Vancouver Embarkation

[Btimmer]

We boarded the Noordam in Vancouver a few weeks ago.  We arrived around 12:30pm on a charter bus from Tukwila.  The check-in with HAL was fairly quick, BUT the long serpentine line for the US Customs pre-clearance was very long with 3 ships in port.  We didn't get on the ship until around 3pm and we were among the last onboard. It was probably the 2nd worst embarkation we've experienced with the first being the NS sailing out of Boston last year.

[RuthC]

13 minutes ago, PSR said:

 

If you don't need to use this for embarkation, who do you contact to get a wheelchair at the port when boarding? Thank you for any information.

Even if you do complete the form for embarkation, you will still have to follow the same process, since no one is awaiting your arrival. 

If you are traveling with someone who is able-bodied, have them seat you someplace comfortable, while they go looking for someone who looks like they are in charge. Doesn't matter if they are really in charge of anything, they just have to look it. They might be holding on to a clipboard, or will likely have a badge. Your 'peep' can ask them, and that person will either direct them, or call on someone for assistance. 

If you are traveling alone, struggle to that person who looks in charge, and plead for assistance. You might also ask the porter taking your luggage, but that has never been my first choice, as he is grabbing bags and tips. You can ask him where to find help, though, and he will point you in the right direction. 

[gregma60]

4 hours ago, MonikaJ42 said:

The name of the video is 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐕𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐞 - 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰

thank you!  This was from 2 months ago, 14th June.  I remember there were lots of issues back then. 

 

-gregma

Edited August 11, 2023 by gregma60

[vicd1969]

I am going to give Vancouver a go this Sunday, will let Y’all know how it went boarding the Nieuw Amsterdam. While there are going to be 3 ships that day, the other two at least aren’t mega ships - Celebrity Eclipse and RC Brilliance of the Seas. The video was a big help putting together visually what I have read so far,  though the video poster was lucky with a midweek departure.

[Gunther1]

I just watched the video and it’s pretty accurate.  The vast majority of cruises we’ve taken are out of either Seattle or Vancouver….and it’s apples and oranges.  

 

Seattle is SO much better.  

 

My biggest gripe about Vancouver is the lack of clear signage and personnel (like Seattle, they are not HAL employees) that aren’t exactly helpful.  

 

Seattle, on the other hand, has clear paths, logical signage, and the employees seem to want to actually help.
 

My two cents…….your mileage may vary.,

[gregma60]

Just watched that video.  What I saw was a very smooth, efficient, fast embarkation process.  They even mentioned several times how quick things were.  Neither my wife or I could find any chaos or anything that would leave us to believe there was going to be issues.  And this is our very first cruise.  I've been in a lot worse in the Atlanta airport, the Miami airport, and the Vancouver airport.  In fact, I appreciate you sharing this, we are much more at ease now.

 

-gregma

[visagrunt]

After a very rough start to the season in May things settled down considerably.  I boarded Koningsdam in the first week of June and I was on board in less than an hour, with most of that time being taken up sitting in the separate hold room for priority embarkation.  A travelling companion who arrived about an hour after we did had a walk-through experience.

The two key criteria are:  the number of ships turning around (two is an easy day; three depends on size); and staffing levels at US pre-clearance.  The same staff handle both Canada Place and YVR, and YVR gets priority.  If US CBP is short staffed it's Canada Place that's going to experience that.

There is a lot of distance to cover.  That's essentially unavoidable because of how the process now needs to be structured to conform with US CBP requirements that check-in and security precede pre-clearance.  Check in used to be the last step in the process which meant everything could happen on one level in a basically straight line.  That is unachievable now with the passenger loads and process flow.

[MonikaJ42]

11 hours ago, visagrunt said:

After a very rough start to the season in May things settled down considerably.  I boarded Koningsdam in the first week of June and I was on board in less than an hour, with most of that time being taken up sitting in the separate hold room for priority embarkation.  A travelling companion who arrived about an hour after we did had a walk-through experience.

The two key criteria are:  the number of ships turning around (two is an easy day; three depends on size); and staffing levels at US pre-clearance.  The same staff handle both Canada Place and YVR, and YVR gets priority.  If US CBP is short staffed it's Canada Place that's going to experience that.

There is a lot of distance to cover.  That's essentially unavoidable because of how the process now needs to be structured to conform with US CBP requirements that check-in and security precede pre-clearance.  Check in used to be the last step in the process which meant everything could happen on one level in a basically straight line.  That is unachievable now with the passenger loads and process flow.

This is so helpful, thank you so much!!!

[gregma60]

1 hour ago, MonikaJ42 said:

This is so helpful, thank you so much!!!

I'll be there in less than 2 weeks, I'll also report my experience going through everything.

 

-gregma

[MonikaJ42]

6 minutes ago, gregma60 said:

I'll be there in less than 2 weeks, I'll also report my experience going through everything.

 

-gregma

Thank you, that would be great!  Appreciate it!

[robotpony]

We sail out of Vancouver regularly, most recently in April. We have experienced check-ins that were under and hour, and a few that were closer to two hours. Overall the experience is similar to Ft. Lauderdale on a busy day. The big caveat being that the customs line can be slow if understaffed, but it's usually better than the customs line at Vancouver airport. There have been some signage issues in the past, but we found in April that there were enough staffs and signs that people were flowing into the security line without issue.

 

For anyone with mobility issues, there is a separate line that goes much faster (it was to the left of the main queue in April). We travel with friends that have mobility issues, and they always beat us on to the ship. Port staff should be able to help folks find the mobility line.

 

You may also find that the port is busier in the mornings as most people ignore their boarding times. If you can skip that early rush, you can cut the boarding time in half or more.

[MonikaJ42]

25 minutes ago, robotpony said:

We sail out of Vancouver regularly, most recently in April. We have experienced check-ins that were under and hour, and a few that were closer to two hours. Overall the experience is similar to Ft. Lauderdale on a busy day. The big caveat being that the customs line can be slow if understaffed, but it's usually better than the customs line at Vancouver airport. There have been some signage issues in the past, but we found in April that there were enough staffs and signs that people were flowing into the security line without issue.

 

For anyone with mobility issues, there is a separate line that goes much faster (it was to the left of the main queue in April). We travel with friends that have mobility issues, and they always beat us on to the ship. Port staff should be able to help folks find the mobility line.

 

You may also find that the port is busier in the mornings as most people ignore their boarding times. If you can skip that early rush, you can cut the boarding time in half or more.

Thank you for your post, this helps a lot.  Really appreciate it.  I'm feeling much better about the whole process.  

[westcoasttech]

As a Vancouver-ite (who has also worked at the Port checkin in past years), I recommend to arrive at the port either early (before 11 am) or late (after 2 - 2:30pm).  If you arrive early, it can be quicker to get through check in, security and immigration, but you may have to wait to board  - they normally set up a waiting area with chairs.  If you arrive later, you should miss the "lunch rush" and have a smooth trip through security, but you might also miss the main lunch options onboard.  So take your pick!

You can request wheelchair assistance, but you would probably have a wait as there are usually limited numbers of chairs provided by the cruiselines.  If you have your own mobility assistance, there used to be a "short-cut" you could use to avoid the main line for security (they let you use the crew entrance) - so look for signs.  There used to be a limit to the number of people that could accompany the mobility assisted person through the shortcut (a limit dictated by US authorities, so don't take it out on the port staff!) to avoid the large family groups ALL accompanying "Grandma" through the shortcut!

And yes, if you are early in the season things can get confused with new staff not knowing what is going on!  New hires are often students with no experience of cruising ... look for the older staff who look like they know what's going on 😜!

[Ineke]

If you will be embarking on the Volendam, it is my understanding that its turn-around days are Wednesdays, when things are likely to be much quieter than on a weekend.

[DaveOKC]

49 minutes ago, Ineke said:

If you will be embarking on the Volendam, it is my understanding that its turn-around days are Wednesdays, when things are likely to be much quieter than on a weekend.

We are sailing on a Wednesday, but three ships are at Canada Place that day!

 

[westcoasttech]

4 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

We are sailing on a Wednesday, but three ships are at Canada Place that day!

 

This year Volendam is sharing Canada Place with Sapphire Princess (2,600 pax) and Seven Seas Explorer (700 pax) - every 2 weeks - so you can more or less discount the Explorer (or any of the smaller luxury ships) from your concerns.  While they do add a little to the foot traffic, they tend to be focused on a narrow time frame for going through the "hoops" of Canada Place.  Sapphire is a medium-large ship, but still not close to the largest that come through the Port.  

 

With the Volendam being approx 1,400 that's still less than 5K pax for the day total ... in past years the port had days (Quantum, Ovation, or larger NCL ships) at the beginning and end of the season with closer to 10K pax for the day ... then you'd have to worry!

 

(Source for pax numbers - google, so they are approximate!)

[vicd1969]

Im about 75-% through the customs and border control line here today in Vancouver. It has been about 1 hour and 15 minutes so far, started the queuing around 1 pm. Checkin and security took about a combined 16-17 minutes, was a breeze. Baggage Drop-off also easy if you know to go to P2 North of the garage. There are 3 ships in port today. Strongly recommend bringing very light hand carry, drop off as much as you can. Lesson learned. 

[DaveOKC]

23 minutes ago, vicd1969 said:

Im about 75-% through the customs and border control line here today in Vancouver. It has been about 1 hour and 15 minutes so far, started the queuing around 1 pm. Checkin and security took about a combined 16-17 minutes, was a breeze. Baggage Drop-off also easy if you know to go to P2 North of the garage. There are 3 ships in port today. Strongly recommend bringing very light hand carry, drop off as much as you can. Lesson learned. 

How large are the three ships today?

 

[JohnnyPS]

Does anyone have any experience parking at Canada Place for their cruise?  We are driving to the cruise port for this one.  We reserved and pre-paid for the parking months ago.  Just curious about logistics and any other issues folks may have experienced. We were just able today to get our boarding time which is 11:00 AM Aug 26^th.

[pmjnh]

We boarded the Noordam in July from Vancouver. Yes, the lines were long and we waited a good 2+ hours to embark. However, our travel companions , one of whom is disabled arrived at Canada Place about 2 hours after we arrived. (we arrived at 9:30 (as directed by HAL) and our companions arrived at 11:30. Our companion was on a scooter when she arrived and when we were finally on board, we were surprised to see that they had already been escorted onboard and in the Lido having lunch...because she was on the scooter. They did not have any "priority boarding" status. 

[quack2]

15 hours ago, JohnnyPS said:

Does anyone have any experience parking at Canada Place for their cruise?  We are driving to the cruise port for this one.  We reserved and pre-paid for the parking months ago.  Just curious about logistics and any other issues folks may have experienced. We were just able today to get our boarding time which is 11:00 AM Aug 26^th.

I parked at Canada Place last year for my 7-day cruise after driving up from Oregon.  Entry is easy; just like any other parking structure.  No assigned space, but there are areas for longer term parking.  I was staying one night at Pan Pacific so very easy to access hotel.

 

The only issues I had were upon exiting the garage at the end of my cruise.  I had a bar code which should have opened the exit gate.  Unfortunately, it wasn't working.  Had to wait for one of the few attendants to wander by and see that there was a problem.  It took them a few minutes to get the gate to work.  Also, be careful when you book your reservation that you specify your arrival time at Canada Place.  The website defaults to a midnight arrival time on your arrival date so I got charged for an extra day.  I tried to resolve the matter after the fact, but company was not responsive.  Things may have changed since then.

 

I got Covid the last day of the cruise so I was happy that my car was waiting for me in Vancouver at the end of the cruise.

[vicd1969]

18 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

How large are the three ships today?

 

The ships were the Celebrity Eclipse, RC Brilliance of the Seas and the Nieuw Amsterdam - so about 2K passengers each

[dockman]

On 8/10/2023 at 12:43 PM, JohnnyPS said:

I am curious if having TSA pre or Global Entry would work on these government lines. 

did not work for me...it was a long line to get through immigration...it is all machines once u finally get to the front of the line ..i estimate about one hour in line for me....just the immigration part....as for the boarding of ship that was very quick and easy as got priority...it is all the govt stuff that is slow as molasses in january

[GatorMomInNC]

7 hours ago, vicd1969 said:

The ships were the Celebrity Eclipse, RC Brilliance of the Seas and the Nieuw Amsterdam - so about 2K passengers each

that is very close to what I will be up against in a couple weeks. 

This sounds like a nightmare to me.  I don't mind waiting - I can read a book - but I have bad ankle, back and knees that are aggravated by standing (even more so than walking).  Is there anywhere to sit during all of this?? I will be traveling alone so no one can hold my spot...

 

I wonder if I can just sit for a couple hours until closer to embarkation and the line goes down....

[AV8rix]

On 8/10/2023 at 2:02 PM, JohnnyPS said:

We are out of Vancouver in a couple of weeks on the Koningsdam.  We have booked a Neptune Suite and according to everything I have read we should get some sort of priority check-in and disembarkation.  I have seen some mixed reviews about this.  We sailed on HAL back in 2003 so for all intents and purposes we are newbies on HAL

 

Can anyone who has been through Vancouver comment on this?  It appears that the sailing is at capacity, so I am expecting the cruise port to be crowded.

Yeah, I was through the Vancouver misery on July 30.  Four ships boarding.  I'm a 4* and there was ABSOLUTELY NO priority boarding!  The line for security snaked through for the better part of an hour, mixing pax of ALL ships.  You see, Vancouver has only one terminal building/line for ALL ships.  Unlike Fort Lauderdale with its multiple terminal buildings, each with its own customs/security line.