"US Direct" program at Vancouver Airport

:confused: Wondering what the process is for arranging the post cruise expedited customs processing, "US Direct". I called Princess and the customer care person I spoke to had never heard of it. If my departing flight has a stop in Canada is my flight then ineligible? Princess advises no earlier than 11am departure flight but they couldn't give me any advise on US Direct flights. Anyone happen to know anything about this program, the Vancouver Airport website really isn't that informative.

:confused: Wondering what the process is for arranging the post cruise expedited customs processing, "US Direct". I called Princess and the customer care person I spoke to had never heard of it. If my departing flight has a stop in Canada is my flight then ineligible? Princess advises no earlier than 11am departure flight but they couldn't give me any advise on US Direct flights. Anyone happen to know anything about this program, the Vancouver Airport website really isn't that informative.

For US Direct you must have a flight that is flying direct to the US. If you have a connection in Canada you are not eligible because you will only clear US customs in the airport where your connection is.

Canadian airports have three sections, one for domestic flights, one for international flights and one for US flights. Anyone going to the US goes through US CBP pre-clearing at the airport. They clear the entire plane before it leaves Canada. In your case, the first leg of your flight is domestic and therefore doesn't qualify you to be cleared for onward flights to the US. You will have to be cleared at your connecting airport.

If I do book a departing flight with a stop in the US, what would the earliest departure time for the flight time you would recommend. I called Princess one more time and they were not helpful at all.:confused:

If You are planning on using US Direct you must travel on a cruise line that supports it. Does Princess do that or not.?? Your plans with them may be moot.

US Direct can/may get you to the airport in time for those 11 AM departures (If your ship arrives/clears on time)

Other timing at the airport is generally said to be 1PM or later to be safe.

To participate in US Direct you must be booked with...

Cruise Lines

• Carnival Cruise Lines
  
• Celebrity Cruises
  
• Holland America Line
  
• Norwegian Cruise Line
  
• Princess Cruises
  
• Royal Caribbean

Airlines

• Air Canada/Jazz
  
• Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air
  
• America West
  
• American Airlines
  
• Continental Airlines
  
• Delta Airlines
  
• Northwest Airlines
  
• United Airlines

You will need to discuss it with the cruise line, since you must also purchase the transfers from them. They can tell you what the earliest flight is.

Princess, and the airline I'm using, United, are on the listand I've booked a flight that has 1 stop in the US so I should qualify. I'll try Princess again, but I'm not to hopeful about it. After contacting them 3 times regarding US Direct I experienced 1 hang up and 2 "never heard of it".

Always start your phone call with "I'm sorry, I didn't catch you came, can you please repeat it, so I can write it down."

That usually solves the hang-up problem. And when they don't know anything, will try harder to find an answer for you. Basically, you need prepaid transfers.

I have contacted Carnival and U S direct in Vancouver. Carnival said do not book a flight before 11:00 A M and you will be able to use U S Direct. Saves you a lot of time. Your luggage goes out the night before you debark, and you won't see it until you arrive at your home airport. You must purchase your transfer from the ship to the airport. Once there, follow the U.S. Direct signage to the transfer point. I got my info from Carnival FAQ's. I have asked questions about flights leaving Vancouver at 11:30 A M on these boards, most have told me don't do it. We have some thinking to do about this! Delta only has one flight out of Vancouver to Toledo and it's at 11:30.

no one seems to have ever done what we are asking about! It seems too good to be true! But, surely there is someone out there who has used US Direct to get from the ship to the airport and can tell us practical things like what time do you leave the ship, what is it like at the airport and how long does it take to get to your gate.........We want to take an 11AM flight for which we can use miles to get first class tickets (currently on hold). Websites are so slick and perky and make everything sound so simple and lovely and reality is often a complete 180!

Princess, and the airline I'm using, United, are on the listand I've booked a flight that has 1 stop in the US so I should qualify. I'll try Princess again, but I'm not to hopeful about it. After contacting them 3 times regarding US Direct I experienced 1 hang up and 2 "never heard of it".

This is a Vancouver airport program that Princess participates in. They seem to change the program each year.

If you want information - contact the Vancouver airport as they are the ones with the details. They just tell Princess what to do.

The on-board check-in program, travelling from the ship to the airport, is something that can be arranged on-board the ship itself. Princess and United both participate in this program. The literature for this program is usually delivered two or three days before disembarkation in Vancouver. Enjoy your cruise!!

This is an old thread that died 7 months ago and was completely re-hashed iin new thread in recent weeks.

I apologize for rehashing this thread. I just want to put it out there to anyone who sees this that US Direct is only in operation from May to September yearly. When I first came across this thread, I simply assumed that a thread for US Direct in October 2007 was for the 2008 Summer season, because US Direct was not in operation at the time. My rehashing was an honest mistake, my apologies once again.