8 tips you need to know before cruising out of Vancouver

[@sherholubowich9627]

Excellent channel

[@TheChillCruiser]

Thank you very much!

[@ExploreTayo]

Great tips, thanks, we're cruising out of Vancouver for the first time in September.

[@TheChillCruiser]

Thank you for the feedback! I hope you have a wonderful cruise! September is a great time of year to sail.

[@johnbonar8076]

Left out of Vancouver on July 1 on Cunard and they did have priority lines for Grills Suites passengers.

[@gerrygibeault]

I've also had some of my worst embarkation experiences at the Vancouver cruise terminal.

[@AddisonLambert-y2d]

Flew to Vancouver as part of crew many times.we went to a restaurant called the flying beaver. Ate and watched the seaplanes take off. Planes were at small airport across the street. When leaving, the railroad ties went across the street to stop traffic.seaplane crossed the street,went down the ramp into the water, and the flying beaver seaplane took off! Very cool!!

[@paulbjorlin2807]

I have cruised out of Vancouver many times and have never had the problems you mentioned. I will admit the biggest problem I have had is the lines waiting to leave the ships. I hope to cruise out of Vancouver many more times.

[@scotthodgin7494]

Sorry you had such a disappointing experience at the port of Vancouver. My wife and I went on an Alaska cruise from that port August 2023, and it was one of the easiest ports I’ve ever embarked from. I truly believe that one of our advantages was the fact that our cruise left on Wednesday instead of over a weekend. We stayed at the Pan Pacific Hotel, which is right there at the port and literally walked down and was on our ship within an hour.

[@TheChillCruiser]

Thank you for watching and sharing your experience. I'm glad it was much smoother and hope you enjoyed your cruise.

[@mobileoppressionpalace6728]

Canada in a nutshell: spectacular but poorly run.

[@camilledextraze7104]

Sorry about your horrible boarding at Canada Place. The last time we were there, we were waiting to go through security to board a HAL ship. My husband, when he saw the crowd waiting togo through, informed me that it would take us at least 3 hours to get through the process. We were in our cabin about 20 minutes later!

[@TheChillCruiser]

That must have been a relief! I'm glad your embarkation was much faster!

[@georgecastro181]

🚢My friend, I just found your channel today and thank you for doing such a great job explaining the port of Vancouver, Canada! Here’s a little tip for you… I have done five cruises to Alaska and I find it much easier to sail out of Seattle, Washington!🤔It’s a breeze and extremely fast getting onto the ship!🤗

[@TheChillCruiser]

Thank you! And agree about Seattle!

[@oceanside88]

Good info. It's funny because i had zero delays on HAL from Vancouver. Everyone has different experiences on different days in similar places. Random mysteries of life.

[@TheChillCruiser]

Thank you for the feedback! I'm glad you had a much smoother embarkation experience! I guess all the Vancouver port stars were aligned that day!

[@evelynlivingston6761]

We recently cruised out of vancouver and it could not have been more smooth. For us the worst part of the cruise began after we boarded the Crown princess. Out of 16 cruises, it was the worst. From the food to cold showers, lack of any decent entertainment, avoid that ship.

[@mikeklar9031]

We never had any problems with Holland America........very swift and smooth

[@ChristineKim-nv3fe]

What is yellow sand? In Vancouver port. it looks like some kind of soil factory.

[@antopac4067]

Sulphur

[@Dead-Goldstar]

Love the video Vancouver port is very busy place to embark from I live in Winnipeg,Mb 🇨🇦 and we're considering flying to an American port and embark from there instead can you suggest any ports that would be a close alternative I have no issues flying to them than to Vancouver which I would of had to do anyway.

[@TheChillCruiser]

Thank you for watching and for the feedback! Seattle is the closest U.S. port and it's VERY close with a lot of similar cruise options if not more but likely wouldn't be as easy to fly to as Vancouver from Winnipeg (you would likely have to connect).

[@linettej928.]

Be aware that if you leave from Vancouver, you will sail through the inside passage. Much more to see. If you leave from Seattle, you’ll miss the inside passage and just see open ocean.

[@lynnewilliams542]

It is US Customs so of course there is no priority for top tier cabins or guests. The cruise line has no control over this

[@TheChillCruiser]

Indirectly they do - Princess could have sent a text or email to guests mentioning the 5 hour delay and encouraging guests to push their check in times to avoid what happened.

[@richardg8651]

Canada Place is beautiful but a failure as a cruise port. A glorious mess. Hard to believe you are directed to go outside and then back inside snaking through the building. The entrance and exit to the cruise port part of the building are through the garage area. Insane! Skylink is fantastic.

[@TheChillCruiser]

"A glorious mess" is a great way to put it!

[@tonyvaninetti3429]

You are right. Avoid embarcation in Vancouver.

[@TheChillCruiser]

Thanks again Tony for watching and for sharing your experience!

[@sweetnucks]

As a Greater Vancouverite, I would skip Capilano Suspension Bridge if I was in a time crunch on a weekday (yes, even 3 hours). Having to cross any of our many bottlenecks aka our bridges (in this case, the Lion's Gate Bridge) once is bad enough but twice within 3 hours? Good Luck! DT Van should be enough to fill at least 2 hours.

[@Tugela60]

Only in rush hour. The rest of the time you drive across with zero issues, it is no different from driving on any other road.

[@flashoflight8160]

I strongly disagree with paying to store your luggage at the cruise terminal. Take your luggage to the airport by taxi (not Uber because it takes much longer than the streamlined taxi lanes) and rent a car at the airport for the day. Store your luggage in the trunk or with a cargo cover. Drive back to the airport curbside when done and drop off your luggage. Return the rental car and then walk back to the airport terminal. Much easier especially with a limited time window of an evening flight. Skytrain often doesn't make sense since two people is already CAD 24 and a taxi is CAD 35 flat rate from YVR but could be 40 or 45 on disembark because it's metered going back. I think taxi + rental car on disembark for an evening flight is a much better idea if time is more important than a little bit of money.

[@TheChillCruiser]

Thank you for providing an alternative option.

[@barbaracameron5610]

Flew to Vancouver as part of crew many times.we went to a restaurant called the flying beaver. Ate and watched the seaplanes take off. Planes were at small airport across the street. When leaving, the railroad ties went across the street to stop traffic.seaplane crossed the street,went down the ramp into the water, and the flying beaver seaplane took off! Very cool!!

[@TheChillCruiser]

Very cool!

[@CarlosAustin]

Thank you for the great tips! It's surprising that cruise companies haven't streamlined this process, considering they handle it week after week. It would also be beneficial for the city of Vancouver to invest in creating a truly efficient system for onboarding travelers. You mentioned the porters-could you please let me know where they are located? Thank you! 🚢

[@TheChillCruiser]

Thank you for the feedback! You used to be able to drop off your bags after going down the ramp and approaching the terminal. For my most recent cruise in July 2024, they were asking us to drop them off at the check in area in the convention centre. There were folks providing directions throughout the terminal area so I guess you'll quickly get a sense of what approach is in effect after you arrive at the terminal.

[@rickinnes]

I love leaving from Vancouver. Such beautiful scenery. Here’s what we have done to avoid over crowding . We normally cruise with Celebrity.I book first time slot to arrive at check in and have completed on line check in . We show up at 10 am and breeze through check in , security and customs . It’s important to get first boarding times and fully check in on line . We where on the ship enjoying lattes by 11am . We stay at Pan Pacific hotel which is above cruise terminal . They offer luggage check in and show up in morning to take your bags . I have noticed later afternoon boarding avoids the big rush.

[@TheChillCruiser]

Great advice all around! Thank you for watching and sharing your experience. Celebrity is a great line - I had a wonderful time when I cruised Alaska with them a few years ago and can't wait to sail with them again.

[@dresadin]

Absolutely hate leaving from Vancouver. Yes, I love the city itself . . . but the port . . . absolute disaster. To each their own, I suppose.

[@crimlarksSteve]

Thanks for the video! My wife and I cruised out of Vancouver on the Grand Princess on May 6th and the experience was a NIGHTMARE. We had traveled with maximum carry-on size backpacks (our normal mode for travel) but missed the place where the porters were, so we had to wear/lug those through the 2 1/2 hour cluster to get thru security and passport control. The only other time we had been thru the Vancouver terminal was at the end of a cruise, which was easy. After that fiasco, when we got home I ordered TravelPro spinner suitcases for my wife and I and will likely use those for any future cruises instead of backpacks. We'll still likely use the backpacks when traveling to and thru Europe, because that's just much easier there (we've been doing that for a couple of decades.). We're both inclined to just avoid Vancouver as a departure port in favor of Seattle in the future.

[@TheChillCruiser]

Thank you Steve for watching and sharing your experience! Sorry you had to experience the cluster too!

[@williamwatson689]

VanCouver cruise port exhibits all the signs of Canadian socialist management or mismanagement if you will. Canadian officials could fix the boarding and customs issues if they wanted to.

[@seastheday956]

Sorry you had 2 of very few unpleasant embarkations. I live here. I have done 6 cruises from here. Super fast and easy, except for one in 2014 when the American Border Agency was having a rotating strike.

[@sktoh4469]

We took a HAL cruise out of Vancouver at around the same as this video. There were three ships in port that day. I can confirm the chaos. Vancouver is going to the dogs.

[@JeffreyLiddell-e4i]

The takeaway: Sail out of Seattle.

[@roselove854]

Three cruise ships 7500 passengers three security areas to be passed thru, and only three security lines per area. Couldn't even get a wheelchair for a disabled person. This was back in May

[@roselove854]

Disembarking was a disaster also almost 3 hours in the taxi line

[@TheChillCruiser]

Thank you for watching Rose and for sharing your experience! Sorry to hear about your experience. Sounds like your embarkation was even worse than mine - and I didn't think that was possible!

[@epicsubset]

I dont get if someone is disabled and needing a wheelchair why didnt they bring their own, someone earlier mentioned 7500 passengers in 1 day.. your lucky if they have 10-20 wheelchairs. Be prepared.. you know your limits of how far you can walk or stand... so be prepared. I know my limits.. thats why i bring a walker, and dont rely on hotels or airports etc. So its unfortunate that who ever that was was not helped but they need to take some ownership also.

[@flashoflight8160]

@@epicsubset Many of them rented a chair or scooter on the ship. These rentals cannot be taken off the ship on embark and disembark days.

[@epicsubset]

@@flashoflight8160 I dont think Disney has rentals.. I mostly saw family pushing the wheelchair or people bring there own walker/electric scooter when i was there in Sept for my Alaska trip. But that's cool some cruiselines offer rentals.

[@markchurchill450]

Have cruised out of Vancouver several times, have seen all levels of lines. Worst line wrapped outside around the pier. Best was a couple weeks ago when we went pretty much straight through. Coming from Seattle, we always take Amtrak to Vancouver, then the Sky Train to the pier. Very easy.

[@jstelma7222]

How long was the train trip to Vancouver?

[@markchurchill450]

@@jstelma7222 Amtrak takes around 4 hours. Things really slow down as you enter Vancouver. You also clear customs/immigration at the Vancouver depot. The Sky Trains run frequently and it takes about 10 minutes to get to the waterfront station. Sky Train station is across the street from the train depot.

[@linettej928.]

I’m glad you showed Skytrain/Canada Line as a great option to travel between the airport and cruise terminal. Vancouver is our home port, and we parked at the YVR value lot and took Skytrain in. So glad we did - we heard stories about the terrible traffic and saw the Uber/taxi lines afterward. Also glad you mentioned the long processing time. It seems some people haven’t had that issue but they may have sailed with fewer ships in port. All passengers from all ships in port get in the same line together to go through security and customs. It might also be a thing that it’s worse early in the season with inexperienced staff.

[@TheChillCruiser]

Yes it’s very busy around the port! Thank you for the feedback and for sharing your experience!

[@AnPregenzer]

Thanks for the tips! Once you’re in the long line can you still leave to use the restroom? Or you’re stuck in line? As we have a few seniors in our family traveling with us. Thank you

[@TheChillCruiser]

Thank you for the feedback! You can just mention to the people behind you that you’re leaving to use the restroom and they should understand. But since the line can snake in and out of multiple rooms it might be tricky to know where to rejoin them. I would share this concern with a port employee when you arrive - they can hopefully share some advice and directions that will minimize grief and inconvenience.

[@SBinVancouver]

Sunday is the worst day, we get up to 16,000 passengers coming/going, most Sundays throughout the season. Grayline's baggage storage is not near the entrance to the terminal to my recollection, it's near the end. If you exit the terminal and decide to check your bag with them for the day, it's a long trek back.There are several independent baggage storage companies in the area that are substantially cheaper, also the Pan Pacific hotel will take bags and is more accessible to the city, and cheaper. If you're keen on shopping, MacArthur Glen mall (two stops from the airport) offers free baggage storage, and transit to/from the airport is less than 5 minutes.

[@TheChillCruiser]

Thank you for sharing! I guess I should have said the gray line service is at the exit because it’s right there when you’re disembarking but as you said it means a walk to get your bag back.

[@barbaracoleburr]

I am grateful for the head’s up from this video. We sailed out of Vancouver on August 5 and the lines were long, but nothing like you described in this video. I think part of it was that the dock workers’ strike was over. Also, since I watched your video, I was able to let the people know that this was nothing compared to a few months ago 😅 which then lessened the complaining considerably!!

[@TheChillCruiser]

I’m glad I could help! 😂 Thank you so much for watching and for taking the time to share your experience! I hope you enjoyed your cruise!

[@mh-vs8ym]

We sailed out on 5th of August too. I didn't see any problems just a little bit of waiting.

[@shelleylundstedt7487]

Our experience at the Vancouver port was incredibly frustrating as well. The ramp you showed at the beginning into the check in area is very narrow and travelers that had just disembarked their ship were trying to come up with all their luggage while we were trying to go down. Once we got into the check in area there were no signs to designate where to queue. We were directed to one by a worker only to find out it dead-ended because the stanchions/belts were set up to be a closed maze. The next worker yelled at us (by then we had formed a group of confused travelers) that we were in the taxi line. We were still standing in the exact same line we started in. Meanwhile two workers argued with each other loudly about how each was setting up the lines incorrectly. The line then went downstairs (via elevator, so another choke point) to drop checked luggage, then back upstairs 3 (4?) flights, again via elevator unless you were hearty enough to climb with your carry-on, which was so much quicker. Then into the cruise line’s security check-in, then through customs, and finally into groups to board the ship, which moved from one holding area to another and then onto the ship. It took about 2.5 hours in total. Once we were able to drop our luggage, the process felt smooth, and understandably necessary, even though it was still long. But from the moment we arrived at the port and walked down that single lane ramp into chaos, fighting the crowd that was trying to catch a taxi out, downstairs, upstairs, small elevators trying to shuffle thousands of passengers not so efficiently - it felt as though they had no idea so many people would be trying to pass through on that day. However, once we were on the deck of the ship with drinks in our hands, we had a good laugh about it.

[@shelleylundstedt7487]

Also, thank you for the tips! This was our first cruise, but I’ll definitely be taking your advice on future voyages! I loved Vancouver and the port was so convenient to get to from our hotel just a few blocks away.

[@TheChillCruiser]

Thank you Shelley for watching and for sharing your experience! Sorry it was also a long wait while you were at the port. I’m glad you were able to laugh about it afterward. I definitely had a double once I finally got onboard!

[@Boffin55]

Sorry about the lines, but for the most part it's beyond control of the cruise line and port. The UNITED STATES CBP pre-clearance (required because Alaska doesn't have the staff to clear that many people) is the slowest part. If you're an American, you can help the issue by asking your local representatives to properly staff their pre-clearance facilities; but the Canadians can't do anything about it.

[@mnratch]

It is a total nightmare. They need a new and better designed terminal on the ocean (other side of bridge) if they want to stay on the Alaska agendas or Seattle will take it away.

[@TheChillCruiser]

Great point!

[@gladstone145]

Thanks this is helpful ❤

[@TheChillCruiser]

Glad to hear! Thank you for the feedback.

[@epicgameztv]

I sailed out last year and it was a breeze.. got to the port just after 11am.. dropped off our bags.. took some photos and then waked in to check in.. after checking.. security was very quick.. and in the waiting area we waited 10 min before our boarding group was called. So maybe Disney just does it better and Princess is just terrible. Lots of seating in waiting area.. Also Disney mails your luggage tags to you.. in most counties a few weeks before. So what i got from this video is avoid Princess cruise lines.. had some friends on Holland and they said it was quick.. that was in June. And were doing Disney again in Sept this year.. lets see how it is.

[@TheChillCruiser]

Thank you for watching and sharing your experience. I’m glad you had a much better experience! It does seem that the other cruise lines are more proactive and present at the port than Princess was on my cruise.

[@epicgameztv]

@@TheChillCruiser yeah i dont think its Vancouver as much as it is the Cruise lines and how organized they are. but thats my observations.

[@sw8407]

What makes it longer in Vancouver is to go through US customs and immigration. The first stop after Vancouver is US territory.

[@TheChillCruiser]

That’s definitely one of the factors but there were several others behind my 3 hour wait last year (tide schedule, poor communication etc).

[@lynnewilliams542]

It is the US customs that causes the problem. 3 ships with 3,000 each have to go through one customs agent area with maybe 15 agents

[@TheChillCruiser]

Knowing this is the situation, cruise lines could do more to stagger check in times to avoid what happened in both of my experiences. Better to do something than nothing.

[@priceandpride]

why so many chinese?