Will I make my flight?

[g8rchic]

I am considering booking an 11:30 flight out of Vancouver back to the States. The itinerary states that the Century should arrive at 7:00 am. I'm assuming I can check-in for my flight onboard since I will have my laptop with me. Will I make my flight?

[Cruise Junky]

Noon is about as early as I would recommend. You have to go through US immigration at the airport which can take some time. 11:30 is doable if everything goes right. I live not far from the Airport and am usually home by 9:30 coming in to Canada Place

[g8rchic]

Thanks so much for the response!

[alcpa1]

I wouldn't be comfortable with an 11:30 departure.

We have been to Vancouver several times for cruises and at least four times on land trips in the last six years.

Please be aware that you should plan on self disembarkation and taking a cab to the airport. I don't think you will have enough time to try for the skytrain even though it is faster, getting through the foot and road traffic with luggage would slow you down considerably. The route to and from the airport to Pan Am pier is on city streets -not limited access highways. You will be traveling through the downtown as people are going to work if it is on a weekday. It will be less congested on the weekends if there is no festival or movie production or marathon. Vancouver is famous for all of these events.

Be sure that all of your paperwork is correct before you exit the ship and again at the airport. Do not carry off any fresh fruits vegetables or meat products.

Some items that are permissable with TSA may not be permitted with Canadian security. A pair of baby scissors that I thought were fine on the Canadian security web site caused us an additional 20 minutes at YVR.

You should check the YVR website to see where your airline docks. Many US carriers are a good 10-15 minute moderate walk from Customs and Immigration.

Do check in online and pay baggage fees. It may cost a little bit but it will save time and you really don't have a lot to spare.

If you cannot manage your luggage with self disembarkation absolutely do not book the 11:30 flight.

Cruise Junky may be home by 9:30 but if you have to be checked in for your flight two hours before departure she/he has indicated you are cutting it too close.

I hope all goes well for you and you have a wonderful cruise.

[Redtravel]

11:30 is just fine

the cruise line will ask while you are on board about your airline times

you can get off the ship right after they clear customs..usually by 8 am

the trip to the airport is about 30 minutes

you will be there on time

nice shopping in the Vancouver airport

relax

[Verona Gal]

DH and I flew out of Vancouver after our Alaska cruise. We had to make the same decision you are facing. We decided that trying to make that early flight was not worth the stress so we stayed one night in Vancouver and left at 9:30 the next morning.

 

Our experience in the airport convinced us never to try for an early flight there because the security was so tight. It took us two hours to get through security. Fortunately we arrived at the airport three hours early so we made our flight with no problem.

 

Perhaps this was not a normal situation for this airport, but if it took us two hours at 6:30 in the morning, it could be much worse later in the day especially with one or more cruise ships in town.

[phoenix_dream]

11:30 is just fine

the cruise line will ask while you are on board about your airline times

you can get off the ship right after they clear customs..usually by 8 am

the trip to the airport is about 30 minutes

you will be there on time

nice shopping in the Vancouver airport

relax

I always go crazy when I read such reassurances. Yes, they will probably be fine. But that timeframe is cutting it close in some situations. We have cruised to Alaska three times. On one of the times, due to Customs issues (not ours) we could not disembark until close to 10:00 am. It happens. It happened to us. We would NOT have made an 11:30 flight. So if you look at our experience, they would have a 66 2/3% chance of making it. I would personally not take that chance if I had a choice. Others are bigger risk takers and that's fine, but that time is too early to be guaranteed based on my experience, and in my opinion.

[RLO944]

3 years ago celebrity offered a luggage service where they picked up your luggage the night before and our luggage ended up at our final airport destination. We never touched your luggage at all. I believe the service was around $40.00 for 2 large and one small suitcase. This will save you some time and effort. We had a 1:30 PM flight and used the celebrity ship to airport transfer arrived at the airport and waited about 2 hours at the gate. Celebrity dropped us off at a back entrance of the airport I believe. At least all of us on the transfer bus went through a special security check point. The option was well worth the extra few bucks.

[Denny01]

I always go crazy when I read such reassurances. Yes, they will probably be fine. .....

Agree with you..none of us can say with assurances someone's early flight time is OK. It all has to do with how much risk you are willing to take, and if you are a worrier or not. A whole lot (majority!) of people fly in the day of the cruise, and there are a ton of threads on how early can I take flights departing and is it OK to fly in the day of the cruise. I just remind people of how you'll handle the day before departure. Will you get nervous and spend a good deal of wasted time thinking about getting off in time in the morning? Will it cause you stress and a bit of loss of sleep? Kind of defeats the purpose of a cruise. So yup, 1130 is certainly 'doable', but there is legit risk that is measurable.

 

At least in departing, if you miss your flight it means sitting in some airport for extended times and Maybe getting a later flight that day (missing connections and so on?), which is chancier in this time with so many flights are overbooked. Those that fly in the day of the cruise take bigger risks because the risk is missing the cruise.

 

We all take levels of risk. Our latest cruise pulls into Southampton at 0600. The Cruise line says not to book before 1230 out of London and we have a 2pm flight out. But even taking one after the recommended time has some level of risk.

 

Many of us take the risk to save a few bucks or what we think is more convenient. Life.

 

Den

[alcpa1]

FYI, US Direct WAS wonderful but it is not available this year. I don't think anyone knows about 2012 yet.

As I posted earlier we have been to Vancouver a number of times over the last 6 years and it has averaged two hours to get through Customs, Immigration and Canadian and US Security. You do clear US at YVR.

One of the biggest issues for me is self disembarkation. I am not too old to handle my luggage but the hassle of disembarking with so many others fighting for the door then perhaps a ramp and absolutely an elevator is more than I want to face again. All of those lovely passengers you have just spent a week or more with turn into monsters when early disembarkation is called.

We try to catch an early afternoon flight from YVR. We have a civilized lunch after C & I and before boarding. I'd recommend you investigate other flight options. If you are using connecting flights be creative and try multi city itineraries for example.

An Alaskan cruise is worth the effort. I hope things work out for you and you have a wonderful cruise and an uneventful trip home.