How long does it take to sail from Vancouver to Seattle?

Need some straight answers and don't seem to be getting them from Celebrity. The cruise before ours ends in Vancouver and then is scheduled to start our cruise in Seattle on the same day. Celebrity has told our TA that there will no problem that we will be boarding at 2pm.

If they don't leave Vancouver until after 11 am how can they possibly reach Seattle in 3 hrs? Ships don't do freeway speeds. On our itinerary it shows that our ship is scheduled to depart at 1 am the next morning not the normal around 5 pm time. So they apparently know they need extra time for boarding passengers and provisions.

So does anyone have an idea on the real time frame. If actual boarding ends up being 6 pm or later they will lots of angry people who have been sitting in the terminal for hours waiting to board a ship that hasn't yet arrived.

Need some straight answers and don't seem to be getting them from Celebrity. The cruise before ours ends in Vancouver and then is scheduled to start our cruise in Seattle on the same day. Celebrity has told our TA that there will no problem that we will be boarding at 2pm.

 

If they don't leave Vancouver until after 11 am how can they possibly reach Seattle in 3 hrs? Ships don't do freeway speeds. On our itinerary it shows that our ship is scheduled to depart at 1 am the next morning not the normal around 5 pm time. So they apparently know they need extra time for boarding passengers and provisions.

 

So does anyone have an idea on the real time frame. If actual boarding ends up being 6 pm or later they will lots of angry people who have been sitting in the terminal for hours waiting to board a ship that hasn't yet arrived.

If you look back through these threads you will see a big one on this subject. I am on the cruise before you and get off in Vancouver. From what I understand it will be around 6pm before you can get on. It seems at least 6 hours to reach Seattle. We arrive at 7 am in Vancouver at it must take several hours to get us all off.

Need some straight answers and don't seem to be getting them from Celebrity. The cruise before ours ends in Vancouver and then is scheduled to start our cruise in Seattle on the same day. Celebrity has told our TA that there will no problem that we will be boarding at 2pm.

 

If they don't leave Vancouver until after 11 am how can they possibly reach Seattle in 3 hrs? Ships don't do freeway speeds. On our itinerary it shows that our ship is scheduled to depart at 1 am the next morning not the normal around 5 pm time. So they apparently know they need extra time for boarding passengers and provisions.

You wont be able to board probably until 7pm at the earliest. It would take about 7 hours to sail it @ 20kts along w/ getting in and out of harbours

YVR (south of Vancouver Harbour) to SEA (south of Seattle Harbour) is 110 nautical miles, so flat out (which isn't possible given the in/out of the harbours) would have taken 5hrs @ 22kts.

I would expect the schedule to be something like...

Vancouver (arr) 7am

Vancouver (dep) 11:30am

Seattle (arr) 6:30 pm

Seattle (boarding) 7:30pm

Prada Cowboy posted this information they received from Celebrity on the Infinity docked in Seattle May 9th/10th

Check in will start at 3pm!

The ship will get into Seattle port approxemately by 7pm to 7:30pm and boarding will stard immidiately!

 

I hope this Info reaches a lot of people...so not too many will be dissapointed!

Prada Cowboy posted this information they received from Celebrity on the Infinity docked in Seattle May 9th/10th

I guess "chrismch" is NOT believing the truth! I wish a good and long stay at the pier:D !

It would seem like they would begin boarding around 5pm. They will mostlikely load up in Vancouver while they are disembarking. Sailing time is around 5 or 6 hours depending.

Many of the Hawaiian Itns do this, they overnight at a port of departure.

Not to worry, you'll get on the ship and everything will be like normal, when you wake up you'll be in Ketchikan....basically with this route all you missing is the day at sea which tends to be really rough and windy anyway.

Ketchikan is really a nice port, great shops and lots to do. I'd recommend the snorkelling if your adventurous.

Have a great cruise and stop worrying!!!

Dave:eek:

It would seem like they would begin boarding around 5pm. They will mostlikely load up in Vancouver while they are disembarking. Sailing time is around 5 or 6 hours depending.

 

Many of the Hawaiian Itns do this, they overnight at a port of departure.

 

Not to worry, you'll get on the ship and everything will be like normal, when you wake up you'll be in Ketchikan....basically with this route all you missing is the day at sea which tends to be really rough and windy anyway.

 

Ketchikan is really a nice port, great shops and lots to do. I'd recommend the snorkelling if your adventurous.

 

Have a great cruise and stop worrying!!!

 

Dave:eek:

We will NOT miss the sea day! Insted of sailing at 6pm we go just 6-7 hours later, have the whole Saturday at sea and Sunday morning we will call Ketchikan!

As I stated before the shipp will not be in by 5pm, even Celebrity confirmed that to me! It is just logical maths!

Fri, May 09 Seattle, Washington

Sat,May 10 Seattle, Washington Docked Depart 1:00 AM

Sun, May 11 Ketchikan, Alaska Docked Arrive 9:00 AM Depart 3:00 PM

Mon, May 12 Hubbard Glacier (Cruising)

Tue, May 13 Juneau, Alaska Docked Arrive 9:00 AM Depart 7:00 PM

Wed, May 14 Inside Passage (Cruising) Cruising

Thu, May 15 Victoria, British Columbia Docked Arrive 2:00 PM Depart 8:00

Fri, May 16 Seattle, Washington Arrive 6:00 AM

So their website says.........no sea days.

Who knows? I'm just reporting on whats posted.

Dave:eek:

As for logical almost if not every passenger is disembarked by 10:30am so they can start reboarding by 11:00 am..or so has been my experience.

Fri, May 09 Seattle, Washington

Sat,May 10 Seattle, Washington Docked Depart 1:00 AM

Sun, May 11 Ketchikan, Alaska Docked Arrive 9:00 AM Depart 3:00 PM

Mon, May 12 Hubbard Glacier (Cruising)

Tue, May 13 Juneau, Alaska Docked Arrive 9:00 AM Depart 7:00 PM

Wed, May 14 Inside Passage (Cruising) Cruising

Thu, May 15 Victoria, British Columbia Docked Arrive 2:00 PM Depart 8:00

Fri, May 16 Seattle, Washington Arrive 6:00 AM

 

So their website says.........no sea days.

 

Who knows? I'm just reporting on whats posted.

 

Dave:eek:

 

As for logical almost if not every passenger is disembarked by 10:30am so they can start reboarding by 11:00 am..or so has been my experience.

As far as I know...if I leave 1am on May 10 in the morning the day still has 23 hours left to be out on the ocean! We get in May 11, 9AM!

That means the ship will sail 32 hours in the Pacific Ocean to make it up to Ketchikan!!!

As far as boarding...the ship disembarks in Vancouver, sails then to Seattle, where we get on by earliest 7pm and set sail at 1am!

Fri, May 09 Seattle, Washington

Sat,May 10 Seattle, Washington Docked Depart 1:00 AM

Saturday May 10th is a Sea Day. Departing at 1am leaves them 23 hours of sailing where they aren't in port.

Every passenger gets off in Vancouver and the ship dead heads to Seattle. Its arrival in Seattle is a function of many factors, not the least of which are when it is able to leave Vancouver!

I was not doubting your TRUTH, I wanted details on timing so I could follow up with my TA to explain how Celebrity is touting their "party" line that it will be normal boarding. That is why I asked about distance and time frames which giblert so plainly described in landlubbers terms.

This really annoys me as it is not correctly advertised. This way they can definitely call it a 7 "night" cruise as you don't really get much of a first day. Many people will arrive at the normal emarkation time of 12-2pm unless they change the info on their final documents package (extremely doubtful as those are pre-printed as one size fits all cruises). There will be a lot of grumbling from the folks who had no idea. This will make for a long line of people and long delays once they actually start the boarding process. This doesn't endure me to the Celebrity label.

I stand corrected.

I was thinking about friday to saturday. My fault. I apologize.

Dave:eek:

 

I would expect the schedule to be something like...

Vancouver (arr) 7am

Vancouver (dep) 11:30am

Seattle (arr) 6:30 pm

Seattle (boarding) 7:30pm

Hi.,

You're pretty close....

She technically will leave 1045-1115-ish // docks is Seattle approx 1900 // embarkation will start at approx 2000hrs and sailaway approx 0045 -0100 (+1).

Aggressive way to save a ''dead day'' between two markets....but a high risk manoeuvre....NCL was doing that some ywars ago, had some prettty nasty experiences...not doing it anymore.

==X==started that move last year with Mercury, went well....

Problem is: the ripple effect of ANYTHING going wrong, i-e- late arrival in Vancouver, immigration clearing ship glitches, nasty wind conditions on the way down the Sound to Seattle, etc.etc...

We have to give credit to ==X== at least: they ARE saying that check in will start after 1400...and from that point, the same time window that applies to normal turn around is followed quite exactly.

Cheers

:)

Hi.,

You're pretty close....

She technically will leave 1045-1115-ish // docks is Seattle approx 1900 // embarkation will start at approx 2000hrs and sailaway approx 0045 -0100 (+1).

Aggressive way to save a ''dead day'' between two markets....but a high risk manoeuvre....NCL was doing that some ywars ago, had some prettty nasty experiences...not doing it anymore.

==X==started that move last year with Mercury, went well....

Problem is: the ripple effect of ANYTHING going wrong, i-e- late arrival in Vancouver, immigration clearing ship glitches, nasty wind conditions on the way down the Sound to Seattle, etc.etc...

We have to give credit to ==X== at least: they ARE saying that check in will start after 1400...and from that point, the same time window that applies to normal turn around is followed quite exactly.

 

Cheers

:)

What would be the point in starting check-in at 2:00 pm for a ship that won't be in port until 7:00 pm and not embarking passengers until 8:00 pm? There would be a riot in the terminal, especially if all passengers aren't absolutely clear about the procedures for this sailing.

It has never taken us longer than 20 minutes to get on any Celebrity ship (from the time we arrived at the terminal) so, to avoid confusion, Celebrity will have to give VERY specific details to passengers about this boarding process, as it doesn't conform in any way to normal boarding procedures and expectations. It would be a nasty shock to be dropped off at the terminal with all your luggage, and find that you are facing a 6:00 hour wait. Can you just imagine families with children, or very senior family members?

Chrismch...those document packages are fully customizable for each voyage, so it is possible to include specific instructions. However, I doubt that everyone reads their cruise documents word for word. IMHO, Celebrity will have to issue special notification that will stand out, if the procedures for departing on this cruise are anything like the speculations above.

This is an honest question, not a comment, as I don't know anything about sailing times...Would it really take 8 hours to sail to Seattle from Vancouver if the ship was trying to make the best time possible (as opposed to leisurely cruising)?

doing you folks 'boarding' in Seattle a real disservice. Can you rebook for a later date and use their lack of disclosure as leverage for concessions? I'd be spitting nails but then I am pretty adamant about getting what I pay for baring genuine, unforeseen calamities! And having nearly 2,000 folks sit around for hours waiting for a ship they know isn't even there (and knew wasn't likely to be there when they issued their boarding instructions) is just plain wrong, not to mention bad business. As it is, we are irritated that we can't stay on until Seattle - the stupid Jones act needs to be scrapped. Why Vancouver is any less distant from Seattle while Ensanada is from San Diego eludes me (and we made that 'technical' stop on a HAL cruise to Hawaii last year)!

Why Vancouver is any less distant from Seattle while Ensanada is from San Diego eludes me (and we made that 'technical' stop on a HAL cruise to Hawaii last year)!

The difference is your HAL cruise to Hawaii was roundtrip so you just had to make a stop in a foreign port.

If you were allowed to stay on until Seattle, it would become a one way cruise between two US ports - which requires a stop in a distant foreign port, the nearest of which is in Central/South America or 2 days the other dies of Hawaii.

YES it will take 8 hours or more to sail from Vancouver to Seattle, since the ship can NOT go full speed. It sails mostly through sounds with lots of wild life and high traffic from other ships, ferries and boats.

YES it is NOT right from Celebrity to tell its passengers they will be able to get on board by 2pm, if they clearly know that the ship is not even in before 7pm. The problem is as well, the girls you call in reservations, have NO clue, since they are not briefed on it either and they can just go from what the computer says.

The Terminal in Seattle is a small facillity and to be honest I can not see there 2000 people waiting. It will be a mad house! We travel as well with 3 very olderly people and come in from the east coast...so jet lagged 90 year old women! That is going to be fun! Even if we get on board by 8pm it will take to midnight or even later to receive the luggage....what a mess! What is with lunch and dinner? Lunch is I guess not provided, dinner after 8pm west coast time...then it still depends when you really get on the ship...can be 9pm or 10pm with all those people waiting! Thinking about reebooking!

After accidentally putting my foot in my mouth:o , I think the best suggestion is to plan ahead for those of you who already know.

The port od Seattle is small, BUT it is centrally located with the trolley running, as well as cabs and buses. There are MANY things to do right in the direct area, and even 10 minutes away like the space needle.

If it were me I would drop my bags at the peir, as I'm sure they will have the porters working way ahead of time, then either walk up to Pikes market or one of the other sites or restaurants in the area. Elliots id a favorite for us for sea food and not far from the pier.

The situation is what it is and its more likely better to make the best of it than reschedule if you're in a tight situation.

I do agree fully about the speed of the inside passage, they is huge aounts of wildlife including many pods of Orca which could be injured if they turn up the speed, not to mention manouvering around the area. However, I'm wondering if they could take the outside passage at that point? and step up the speed?

Dave:eek:

I wouldn't care if it would be just me and my partner! The problem is the actually 4 old (between 80 and 90) years old women, who have problems of walking and especially with the late embark and time change it will be very hard on them! By the end we are paying thousands of $$$$$.$$ and then would not like any kind of inconvenience. We are all in Suites I try to contact somebody from Celebrity and see, if there is something special at a certain time they could set up, since we are not willed to stand in any big line.

I just wanted to thank you, Prada Cowboy, for sharing the info you have here. I called my mom to tell her about the situation and see what she wanted to do. Since we're spending the night before in Seattle, our plan is to check out of the hotel, leave our bags with the Concierge at the hotel, and check in and board as late as possible. We'll spend the day sight-seeing, shopping at the flagship Nordstrom, and get a nice early dinner somewhere so that we don't have to depend on whatever Celebrity ends up doing that night.

Knowing in advance about this has enabled us to make lemonade out of a potential lemon -- I would have been really annoyed to show up at 11:30am or noon like I usually do and be kept waiting around!

. However, I'm wondering if they could take the outside passage at that point? and step up the speed?

 

Dave:eek:

Hi,David,

There is no ''outide passage'' between Vancouver & Seattle; Johnston Strait, then JuandeFuca strait, then Puget Sound. Can't ''shot-cut''.

Cheers

;)

Just for comparison purposes, we're taking the Millie from Vancouver to San Diego in September. Our itinerary shows our arrival in San Diego at 7:00 AM and departing San Diego at 10:00 AM. We will definitely not be having a leisurely disembarcation. Millie then has to hustle (empty) down to Ensenada to pick up pax for next leg to Hawaii. The departure in Ensenada shows 10:00PM (12 hours from its departure from San Diego). We have to get off and take the shuttle down to Ensenada. We can leave our luggage onboard, however, which makes it a little less aggravating.

Hi,David,

There is no ''outide passage'' between Vancouver & Seattle; Johnston Strait, then JuandeFuca strait, then Puget Sound. Can't ''shot-cut''.

I think you mean Georgia Strait->Juan de Fuca->Puget Sound, not Johnston, which is a few hundred miles further north...

Either way, it's about a 110 mile journey, and will take 6-7 hours for the ship. to relocate to Seattle

We have the opposite problem. Infinity disembarks passengers in Seattle on September 19 and then embarks passengers for a 14 night cruise in Vancouver on the same day. The ship is scheduled to leave Vancouver at 11:59 pm. We will be flying from Los Angeles to board the ship in Vancouver. Perhaps custom air scheduled to arrive at Vancouver after 3 pm would be best for us.