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I wrote quite a lengthy response to someone on the Celebrity board about Vancouver Canada Place checkin process. I'll try and park a link here in case it helps others:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=52723904#post52723904

 

 

And I have a couple of updates to that initial information:

 

It is 99.9% certain that all checkins will be done up in the conference centre this year. The layout has been amended to allow for 3 separate checkin areas within Hall C, so hopefully there is room for all.

 

It is unlikely that they will be using the "waiting room" process of sending guests to an extra conference room after checkin and prior to being fed down to security and the border, but I guess that depends on how things go on the really busy days.

 

There is new signage in the lower area of Canada Place - basically follow the blue line and signs to get to checkin and then to your ship, and when disembarking follow the green line and green signs to get to wherever you may be going to once you are off the ship!

 

Disembarking guests that wish to head to anywhere in the City (as opposed to taxis and buses) will be encouraged to take the escalator/elevator in the lobby area of Canada Place so that you end up on the Promenade area on the West side of the Canada Place pier (outside of the conference centre). When you get to the top of the escalator take the door to your left and then turn left and walk down the promenade and you will have the City in front of you, turn left again and follow the sidewalk around and you will be heading to transit (Skytrain).

 

If any one has any specific questions, I'll do my best to provide information, and will update as the season gets into full swing. Lots of 3 ship days this year, so it's going to be busy!!

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Won't be checking in at this port because we are ona B2B starting in San Diego but we will be Dismebarking from this port. Can you tell me what time Celebrity allows you to walk off with your luggage and about how long it should take to go through customs? How many ships will be there on June 4th and which ones?

 

 

Also when walking off please tell me where to find the Alamo Cruise Ship reservation desk? Once checked in there how do we get to where the rental cars are located at?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jimbo:)

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Won't be checking in at this port because we are ona B2B starting in San Diego but we will be Dismebarking from this port. Can you tell me what time Celebrity allows you to walk off with your luggage and about how long it should take to go through customs? How many ships will be there on June 4th and which ones?

 

 

Also when walking off please tell me where to find the Alamo Cruise Ship reservation desk? Once checked in there how do we get to where the rental cars are located at?

 

 

Jimbo:)

 

FYI - we did something similar (LA to Vancouver to Whittier to Vancouver). They did make us exit the ship after the first leg as an "intransit". Unfortunately no one at the pier knew what that meant and it took forever to get back on the ship when we should have been able to walk back on the ship easily. The first few weeks in May is often crazy here.

 

Not sure if you Vancouver is the turnaround day for you.

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FYI - we did something similar (LA to Vancouver to Whittier to Vancouver). They did make us exit the ship after the first leg as an "intransit". Unfortunately no one at the pier knew what that meant and it took forever to get back on the ship when we should have been able to walk back on the ship easily. The first few weeks in May is often crazy here.

 

Not sure if you Vancouver is the turnaround day for you.

 

It's San Diego to Vancouver , back to Vancouver. Not concerned when we arrive as to what they do with us. Pretty sure Celebrity will be taking us ( all the B2B cruisers) off and back on in a timely manner.

 

 

 

Jimbo:)

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It's San Diego to Vancouver , back to Vancouver. Not concerned when we arrive as to what they do with us. Pretty sure Celebrity will be taking us ( all the B2B cruisers) off and back on in a timely manner.

 

Jimbo:)

 

There were only 5 of us as there were 3 legs. One was a wife of the beverage manager. We were not escorted off and back. We were told what to do but the pier people had no clue. I think it was the craziness of the first ships in port. Though, now, the ships are arriving in April. You will probably have more people being just a B2B.

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Won't be checking in at this port because we are ona B2B starting in San Diego but we will be Dismebarking from this port. Can you tell me what time Celebrity allows you to walk off with your luggage and about how long it should take to go through customs? How many ships will be there on June 4th and which ones?

 

 

Also when walking off please tell me where to find the Alamo Cruise Ship reservation desk? Once checked in there how do we get to where the rental cars are located at?

 

Jimbo:)

 

Walk-off usually start at around 8 am - sometimes a little earlier, around 7:30 am. It can depend on when exactly the ship moors and gets clearance (which can depend on whether the ship has already made a Canada stop on the way in - a few ships may have a stop in Victoria, so will get pre-cleared). On multiple ship days, it's quite a sight to see the ships play "follow the leader" under the bridge and take turns swinging around to get into position!

 

Customs is usually really quick, if you are one of the early ones and presuming you have nothing extra to declare. It really only consists of walking past an officer and handing in the customs form. (If you have over your allowances (or do something to make the officer suspicious!), you will be asked to move into the secondary screening area.) You do not need your passports to go through customs. For timing, if you are walking your own luggage off and miss any line up, it's just a few minutes - everything is really close together.

 

Once past the customs officers, you will be directed through the secured area and exit into the main lobby. For the car hire desk head to the top left corner - there is only one car hire desk for multiple companies, I think it includes Alamo, but can't be 100%. The car hire desk is next to the luggage storage desk and to the left (as you look at it) to the big Information sign for the information desk. I believe that the car hire companies have shuttles to take you to the cars, I have seen the shuttle buses outside, but can't be sure which companies they are for, so you might want to try a call to Alamo to see if you can get confirmation. (I don't drive, so car hire is not something I really take mental note of!)

 

For June 4, there are 2 ships in the Infinity and HAL Noordam. HAL will probably take the West berth and Infinity the East, if it follows last year's patterns. Both ships are kind of "medium sized" of the range of ships that come into Vancouver, so it shouldn't get too bad for the amount of people disembarking.

 

Re the other comment on the next posting - every year there are a fair number of new staff, some of whom have never actually been on a cruise ship as a passenger, so have no context for the process and the terminology, so no matter what the training it is all alien to them. If you happen to approach someone you gets the "deer in headlights" look to a question, just suggest they ask someone who has been there in previous seasons - there's usually a few around each area.

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There were only 5 of us as there were 3 legs. One was a wife of the beverage manager. We were not escorted off and back. We were told what to do but the pier people had no clue. I think it was the craziness of the first ships in port. Though, now, the ships are arriving in April. You will probably have more people being just a B2B.

 

I don't usually see the guests, even B2B, being escorted - unless they are considered VIP. I would note that when you arrive and get off the ship, you are then on "Canadian soil" and to get back to the ship have to go back through the US border process (and US officers). So even if you are "in transit" or B2B, and go off the ship, each time you return to the ship you have to go through the US border process again to get back onboard.

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I don't usually see the guests, even B2B, being escorted - unless they are considered VIP. I would note that when you arrive and get off the ship, you are then on "Canadian soil" and to get back to the ship have to go back through the US border process (and US officers). So even if you are "in transit" or B2B, and go off the ship, each time you return to the ship you have to go through the US border process again to get back onboard.

 

Our problem was that they told us to go through the US border process and then we could just get back on the ship as we were intransit. No one at the pier knew what this meant and everyone kept telling us "boarding begins at x time". The ship told us that we could just get back on the ship after we went through border process and didn't have to wait for normal boarding. We eventually found someone who knew what we meant but that is after several who just wanted us to sit in a corner and wait to board.

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Once past the customs officers, you will be directed through the secured area and exit into the main lobby. For the car hire desk head to the top left corner - there is only one car hire desk for multiple companies, I think it includes Alamo, but can't be 100%. The car hire desk is next to the luggage storage desk and to the left (as you look at it) to the big Information sign for the information desk. I believe that the car hire companies have shuttles to take you to the cars, I have seen the shuttle buses outside, but can't be sure which companies they are for, so you might want to try a call to Alamo to see if you can get confirmation. (I don't drive, so car hire is not something I really take mental note of!)
From what I remember....

  • yes the car rentals is on the left side of CDS luggage.
  • National and Alamo share one desk. Avis has it's own.
  • Avis mentions of a shuttle... likely to their Hornby lot.
  • National and Alamo have a small fleet under the cruise terminal on Parking Level 1. Just a quick elevator ride down one floor.
  • book early for those luggage friendly minivans.... they are the first to be sold out.
  • Car rental desks can be busy.

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I've got my first cruise in August and I see there's going to be 3 ships in that day. I've got a Port Arrival Time of 12:00 if I show up early at say 10:45-11 will they make me wait before being able to drop off luggage and head up to check in?

 

How long should I expect the whole process to take from when I arrive at the Port to being able to get on my ship assuming there's no delays with the ships getting into port. With 3 ships in I'm thinking the waits could be upwards of an hour and a half?

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I've got my first cruise in August and I see there's going to be 3 ships in that day. I've got a Port Arrival Time of 12:00 if I show up early at say 10:45-11 will they make me wait before being able to drop off luggage and head up to check in?

 

How long should I expect the whole process to take from when I arrive at the Port to being able to get on my ship assuming there's no delays with the ships getting into port. With 3 ships in I'm thinking the waits could be upwards of an hour and a half?

 

When in August? The 2nd is 3 medium/large ships in, so would anticipate delays through immigration. At the end of the month, one of the 3 ships is a smaller one (Seven Seas), so just a few hundred guests, which should make things a lot smoother. [i see "The World" is in at the end of the month - which should not affect the process for the "regular" ships, and is always an interesting one to go down to Canada Place and look at (and dream!)]

 

I've never seen anyone turned away because "their appointment" is later, not sure if it's even checked (but my knowledge is mostly of RCCL and Celebrity). If you're travelling on August 2nd, yes, definitely come earlier, you might still have to wait to board the ship (you will be located in a seating area while you wait), but you can hopefully avoid the waits caused by immigration backups. How long? Difficult to predict - if you come before 11am you should sail through checkin and immigration, but might have to wait to board. If you arrive later (11 am to 2 pm), there will likely be lines for checkin, then lines for security, then lines for immigration, but then no wait to board. After 2pm, sail through checkin, but may get caught in any immigration backups, before getting on board (and will have missed lunch on board).

 

On the positive side, it is later in the season and all the kinks should be ironed out by then, and all the new staff should know what they are doing!

 

Hope that helps a little....?

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When in August? The 2nd is 3 medium/large ships in, so would anticipate delays through immigration. At the end of the month, one of the 3 ships is a smaller one (Seven Seas), so just a few hundred guests, which should make things a lot smoother. [i see "The World" is in at the end of the month - which should not affect the process for the "regular" ships, and is always an interesting one to go down to Canada Place and look at (and dream!)]

 

I've never seen anyone turned away because "their appointment" is later, not sure if it's even checked (but my knowledge is mostly of RCCL and Celebrity). If you're travelling on August 2nd, yes, definitely come earlier, you might still have to wait to board the ship (you will be located in a seating area while you wait), but you can hopefully avoid the waits caused by immigration backups. How long? Difficult to predict - if you come before 11am you should sail through checkin and immigration, but might have to wait to board. If you arrive later (11 am to 2 pm), there will likely be lines for checkin, then lines for security, then lines for immigration, but then no wait to board. After 2pm, sail through checkin, but may get caught in any immigration backups, before getting on board (and will have missed lunch on board).

 

On the positive side, it is later in the season and all the kinks should be ironed out by then, and all the new staff should know what they are doing!

 

Hope that helps a little....?

 

Yes very helpful! I'm going to be on the August 2nd Disney sailing. Would rather take my chances going earlier and waiting to board as opposed to waiting in line after line. Will plan to be there for 10

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Yes very helpful! I'm going to be on the August 2nd Disney sailing. Would rather take my chances going earlier and waiting to board as opposed to waiting in line after line. Will plan to be there for 10

 

I'll try and talk to someone who works the Disney checkin and see if they have any suggestions for "best time" for that particular ship and routine. Might be a week or 2 before I can get back to you, so bear with me...!

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I'll try and talk to someone who works the Disney checkin and see if they have any suggestions for "best time" for that particular ship and routine. Might be a week or 2 before I can get back to you, so bear with me...!

 

That would be too awesome! Don't go out of your way though. And I'm in no rush, still over 2 months away.

 

Thank you :)

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  • 2 weeks later...
That would be too awesome! Don't go out of your way though. And I'm in no rush, still over 2 months away.

 

Thank you :)

 

So I checked with someone who works the Disney checkin. There is no enforcement of the appointment times, and checkin process normally runs similar to the other ship days. So as you're travelling on a multi-ship day, my recommendation would be to come early (10 to 10:30 am), that way you are towards the front of the line to get through any immigration backlog. You may have to wait for the ship to clear before boarding, but there is a seating area for those waiting. However, you may have to listen to a loop of "It's a Small World" (and/or other Disney favourites) over the PA, so you have been warned ;p!

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So I checked with someone who works the Disney checkin. There is no enforcement of the appointment times, and checkin process normally runs similar to the other ship days. So as you're travelling on a multi-ship day, my recommendation would be to come early (10 to 10:30 am), that way you are towards the front of the line to get through any immigration backlog. You may have to wait for the ship to clear before boarding, but there is a seating area for those waiting. However, you may have to listen to a loop of "It's a Small World" (and/or other Disney favourites) over the PA, so you have been warned ;p!

 

Good to hear. Figure it's best to get there early to minimize any delays getting on the ship! I'm sure we'll find stuff to do during the down time while waiting. Thanks for asking ;p

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PAT/Boarding can depend on the congestion ahead of you. On my August 2014 trip....

  • I arrived at 11:15am. It was congested heavy with just the Wonder at the cruise terminal.
  • After security and US customs, we were told to wait in the busy lobby area til our 1:30 boarding time.
  • After an hour of waiting, we were allowed to board shortly after 1pm when the crowds thinned. I appreciated this as I got a chance to check out the Parrot Cay buffet on board.

Sorry the time is kinda sketchy after so many years. Of course, after this many years.... things can have changed.

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A colleague is cruising from Vancouver on Sunday, July 2nd at 4:30 pm, on the Noordam. According to the Port of Vancouver schedule, that is a three ship day. However, one ship, Golden Princess, is departing at 1 pm. What arrival time at Canada Place would be recommended in this situation? My guess is that the Golden Princess passengers will need to be aboard by 11:30/noon at the latest but wanted to check with those who would know best.

 

Also, is it fairly easy to walk from the Hyatt Regency to Canada Place with suitcases? Google Maps indicates it's less than 10 minutes; is it fairly flat or down hill? It's only two of them and at most one suitcase each. One may have a carry-on; the other will have a backpack.

 

Thanks for your help!

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A colleague is cruising from Vancouver on Sunday, July 2nd at 4:30 pm, on the Noordam. According to the Port of Vancouver schedule, that is a three ship day. However, one ship, Golden Princess, is departing at 1 pm. What arrival time at Canada Place would be recommended in this situation? My guess is that the Golden Princess passengers will need to be aboard by 11:30/noon at the latest but wanted to check with those who would know best.

 

Also, is it fairly easy to walk from the Hyatt Regency to Canada Place with suitcases? Google Maps indicates it's less than 10 minutes; is it fairly flat or down hill? It's only two of them and at most one suitcase each. One may have a carry-on; the other will have a backpack.

 

Thanks for your help!

Golden is overnighting (I assume so they can see the fireworks!) so everyone should already be checked-in the day before. Of course any pax who choose to get off during the morning will still need to get back through Security/CBP. I'd plan to arrive after Golden leaves, and be aware that since we're having 2 days of partying for Canada150 that there will be a shedload of people who hang around a bit early to get good spots to watch the parade (currently sched for 5pm I believe) so aiming for 2pm would be better than 3pm just in case there are any delays getting through the crowds.

 

From Hyatt, 100% they should walk - it'll avoid all the grief of road closures for cabs - and the walk is easy. Net slightly downhill but it's not really steep enough to worry about.

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Your post doesn't mention Global Entry. I thought that it was available for going through immigration and customs at Canada Place. I'm hoping that we will be able to use it to get through the process more quickly.

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Your post doesn't mention Global Entry. I thought that it was available for going through immigration and customs at Canada Place. I'm hoping that we will be able to use it to get through the process more quickly.

It is available - but it's no use for getting through Security faster, only CBP, so it's not as much of a timesaver as at airports.

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Golden is overnighting (I assume so they can see the fireworks!) so everyone should already be checked-in the day before.
In addition to the fireworks.... the Olympic Cauldron will be lit up for cruisers on July 1st.
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Golden is overnighting (I assume so they can see the fireworks!) so everyone should already be checked-in the day before. Of course any pax who choose to get off during the morning will still need to get back through Security/CBP. I'd plan to arrive after Golden leaves, and be aware that since we're having 2 days of partying for Canada150 that there will be a shedload of people who hang around a bit early to get good spots to watch the parade (currently sched for 5pm I believe) so aiming for 2pm would be better than 3pm just in case there are any delays getting through the crowds.

 

From Hyatt, 100% they should walk - it'll avoid all the grief of road closures for cabs - and the walk is easy. Net slightly downhill but it's not really steep enough to worry about.

 

Thanks very much, martincath! I didn't even think of the Golden passengers embarking the prior day, silly me! But those pax who get off on the Sunday morning shouldn't have to do the full CBP, should they? Wouldn't they be considered "intransit" and have a different path to follow, to their ship, that bypasses CBP?

 

Thanks for the walking advice, too. I didn't realize that there would be road closures due to the festivities. Just so I can pass on the information, what is the usual attendance at Canada Day fireworks? I realize that there is likely to be more this year but past years info would likely be the minimum for this year.

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Thanks very much, martincath! I didn't even think of the Golden passengers embarking the prior day, silly me! But those pax who get off on the Sunday morning shouldn't have to do the full CBP, should they? Wouldn't they be considered "intransit" and have a different path to follow, to their ship, that bypasses CBP?

 

Thanks for the walking advice, too. I didn't realize that there would be road closures due to the festivities. Just so I can pass on the information, what is the usual attendance at Canada Day fireworks? I realize that there is likely to be more this year but past years info would likely be the minimum for this year.

For their sake I hope the Golden pax do get to avoid CBP, but overnight cruise vessels are very rare here. Anyone who chooses/is delayed so they have to arrive on July 2 rather than July 1 cannot be allowed to skip CBP, and even if Immigration pre-clearance has been confirmed for the majority who do arrive July 1, what if folks leave the ship July 2 and go on a spending spree - if they can bypass CBP that means lost Customs fees... I know we have one or two posters who have/do work at the pier, maybe one of them can confirm how they've been treating overnight trips as there has been at least one already this season in May.

 

It's usually ballpark a quarter million attendees for the Canada Day celebrations - who knows how much that will grow this year, but the fact it's spread over 2 days and the daytime stuff is basically the same (bands on stages in the party zone) means we may actually see lower numbers on each day as I can't imagine everyone wanting to come down both days.

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For their sake I hope the Golden pax do get to avoid CBP, but overnight cruise vessels are very rare here. Anyone who chooses/is delayed so they have to arrive on July 2 rather than July 1 cannot be allowed to skip CBP, and even if Immigration pre-clearance has been confirmed for the majority who do arrive July 1, what if folks leave the ship July 2 and go on a spending spree - if they can bypass CBP that means lost Customs fees... I know we have one or two posters who have/do work at the pier, maybe one of them can confirm how they've been treating overnight trips as there has been at least one already this season in May.

 

It's usually ballpark a quarter million attendees for the Canada Day celebrations - who knows how much that will grow this year, but the fact it's spread over 2 days and the daytime stuff is basically the same (bands on stages in the party zone) means we may actually see lower numbers on each day as I can't imagine everyone wanting to come down both days.

 

Thanks again, Martincath! Wow, a quarter million people for Canada Day! I'll be sure to advise my colleague so that he can plan accordingly.

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