were very lucky.  When we finally arrived (after a nightmare of driving through Vancouver and a traffic mess getting into the parking garage at Canada Place and then finding our way out with no signs or people helping) there was a woman at the entrance directing people.  I happened to be holding my boarding pass so it was visible to her.  She immediately said "Oh, 5-star".  She pointed out a sign in the room that was to our far left in the back of the room.  As for being visibly marked, it was, but since the room was so full and crowded I can see how it could easily be missed.  Did your friends ask anyone if there was a priority line?  Yes we checked in first and then were directed to customs.

1 hour ago, vino100 said:

Thanks for the info. What time did you check in? 

You're welcome.  Probably about 11:45 and we were in our cabin before 12:30.  This was May 1, a Sunday.

[HAL4NOW]

6 minutes ago, Cruising-along said:

I'm very sorry to hear they had problems.  I wonder now if we were very lucky.  When we finally arrived (after a nightmare of driving through Vancouver and a traffic mess getting into the parking garage at Canada Place and then finding our way out with no signs or people helping) there was a woman at the entrance directing people.  I happened to be holding my boarding pass so it was visible to her.  She immediately said "Oh, 5-star".  She pointed out a sign in the room that was to our far left in the back of the room.  As for being visibly marked, it was, but since the room was so full and crowded I can see how it could easily be missed.  Did your friends ask anyone if there was a priority line?  Yes we checked in first and then were directed to customs.

It took us over an hour to get to the room because of the long line in the hallway. Nobody was directing anything and there didn't seem to be anyone to ask about priority lines (we didn't have priority boarding this time so I wasn't looking that closely, but nothing was obvious with the sea of people that filled the hall, and nothing seemed available in the customs line that took us through another two rooms downstairs).

Glad you were there early enough to save some of the stress others had to face. My DW and I are both still in good enough shape to stand for hours on concrete floors; not everyone in the line looked like they were designed for such torture.

[scooter6139]

Sorry, never did Priority with HAL, only NCL and Princess from Vancouver.  On each, I had to search for "Priority" signs for check-in, as asking many of the on-site personnel wasn't helpful.

 

At least the Pan Pacific makes luggage super easy.  Just call to have a porter come pick it up from your room when you are ready and it "magically" shows up in your cabin.   

[Cruising-along]

6 minutes ago, HAL4NOW said:

Glad you were there early enough to save some of the stress others had to face. My DW and I are both still in good enough shape to stand for hours on concrete floors; not everyone in the line looked like they were designed for such torture.

I realize now we were very lucky that she was there when we were there.  It definitely was a ZOO that day. 😞  

[Cruising-along]

1 hour ago, Cruising-along said:

This was May 1, a Sunday.

Sorry, May 1 was a Monday!

[vino100]

Loving all the help. Thanks one and all. 

[Crew News]

Thanks to the warnings of a Hall C queue for all passengers, I was in that line 15 minutes before my scheduled check-in time and reached the Nieuw Amsterdam check-in doorway at my assigned time of 11:00 AM.  The priority sign had the various categories in smaller font than "Priority".  The priority line was approximately 20% the size of the non-priority serpentine line and were allowed in front of the latter when "next in line" was voiced.  No facial recognition scan for me was done. 

 

It took me 26 minutes from the entrance of the HAL area to be seated in row six of the priority boarding chairs.  Boarding started around 11:40 and I was in my stateroom at 12:02 PM. YMMV

[DaveOKC]

6 hours ago, Crew News said:

Thanks to the warnings of a Hall C queue for all passengers, I was in that line 15 minutes before my scheduled check-in time and reached the Nieuw Amsterdam check-in doorway at my assigned time of 11:00 AM.  The priority sign had the various categories in smaller font than "Priority".  The priority line was approximately 20% the size of the non-priority serpentine line and were allowed in front of the latter when "next in line" was voiced.  No facial recognition scan for me was done. 

 

It took me 26 minutes from the entrance of the HAL area to be seated in row six of the priority boarding chairs.  Boarding started around 11:40 and I was in my stateroom at 12:02 PM. YMMV

Thanks for the heads up.  Sounds more reasonable.

[ms.sunburn]

I thought the cruise line check in part was efficient. It was the lines for security and customs that were horrendous. International passengers (not from the US or Canada) were directed to different lines that looked much smaller. If you’re holding an international passport that does seem to be an advantage. I’ve spoken to a lot of people on the ship about how long it took to board and it seems the earlier they got to the port the less time the wait was. No one asked about the assigned boarding time if that’s a concern.

[reposado]

I think i'd rather enjoy a nice casual lunch in vancouver before boarding.

 

Our cruise departs at 4pm in august I wonder what's the latest I can get there by to avoid the mess...?

[xlxo]

2 hours ago, reposado said:

I think i'd rather enjoy a nice casual lunch in vancouver before boarding.

Nah... I prefer the MDR embarkation lunch.  Early afternoon has the longest check-in delays.

 

On 5/8/2023 at 8:51 PM, vino100 said:

we all have priority boarding. Pinnacle suit, Neptune and the rest club orange. 
we sail on May 27th and do not have check in times yet. Not sure how or when we will get them. 

You likely be slotted into Group A or one the first boarding times.  I recommending taking advantage of that benefit being able to board earlier to avoid the hotel crowd dump.

[MonikaJ42]

We live in Vancouver and always hear about the embarkation nightmares and long lines.  We added Club Orange to our booking yesterday so hoping that will help us with our Alaska cruise in September.  Fingers crossed.  I just don't understand why the Vancouver Port Authority does not do anything to improve as this has been going on for years.....

[mermamasailsagain]

Sailing on the Koningsdam in 3 weeks and now, I’m worried! Just short points for priority so we’ll be in the longest lineups and though I have tons of patience, I can’t stand in one spot for more than 15 minutes without a lot of pain. Is there anywhere to sit if my husband stands in the line so I can join him as he nears the check in? Quite a change from 2012 when I seem to recall one of our most efficient boardings!

[itrstno1]

On 5/8/2023 at 9:59 PM, Cruising-along said:

There will be a sign indicating the line for 4 & 5 star Mariners, Neptune Suites, Pinnacle Suites, and (I think) Club Orange.  When we boarded last week in Vancouver we had priority boarding and it went very fast (unlike the LONG line for the rest).  We had 3 ships there that day and everyone was thrown together in the long line.  But we were in our cabin by 12:30, it probably took only 15-20 minutes.  (Not sure if they still do it) but Pinnacle Suite guests would be escorted to their cabin first.

 

 

we were pinnacle suite guests on this day and you are not escorted to your room until after you boarded. The problem wasn't with hal it was port of vancouver. this was the only person throughout the entire day who got on less than 2 hours. it took us three hours, get ready for a cluster.

[reposado]

16 minutes ago, mermamasailsagain said:

Sailing on the Koningsdam in 3 weeks and now, I’m worried! Just short points for priority so we’ll be in the longest lineups and though I have tons of patience, I can’t stand in one spot for more than 15 minutes without a lot of pain. Is there anywhere to sit if my husband stands in the line so I can join him as he nears the check in? Quite a change from 2012 when I seem to recall one of our most efficient boardings!

 

Hope it goes well for you and keep us updated. 

[OlsSalt]

34 minutes ago, mermamasailsagain said:

Sailing on the Koningsdam in 3 weeks and now, I’m worried! Just short points for priority so we’ll be in the longest lineups and though I have tons of patience, I can’t stand in one spot for more than 15 minutes without a lot of pain. Is there anywhere to sit if my husband stands in the line so I can join him as he nears the check in? Quite a change from 2012 when I seem to recall one of our most efficient boardings!

 

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