HAL Boarding Process in Vancouver

[dan1618]

We are in Vancouver right now and are going to be leaving on the Zuiderdam on Saturday. We are going to have to make two trips with the rental car to get all of us and our luggage to the pier and are trying to figure out how the whole process works since we've never done this before. A couple questions:

 

1. What time can you start the process of US customs and security screening? I don't know where in the process those things occur in the embarkation process.

 

2. What time does embarkation start for suite passengers? I've heard noon and 11. Which is right?

 

If anyone can walk us through an explanation of the process, it would be very helpful. Thanks!

[slomotion]

We are in Vancouver right now and are going to be leaving on the Zuiderdam on Saturday. We are going to have to make two trips with the rental car to get all of us and our luggage to the pier and are trying to figure out how the whole process works since we've never done this before. A couple questions:

 

1. What time can you start the process of US customs and security screening? I don't know where in the process those things occur in the embarkation process.

 

2. What time does embarkation start for suite passengers? I've heard noon and 11. Which is right?

 

If anyone can walk us through an explanation of the process, it would be very helpful. Thanks!

 

Dan,

A question, are you staying at a hotel that is "reasonably" close to the port?

 

If so, check with the hotel to see if they have a shuttle and if so dump (return) the rental Friday night and use the hotel's shuttle to get all of you to the port. We stayed at the Fairmount which is right across the street. Their shuttle took our luggage to the ship and we just walked across the street.

[dan1618]

Our hotel is a couple of miles from Canada Place and does not have a shuttle.

[AZNative2000]

Our hotel is a couple of miles from Canada Place and does not have a shuttle.

I'd truly consider slomo's idea and return the car Friday and just take two cabs to the port from your hotel. (Assuming cabs are readily available there.) That way you all would arrive together with your luggage. Surely a two-mile ride wouldn't cost too much and WHAT a stress reliever. The cabbies would know where to take you to get your luggage into HAL's hands and free you up to go though the boarding process.

 

You will love your cruise on the Zuiderdam. We did it last year.

 

Cheers!

[Lineaway]

Dan your lucky, it looks like your going to have nice weather at least on Sat. Its been raining here since Nov.

 

We were on the infamous Osterdam one night sailing a couple weeks ago. We got to the cruise terminal at 11:20. We sailed right through the screening until the last part of the process where you checkin to your cabin. The lines were really long and not moving. There is a sign on the left side of the lines stating which cabins are allowed priority checkin along with the prior HAL cruisers who have like a 100 sailings. You will see it.

 

At 1200 all the checkin personel came out to their stations and thats when we were told checkin was suppose to start ( computers crashed so it took a couple hours to get checked in)

 

So to answer your question, you should be able to go through all the screening at 1100 but they may not allow checkin until 1200 which is contradictory to their "Stateroom Direct Service." This is a new level of service that says your stateroom will be ready at 1130. Unfortunatly they didn't tell this to the HAL employees on our little trip 2 weeks ago.

 

I can say that when we did board, our suite was ready but it was closer to 2 o clock. Good luck on your trip. Oh and don't go to the lido buffet. HAL has this ridiculous way of serving the buffet, you'll see. Order room service or go to the MDR (MDR only serves 12-1 for lunch).

 

Use a cab, it was a bit of a traffic jam when we got there. I would not want to figure out the route, you drive into a parking garage (reminded me of the car rental return terminal in Vegas) then loop around a bit to the drop off.

[Juanita462]

You don't have to drive into the parking garage to get to the drop-off area - it is just a short distance down from the entrance - there is usually someone on the left who will ask where you are going and then will direct you to the left - where the luggage is dropped off - men there to load it onto luggage racks - passengers then go through the doors and to the right to the embarkation area.

The line usually starts forming about 10 a.m. - once through the barrier you are directed to lines according to whether you are suite pax or 4 star mariners or less.

Though we went through the line for 4 star quickly, we still had to wait with everyone else to be allowed on the ship and in order of arriving.

 

the buffet lunch is served because the new rule is 2 days of service to prevent noro from being passed on just in case someone gets onboard with it.

 

Every time we have embarked in Vancouver the computer terminals have been down - am wondering if it is a delaying tactic - must admit that our embarkation in some other ports has been much more efficient.

Though Celebrity in Vancouver was excellent - brought us juice and the local paper while we waited and processed everyone quickly and efficiently.

 

There is no US customs at the pier - your passports etc. are checked at the desk where you are issued your papers for boarding - sometimes they have another place where they check everything before letting you board but sometimes not.

 

Hope you have a wonderful cruise and that the good weather continues for you - we saw the Zuiderdam go by last week - a beautiful ship!

[bellebaby]

We are in Vancouver right now and are going to be leaving on the Zuiderdam on Saturday. We are going to have to make two trips with the rental car to get all of us and our luggage to the pier and are trying to figure out how the whole process works since we've never done this before. A couple questions:

 

1. What time can you start the process of US customs and security screening? I don't know where in the process those things occur in the embarkation process.

 

2. What time does embarkation start for suite passengers? I've heard noon and 11. Which is right?

 

If anyone can walk us through an explanation of the process, it would be very helpful. Thanks!

 

This is my experience at Canada Place:

 

1) Porter takes luggage at curbside. This can start as early as 10:30.

2) Line-up to go through security. This line is for passengers of all ships departing from Canada Place that day, not just HAL. There is no priority line for suite passengers. Security screening typically starts at 11:00 but could be delayed by 15 -30 minutes. People usually start lining-up about 10:45 or so.

3) After you go through security, you may have to take a seat, fill out immigration cards and be called in groups to go through immigration. Immigration processing starts when the officers arrive. There isn't a suite priority line. Sometimes this is fast, sometimes very slow.

4) After you go through immigration, you will be directed to HAL check-in. If HAL is ready to begin check-in, you will get in line. If not, you will take a seat and wait to be called. There is a separate line for suites.

5) If the ship is ready for boarding, you will be allowed to board immediately after check-in.

 

B

[luvcruisn']

There is no US customs at the pier - your passports etc. are checked at the desk where you are issued your papers for boarding - sometimes they have another place where they check everything before letting you board but sometimes not.

 

On my one night cruise to Seattle, two weeks ago, leaving from Canada Place, I first went through security, then US Customs, then went to the area to check in with HAL. I asked the person that was sitting at the US Customs desk to verify that it was indeed US Customs that was looking at my passport, as the area was not significantly labelled as Customs.

 

On my cruise on the Zuiderdam, in 2009, we also went through US Customs at Canada Place before boarding the ship.

[bellebaby]

On my one night cruise to Seattle' date=' two weeks ago, leaving from Canada Place, I first went through security, then US Customs, then went to the area to check in with HAL. I asked the person that was sitting at the US Customs desk to verify that it was indeed US Customs that was looking at my passport, as the area was not significantly labelled as Customs.

 

On my cruise on the Zuiderdam, in 2009, we also went through US Customs at Canada Place before boarding the ship.[/quote']

 

I called US Customs "immigration" in error... And yes, for us, on many different sailings, US Customs was in a separate area that was processed prior to check-in.

 

B

[Krazy Kruizers]

Yes -- we have always gone through US customs before boarding in Vancouver

 

Vancouver always seems to be a mess to board a ship there

 

and there is no special place for suite passengers to sit -- in fact -- the only time we have had a special place to sit is in Ft Lauderdale when we book the penthouse -- otherwise everyone sits in the same area

[GeriatricNurse]

We are in Vancouver right now and are going to be leaving on the Zuiderdam on Saturday. We are going to have to make two trips with the rental car to get all of us and our luggage to the pier and are trying to figure out how the whole process works since we've never done this before. A couple questions:

 

1. What time can you start the process of US customs and security screening? I don't know where in the process those things occur in the embarkation process.

 

2. What time does embarkation start for suite passengers? I've heard noon and 11. Which is right?

 

If anyone can walk us through an explanation of the process, it would be very helpful. Thanks!

 

 

Make sure that you have your HAL "Signature Preferred Boarding Pass" ready in hand because it was the ONLY port that I was asked for it upon embarkation! ;)

[luvcruisn']

Make sure that you have your HAL "Signature Preferred Boarding Pass" ready in hand because it was the ONLY port that I was asked for it upon embarkation! ;)

 

I have always been asked for my boarding pass in Vancouver. However, on one cruise I didn't have it - I had left it at home, and the person at the desk said "no problem," and found my information on her computer. I had already done my on-line check-in long before sailing. The process may have taken longer if I hadn't checked in on-line.

[diathoney]

We were on the Zuiderdam for an Inside Passage cruise in 2009. Fabulous cruise and ship! This is my experience at Canada Place (I'll borrow the previous posters format):

 

1) The luggage check-in is the first area, just follow the crowds back. There is a podium and several longshoremen. They'll check your luggage tags and put it in the bins for the ship.

2) Line-up to go through security. This line is for passengers of all ships departing from Canada Place that day, not just HAL. There is no priority line for suite passengers. Security screening typically starts at 11:00 but could be delayed by 15 -30 minutes. People usually start lining-up about 10:45 or so.

3) After you go through security, you'll stand in line for Canadian customs.

4) After Canadian customs, you'll go directly into the line for US customs.

5) After you go through customs, you will be directed to HAL check-in (down a hall, around a corner). If HAL is ready to begin check-in, you will get in line. If not, you will take a seat and wait to be called. There is a separate line for suites.

6) If the ship is ready for boarding, you will be allowed to board immediately after check-in.

 

Eating lunch in the Lido, you can watch the float planes landing and taking off. Be sure to go up on the top deck for sailing under the Lion's Gate bridge. It's almost as cool as the Sunshine Skyway sailing out of Tampa (I am partial to the Skyway bridge). :-)

[paulista1950]

We're flying from Sao Paulo (Brazil) to Toronto and from there to Vancouver a few days before our cruise to Alaska.

At the end of the cruise, same route back home.

Why would we have to go through US customs? :confused:

[diathoney]

We're flying from Sao Paulo (Brazil) to Toronto and from there to Vancouver a few days before our cruise to Alaska.

At the end of the cruise, same route back home.

Why would we have to go through US customs? :confused:

Alaska is the United States. If they didn't process you at Canada Place, they'd have to at the first port.

[paulista1950]

Alaska is the United States. If they didn't process you at Canada Place, they'd have to at the first port.

 

So it's an anticipation of the process! It makes sense and it's for the better.:)

 

 

Thanks diathoney

[diathoney]

So it's an anticipation of the process! It makes sense and it's for the better.:)

 

Thanks diathoney

 

It makes embarkation slower, but the rest of the cruise is smooth sailing! ;-)

[haligonian37]

I thought I'd chime in with my sister and BIL's experience yesterday boarding the Zuiderdam at Canada Place. They arrived about 12:30pm and waited approximately one hour before they boarded the ship, with most of that time waiting to get through customs (there was a Princess ship boarding as well). In the end, the Zuiderdam departed over two hours late because of problems with US customs. A fellow passenger, who was stuck in the customs fray, said there were 300 passengers waiting to be processed at 5pm, with 90 of them belonging to HAL. She said that customs just seemed to shut down for a while for no reason and no explanation was given.

 

In any case, they're now having a wonderful time.....here's hoping disembarkation won't be as big of a pain!

[IRL_Joanie]

So, am I understanding this correctly??

 

It is US Customs that is the problem in Vancouver and NOT HAL or the other cruise lines??

 

Joanie

[c-legs]

So, am I understanding this correctly??

 

It is US Customs that is the problem in Vancouver and NOT HAL or the other cruise lines??

 

Joanie

Hi,

It's hard to generalize ''problems'' like the ones that plagued CanadaPlace Pier on 28th....That particular chain of events involves C&BP but not because they caused it. Between Diamond Princess and Zuiderdam, there was the rarest and disproportonate ratio of '' foreigns'' guests VS ''Nationals ( US/CDN ), ~~ 2,600+ of the former, nearly half of the total embarking guests load....and processing them thru customs is markedly more time consuming, just due to the procedures. It was a number of proportion never seen before....just the way it shaped up, I suppose... While C&BP staff level was complete, they normally assigned , say, 4 agents to process ''foreigns'' and, say, 9 or 10 for ''nationals''....they had to more or less reverse the process and still that was not enough and it simply took a couple hours longer than usual....thus both vessels left over 2 hours late.

This scenario was also aggravated by both ships' debark process which started later than usual in the morning, each for their own reasons....with the obviously predictable ripple effect on the ensueing embarkation process.

The security scanners were full staff....but as they are the first step prior to C&BP, they had to occasionally simply shut down as C&BP area became oversaturated ( which disturbs the agents greatly.....).Once out of C&BP , onward to the respective ship's checkin area, the process was smooth as silk & fully staffed.

 

Generally, it is easy to ''blame'' this department or that section or that cruise line....but 95% of the time, there is a perfectly logical and equally uncontrollable set of circumstances to explain the type of pandemonium that took place at CanadaPlace on 28may.

Was there today ( Century--Zaandam....smooth as a bath tub all day long, Century was sailing away at 16;38hr, Zaandam minutes later, 17;04hr, a little over 3700 guests...).

 

My opinion

Cheers

[IRL_Joanie]

Thank you so much for the explanation. I feel much better now and it all makes sense the way you have explained it:)

 

Joanie

[Winters in NZ]

I called US Customs "immigration" in error... And yes, for us, on many different sailings, US Customs was in a separate area that was processed prior to check-in.

 

B

 

A HUGE sign on the wall indicates that the U.S. area in the terminal is 'Homeland Security'. These folks work at the terminal and also at the Vancouver Airport. Every major Canadian airport has Homeland Security for the convenience of USA destined passengers. The Vancouver cruise terminal has the same because the first stop is a USA port. That's probably why cruise ships do not go to Victoria on the way to Alaska.

 

These Homeland Security folks are all U.S. citizens who are Homeland Security personnel.

 

The only exception to the rule that I have experienced in Canada is at the Billy Bishop Airport in Downtown Toronto. Flights from Billy Bishop do not have Homeland Security because there are only a few flights per day to NYC, Boston, and Chicago with Porter Air. Those passengers go through Homeland Security upon landing at their American destination.

 

Here at Ottawa Airport ,YOW, the Homeland Security area inncludes a 6' Statue of Liberty and the Stars and Stripes. Not sure if any other 'foreign' airport includes that.