Vancouver/ Best way to Cruise Check In

Doing a HAL cruise from Vancouver in Aug 2016. Staying at the Marriott Pinnacle the night before departure.

Because the hotel is so close to the cruise terminal, we are planning to walk there. Can we access the cruise check-in area through the Pan Pacific hotel even if we are not guests there?

If not, what is the best way to get to the check in area on foot?

Following. Staying here before and after our May cruise and wondering the same thing.

Yes, you may go through the hotel - follow the signs, couldn't be easier. It is a bit of a long walk, just so you know. When we did this, we took all of our luggage with us and stayed inside the building; we walked to the check-in area where there were signs indicating each ship and where to put the luggage according to which ship you are on. They take them from there and load them onto the ship. Alternatively, I suppose you could take your luggage to a porter on the ground level (underground, actually) and go from there, but it was easy to do ourselves.

Personally I find it easier to just go directly down to luggage drop. Walk past the PP entrance and right before the garage entrance (EXTREMELY obvious, there will be at least one or two people directing taxis, buses and private vehicle dropoffs into and out of the garage) there's a sidewalk ramp that heads downward. Follow this and you can't miss the luggage drop area, and signage/people can direct you from here after you've got rid of your bags.

Since waiting areas are dynamically used depending on how many vessels are in port, it's hard to say exactly which rooms you may need to visit, but signage should be pretty clear and there will also be people to point you the right way at each stage.

Personally I find it easier to just go directly down to luggage drop. Walk past the PP entrance and right before the garage entrance (EXTREMELY obvious, there will be at least one or two people directing taxis, buses and private vehicle dropoffs into and out of the garage) there's a sidewalk ramp that heads downward. Follow this and you can't miss the luggage drop area, and signage/people can direct you from here after you've got rid of your bags.

I second everything martincath has outlined! About the only reason I'd shoot into the PP lobby is such an early arrival I'd want to dig around my luggage before handing it off to a porter.

My point above, which may have been lost, was if you go through the hotel and follow the signs to the cruise ship terminal, you come to another entrance where you do not have to deal with porters at all. You put your luggage where you see the sign for your ship (if there is more than one that day) and the staff takes it from there.

My point above, which may have been lost, was if you go through the hotel and follow the signs to the cruise ship terminal, you come to another entrance where you do not have to deal with porters at all. You put your luggage where you see the sign for your ship (if there is more than one that day) and the staff takes it from there.

Intriguing - by any chance was your last cruise during the Canada Place reno Karen? I've never seen a bag drop at cruise check-in any time other than during the renovations when the conveyors were offline, and unless there's been another change since we were last there post-reno you'd have to schlep your bags through security and CBP before you even get to cruise line check-in...

Intriguing - by any chance was your last cruise during the Canada Place reno Karen?

This was last May for our Alaska cruise, Vancouver to Seattle before Celebrity Solstice summered in Seattle for the season. Was it during the reno?.... you know, I can't recall. Hmm. Now you have me thinking! :D I certainly don't want to give erroneous advice but we absolutely went through the hotel instead of using the underground porters - it just seemed very congested outside there so we stayed within the building.

Yup, that was reno time; we did a San Fran coastal about then. I think it was midsummer before everything was back to the 'new normal' post-reno. Since then we've only been at Canada Place on two-ship days, East and West, when it's been simple to drop bags directly at the conveyors - it's possible three-ship days have a different setup for the North end with a different bag drop. Regardless, I'd hope there would be appropriate signage as to where to take your bags.

... it's possible three-ship days have a different setup for the North end with a different bag drop.

I wonder if that contributed - it was indeed a three-ship day. :)

The location of of the check-in areas (for most of the major cruise-lines) at Canada Place did change about mid-season last year.

It used to be luggage drop, then immigration, THEN check-in, all located in the lower level of Canada Place. About mid-season it changed so that the check in area was in the convention hall area (upper floor) of Canada Place which meant that guests were asked to drop off their luggage at the lower level, take the escalator/elevator to the upper level for check in and then return down to the lower level to proceed through immigration and on to the ship.

When there was only one smaller ship in, there were a couple of occasions where the cruise lines went back to checking in at the lower level (after immigration).

I believe that this year, for all major cruise lines, that the convention halls will again be used for check in - but won't be able to confirm this for a few weeks, till the season starts rolling! (So I'll try and remember to come back to this thread to confirm - before August!)

There should be checkin directional staff located around the entrance of the hotel and Canada Place, so just look for someone wearing a uniform to check where to go first.

Actually the Star Princess arrives tomorrow and again on April 19th, 2016 - that might give us an idea of which set up they will be using this year - if it isn't raining too hard tomorrow I might just mosey on down to Canada Place and see what the set up is.

Cheers!

Dennis

Doing a HAL cruise from Vancouver in Aug 2016. Staying at the Marriott Pinnacle the night before departure.

Because the hotel is so close to the cruise terminal, we are planning to walk there. Can we access the cruise check-in area through the Pan Pacific hotel even if we are not guests there?

If not, what is the best way to get to the check in area on foot?

We stayed there in September and walked down to that area a few times but chose to take a taxi the morning of our cruise. It was less than $10 Canadian and was well worth it on a rainy morning.

If you do walk, make sure you have good wheels on your suitcases as you will be going across some brick sidewalks. We were the only ship in port and check in was on the lower level so you would go down the ramp that others have mentioned.

Just an FYI, ship transfers were going from the Marriott Pinnacle. My DH noticed a Royal Caribbean sign and went and spoke to the man at the door to see what was up. People were already meeting before 10am and the man said the buses were arriving around 11ish. My DH told him we were leaving between 10:15 and 10:30 and he was told it was a smart move because it would be crazy to get a cab once the buses were out there.

Well since the rain stopped I trudged down to Canada Place to welcome the Star Princess to Vancouver - there was a large convention going on in the Convention Center but as best as I could determine they were embarking from the lower cruise level. The new stairwell and elevator down near Hall C didn't appear to be in use. I was there around noon so there should have been some activity in that area if it was being used.

Whether once the cruise season gets into full swing at the end of the month they will handle one and two ship days that way remains to be seen.

Hope this helps!

Cheers!

Dennis

Thanks Urban Trekker for checking today. I will be sailing out of Vancouver on the first 3 ship days of 2016. I will try to garner as much info on the set up as I can and report back when we leave on May 6th.

Personally I find it easier to just go directly down to luggage drop. Walk past the PP entrance and right before the garage entrance (EXTREMELY obvious, there will be at least one or two people directing taxis, buses and private vehicle dropoffs into and out of the garage) there's a sidewalk ramp that heads downward. Follow this and you can't miss the luggage drop area, and signage/people can direct you from here after you've got rid of your bags.

 

Since waiting areas are dynamically used depending on how many vessels are in port, it's hard to say exactly which rooms you may need to visit, but signage should be pretty clear and there will also be people to point you the right way at each stage.

So if we take a taxi from our downtown hotel to the port....

Will the taxi be directed to the cruise luggage drop off area?

One member in our group will be using wheel chair assistance (as provided by Celebrity by completing the "Special Needs" request form). Will w/c and Celebrity personal assistance staff be located by baggage drop off area?

I am familiar with how Celebrity manages this in other US and international port. But it sounds as if Canada Place may offer some additional challenges.

If there are other/better suggestions...please post. (BTW, we are embarking on Millie...the ONLY ship for June 10.)

Becky

So if we take a taxi from our downtown hotel to the port....

 

Will the taxi be directed to the cruise luggage drop off area?

 

One member in our group will be using wheel chair assistance (as provided by Celebrity by completing the "Special Needs" request form). Will w/c and Celebrity personal assistance staff be located by baggage drop off area?

 

I am familiar with how Celebrity manages this in other US and international port. But it sounds as if Canada Place may offer some additional challenges.

 

If there are other/better suggestions...please post. (BTW, we are embarking on Millie...the ONLY ship for June 10.)

 

Becky

Yes, a cab will drop you off in the baggage drop area. The next question is a little more difficult to answer because....well it depends. Dudette has the same challenge as one of your companions and before she started cruising with her own wheelchair getting a wheelchair assist on a timely basis was generally an issue. My advice would be to have the person stay in one spot while someone goes to find an X official to request the chair and pusher. You will likely be told to have the person sit and wait....so then you may have to ask for a chair but stay on it and someone will come with a chair and eventually a wheelchair you have requested and yes there should be an X rep somewhere close to the baggage drop or just inside the terminal doors.

If the taxi driver is smart.... he will roll down the window and mention to the traffic control people there is a wheelchair rider on board.

I'm going to guess that traffic control have been given special instructions on how to drop off passengers with limited mobility.

Normally they will drop off wheelchair passengers on cruise ship level, near checked-luggage. However when multiple ships embarking on the same day.... they may split up wheelchair and non-wheelchair groups.

If the taxi driver is smart.... he will roll down the window and mention to the traffic control people there is a wheelchair rider on board.

 

I'm going to guess that traffic control have been given special instructions on how to drop off passengers with limited mobility.

 

Normally they will drop off wheelchair passengers on cruise ship level, near checked-luggage. However when multiple ships embarking on the same day.... they may split up wheelchair and non-wheelchair groups.

I only wish that were the case, it just doesn't happen that way at Canada Place, Port Everglades, the World Cruise Center in San Pedro, the Seattle piers, San Diego, San Francisco or any of the ports in Europe we have embarked from. A disabled person is treated no different at the curb then anyone else until contact is made with a cruise ship rep once inside the terminal or at best at the door of the terminal.

Yes, a cab will drop you off in the baggage drop area. The next question is a little more difficult to answer because....well it depends. Dudette has the same challenge as one of your companions and before she started cruising with her own wheelchair getting a wheelchair assist on a timely basis was generally an issue. My advice would be to have the person stay in one spot while someone goes to find an X official to request the chair and pusher. You will likely be told to have the person sit and wait....so then you may have to ask for a chair but stay on it and someone will come with a chair and eventually a wheelchair you have requested and yes there should be an X rep somewhere close to the baggage drop or just inside the terminal doors.

I was thinking I might try to take a little more out of the mystery of wheelchair embarkation....once the pusher and chair arrive he will escort you and your party thru the embarkation process. This will include being taken to a dedicated, priority check-in line for mobility challanged, security and CBP clearance. At security the party in the chair will have the option of walking thru the scanner or having a body frisk. Once these procedures are complete he (it is usually a he) will take you to a location near the gangway where he will may ask the party in the chair to transfer into a ships chair and he will leave you there as they are shoreside contractors to the cruise line and not permitted to board the ship. By the way it is quite common to tip the pusher, we normally give him $5. From that point you may have to wait a few minutes and along will come a crew member, usually a junior waiter, who will take you to your cabin or in the case of X to the buffet where you can have lunch and wait for cabin to be made ready which is usually sometime about 1 pm. It is normal to tip the crew member, we normally tip $2 or $3 as time involvement is much less than that of the shoreside pusher.

My wife, three friends, and I all cruised out of Vancouver on May 6th. It was the first three ship day. We had transportation issues that resulted in a late arrival at the port, but our friends got there at about 1130am.

They came in on the upper level, were directed downstairs to the baggage drop, then proceeded back upstairs to a conference hall. They were given a boarding group and waited for their group to be called. When the group was called, the group proceeded downstairs to go through security. After going through Security, they waited in another line to get into US Customs. They got sat in US Customs waiting area and waited till it was their row's turn. They then proceeded through customs and to the cruise line check-in. After cruise line check-in, they boarded the ship. From the time they arrived at the cruise terminal till when they boarded the ship was 3 1/2 hours.

We arrived, finally at 5:35pm (Ships were supposed to sail at 5pm), and proceeded right through security. We cleared Security in minutes and got in the line for customs. We entered the customs area and had a 45 minute wait to get to the Customs Officers. We cleared US Customs and proceeded to the cruise line check-in. After that we boarded the ship.

It was a chaotic mess that day in Vancouver. 7000 passengers sailing. One of the Ships was doing a one night repo to Seattle and only had 600 to 800 passengers. The Celebrity and Princess cruises were doing 7 night Alaskan cruises and were full. I suggest you get to the port as early as you can if sailing on a three ship departure day from Vancouver.