Vancouver

[MamasitaRita]

Looking at flights from vancouver to Chicago. Is a 10:30 am flight too early if the ship docs at 8am? Thanks much

[mking8288]

Don't even think about doing it, unless your home airport is in Canada - otherwise, if you have an int'l departure, i.e. back to the USA ... you would be clearing US CBP at the airport, plus Canada's exit immigration - and security screening. Allow no less than 3 to 3.5 hours for getting to your airline's gate for flight departure. If you have Pre-Check and are flying F for B/J class with priority, you might be able to do it for less.

 

If the ship docks at 8 am, add whatever time for the vessel to be cleared & escorted passengers or otherwise be among the first to walk off with luggage ... plus, to ground transportation, wait and travel time to YVR from downtown (30+ minutes) or doing the SkyTrain.

 

Look for flight options after 1 to 1:30 pm - I know choices are limited, if any, depending on your final destination ... and $$ prices during the peak season for cruising. But, it is what it is. Don't even think about a 10:30 am with the ship docking at 8 am, even if you have trip insurance, not worth the anxiety and trouble for being next to impossible & unlikely to work at all - IMHO.

[MamasitaRita]

Thanks MKING8288.

[YVRBassElectric]

I live in Vancouver I agree with MKING8288! Stay overnight, away from Downtown prices aren't that insane

[mking8288]

I live in Vancouver ... Stay overnight, away from Downtown prices aren't that insane

Thanks for validating our bias. I was hoping to hear otherwise, but airport's US CBP hasn't been anything different in the last 30+ years during our somewhat "infrequent" visits - nasty attitude & indifferent, unlike hospitality on the Canadian end.

 

We usually stay in Richmond by the airport, although I still missed the hotel views toward Stanley Park, the good old Westin (whatever it's called these days) on the waterfront then. Downtown hotel's room prices would get us into suite prices or club level upgrade, agreed about staying an extra night to enjoy the city's culture & diversity. Still, we hated getting up at 3 am for an ultra early checkout, shuttled over to the airport & start the silly queues for getting thru 3 check points at 4:30 am to make our 7 am flight.

[martincath]

If your time budget allows, staying over is definitely the wise move. That said, a 10:30am flight is very doable with a couple of caveats: first, self disembarkation is a necessity; second, in case the cab queue is long (e.g. another ship in port opens their doors before yours - even if you're first off your ship, no guarantees there won't already be a queue for CBSA!) know where SkyTrain is so you can ensure your arrival at YVR within ~45mins of getting off the ship; and not a necessity but a BIG risk reduction is to have Global Entry or NEXUS for your party - these give you shortcuts through both Security and CBP Preclearance at YVR.

 

If something catastrophic happens, a flight at 1pm isn't really any safer than one at 10:30am - the once in a blue moon things like computer failures at YVR or huge power cuts have seen folks taking 6+ hours to get to their gate; if you get pulled for secondary inspection you could be in there for minutes or many hours; and if your ship breaks down there could be no safe same-day flight time at all. But as long as you control the most-likely-to cause-problems variable - when you get off the ship - you remove almost all of the practical risk.

 

The only time 3 hours is actually required to get through the queues at YVR is in extremely busy periods. Since the kiosks were installed for all US/Canadian citizens, YVR is like a different airport when it comes to CBP queues - much, much quicker to get each person processed on average so what was the biggest bottleneck is now usually faster than the Security checkpoint! Yes, 3 or 4 ships all disgorging their pax means thousands of people headed to YVR - but most of those people are spread across disembarkation groups that run from just after 7am all the way to after 9am, and many are daft enough to take cruise transfers which are pretty much always the slowest possible way to travel as well as the most expensive.

 

If you self-disembark you will beat the majority of your fellow pax off, therefore also beat them to the cab queue or SkyTrain, therefore also beat them to YVR - so the queues will be much more civilized. Plus, many among the folks who don't stay over in a hotel will have an afternoon or evening flight - thanks to most post-cruise tours being 4 hours and leaving about 9am from the pier, there's another surge at about 1:30pm as the 'free' airport drops after the tour mostly arrive about then. Cruiselines all recommend 12:30 or later, so every person with a cruiseline transfer is guaranteed to be well after the timeslot you will be at YVR, and most folks play it safe with a later flight too.

 

Search the boards - lots of folks asking similar questions to you over the years, and even pre-Kiosks it was quite achievable to catch a 10am US-bound flight. The typical post-action report went along the lines of 'off ship at X, in cab at X+10mins, at airport X+45mins, at gate X+60-75mins' - it's easily possible to be at the airport before 8am if you self-disembark!

 

Regardless though, staying over is the BEST plan - and there's no need to cripple your limited sightseeing with an airport hotel. The YWCA Hotel is cheaper than any of them - and better-reviewed as well! Unless you store luggage downtown - and have to then come back to where you left it - or have it shipped ahead to YVR, you have to waste 90mins+ to get out to an airport hotel, drop bags, and come back to where the action is. If you refuse to use transit, you also have two cab fares for approx $80 - add that to the cost of your airport hotel and plenty of downtown hotels become a better deal even if you value your time at next-to-nothing...

 

Oh, and if you do stay over the sweet spot for early flights is to arrive a little after 5am; even if the flight is as early as 6:30am. CBP do not open until 4:30am and almost never actually start work on time as they have their shift briefing first. There are enough flights each day at ~8am or earlier that because most tourists will do the 'be three hours early' thing it means there is always a queue of folks waiting for CBP to open - and when they do, it takes about a half hour to get that big pile of folks through. We take the first SkyTrain of the day - which arrives a touch before 5:15am - and have never had to wait more than moments anywhere, breezing right through to the gate. At that time of day, our NEXUS cards only save us a couple of minutes as the Regular Joe queues are all flowing smoothly with low passenger numbers too.

[YVRBassElectric]

 

it's easily possible to be at the airport before 8am if you self-disembark!

 

 

You provided a lot of great information but missed that OP says ship docks at 8am

[Notnewtoit]

Thanks for validating our bias. I was hoping to hear otherwise, but airport's US CBP hasn't been anything different in the last 30+ years during our somewhat "infrequent" visits - nasty attitude & indifferent, unlike hospitality on the Canadian end.

 

Yep, CBP had a special 'a**hole' selection process to work at YVR... they are the worst I have ever experienced anywhere, ever. Also the lines are often out the door.... 10:30am... don't do it.

[martincath]

You provided a lot of great information but missed that OP says ship docks at 8am

... indeed I did, thanks for flagging that! Which would make a 10:30am flight extremely tight and invalidates much of my post. If it's the only ship in port that day, still quite possible (especially with NEXUS or GE) as you'd definitely be at YVR before 9am and likely still be at your gate almost an hour before your flight; but on a 2+ ship day since most dock by 7am you'd have a thousand or more folks from each other vessel ahead of you in cab queue and clogging all the lines at YVR. Definitely not a sensible risk.

[Notnewtoit]

... indeed I did, thanks for flagging that! Which would make a 10:30am flight extremely tight and invalidates much of my post. If it's the only ship in port that day, still quite possible (especially with NEXUS or GE) as you'd definitely be at YVR before 9am and likely still be at your gate almost an hour before your flight; but on a 2+ ship day since most dock by 7am you'd have a thousand or more folks from each other vessel ahead of you in cab queue and clogging all the lines at YVR. Definitely not a sensible risk.

 

Hey... SS Uganda! I did the same... must have been around 1978-9... what an experience! Makes me think that my enjoyment of cruising was programmed way back then!

[YVRBassElectric]

Yep, CBP had a special 'a**hole' selection process to work at YVR... they are the worst I have ever experienced anywhere, ever. Also the lines are often out the door.... 10:30am... don't do it.

 

This shouldn't make me laugh but it does!

 

I thought all CBP were the same, until I was in NJ in 2015, the first 2 were laughing and joking, noticed that my sister and I had the same birthday and then an extra line was opened at the xray machine, as they felt the line was to long (shorter than most lines I have experienced at YVR)

[RD29P5]

And I thought it was just me with CBP at YVR. Although the young lady from Canada's version of TSA who wanted to confiscate the fudge in my carry-on because it was a "gel like" material was not one of the more pleasant experience's I've had in Canada.

[martincath]

Hey... SS Uganda! I did the same... must have been around 1978-9... what an experience! Makes me think that my enjoyment of cruising was programmed way back then!

Yup, same for me - I still actually have the pen (whoop-de-doo!) that us Magellans won for having the cleanest dorm on the ship! Thus began my love of traveling as my family were total stay-at-home types, unwilling to get on a plane or a ship (despite many cousins, aunt/uncles, and great-grand-people emigrating to Australia/NZ/Canada). This was my first solo trip anywhere more than a bike ride away from home, and first vacation that did not involve a car ride with 2 siblings sharing the back seat, and it only happened at all because of two wars...

 

I only got the chance to go as a relatively last-minute and dirt-cheap offering was made to pretty much every school in the UK in an attempt to fill the ship thanks to two different wars impacting the vessel's deployment. As you might know if you followed any news of the old girl, the Uganda was turned into a hospital ship during the Falklands Conflict - all the cruises for months ahead were cancelled. Even though that was resolved quickly and it turned back into a cruiser within ~4 months and tried to pick up its previously-planned schedule of touring the Mediterranean again, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon came almost at the same time the Falklands ended. A ton of folks pulled their kids from the not-already-cancelled-due-to-the-Falklands trips which involved Israel as they didn't want their kids sent to visit a war zone - whereas my parents were thrilled that they could get rid of me for a couple of weeks and only have to pay a hundred quid, which was basically free as they said that it was going to be both my next Christmas and Birthday prezzie plus they didn't have to feed me;-)

 

As it turned out, we were actually the second-last group of kids ever to sail on her as she was chartered again for use ferrying stores between Ascension Island and the Falklands to help stock the now-much-larger UK military presence on the Falklands, then was laid up for good after a couple of years of that. When we got home there was a bunch of press coverage of the next, and final, batch of kids boarding - but I guess nobody wanted to speak to any of us lot who were only on the penultimate cruise even though it was the same port just a few hours earlier!!!

 

Aside from having the ship guarded in Haifa to make sure we didn't leave except in the approved tour groups, a ban on photo taking we didn't feel any impact from the war - as a 10 year old I just thought it was super awesome that our otherwise boring bus rides between the sights in Israel had loads of checkpoints, convoys of tanks and trucks etc.

 

In fact we actually got to see the fancy part of the ship, normally totally off-limits to us plebs as this was still the days of totally-separate Class-based travel (IIRC there were about 150 each 'first class' and 'tourist class' cabins, while our dorms were inside some of the original cargo holds!), because the Israelis would only allow one gangplank to operate so they didn't have to waste too much manpower guarding us. Rather than make the fancy folks walk any distance to get off, they placed the gangplank in the First Class area so we got to walk through a ludicrously swank lobby to get off and on. I swear the shag carpet was tickling the back of my knees it was so plush;-)

[don't-use-real-name]

You provided a lot of great information but missed that OP says ship docks at 8am

 

Lets step back a moment - What ship are you on and when is the sailing ?

 

If it is the BLISS - next year sailing will be a problem getting under the Lions Gate Bridge with the tides !

Otherwise the smaller NCL ships easily will be able to dock without any trouble.

 

Next up the ships do not dock exactly at 8 am - in most cases it is earlier.

The big BIG hang-up is getting clearance from the authorities to disembark.

 

Respecting the reports from the local resident YVR folks a 10:30am airline departure is possible

with all the knowledge of the ins and outs and everything clicking to the tune of Mission Impossible.

For locals it can be done if the authorities are not in one of their moods.

Abandon hope all ye others.

 

Things to consider is that not only do you have to clear Canada/USA customs but also the TSA

requirements - airline check-in and being at the gate in the time prescribed. Having an affinity relationship

with an airline will help as well as PRE-CK and a First or Business class ticket.

 

NCL transfers LINK:

https://www.ncl.com/getting-to-the-pier/transfers-and-car-services

 

With the NCL transfers to YVR a 1PM flight is easily done.

With your destination of Chicago CTZ (central time zone) a 1pm departure arrives around 6-7pm

(2 hour time zone adjustment and 3.5 hours of flight +/-)

 

Another alternative is the NCL transfer to SEA/TAC airport for flights leaving at 4pm and arriving ORD 9-10pm

*** Check your airfares - flights within the USA are generally less expensive than those with a departure out of Canada !

 

Staying overnight is a solution with a cost factor of the hotel and transportation to the airport next day.