11:40 am flight out of Vancouver

[lidodeck03]

On 3/17/2024 at 10:22 PM, martincath said:

With several Ifs, it might be fine - but since you have another option just take that! Worst case you are indeed mobile enough to drag all your own bags off, use SkyTrain, are the only ship in port and end up at YVR very early... but if you don't check off all of those boxes, there's definitely a risk of missing it.

 

I really don't understand why Celebrity would even give that option, all the lines generally use 'arrival time plus 5 hours' here in Vancouver and even if it's a theoretical 6am docking, they know that nobody gets cleared before CBSA show up to start work at 7am so the earliest 'safe' flight time is never before noon!

I have never taken an International flight so I have a "crazy" question! I see a lot of early morning flights (6:00AM - 9:00AM) leaving YVR with a destination being in the USA. If CBSA doesn't start the screening process at the airport until 7:00AM, how are all those people getting on the airplanes at 6:00AM - 9:00AM? 

Thank you!

[martincath]

1 hour ago, lidodeck03 said:

I have never taken an International flight so I have a "crazy" question! I see a lot of early morning flights (6:00AM - 9:00AM) leaving YVR with a destination being in the USA. If CBSA doesn't start the screening process at the airport until 7:00AM, how are all those people getting on the airplanes at 6:00AM - 9:00AM? 

Thank you!

You're confusing both the country of the agency concerned and the location! CBSA = Canadian border folks, who screen at the pier because most ships cruising in have arrived from US waters; CBP = US border folks, who prescreen US-bound flights at YVR starting at 4:30am (with a shift briefing, so no actual work for at least 10mins, and a huge queue of folks on those 6am, 7am, even 8am flights who have no idea about CBP hours so showed up to check-in only to find locked doors after they'd gone past Security... it usually takes until 5am to clear that first backlog, which is why I like taking the first SkyTrain - arriving 5:09am - to YVR for a flight before 7am)

Edited April 23 by martincath

[lidodeck03]

1 hour ago, martincath said:

You're confusing both the country of the agency concerned and the location! CBSA = Canadian border folks, who screen at the pier because most ships cruising in have arrived from US waters; CBP = US border folks, who prescreen US-bound flights at YVR starting at 4:30am (with a shift briefing, so no actual work for at least 10mins, and a huge queue of folks on those 6am, 7am, even 8am flights who have no idea about CBP hours so showed up to check-in only to find locked doors after they'd gone past Security... it usually takes until 5am to clear that first backlog, which is why I like taking the first SkyTrain - arriving 5:09am - to YVR for a flight before 7am)

Thank you for the clarification! As I said, I have not flown International before. This will be a first for us. I am looking forward to see how YVR compares to Atlanta Hartsfield, Chicago O'Hare, Los Angeles, Dallas/Fort Worth, Orlando International, as we frequent those airports most often. One other question.. If the ship leaves the USA (Astoria, Oregon) and stops in port at Victoria, BC the day before arriving in Vancouver for disembarkation, does it still have to go through the same CBSA process for both locations?

Thank you! 

[martincath]

45 minutes ago, lidodeck03 said:

Thank you for the clarification! As I said, I have not flown International before. This will be a first for us. I am looking forward to see how YVR compares to Atlanta Hartsfield, Chicago O'Hare, Los Angeles, Dallas/Fort Worth, Orlando International, as we frequent those airports most often. One other question.. If the ship leaves the USA (Astoria, Oregon) and stops in port at Victoria, BC the day before arriving in Vancouver for disembarkation, does it still have to go through the same CBSA process for both locations?

Thank you! 

No problem - we just won back 'best North American airport' from Skytraxx after briefly losing it to Seattle, so it's safe to say once more that YVR is the least-worst airport on the continent of all time (we had like ten in a row until Covid!) so enjoy!

 

As to the CBSA screening, yes, it's all about your Port of Entry so on this trip that means Victoria unless the weather is too rough to dock. You won't be aware of any immigration unless something pings on your file - pax manifests get submitted remotely in advance, we run the checks before you arrive, and anyone who's been naughty will be identified for a meet'n'greet with CBSA on arrival in port (announcements for passengers X,Y,Z to go to Location A - everyone else can just walk off). In terms of Customs, you will likely be issued a card in your cabin to complete and hand in aboard at least the day before the Victoria stop - again, if there's anything of concern on the cards those pax will be flagged for a chat with CBSA.

 

So while it's possible you might see an officer or two at the pier on arrival in Vancouver, just in case anyone buys some expensive stuff aboard on the last night that they should be declaring, having completed both Immigration and Customs means you probably won't need to do any more paperwork.

[Desert Dawg14]

8 hours ago, martincath said:

 CBP = US border folks, who prescreen US-bound flights at YVR starting at 4:30am (with a shift briefing, so no actual work for at least 10mins, and a huge queue of folks on those 6am, 7am, even 8am flights who have no idea about CBP hours so showed up to check-in only to find locked doors after they'd gone past Security...

 

We are staying at the Fairmont Airport Hotel the night before our departure back to Seattle so I'm trying to get an idea of timing for a 6am flight.

.

If I read the above right, we will go thru Security first before we see CBP??

 

If our flight is at 6am to Seattle, I'm trying to figure out what time to begin the process since CBP doesnt get going until 4:45am.  If we check in at 4:30am at the airline counter and then go thru security, will that put us at CBP at enough time to make the gate??  Or should we check-in earlier around 4am and possibly be among that "huge queue of folks" waiting on the doors to open??

 

I really hate running through the airport to my gate with luggage...

 

[martincath]

14 hours ago, Desert Dawg14 said:

We are staying at the Fairmont Airport Hotel the night before our departure back to Seattle so I'm trying to get an idea of timing for a 6am flight.

.

If I read the above right, we will go thru Security first before we see CBP??

 

If our flight is at 6am to Seattle, I'm trying to figure out what time to begin the process since CBP doesnt get going until 4:45am.  If we check in at 4:30am at the airline counter and then go thru security, will that put us at CBP at enough time to make the gate??  Or should we check-in earlier around 4am and possibly be among that "huge queue of folks" waiting on the doors to open??

 

I really hate running through the airport to my gate with luggage...

In terms of advice, especially specific times, I'm not going to say 'definitely do X' because only you know your exact tolerance for queue-standing vs. panicking that you may not make your gate in time... but it sounds like rolling into the airport at 4:00am might be more your thing, especially if you insist on doing check-in old school.

 

Using check-in-at-the-counter is extra risk, because at this stage even people who have zero clue and show up 5 hours early can be in the lineup! Until they get told that they can't proceed to bag drop yet there is no check to remove anyone from the system ahead of you even if they shouldn't be there, and unless you're flying first class or similar you can't do anything to reduce your time wasted at check-in by other people.

 

Always check-in in advance (sign up for the Fairmont membership program before your arrival and you'll get free WiFi in your room; use the free airport WiFi; but given you're staying at the Fairmont I would simply visit the self-service kiosks the night before when you arrive at the hotel - as long as it's less than 24hrs you should have no problems checking-in and they print out proper sticky bag tags and paper boarding passes if you're the kind of person who likes those - personally I still prefer a paper pass, no worries about cellphone battery life!)

 

Also, take the opportunity of your hotel location to wander the airport briefly the night before - check the signs, find bag drop, find where your gates are, minimise any confusion at oh-dark-hundred! By getting all that out of the way the day before, you can walk from your hotel straight to bag drop - personally I'd aim to leave the hotel by 4:30am here, so that you can make use of a T-90 YVR Express security slot just in case there's any kind of Security backlog.

 

Even if you can't pick a time less than 90mins preflight, the 'slot' has official leeway of 15mins so if you choose a T-90 slot you can actually roll in at T-75 with no problem. Passing through Security in the 4:30-4:45 bracket, you will almost certainly still find a queue at CBP - but with doors open and folks already moving through. There are lots of kiosks, they're much more common in airports all over the world these days, so even factoring in a few first time users, folks who put their passports and boarding passes back in mom's purse, that sort of inefficiency, it's still a very short turnaround for each person so once the queue starts moving it does flow nicely.

 

With NEXUS we do get a smaller queue for our trusted-traveler kiosks at CBP as well as at Security, but we walk right past the Regular Joes so have a decent idea how much busier that side is and it always looks smooth (they've had more than enough time to clear the backlog). Our preferred time to fly to the US is that first batch of 6/6:30am flights, and we roll in on the first SkyTrain of the day (5:09am - so a flight we need to check a bag for needs to be 6:30, to get to bag drop in time). We do have to hustle, but I'll take that over standing about in a queue for ages!

[Desert Dawg14]

3 hours ago, martincath said:

In terms of advice, especially specific times, I'm not going to say 'definitely do X' because only you know your exact tolerance for queue-standing vs. panicking that you may not make your gate in time... but it sounds like rolling into the airport at 4:00am might be more your thing......

 

Thanks martincath!  There's some good advice there that I will use.

 

The wife and I missed a flight several years ago due to some unforeseen congestion and I was told (in no uncertain terms) that it better never happen again, no matter how long we had to wait at the airport...  So in order to keep peace and harmony, and as a matter of self preservation 😉, I now make sure to factor in a little more time pre-flight since the better-half doesnt care how long she sits in the airport...just she is there and ready to go.

 

As a side note, we have an early check-in for the airport hotel (1030a) after getting off the ship so we were planning on taking Skytrain up and dropping off our bags.  Is there a type of "day-pass" available for the Skytrain we can purchase that morning after getting off the ship which would allow us to go back to downtown, etc. and see the sights instead of having to keep buying tix or tapping our CCs??  It would be for Sunday but I don't quite get all the 'zone' issues for the tix. 

 

It would be nice to just buy it once and then scan the pass and go where ever we decide to.

 

Thanks very much for all your help!

[martincath]

6 minutes ago, Desert Dawg14 said:

Thanks martincath! ... Is there a type of "day-pass" available for the Skytrain we can purchase that morning after getting off the ship which would allow us to go back to downtown, etc. and see the sights instead of having to keep buying tix or tapping our CCs??  It would be for Sunday but I don't quite get all the 'zone' issues for the tix.

You're welcome - and yes, you can buy a Day Pass at the ticket machines, and by doing so you also definitely avoid any chance of being hit with the $5 AddFare on the way back downtown... All travel is one Zone on Sundays, but a Day Pass costs the same regardless ($11.25, or $8.85 if you're over 65).

 

Suggestion - consider visiting Queen Elizabeth Park on the way back into town, or maybe having dinner at Seasons in the Park there before heading out to the hotel again at the end of the night. The highest point in Vancouver, lovely views across the city (especially nice for a late sunset dinner), free gardens that are the closest thing to Butchart you can do without leaving the city. Get off at King Edward (less uphill walking than from 41st/Oakridge), and if the hill still looks too steep hop on a passing bus up Cambie.