Docking and Same Day Flight

[gymjudge55]

We are on Celebrity Cruise Tour #12 in August. We arrive in Vancouver at 7 am and are thinking of booking a noon flight home. Will this work?

[Budget Queen]

We are on Celebrity Cruise Tour #12 in August. We arrive in Vancouver at 7 am and are thinking of booking a noon flight home. Will this work?

 

IF you can get off the ship early, and ideally self disembark, you should make this flight. You do need to allow at least 2 hours at the airport (international)- with 30 min. transit time allowance.

[MileHighAko]

I should hope so. Our ship gets in at 7AM as well, and we're booked on a 2PM flight. I anticipate we'll be sitting at the airport for a while.

[Putterdude]

A noon flight is doable if you self-disembark or on one the very first groups off the ship. People are normally starting to be disembarked by 0800, you will need to allow 30 mins to collect luggage and clear Canadian Customs. You should be catching a cab by 0830 or walking over to Waterfront Station to catch the Canada Line to YVR. In either case you should allow about 35 mins so you should be out at YVR by 0930'ish. You need to allow to full hours to check in, clear US Customs and security.

[gymjudge55]

Why would we need to clear customs in Vancouver? We should only hit customs in Minnesota, the first time we are back on US soil. We are frequent visitors to Mexico and do not need to do anything with US customs while in a Mexican airport.

[Budget Queen]

Why would we need to clear customs in Vancouver? We should only hit customs in Minnesota, the first time we are back on US soil. We are frequent visitors to Mexico and do not need to do anything with US customs while in a Mexican airport.

 

Because the US customs is in Vancouver. Your Mexico experience has nothing to do with Vancouver.

[1of4]

Because the US customs is in Vancouver. Your Mexico experience has nothing to do with Vancouver.

 

To add:

 

The ship is returning to Canada from the US (Alaska) therefore you will have to go through customs at the port and at the airport where you will be leaving Canada and entering the US.

 

That said, on our HAL cruise last August we did not get advanced disembarkation and we left the ship at 8:30 when our colour was called, went through customs (eventhough we are Canadian and we were in Canada) collected our luggage, got a taxi and was at the airport at 9:30..for a 4:00 flight. We had to waste a lot of time.....

[Putterdude]

Why would we need to clear customs in Vancouver? We should only hit customs in Minnesota, the first time we are back on US soil. We are frequent visitors to Mexico and do not need to do anything with US customs while in a Mexican airport.

 

For almost as many years as I can remember your CBP people have provided services at a number of Canadian airports and train stations that provide direct service to the US....it keeps us undesirables out of the country.:)

[gymjudge55]

Still confused, so we clear customs when we get off the ship, then again at Vancouver airport and then AGAIN in our first US destination? Yikes. I am Canadian born (now a US citizen) and have crossed the border by land and air probably 50+ times, never had to go through this before although the Windsor/Detroit crossing can be brutal at times!

[scottbee]

Still confused, so we clear customs when we get off the ship, then again at Vancouver airport and then AGAIN in our first US destination? Yikes. I am Canadian born (now a US citizen) and have crossed the border by land and air probably 50+ times, never had to go through this before although the Windsor/Detroit crossing can be brutal at times!

 

YES, YES and NO (to your clearance questions)

 

YES - clear Canadian I&C at the dock

YES - clear USA I&C at the airport

NO - you just walk off your flight in the USA

 

Major Canadian airports have US pre-clearance. this means you clear US Immigration and Customs and then enter a special departure section of the airport where there are only US bound flights. On arrival into the USA you arrive as if you were a domestic flight. This is done partly because most US airports have extremely limited international sections.

 

The only US bound flights out of Vancouver that arent' pre-cleared are the two 5th freedom flights (MNL-YVR-LAS and HKG-YVR-JFK), and flights that leave YVR after about 9pm.