FIRST TIME OUT OF VANCOUVER PORT

[coachmouchet]

So, we will be sailing on the Volendam, Wednesday, July 26.  The Sapphire Princess and the Regent Seven Seas Explorer also leave the same day.

I hear it can be a total nightmare leaving from Canada Place!  

I know that check-in time really doesn't mean much in Ft. Lauderdale.  However, does it matter more in Vancouver?

My check-in time is set at 10:20 am.  Due to long lines at US Immigration, what has been a rule of thumb at what time I should

arrive compared to my check-in time?  Or does it not really matter at this port like Ft Lauderdale?

Thank you for any suggestions!

[oakridger]

Based on my previous four embarkations in Canada Place I wouldn't arrive any earlier than your 10:20 check in time because the last of the people debarking will have just finished and left the terminal by then.  If it was me, I'd arrive at 10:20 or wait until about 1:30pm to avoid the most crowds.  People reporting here on CC seem to have varying experiences.  Some with hours of waiting and some with hardly any waits!

 

Bring patience and have a great cruise!

 

~Nancy

[coachmouchet]

Also, how long of a walk is it from the Waterfront train station to the cruise port?

[weix]

5 to 7 minutes

[kdakda]

We boarded a month ago.  Started the walk in the convention center at 10:30 and were sitting down before 11 am.  It seemed to go very well.

[kdakda]

I forgot to add that there were also 2 other ships in port that day.  Perhaps the "beginning of a new season" challenges have been worked out.

 

[QueenofEverything]

Having 3 ships in that day makes a big difference and not for the better.  It will be very crowded and most likely unorganized.  I have found the lack of signage surprising.  Pack your patience! 

[Mary229]

As Bruce reminds us often, that is check in time not boarding time.  Rarely does boarding commence until after 11 at any port.   It simply isn’t possible to ready the ship prior.  I wait until after 11:30 or even later.  Drop your bags and enjoy the waterfront.  One of the special things about Vancouver is the ship is in a nice  walkable part of town.  

Edited July 22, 2023 by Mary229

[Sea-n-Ease]

We plan to drop off our luggage early, then go have brunch in town.  For a 4:00 departure time, what’s the latest we should return to Canada Place?

[Roz]

I believe all aboard is at least 1 hour before sail away. 

[Heartgrove]

Don't worry about having three ships that day. The Volendam (1,450 passengers) and Regent Seven Seas Explorer (750 passengers) barely equal another ship the size of the Sapphire Princess (2,670 passengers). When we sailed from Vancouver we were aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam (2,100 passengers) sharing Canada Place with the Coral Princess (2,000 passengers) and Celebrity Infinity (2,170 passengers) without a problem.

[OlsSalt]

The Pan Pacific hotel may have great views of your ship if it is docked right next to their outdoor patio restaurant, if you want to wait your time there. 

[CNSJ]

Relax and enjoy watching the seaplanes land and take off.  Even better with cup of coffee!

[DTtravelers]

So you are actually going through US customs while in Vancouver Place (to enter Alaska), correct? 

 

Is there a Global Entry line separate from the main line? 

[oakridger]

4 minutes ago, DTtravelers said:

So you are actually going through US customs while in Vancouver Place (to enter Alaska), correct? 

 

Is there a Global Entry line separate from the main line? 

 

You go through both USA and Canada Immigration checks when boarding. I don't remember specifically about the Global Entry line.  I have it, but it was all a big blur unfortunately!!

 

There is lots of walking to embark/debark in Canada Place!!  Last time I had a mobility problem (temporary I hope) and made use of the wonderful wheelchair pushing service. I would never have been able to get through the check-in and on board in the time allotted otherwise!!

 

~Nancy

[OlsSalt]

Maybe with luck this will be your ship coming in across the Pan Pacific Hotel outdoor patio, seen at the right end of the sails on the roof of Canada Place, in the center of the photo.

[*Miss G*]

57 minutes ago, oakridger said:

You go through both USA and Canada Immigration checks when boarding

 

There is no Canada immigration check upon boarding.  It is US CBP Pre-Clearance only.  You may be thinking of the security check.

 

1 hour ago, DTtravelers said:

Is there a Global Entry line separate from the main line? 

 

Some have reported the GE/NEXUS lane as operational; others have reported it was not.  Upon asking the CBP Officer for the trusted traveler lane (as we saw the sign), we were told it was regular lane only; no GE/NEXUS.  They had three operational lanes: one for Canada/US passport holders; another for world passports; and a third lane for handicapped-accessible.

[oakridger]

Just now, *Miss G* said:

There is no Canada immigration check upon boarding.  It is US CBP Pre-Clearance only.  You may be thinking of the security check.

 

Oh jeez, I'm so sorry for the incorrect info!  🫢  As I mentioned, it was such a blur that I really thought that we saw both Canada and US immigration on boarding!  I've boarded four times there and sure thought so.

 

I'll be more careful on checking my facts before posting from now on!!

 

Thanks @Miss G!!

 

~Nancy

 

 

[*Miss G*]

3 minutes ago, oakridger said:

 

Oh jeez, I'm so sorry for the incorrect info!  🫢  As I mentioned, it was such a blur that I really thought that we saw both Canada and US immigration on boarding!  I've boarded four times there and sure thought so.

 

I'll be more careful on checking my facts before posting from now on!!

 

Thanks @Miss G!!

 

~Nancy

 

 

 

No harm; no foul.  😉

[auntmeg]

Here's the check-in/boarding process I recently went through in Vancouver. Overall, the process didn't seem overly long except that Nieuw Amsterdam wasn't ready for us to board. But be aware that there are several steps.

 

• Luggage drop
• Cruise check in (the cruise company staff checks your passport and takes your picture and gives you a orange slip of paper to get you to the next step)
• Security screening (much like in an airport - your carry on bags will go through a x-ray machine and you will go through a metal detector - you are standing in line for a while moving through the stanchions)
• US Customs (you will scan your passport, answer the questions, and get a printout that gets you to the next step - you are standing in line for a while moving through the stanchions)
• Boarding (which involves waiting for the ship to be ready - you will likely sit in chairs while waiting - then you will take the long walk to the ship)

[3rdGenCunarder]

Comment on the return. If your last port is Victoria, you will have done Canadian Immigration before that port. Just a form to hand in, very few people get called for a face-to-face interview. So when you get to Vancouver, you do not have to go through Immigration there, which makes things faster.

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 hours ago, auntmeg said:

Here's the check-in/boarding process I recently went through in Vancouver. Overall, the process didn't seem overly long except that Nieuw Amsterdam wasn't ready for us to board. But be aware that there are several steps.

 

• Luggage drop
• Cruise check in (the cruise company staff checks your passport and takes your picture and gives you a orange slip of paper to get you to the next step)
• Security screening (much like in an airport - your carry on bags will go through a x-ray machine and you will go through a metal detector - you are standing in line for a while moving through the stanchions)
• US Customs (you will scan your passport, answer the questions, and get a printout that gets you to the next step - you are standing in line for a while moving through the stanchions)
• Boarding (which involves waiting for the ship to be ready - you will likely sit in chairs while waiting - then you will take the long walk to the ship)

 

I love that sign! Is it new? My last "normal" boarding in Vancouver was in 2017, and I don't remember seeing it. I do remember the very long walk and turning lots of corners. I felt like Dorothy starting out on the spiral of the Yellow Brick Road!

 

My last time boarding in Vancouver was June 2022, and not at all normal. They still were requiring tests and ArriveCAN, so the process started upstairs in the convention center. Very complicated, and we entered the process at a different point with almost no signage.

[helby]

22 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

The Pan Pacific hotel may have great views of your ship if it is docked right next to their outdoor patio restaurant, if you want to wait your time there. 

HAL almost always  docks at the West Berth and Volendam will be there on July 26th. If you want to wait to board there is a walkway with restaurants and great views to the west of the pier in and around the west Convention Center building. The Pan Pacific is to the east of the pier so no views of Volendam from there.

[Midwest Sunseeker]

18 hours ago, oakridger said:

 

You go through both USA and Canada Immigration checks when boarding. I don't remember specifically about the Global Entry line.  I have it, but it was all a big blur unfortunately!!

 

There is lots of walking to embark/debark in Canada Place!!  Last time I had a mobility problem (temporary I hope) and made use of the wonderful wheelchair pushing service. I would never have been able to get through the check-in and on board in the time allotted otherwise!!

 

~Nancy

How were you able to set up the service?  

[oakridger]

52 minutes ago, Midwest Sunseeker said:

How were you able to set up the service?  

 

You can inform HAL in your booking through your TA but in this case, I just asked one of the port people when I arrived at the beginning of the Canada Place check-in area. You may have to wait in a seating area for the staff to be available to bring the wheelchair and you through all the immigration and security. Then that port wheelchair employee hands you off to a HAL employee to bring you onboard.  I have always tipped the people for wheeling my large self around!!!  I appreciate them so much!

 

~Nancy