Awful Celebrity airport transfer at YVR

[Maligator]

If you're not into rants, this thread isn't for you.

 

We just got off a 5-night Alaska & Canada sailing on Millennium and I think I'll forego my usual multi-page cruise review, since it would mostly be about rough seas, ill-mannered passengers, and travelling with a mother-in-law.

 

However, I did want to share our experience with the debacle that was Celebrity's airport transfer on embarkation day. We flew in the day Millennium sailed and purchased the aforementioned transfer for myself, my wife, and her mother. Mom is 72 and can get around OK under normal circumstances.

 

First off, arriving a little before noon, we were among the mass of humanity at YVR's Customs corral. With several international flights arriving all at once, it's truly a horrible time to arrive, but that's hardly Celebrity's problem. So we spent at least an hour in that cattle pen, retrieved our luggage, and located the Celebrity greeters in the claim area.

 

One of the greeters led us outside, past a few vans, and into the taxi line. Um...what? She explained that this sailing was mostly locals and there weren't enough passengers who booked the transfer to warrant a coach or shuttle van. Their solution was to put incoming guests in taxis, give the driver a voucher, and send them to Canada Place. Sounds like a good plan? Consider there were three of us, each with a suitcase and a carry-on. Now consider that Vancouver has some goofy deal where the taxis are all hybrids. My first hint that this was doomed to fail was when our greeter presented the first cab driver in line with their voucher, which he looked at and asked what it was. Once she explained the voucher, he asked where to take us. How a Vancouver cabbie doesn't know what Canada Place is or - at least - where the big boats park is beyond me, but he needed directions.

 

So we wedge ourselves and all of our crap into this Prius and set out for Canada Place. The cab was stifling, made worse by the fact construction traffic on the main road didn't allow us to move much. I'm not knocking Celebrity for the cabbie's reluctance to turn on the AC, roll down a window, or familiarize himself with deodorant. Nor do I expect them to remove road construction. But we'd have been a hell of a lot more comfortable in a van or a bus.

 

Finally, we make it to Canada Place, but the adventure isn't over yet. The lone sign we saw (after passing it) was a boat icon over the driveway that goes under the Pan American Hotel. Well, that driveway was blocked by cones, barricades, and a traffic cop who waved us to keep moving. The result was the three of us dragging our stuff from a block away, down the ramp to the drop-off area. My 72 year-old mother-in-law was already tired and sore from the wait at Customs and this put her over the threshold of what her legs could take. From that moment on through our return home, her knees hurt so badly, one of us had to support her as she walked. This was on a Sunday and by Wednesday, we finally learned Guest Services had wheelchairs to lend out. I wish we'd known sooner, but I guess that's on us. Furthermore, I wish we'd gone with our instinct and told the cab driver to get bent, then find a proper means of getting to the pier.

 

I did complete the post-cruise survey and went into detail about this experience. I'm not looking for any remuneration, just correction. I suggested that if they're going to do this ridiculous taxi voucher nonsense, at least give the driver a map and written instructions on where to take passengers. "Just go down there and you'll see it" doesn't cut it.

 

To be fair, the transfer back to YVR was as easy as the transfer in was bad. That is to say it was a breeze.

[Tomato53]

The AirTrain runs from YVR to the main station next to Canada Place. 30 minutes, $4 CAD. Hard to beat.

[BEAV]

The AirTrain runs from YVR to the main station next to Canada Place. 30 minutes, $4 CAD. Hard to beat.

 

But with a 72-year with bad knees and luggage....??

[Fouremco]

I've taxied in from the airport innumerable times for cruises and for business and have generally found the taxis and drivers to be quite acceptable in all respects. Clearly your driver was an exception, just as there are exceptions in any city. I find it hard to fault Celebrity in this case, as putting passengers in a taxi sounds like quite a reasonable approach given the few passengers having booked the airport transfer. I think that the focus of your displeasure should be on the taxi driver, and if he was as bad as you describe, perhaps a letter to the company would be in order.

[Zoedokey]

How much was the transfer? A cab you found yourself would have cost you a flat fee of 30 or 35 CAD total plus tip. If you paid more than that, then you got robbed.

[Nachosdelux]

I'll never understand why people buy Celebrity vouchers (in most cities.)

 

Using the internet, one will discover that taxi/Uber/Lyft/private shuttle/public transit is cheaper, faster, and more convenient.

[Palms2Pines2Sea]

The AirTrain runs from YVR to the main station next to Canada Place. 30 minutes, $4 CAD. Hard to beat.

 

Sorry but this information is inaccurate.

There is a surcharge for skytrain departures from YVR. I believe the fare is closer to $9CAD.

But I completely agree that if you are not burdened by luggage or infirmity, then it is indeed hard to beat. Just wanted readers to understand the fare.

[Hobie]

I want to hear about the "ill mannered passengers" that you mentioned.

 

 

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[Maligator]

I've taxied in from the airport innumerable times for cruises and for business and have generally found the taxis and drivers to be quite acceptable in all respects. Clearly your driver was an exception, just as there are exceptions in any city. I find it hard to fault Celebrity in this case, as putting passengers in a taxi sounds like quite a reasonable approach given the few passengers having booked the airport transfer. I think that the focus of your displeasure should be on the taxi driver, and if he was as bad as you describe, perhaps a letter to the company would be in order.

 

While I don't expect them to hire a 60-seat coach for a handful of passengers, a van isn't asking for too much, IMO. Nor do I think we're out of line asking that Celebrity take steps to ensure that a transfer purchased from them be of sufficient quality that passengers aren't stuffed like sardines in some econo-roller skate.

 

How much was the transfer? A cab you found yourself would have cost you a flat fee of 30 or 35 CAD total plus tip. If you paid more than that, then you got robbed.

 

It was about that.

 

I'll never understand why people buy Celebrity vouchers (in most cities.)

 

Using the internet, one will discover that taxi/Uber/Lyft/private shuttle/public transit is cheaper, faster, and more convenient.

 

Cheaper? I'll concede that's likely. Faster? Doubtful. There seems to be only one way to get between YVR and Canada Place and it's all surface streets. On convenience, I'd say they break even, as they all pick up in the same spot.

 

I'm not sure how I ended up on the defensive here. We've had good results from other Celebrity transfers in the past. Walking out of the baggage claim and onto a shuttle has been the norm, not the exception. Call us Luddites, but we don't Uber. We're not above it. We just don't have any other occasion to use the service.

[NLH Arizona]

While I don't expect them to hire a 60-seat coach for a handful of passengers, a van isn't asking for too much, IMO. Nor do I think we're out of line asking that Celebrity take steps to ensure that a transfer purchased from them be of sufficient quality that passengers aren't stuffed like sardines in some econo-roller skate.

 

Were all the taxis cars? Did you ask for a larger vehicle? At most airport they have vans.

[Maligator]

I want to hear about the "ill mannered passengers" that you mentioned.

 

 

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There was a large (by "large," I mean 30-50% of the passengers) tour group who seem to have been on a B2B from the Transpacific sailing. The list of individual transgressions from this one group was long and distinguished. From my observations, many could not comprehend the concept of waiting in a line. More than once I saw someone with their tour company's lanyard bypass the queue as if we were waiting for something else. And if you were in their path, they'd simply run into you. I finally stopped giving way and remained an immovable object for them to navigate around. In Victoria, there was a slight delay in getting cleared to disembark and a lengthy line formed from the security checkpoint through the hallways and into the elevator lobby. I started hearing upset people behind me scolding someone and saw more of this group weaving through the gaps. Not a care in the world. Someone finally stood their ground and didn't yield. Soon after, on the pier in Victoria, I was pushing my mother-in-law's wheelchair toward the exit behind a different selection of about 10 with the same group. They had some kind of disagreement among themselves over who-knows-what and stopped, blocking the path and gumming up the procession. There was no effort to make a hole for anyone else to go by or an apology for the inconvenience. Just standing there while they argued. One guy kept looking back at us, but still didn't move, so he got moved involuntarily. Some might disagree with that part, but my reasoning was "When in Rome". Since that was how we were treated, it must be how they expect to be treated. Didn't even seem to phase him.

 

The one that made me cringe was one of our neighbors on Deck 8 wanted something. Our cabins were right outside the crew section, where certain officers have their cabins. It has a door marked "CREW". I don't know what she needed, but she opened the CREW door and started knocking on doors.

 

I'm not saying I haven't seen lack of courtesy from others. Just not in a group. Maybe it was a charter for the Socially-Disinclined and I missed the signs.

[Maligator]

Were all the taxis cars? Did you ask for a larger vehicle? At most airport they have vans.

 

The entire line was Prius or similar. I get the "greenie" vibe of Vancouver, but smaller is not always better. Maybe it's an ordinance.

[dodger1964]

...

It was about that.......

 

I assume you mean per person?

 

The cab isn't per person.

 

If I got in the cab and the driver didn't know where the "boats" were, I would have gotten out of the cab and gotten a different one.

[Luvcrusn]

Sorry for your awful experience. Looks like you learned the same lesson that we did 5 years ago with a X transfer in Puerto Rico. We purchased a X transfer to the airport on disembarkation day because we had a lot of shipboard credit to use up and a long layover between when we would disembark and our flight time. Rather than waste the leftover credit, or sit in an airport, or drag our bags around PR, we booked an excursion that would take us, along with our bags by bus to El Yunque rain forest for a tour and lunch, and then take us to the airport. The problem started when they loaded our luggage onto a flatbed instead of the bus. The assured us that our bags would be checked in and attended. (They weren't) We had a nice tour and lunch, and then hours later (7) we started for the airport. My DH was recovering from a torn Achilles, and so had problems walking and I was doing the luggage bag drags along with the help of any porters I could find. The bus driver asked those on the bus what airlines they were flying. We told him Jet Blue, which he promptly drove past and took us to a gate over a half mile away, where he discharged all his passengers, and refused to go back (but wanted a tip). We got out of the bus to find that our luggage was sitting, unattended and in the pouring rain, on the sidewalk OUTSIDE the airport. Unfortunately, our luggage was not the hard sided waterproof variety. We got our soaking wet, ruined bags and examined the contents to make sure that nothing had been added or subtracted. The Jet Blue terminal was not connected to where they left us, so we couldn't go inside. Unable to find a porter, (apparently they don't work on rainy afternoons) I had to do the half-mile bag drag in the pouring rain, and my DH being the gentleman he always is, was trying to help, but could only handle our carry ons and had trouble with the long walk due to his Achilles problem. We then had to check in our soaked ruined bags and explain that the reason they were overweight was that they had absorbed 7 hours worth of rain! Since then, we have declined to use X airport transfers either before or after a cruise. They are generally 2x the price that we can do on our own, and after that fiasco, are way less desirable. :(

[Fouremco]

While I don't expect them to hire a 60-seat coach for a handful of passengers, a van isn't asking for too much, IMO. Nor do I think we're out of line asking that Celebrity take steps to ensure that a transfer purchased from them be of sufficient quality that passengers aren't stuffed like sardines in some econo-roller skate.

Had the few passengers who arranged for the Celebrity transfer all arrived on the same flight or even at the same time, I agree that a van would have been reasonable. As there were only three of you, a taxi is reasonable IMO. As for the "quality" of the taxi, in theory all taxis making pick ups at the airport meet the municipal standards, and it's unrealistic to expect the Celebrity representative to inspect individual taxis and their drivers for cleanliness, temperature, driver's hygiene, use of deodorant, etc., etc..

 

As I said previously, it sounds like you have a legitimate complaint, but IMO it's with the taxi company, not with Celebrity.

[Nachosdelux]

Faster? Doubtful.

 

It is definitely faster because there are rarely lines for UBer/Taxi/etc, so it leaves when you are ready.

 

The Celebrity transfer (bus) does not leave until it fills up, then you wait at the destination for them to unload all the luggage, then fight the line/crowd to get yours.

[Lastdance]

Nowadays, there is always an issue anytime you travel. Vacations are never stress free. Flying always is hit or miss, but it depends on the airline. When you travel with older relatives, that adds another dimension to everything else. Unfortunately, this, in many instances, is the new normal for many of us.

 

Your conundrum of a story should not have happened, but the more people involved, the more experience for error IMHO. Even if you plan every single detail, something seems to go wrong that is not remotely your fault. I pay a lot more for my vacations and do not take as many just to keep my sanity. Crazy, but I hate all the hassles. However, I do understand your frustration because I have been there....

 

 

 

 

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[WpgCruise]

I sympathize with the O.P..

 

If they buy a transfer from Celebrity the service provided should be up to Celebrity "Standards" A small taxi which can't provide the comfort for 3 people with luggage won't pass muster. A driver who does not where to go isn't what they paid for.

 

The O.P. bought the transfer from Celebrity and expected a certain standard, it's not really their problem that Celebrity didn't have enough customers for a proper van or bus.

 

As far as Taxi drivers who lack personal hygiene standards, crappy cars, drivers who don't know where they're going, and don't speak English, let me tell you about our last several cabs in Miami. ......

[sanger727]

I sympathize with the OP but can def see how this happened. I personally try not to book anything through intermediary companies because I prefer to deal with the company providing the service directly. I don't think Celebrity did anything wrong here, although OP certainly didn't receive what they paid for. I've had companies do the same thing with a taxi voucher as opposed to a bus when I was in a small group needing transporation - they can't be blamed for the taxi's being small or the driver being bad.

 

That being said, would want to mention the great experience we had with uber recently. Really worth a try if you haven't. We took uber from the hotel to airport in Tamp in Jan. I put in the hotel name/address. As the driver was taking us he was following the directions provided to him via uber's technology and we went straight past the hotel. I thought we would have to go around the block or walk due to this but sure enough, the hotel's driveway is on a completely different street so their street address is very misleading. You cannot access the hotel from it. We were taken to the correct place and dropped off at the door. Later as we were walking around the area we saw a shuttle bus that had just unloaded all of it's passengers and it's luggage at the street address for the hotel. They were unhappy to find out that they had to load it all back in and go to a different location to get into the hotel.

[avcruz]

Just a few points of clarification:

It's the Pan Pacific Hotel, not the Pan American.

It's SkyTrain or Canada Line not AirTrain.

We don't have Uber in Vancouver.

That same taxi company with the Prius (yes most of our cabs are Prius, and yes in large part it's because of that "green" thing) does offer vans - I would definitely have asked.

But you are right - that the cabbie wouldn't know Canada Place, especially during cruise season, is inexcusable. I'm so sorry that your first impression was tainted by that cab ride. I hope you'll consider returning to Vancouver and staying a little longer - it really is lovely here.

 

 

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[Maligator]

Just a few points of clarification:

It's the Pan Pacific Hotel, not the Pan American.

It's SkyTrain or Canada Line not AirTrain.

We don't have Uber in Vancouver.

That same taxi company with the Prius (yes most of our cabs are Prius, and yes in large part it's because of that "green" thing) does offer vans - I would definitely have asked.

But you are right - that the cabbie wouldn't know Canada Place, especially during cruise season, is inexcusable. I'm so sorry that your first impression was tainted by that cab ride. I hope you'll consider returning to Vancouver and staying a little longer - it really is lovely here.

 

 

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Save for the one cab experience and the queue at Customs, we've loved Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Some of our fondest vacation memories were from our 2010 sailing with a few days in and around the area. To this day, I still look back fondly on whipping through Discovery Passage in a RIB, watching orca breech and play. We caught a ride with a buddy out of Boundary Bay and scooted up the valley to Chilliwack for pie (an experience I understand has come to an end). We've even remarked that we wouldn't say no to a summer house in Campbell River or Victoria.

[ChucktownSteve]

That being said, would want to mention the great experience we had with uber recently. Really worth a try if you haven't. We took uber from the hotel to airport in Tamp in Jan. I put in the hotel name/address. As the driver was taking us he was following the directions provided to him via uber's technology and we went straight past the hotel. I thought we would have to go around the block or walk due to this but sure enough, the hotel's driveway is on a completely different street so their street address is very misleading. You cannot access the hotel from it. We were taken to the correct place and dropped off at the door. Later as we were walking around the area we saw a shuttle bus that had just unloaded all of it's passengers and it's luggage at the street address for the hotel. They were unhappy to find out that they had to load it all back in and go to a different location to get into the hotel.

 

Your experience in Tampa has absolutely NOTHING to do with the OP's Vancouver experience. Especially since Vancouver doesn't have Uber and last time I checked, was in a different country.

[Zoedokey]

What does Celebrity charge per person for this "service".

 

 

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[Maligator]

What does Celebrity charge per person for this "service".

 

 

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In the neighborhood of US$25-30/per person, if I recall correctly.

[bassplyer]

When we flew out of Vancouver we hired a van via a limo service. It worked very well. I THINK it was Star Limo service. Not cheap but really fast and stress free.

 

The Vancouver airport is one of my very least favorite airports. Just one line after another. The luggage check in process was rediculous!