Alaska disembarkment

[crazylady]

I'm a first time cruiser considering an Alaskan cruise on Disney's Wonder. I was wondering if someone can give me an idea of how much time I need to disembark and get to the airport and through customs in Vancouver? Speaking of customs, will we need to go through customers when we get off the boat in Vancouver and again when we reenter the United States? It's been a long time since I traveled internationally.

Thanks-

 

[Van Houten]

Expediency of disembarkation in Vancouver really depends on the number of ships in port on that day. On 7-night sailings, Wonder has NCL Jewel as a companion every other week. If you are doing express walk-off (e.g. carry your own luggage), you might be able to get out quickly, but waiting for your luggage tags to be called could take a while.
You will pass through Canada passport control and customs at the port. For most US-bound flights, you will also pass US passport control and customs in YVR (there are some exceptions).

 

[Geomom]

Disney's recommended earliest flight time from Vancouver is Noon.

In addition to what @Van Houten said, the other info you should know is that the airport is a 30+ minute drive from port.

 

[Kesohio63]

Take the train from the port to the airport; it’s fairly quick, cheap, and you don’t have to worry about traffic.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

We did DCL transportation to the airport as we didn't want to worry. We were waiting at YVR 10:30 after the customs shuffle and whatnot

 

[crazylady]

Thanks

 

[Yokelridesagain]

The waits for Disney to unload luggage, the screening lines at YVR, and (particularly) the cab stand at the Vancouver port are all long.

Worst case scenario (late breakfast, wait for Disney to unload your bags, wait for a cab, and long lines at the airport), a 12:30 flight could be very dodgy.

On the other hand, if you carry your own bags off when the ship clears customs and take the train, you could make a 10:30 flight.