Please Refresh My Memory, but ....

[claud925]

Why is it, again, preferable to do round-trips out of Vancouver as opposed to Seattle? Is it just the one-way inside-passage thing?

 

The reason I ask is that I've just returned from a R/T out of Vancouver, and I've vowed never, ever, to fly in-our-out of YVR again (the hassle at the airport both ways was horrific IMHO) ....

 

I'm also not keen to Amtraking it to Vancouver from Seattle, either.

[kingsgirl]

This doesn't answer your question but...

 

I'm soo glad they do round trips from Vancouver for the simple reason that I'm canadian and it's nice to be able to leave from a home country port and return there instead of over the border hassles with nearly EVER OTHER cruise. It totally sucks!!

[NancyIL]

What was horrific about flying into and out of Vancouver? We did it 3 summers ago and had no problems at all.

 

Most ships that leave from Seattle cruise on the western side of Vancouver Island in open ocean, rather than in more protected waters as you'd get when you sail out of Vancouver. Seattle roundtrips also have to make a stop at a "foreign" port - usually Victoria or Prince Rupert Island - and usually for only a few hours in the evening.

[Budget Queen]

There is significantly more scenic sailing going out of Vancouver. Sometimes better port times. Enjoy Vancouver and come in a day or two early and stay and extra day. If you happened to fly on a weekend, extremely busy and overrun with cruise ship passengers.

[NancyIL]

There is significantly more scenic sailing going out of Vancouver. Sometimes better port times. Enjoy Vancouver and come in a day or two early and stay and extra day. If you happened to fly on a weekend, extremely busy and overrun with cruise ship passengers.

We arrived in Vancouver on a Saturday and flew home on a Sunday, and I do remember seeing lots of people with "Zaandam" luggage tags as we waited in a long line of people to go through customs at the airport. (We weren't there for a cruise.) However, I certainly wouldn't call it "horrific"! Vancouver is a great city, so as BQ suggested, stay a few days before and/or after your cruise.

[claud925]

We arrived in Vancouver on a Saturday and flew home on a Sunday, and I do remember seeing lots of people with "Zaandam" luggage tags as we waited in a long line of people to go through customs at the airport. (We weren't there for a cruise.) However, I certainly wouldn't call it "horrific"! Vancouver is a great city, so as BQ suggested, stay a few days before and/or after your cruise.

 

You just answered your own question .... "long line of people"; also, your encounter was three years ago - I think you'll agree that things can and do change, especially when you consider that the cruise industry (and Alaskan sailings in particular) has exploded over the same period of time.

 

Let's see if you'll call your airport experience "horrific" after your cruise because - like me - you wait on line an hour-and-a-half at customs on a Friday atfternoon, right behind hoards of people who just got off of two massive jumbo jets arriving from Asia (yes, I went in a day early for my Saturday sailing), topped of by suffering through a broken-down baggage conveyor belt.

 

That, however, was nothing compared to departing from YVR -- that encounter in this terminal took the cake: one hour just to check-in; after which you do NOT turn your luggage in at this time - you continue to lug them all throughout the customs process, which consisted of an hour-and-three-quarters on a line that snaked beginning directly behind the check-in counter, along approx. 100 ft. of corrider, then through all the duty-free shops, then forming a queque that went back-and-forth six times before you reach a TSA customs official. Then - finally - your luggage is taken. No sooner are you relieved to let go of your bags, you get to join yet another line for security-screening ..... another 20-minute wait.

 

Bottom line: allow about 4 hours to get to your gate if you're flying out of YVR - my flight was at 9:00AM the day after I returned (I thought I was being smart by booking early and beating the crowd that was disembarking and flying out that day). The joke was on me.

 

Tell me, Nancy - what kind of airport experience would you endure before you term it "horrific"?

[fti]

You just answered your own question .... "long line of people"; also, your encounter was three years ago - I think you'll agree that things can and do change, especially when you consider that the cruise industry (and Alaskan sailings in particular) has exploded over the same period of time.

 

Let's see if you'll call your airport experience "horrific" after your cruise because - like me - you wait on line an hour-and-a-half at customs on a Friday atfternoon, right behind hoards of people who just got off of two massive jumbo jets arriving from Asia (yes, I went in a day early for my Saturday sailing), topped of by suffering through a broken-down baggage conveyor belt.

 

That, however, was nothing compared to departing from YVR -- that encounter in this terminal took the cake: one hour just to check-in; after which you do NOT turn your luggage in at this time - you continue to lug them all throughout the customs process, which consisted of an hour-and-three-quarters on a line that snaked beginning directly behind the check-in counter, along approx. 100 ft. of corrider, then through all the duty-free shops, then forming a queque that went back-and-forth six times before you reach a TSA customs official. Then - finally - your luggage is taken. No sooner are you relieved to let go of your bags, you get to join yet another line for security-screening ..... another 20-minute wait.

 

Bottom line: allow about 4 hours to get to your gate if you're flying out of YVR - my flight was at 9:00AM the day after I returned (I thought I was being smart by booking early and beating the crowd that was disembarking and flying out that day). The joke was on me.

 

Tell me, Nancy - what kind of airport experience would you endure before you term it "horrific"?

 

I returned on Saturday July 8 when there were at least two if not more cruise ships at Canada Place. We drove directly to the airport and checked in and departed for noon to 1pm flights (5 of us on three different flights). Got to the airport about 9.30am if I recall correctly, checked in and yes, we had to go immediately with our luggage through customs behind the check in counter but the line moved relatively quickly. We were through customs and immigration easily within an hour, I think even 30-45 minutes. I know that once we got behind security we had plenty of time to kill before the flights boarded.

 

If the ship comes in 7-8am and you have a noon or later flight, it should not be any problem at all to catch the flight.

 

Note that long lines and delays are possible anywhere along the way. Just yesterday I had friends sitting on an airplane for three hours going on an international flight due to weather. That was on top of the 8 hour flight ahead of them.

 

Certainly, trying to minimize the possibility of delays, lines, etc. is a valiant cause, but in my opinion, avoiding Vancouver airport just for that reason and missing the benefits of cruising out of Vancouver is the wrong way to do it.

 

Another option you can look into is to see if your cruise line does US Direct. If so, then you can avoid almost all the lines since you technically never touch Canadian soil so no US customs/immigration lines to stand in. Just a thought.

 

John

[kingsgirl]

Maybe your long line waits were do to the new air rules that they have now slacked back on. Vancouver is an amazing city, plz don't judge it on one experience alone!

 

I had a horrible time in Miami with the same type of thing and I agree, it's aggrivating, especially if you're at the end of your trip and just want to go home.

[kimiata]

Wow, claud925, that sounds horrible! I wonder if it makes a difference which airline you fly? We departed Vancouver earlier this month on a Sunday morning (day before Labor Day) and there were NO lines anywhere, not even one person in front of us!

 

We flew on Alaska, but the experience you described has happened to us at LAX on other airlines, and it is SO frustrating!!! But even at LAX, the lines for Alaska are much easier to deal with. So that's why I'm wondering if maybe the airline has something to do with it?

[NancyIL]

You just answered your own question .... "long line of people"; also, your encounter was three years ago - I think you'll agree that things can and do change, especially when you consider that the cruise industry (and Alaskan sailings in particular) has exploded over the same period of time.

 

Let's see if you'll call your airport experience "horrific" after your cruise because - like me - you wait on line an hour-and-a-half at customs on a Friday atfternoon, right behind hoards of people who just got off of two massive jumbo jets arriving from Asia (yes, I went in a day early for my Saturday sailing), topped of by suffering through a broken-down baggage conveyor belt.

 

That, however, was nothing compared to departing from YVR -- that encounter in this terminal took the cake: one hour just to check-in; after which you do NOT turn your luggage in at this time - you continue to lug them all throughout the customs process, which consisted of an hour-and-three-quarters on a line that snaked beginning directly behind the check-in counter, along approx. 100 ft. of corrider, then through all the duty-free shops, then forming a queque that went back-and-forth six times before you reach a TSA customs official. Then - finally - your luggage is taken. No sooner are you relieved to let go of your bags, you get to join yet another line for security-screening ..... another 20-minute wait.

 

Bottom line: allow about 4 hours to get to your gate if you're flying out of YVR - my flight was at 9:00AM the day after I returned (I thought I was being smart by booking early and beating the crowd that was disembarking and flying out that day). The joke was on me.

 

Tell me, Nancy - what kind of airport experience would you endure before you term it "horrific"?

 

I'm sorry you had a very LONG wait on both ends. I only recall the lines when we arrived in Vancouver, but have no memory of our leaving there. And no - it wasn't "horrific" for me. And while you won't have customs to go through if you arrive at the Seattle airport, I imagine you will still encounter long lines there as well. Long lines to go through airport security are a fact of life at larger airports these days.

[Joy2theWorld]

We flew in and out of Seattle for our cruise leaving from Vancouver. We took Amtrak up and although I wasn't familiar with the Amtrak process, we truly enjoyed the trip. We paid extra for the business class seats and didnt' have to deal with the lines or anything. It was very relaxing. I will note that though on arrival, the Seattle airport wasn't that pleasurable either. We waited nearly 45 min or so for the luggage to start going around and then had to get to a cab. You have to go up to do that and well, there was only one elevator that we found and there was a line of people with carts waiting for it. So, we sent our luggage up the escalator after my husband went up with two pieces, one piece at a time :) Much quicker than waiting for the one elevator we saw :)

[irisheileen]

We flew in on Sunday, August 6th and had no lines at all. Luggage was handled well and took the average amount of time that we've come to expect. In fact, we were impressed that they had a luggage handler right there, uprighting all the luggage to make it easier to grap as it came around.

A porter approached us and quickly got us a ride to the Westin.

 

We loved the Vancouver airport! (of course we're used to the Philly airport so anything is better!)

Eileen