embarkation day

[sharon_pei]

1st time cruiser newbie question if anyone wouldn't mind: we will embark northbound one way cruise from Vancouver in June. In the ideal world we would like to arrive a few days earlier to explore the wonderful city of Vancouver before our cruise journey, but with limited vacation time that's not an option. So we will arrive the night before embarkation day. According to many youtube videos it's better to board earlier than later for a variety of reasons. The question is: if we board the ship and set everything up as early as possible (still don't know how early is possible and i assume it would be around lunch hour?), would we be allowed to get off the ship to explore the nearby Vancouver downtown luggage free and get back to the cruise till the end of embarkation time?

Edited March 7 by sharon_pei

[Aquahound]

I don't think this is feasible.  I've embarked a few times in Vancouver, and I'd be very surprised if they allowed you to disembark after boarding.  The whole check-in process, including pre-clearing Customs, is so onerous that I don't think you can do it.  I will happily eat crow if I'm wrong though.

 

Some people, like me, prefer to board early in order to make the most of the ship. You could drop off your luggage early, go explore the city for a little bit, and then return in the early afternoon.   

[wolfie11]

No.  You clear US immigration before boarding.  Once you are on the ship, you are literally in the US and would have to clear Canada and re-enter the US again.

[sharon_pei]

Thank you both! looks like we will have to save Vancouver to next time. 

[martincath]

On 3/7/2024 at 2:05 PM, sharon_pei said:

Thank you both! looks like we will have to save Vancouver to next time. 

Or board later - literally the only thing you miss by boarding late is 'free' food & drink for a few hours, and you can catch up on those calories later easily enough! Luggage drop you can do without continuing to check-in - so drop bags, go explore, then come back later.

 

Boarding late means spending as little time as possible waiting around to get on the ship - arriving at the pier as early as possible means that even if you aee the very first people in line, you will be sitting in the first room waiting to be called for at least an hour, maybe even two. Folks who board in the middle, noonish, are generally the worst off in Vancouver - lots of people arrive by train from Seattle, and on cruise transfer buses from SEA, as well as same-day flights into YVR so the queues get really ridiculous before they start to decline, which does mean showing up early (10:30am at the latest) is less bad than boarding at say 1pm... but you will still wait if you're early because both CBSA and CBP have to agree that the ship has been 'zeroed out' of all incoming pax, including the B2B folks who get first dibs on being processed for re-entry to the US.

 

Since check-in comes before Security and CBP, it also means that folks with priority on each line get allocated the lowest numbers - as a first-timer, unless you've paid for suites or are traveling on one of the lines that literally let you buy an early boarding slot, even if you are the very first people at the pier you won't be the first to leave the convention hall waiting room... every single one of the folks with some kind of enhanced Status who arrive before boarding actually begins (usually ~11am) will be leaving the big waiting room before all you non-Status folks!

 

CBP preclearance is the biggest bottleneck - once their room fills up, everyone further back in the line stops moving. So you will generally find that even after being called to leave the waiting room, you will advance in a rather stop-start fashion.

 

On the other hand, if you shave the margins as tight as possible for last boarding (ensure you are there 2 hours before the ship is supposed to depart - passenger manifests have to be supplied to both Canada and the US, so cut it too close and you may be denied boarding!) you'll have basically zero wait time at any stage of the process. When we roll in at the 2 hour mark we expect to only stop walking when we are speaking to someone behind a desk, scanning IDs at the CBP terminals, or removing belts and whatnot at the security scanners - total time curb to cabin of 20mins or less.

 

I would much rather do that than show up at 9:30am, sit on a plastic chair for ~90mins plus however long it takes for the priority boarding groups to get called before you, then spend another 30+ minutes actually moving through the big lineups!

 

We've done the early thing (or first cruise we didn't know any better; our first 'booze included' fancy cruise we went early too, so we could indulge) and frankly unless you value your own time at virtually zero the math just doesn't work - I'd rather pay for another meal ashore and board at 3pm than get on by 11:30 after wasting almost two extra hours of my life waiting around.

 

There's soooooo much great stuff to do here - and even the stuff you have to pay for is discounted due to CAD vs USD - that even an extra 3 or 4 hours ashore is worthwhile if you haven't visited us before. There's even enough free and cheap stuff within 15mins walk of the pier that you can very safely shave those time margins - no need to worry about traffic, a bridge closure etc. if you leave Gastown or FlyOverCanada or the Harbour Centre until the last hour before you plan to board.

 

And if you aren't fussed about doing touristy stuff and would rather pamper yourself, the cost of spa treatments here is a fraction of the onboard pricing and frankly generally better quality - BCs massage therapy standards for example are the highest in the developed world, every local RMT has racked up a minimum of 3000 hours of education before they can qualify.

 

Being local, it's walk to the pier to drop bags ~10am, go for a couples massage, blow a hundred bucks on an absolutely top-notch lunch (still saving us money compared to onboard massages!), head back to the pier for departure-2 hours, saunter onboard all nice & relaxed with no waiting, bags are already in the cabin so we can unpack right away, grab a cocktail for sailaway... that's how we roll!

 

Edit - oh, and if you really want to you CAN leave the ship after you embark, but it does mean being processed by CBSA (entering Canada again) and then having to re-clear CBP (you might have bought some shiny things that need declared!) to get back on again... unless the rules have changed recently. It's the worst possible use of your time though as even if your second boarding is nice and late and thus quick, you still had to go through the first one on top of it, so I definitely don't recommend it!

Edited March 9 by martincath

[sharon_pei]

What you've said makes a lot of sense to me, Martincath. I still have a few questions if you wouldn't mind:

 

1. 1. Many YouTube videos I've watched suggest early embarkation, not just for a 'free' lunch on embarkation day, but also to allow buffer time in case of various scenarios: discovering issues with one's cabin and needing to change to a different one or have it fixed, making dining reservations before prime slots fill up, reserving shore excursions or modifying bookings without enduring long lines after everyone else boards. Another significant concern is the possibility of cruise lines overselling, potentially resulting in some cruisers being sent home, with the latest arrivals being more susceptible. While I may not personally need to book excursions, I do want to minimize issues stemming from cruise line overselling or cabin problems, and I aim to secure dining reservations. Are these concerns unnecessary?

2. 2. The departure time of our ship is 4pm. Heading back to the pier at least 2 hours before that means arriving around 2pm. That's not much later than lunch hour. Will the crowd have dissipated by then?

3. 3. How much time is needed to drop off bags in the morning? Is dropping off luggage the same as checking in luggage, or is it merely a temporary luggage storage service, requiring us to later retrieve the bags to complete the check-in process during embarkation?

 

Edited March 10 by sharon_pei

[Coral]

3 hours ago, sharon_pei said:

. Another significant concern is the possibility of cruise lines overselling, potentially resulting in some cruisers being sent home, with the latest arrivals being more susceptible. While I may not personally need to book excursions, I do want to minimize issues stemming from cruise line overselling or cabin problems, and I aim to secure dining reservations. Are these concerns unnecessary?

 

If the ship is over sold, the cruise lines will have dealt with it before the day of the cruise. They give individuals incentives (up to a free cruise) to switch to a different date. You don't have to worry about the ship being over sold the day of.

 

If you have a cabin issue - they will attempt to fix it and not switch cabins the first day. There is even a possibility that there are no cabins to switch you to. Granted, if there was a fire or huge flood, there is that option they will try something but they won't bump someone from their cabin who is scheduled.

 

Dropping off luggage is easy - just make sure it is tagged correctly.

 

Yes there are individuals who want to make dining reservations ASAP. They are in the minority in Alaska.

Edited March 10 by Coral

[mncbabu_yahoo]

Excellent guidelines by martincath on how to efficiently manage the time. Will follow the same. Arrive early around 9 am ; drop the luggage and wander around and reach by 2 pm for smooth embarkation or arrive at cruise port from hotel around 2 pm.

Few more questions..

1. If we start Granville island by 1 pm, will it be risky to reach by 2 pm?

2. If we drop the baggage early, I assume we have to carry the wine bottles in the hand. We don't buy the drink package. I assume we just need the passport and cruise app handy during embarkation. 

3. Any recommendations on spa centers close to cruise port 

Thanks

[Alaska05]

@sharon_peiYou didn’t say what cruise line u are sailing on.  
 

If it’s Princess you can make your dining reservations ahead of time on the Princess app.  I’m sailing in May and made my dining reservations several months ago.

[Ferry_Watcher]

6 hours ago, Coral said:

If the ship is over sold, the cruise lines will have dealt with it before the day of the cruise. They give individuals incentives (up to a free cruise) to switch to a different date. You don't have to worry about the ship being over sold the day of.

 

If you have a cabin issue - they will attempt to fix it and not switch cabins the first day. There is even a possibility that there are no cabins to switch you to. Granted, if there was a fire or huge flood, there is that option they will try something but they won't bump someone from their cabin who is scheduled.

 

Dropping off luggage is easy - just make sure it is tagged correctly.

 

Yes there are individuals who want to make dining reservations ASAP. They are in the minority in Alaska.

 

Everything here that @Coral has written is spot on.

I work checking-in cruise passengers, and I have never seen a booked passenger turned away for a lack of stateroom availability.

[Kat915]

Or you could take tour with Landsea tours and they will carry your luggage for you while you are on the tour.  Unless you will be really tired out from a flight, I would recommend exploring Vancouver. 

[sharon_pei]

I'm now seriously considering dropping off our bags and checking in around 2 pm to allow a few hours to explore downtown Vancouver, thanks to all of your recommendations.
 

One question remains: Will Princess allow us to drop off small carry-on luggage? And even if they do, will backpacks/duffle bags be at risk of getting lost? In all the YouTube videos, I've only seen large checked-in suitcases left outside the cabin doors unattended. We plan to maximize the carry-on bag limit with airlines to save on check bag fees, so we'll have 2-3 smaller bags with some weight, and certainly wouldn't want to carry those around while touring the city.

[wolfie11]

Whatever you tag and drop off will appear at your door later, even smaller bags and backpacks.  I do it all the time and I’ve never lost anything.

[Ferry_Watcher]

I would not check anything that you absolutely need (medication, ID), or can't afford to lose, or during your cruise: jewelry, even a lap top.

[mncbabu_yahoo]

I am thinking of keeping passport, medical supplies, toiletries, pair of extra clothes in backpack, wallet and check-in rest of them...

[martincath]

On 3/10/2024 at 12:08 AM, sharon_pei said:

1. ...1. Many YouTube videos I've watched suggest early embarkation, not just for a 'free' lunch on embarkation day, but also to allow buffer time in case of various scenarios: ... Are these concerns unnecessary?

2. 2. The departure time of our ship is 4pm. Heading back to the pier at least 2 hours before that means arriving around 2pm. That's not much later than lunch hour. Will the crowd have dissipated by then?

3. 3. How much time is needed to drop off bags in the morning? ...

 

I think most of your points have already been addressed by the collective wisdom of CC Sharon, but better to doulbe-down than risk having missed anything so:

1) the crux about all the youtube 'experts' is that even if they actually know what the heck they are talking about, to drive hits to their video instead of others (or other sources entirely) the whole 'man Bites Dog' principle applies - there's absolutely zero editorial oversight, so however bad you feel mainstream press might have become as soon as facts enter the equation every single official organization is less bad than Rando McNoOversightWhatsoever. Do things go wrong at piers and on ship? Of course.

 

But you won't find your room given away (whatever idiot stated that in their videos should immediately come off your Subscription list because if they are willing to provide verifiably incorrect info on that, what else of their advice is equally worthless?), and anything that is genuinely problematic will not be fixed until after the crew have finished doing all of the incredibly-labour-intensive parts of the getting old people and bags off/new people, bags, food etc. on process. Since we're back into normal cruising times - odds are that there simply aren't any spare rooms lying around to move you to unless someone else doesn't show up... which they cannot know until it's time to stop letting folks onboard. So even if there's an annoyance that needs dealt with, you'll just hang around onboard fuming about it instead of being entertained or educated at various wodnerful sites around our city!

 

2. Yes, if your ship actually ends up remaining schedule for 4pm departure, and it's a busy day with 3/4 ships, 2pm could still be fairly busy. But really your worst-case scenario is that you arrive in time to check-in at 2pm and still have slow-moving queues - but at least you will have enjoyed several hours in Vancouver, won't have had to watch hundreds of priority pax jump ahead of you at ~11am when the actual boarding starts, and odds are still very high that even on the worst possible early season 4 ship day when it might stay busy until 3pm your total time from curb to cabin will still be less than if you showed up at 10am!

 

3. The key thing that slows down the bag drop is unprepared people without their cruise tags - pre-tag your bags and the biggest delay is if you arrive before 10am and they haven't opened the regular P2 bag drop yet, you have to go find wherever the Early Bag Drop cages are (there are signs, the time we did this it added maybe 5 minutes as we had to walk right to the back of a parking level). As mentioned above, once dropped the bags are 'in the system' - and you can leave whatever sizes you like, just do be sure to transfer your Meds, paperwork, and a waterbottle, sunscreen etc. to a smaller daypack for your wandering pre-embarkation!

 

On 3/10/2024 at 5:46 AM, mncbabu_yahoo said:

...Few more questions..

1. If we start Granville island by 1 pm, will it be risky to reach by 2 pm?

2. If we drop the baggage early, I assume we have to carry the wine bottles in the hand. We don't buy the drink package. I assume we just need the passport and cruise app handy during embarkation. 

3. Any recommendations on spa centers close to cruise port 

Thanks

1. Assuming you walk all the way from GI the long way you can still make to to the pier in an hour - take a short hop across False Creek on Aquabus/FCF and the walk becomes <40mins. Transit buses 4/7/10/14/50 all stop nearby, run every 15mins most days, take 20mins or so drive time. A cab might take a few minutes moving at walking pace to get off GI (one way roads, lots of pedestrians and other vehicles cruising hoping to find parking etc.) but after that it's a 10min drive to the pier. So yes, I would not be concerned being on GI up to an hour beforehand - but personally unless you never plan to visit Gastown at all, I'd leave it until this final block of touring time just to be even safer...

2. You're not supposed to check booze, no! Although if you did put your wine bottles into your suitcases, odds are that you'd be called to 'the Naughty Room' when you embark because they'll be found by security, so you can pay your $x per extra bottle if you go beyond the cruise-line-allowed freebies. If you're bringing fancy wine from home then you'll be packing it securely in a case already, so just leave it that way - if you're buying it locally just buy right before you go to the pier! The closest liquor store is literally on the way back from Gastown to the pier, opposite the main doors of Waterfront Station on Cordova, underneath the Harbour Centre.

3. I'm afraid that when it comes to spas I'm a 'just-a-massage' guy, so I can't comment from experience about how good nail treatments, facials etc. are if you're into more of a full package of pampering - honestly I'd suggest checking up-to-date Yelp, Google etc. for reviews. Both the Pan Pacific and Fairmont have in-house spas - more expensive than non-hotel options, but perhaps still a deal compared to onboard ship - and the locations of those are extremely convenient...

 

My experience of the following spots is from varying numbers of years ago, but I can think of three options conveniently close to the pier that I was happy with the overall surroundings and vibe of that should work for couples rather than just being a single RMT working out of a small space (Caveat, it's been a long time since I used any of them so do check current reviews!):

• Swan is just the other side of the Fairmont Waterfront, so barely a block away, surprisingly unfancy for this part of town (rates start well under $100 an hour)
• Yuen (Chinese, listed as Foot place but offers full service including couples massage) would be where I'd suggest if you wanted to try reflexology nearby (<1 mile, on the way to/from Stanley Park)
• Sabai (Thai, so clothes on in case that makes a difference for you) is close to the Westin Bayshore so a couple of blocks further than Yuen, and a bit more froo-froo than the first two

 

But if all you want is a massage, no frills, to loosen you up after being stuck on a plane the student clinic at the local massage college is an easy walk away - advanced students are in the 2000+hr period of training, so frankly are more experienced than a fully-qualified RMT in almost any other jurisdiction, and the price cannot be beaten! The only real downside is their availability - depending when you cruise, the clinic does shut down for a few weeks at a time for exams, new intake etc.

[sharon_pei]

On 3/11/2024 at 12:16 PM, martincath said:

I think most of your points have already been addressed by the collective wisdom of CC Sharon, but better to doulbe-down than risk having missed anything so:

1) the crux about all the youtube 'experts' is that even if they actually know what the heck they are talking about, to drive hits to their video instead of others (or other sources entirely) the whole 'man Bites Dog' principle applies - there's absolutely zero editorial oversight, so however bad you feel mainstream press might have become as soon as facts enter the equation every single official organization is less bad than Rando McNoOversightWhatsoever. Do things go wrong at piers and on ship? Of course.

 

But you won't find your room given away (whatever idiot stated that in their videos should immediately come off your Subscription list because if they are willing to provide verifiably incorrect info on that, what else of their advice is equally worthless?), and anything that is genuinely problematic will not be fixed until after the crew have finished doing all of the incredibly-labour-intensive parts of the getting old people and bags off/new people, bags, food etc. on process. Since we're back into normal cruising times - odds are that there simply aren't any spare rooms lying around to move you to unless someone else doesn't show up... which they cannot know until it's time to stop letting folks onboard. So even if there's an annoyance that needs dealt with, you'll just hang around onboard fuming about it instead of being entertained or educated at various wodnerful sites around our city!

 

2. Yes, if your ship actually ends up remaining schedule for 4pm departure, and it's a busy day with 3/4 ships, 2pm could still be fairly busy. But really your worst-case scenario is that you arrive in time to check-in at 2pm and still have slow-moving queues - but at least you will have enjoyed several hours in Vancouver, won't have had to watch hundreds of priority pax jump ahead of you at ~11am when the actual boarding starts, and odds are still very high that even on the worst possible early season 4 ship day when it might stay busy until 3pm your total time from curb to cabin will still be less than if you showed up at 10am!

 

3. The key thing that slows down the bag drop is unprepared people without their cruise tags - pre-tag your bags and the biggest delay is if you arrive before 10am and they haven't opened the regular P2 bag drop yet, you have to go find wherever the Early Bag Drop cages are (there are signs, the time we did this it added maybe 5 minutes as we had to walk right to the back of a parking level). As mentioned above, once dropped the bags are 'in the system' - and you can leave whatever sizes you like, just do be sure to transfer your Meds, paperwork, and a waterbottle, sunscreen etc. to a smaller daypack for your wandering pre-embarkation!

 

1. Assuming you walk all the way from GI the long way you can still make to to the pier in an hour - take a short hop across False Creek on Aquabus/FCF and the walk becomes <40mins. Transit buses 4/7/10/14/50 all stop nearby, run every 15mins most days, take 20mins or so drive time. A cab might take a few minutes moving at walking pace to get off GI (one way roads, lots of pedestrians and other vehicles cruising hoping to find parking etc.) but after that it's a 10min drive to the pier. So yes, I would not be concerned being on GI up to an hour beforehand - but personally unless you never plan to visit Gastown at all, I'd leave it until this final block of touring time just to be even safer...

2. You're not supposed to check booze, no! Although if you did put your wine bottles into your suitcases, odds are that you'd be called to 'the Naughty Room' when you embark because they'll be found by security, so you can pay your $x per extra bottle if you go beyond the cruise-line-allowed freebies. If you're bringing fancy wine from home then you'll be packing it securely in a case already, so just leave it that way - if you're buying it locally just buy right before you go to the pier! The closest liquor store is literally on the way back from Gastown to the pier, opposite the main doors of Waterfront Station on Cordova, underneath the Harbour Centre.

3. I'm afraid that when it comes to spas I'm a 'just-a-massage' guy, so I can't comment from experience about how good nail treatments, facials etc. are if you're into more of a full package of pampering - honestly I'd suggest checking up-to-date Yelp, Google etc. for reviews. Both the Pan Pacific and Fairmont have in-house spas - more expensive than non-hotel options, but perhaps still a deal compared to onboard ship - and the locations of those are extremely convenient...

 

My experience of the following spots is from varying numbers of years ago, but I can think of three options conveniently close to the pier that I was happy with the overall surroundings and vibe of that should work for couples rather than just being a single RMT working out of a small space (Caveat, it's been a long time since I used any of them so do check current reviews!):

• Swan is just the other side of the Fairmont Waterfront, so barely a block away, surprisingly unfancy for this part of town (rates start well under $100 an hour)
• Yuen (Chinese, listed as Foot place but offers full service including couples massage) would be where I'd suggest if you wanted to try reflexology nearby (<1 mile, on the way to/from Stanley Park)
• Sabai (Thai, so clothes on in case that makes a difference for you) is close to the Westin Bayshore so a couple of blocks further than Yuen, and a bit more froo-froo than the first two

 

But if all you want is a massage, no frills, to loosen you up after being stuck on a plane the student clinic at the local massage college is an easy walk away - advanced students are in the 2000+hr period of training, so frankly are more experienced than a fully-qualified RMT in almost any other jurisdiction, and the price cannot be beaten! The only real downside is their availability - depending when you cruise, the clinic does shut down for a few weeks at a time for exams, new intake etc.

This is sooooo helpful!  Really appreciate the help from this board for 1st time cruisers!

[mncbabu_yahoo]

On 3/11/2024 at 12:16 PM, martincath said:

I think most of your points have already been addressed by the collective wisdom of CC Sharon, but better to doulbe-down than risk having missed anything so:

1) the crux about all the youtube 'experts' is that even if they actually know what the heck they are talking about, to drive hits to their video instead of others (or other sources entirely) the whole 'man Bites Dog' principle applies - there's absolutely zero editorial oversight, so however bad you feel mainstream press might have become as soon as facts enter the equation every single official organization is less bad than Rando McNoOversightWhatsoever. Do things go wrong at piers and on ship? Of course.

 

But you won't find your room given away (whatever idiot stated that in their videos should immediately come off your Subscription list because if they are willing to provide verifiably incorrect info on that, what else of their advice is equally worthless?), and anything that is genuinely problematic will not be fixed until after the crew have finished doing all of the incredibly-labour-intensive parts of the getting old people and bags off/new people, bags, food etc. on process. Since we're back into normal cruising times - odds are that there simply aren't any spare rooms lying around to move you to unless someone else doesn't show up... which they cannot know until it's time to stop letting folks onboard. So even if there's an annoyance that needs dealt with, you'll just hang around onboard fuming about it instead of being entertained or educated at various wodnerful sites around our city!

 

2. Yes, if your ship actually ends up remaining schedule for 4pm departure, and it's a busy day with 3/4 ships, 2pm could still be fairly busy. But really your worst-case scenario is that you arrive in time to check-in at 2pm and still have slow-moving queues - but at least you will have enjoyed several hours in Vancouver, won't have had to watch hundreds of priority pax jump ahead of you at ~11am when the actual boarding starts, and odds are still very high that even on the worst possible early season 4 ship day when it might stay busy until 3pm your total time from curb to cabin will still be less than if you showed up at 10am!

 

3. The key thing that slows down the bag drop is unprepared people without their cruise tags - pre-tag your bags and the biggest delay is if you arrive before 10am and they haven't opened the regular P2 bag drop yet, you have to go find wherever the Early Bag Drop cages are (there are signs, the time we did this it added maybe 5 minutes as we had to walk right to the back of a parking level). As mentioned above, once dropped the bags are 'in the system' - and you can leave whatever sizes you like, just do be sure to transfer your Meds, paperwork, and a waterbottle, sunscreen etc. to a smaller daypack for your wandering pre-embarkation!

 

1. Assuming you walk all the way from GI the long way you can still make to to the pier in an hour - take a short hop across False Creek on Aquabus/FCF and the walk becomes <40mins. Transit buses 4/7/10/14/50 all stop nearby, run every 15mins most days, take 20mins or so drive time. A cab might take a few minutes moving at walking pace to get off GI (one way roads, lots of pedestrians and other vehicles cruising hoping to find parking etc.) but after that it's a 10min drive to the pier. So yes, I would not be concerned being on GI up to an hour beforehand - but personally unless you never plan to visit Gastown at all, I'd leave it until this final block of touring time just to be even safer...

2. You're not supposed to check booze, no! Although if you did put your wine bottles into your suitcases, odds are that you'd be called to 'the Naughty Room' when you embark because they'll be found by security, so you can pay your $x per extra bottle if you go beyond the cruise-line-allowed freebies. If you're bringing fancy wine from home then you'll be packing it securely in a case already, so just leave it that way - if you're buying it locally just buy right before you go to the pier! The closest liquor store is literally on the way back from Gastown to the pier, opposite the main doors of Waterfront Station on Cordova, underneath the Harbour Centre.

3. I'm afraid that when it comes to spas I'm a 'just-a-massage' guy, so I can't comment from experience about how good nail treatments, facials etc. are if you're into more of a full package of pampering - honestly I'd suggest checking up-to-date Yelp, Google etc. for reviews. Both the Pan Pacific and Fairmont have in-house spas - more expensive than non-hotel options, but perhaps still a deal compared to onboard ship - and the locations of those are extremely convenient...

 

My experience of the following spots is from varying numbers of years ago, but I can think of three options conveniently close to the pier that I was happy with the overall surroundings and vibe of that should work for couples rather than just being a single RMT working out of a small space (Caveat, it's been a long time since I used any of them so do check current reviews!):

• Swan is just the other side of the Fairmont Waterfront, so barely a block away, surprisingly unfancy for this part of town (rates start well under $100 an hour)
• Yuen (Chinese, listed as Foot place but offers full service including couples massage) would be where I'd suggest if you wanted to try reflexology nearby (<1 mile, on the way to/from Stanley Park)
• Sabai (Thai, so clothes on in case that makes a difference for you) is close to the Westin Bayshore so a couple of blocks further than Yuen, and a bit more froo-froo than the first two

 

But if all you want is a massage, no frills, to loosen you up after being stuck on a plane the student clinic at the local massage college is an easy walk away - advanced students are in the 2000+hr period of training, so frankly are more experienced than a fully-qualified RMT in almost any other jurisdiction, and the price cannot be beaten! The only real downside is their availability - depending when you cruise, the clinic does shut down for a few weeks at a time for exams, new intake etc.

Thank you so much!

[Iafarmer]

I second the suggestion of Kat915--we've enjoyed several LandSea city tours.  They will pick you & your luggage up at your hotel & narrate sights around the city and give you time at Stanley Park & Granville Island; then drop you at cruise terminal.  I think the tours are 3.5 hours & start at 10, pending hotel pickup timing.  

Of course, it sounds hard to beat a massage for kicking off your cruise!  But Vancouver is a beautiful city and it is so nice to see a bit of it before embarking.