Arrival Questions for Disney Alaska Cruise

[Mainsail Minnie]

It was super quick for us- over in minutes.

 

[justafigment27]

I had never flown internationally before our cruise this summer and found YVR to be very easy. I think it’s almost impossible to go the wrong way - you are mostly funneled into the right spot and it’s very easy to figure everything out.

Our flight arrived at 12:51pm on a Saturday and it was super crowded at YVR. It took the better part of an hour to get through customs. The line was constantly moving and the process seemed efficient... but there were a lot of people! I’d recommend using the restroom before getting in line. The biggest surprise to me was the crowd to exit the airport after we got our luggage - we literally had to wait in line to leave the airport to go to the taxi stand. And it wasn’t an orderly, roped off line with zigs & zags like all the others - it was basically a crush of people making their way toward the exit.

We took a taxi to our hotel. Again, very easy but there was a long line. Like customs, it was always moving and was very efficient, but there were so many people. I had looked up our fare ahead of time and came prepared with Canadian cash b/c I’d read that people had issues with cabbies telling them their credit card reader didn’t work and I didn’t want that potential hassle (they use zone fares from the airport, so it’s easy to see what zone your hotel is located in and calculate the price ahead of time).

Anyway, it was about 2.5 hours from the time we (2 adults and 2 teens with a bunch of luggage) got off the plane until we were checked into our hotel. Honestly - the timing worked out great b/c our hotel room was ready.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Thanks for the comments. We are at the Marriott Pinnacle which looks to be in a safe area. Still a toss up for us whether to take the train or a cab.

Super safe - Vancouver as a whole is a very safe city, even our "sketchy" areas are not as sketchy as many major cities in the US.

It will be a savings for the two of you to take the train (very easy to do - basically just get off at the last stop) as it's just the fare plus a $5 "coming from the airport fee".... which is a lot less than the $37-39 flat rate cab fare. You can pay by credit card.

 

[Shellyred8]

Super safe - Vancouver as a whole is a very safe city, even our "sketchy" areas are not as sketchy as many major cities in the US.

It will be a savings for the two of you to take the train (very easy to do - basically just get off at the last stop) as it's just the fare plus a $5 "coming from the airport fee".... which is a lot less than the $37-39 flat rate cab fare. You can pay by credit card.

A couple of years ago we did the DCL Alaska cruise and came in a couple of days early to explore Vancouver. I found the area by the port to be very safe. It's a very clean area and it's a very open space. We found the locals to be really friendly too. We got some great advice on a restaurant from a couple that we were chatting with in a line.

 

[Kathlini]

My wife and I are taking our first cruise to Alaska via DCL in September. I've never flown (only driven) into Canada. Does anyone have lessons learned on getting through Canadian Customs as easily as possible after arriving at the Vancouver airport? Unfortunately we don't have Nexus or Global Entry.

Our port arrival time is 11:30 AM and we are Silver level. Again, does anyone have any lessons learned for check-in to minimize line waits, although I know there will be some waiting? We are staying at the Marriott Pinnacle Downtown which looks to be a 10-15 minute walk to Canada Place.

Thanks in advance! We are definitely looking forward to our trip!

We stayed at that Marriott as well before our Alaskan cruise. It was our first one ever, so had no idea what to expect. We had a 11:45 arrival time. It went super easy and fast like a continually moving line. Right up to pictures and then onto the ship. If you have time the night before walk down to the pRk and have dinner on the water. It was lovely. Ask the Marriott for a view of the port. The sea planes were fun to watch come in and gas up at the gas station in the middle of the water. We also watched the ships come into port. Have fun. The best excursion we’ve ever done was on that cruise. They take you up into the Yukon Territory in Canada and you ride a bike down to the sea level. We even had to clear customs on our bikes. It’s like 3600 feet down the side of a mountain. Incredible!!! It was in Skagway.