Need HELP from those of you who have booked Hotel thru HAL in Vancouver

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I was feeling really good about picking up our documents today for our upcoming cruise on the Ryndam out of Vancouver on May 7th till my TA and I were going over our cruise docs and discovered HAL changed everything for our pre stay. Now I know they have the right to change things but here is what happened. When we booked this cruise last July while on the Maasdam (we did get out ship board credit for this but not our CCL stock credit:mad: which I will explain later) in August I went into my TA's office and I was with her while she booked our pre cruise stay. They aksed which hotel we wanted and we specifically asked for Pan Pacific. They asked if we wanted transfers of which we declined. Upon receiving the docs it says we will be staying at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel and we have vouchers for the Vancouver Airporter Bus Service to the hotel. Then oin Sunday when we love to be one of the first passengers on the ship it says "You will be traveling to the pier via motor coach. Please contact Holland America Tours Host in the hotel lobby for specific departure times. On your way to the ship you'll be driven through some of Vancouver's most interesting areas including Chinatown, Gas Town and lovely Stanley Park" No offense to those who live in Vancouver or those that love Vancouver but I don't want to do this I want to get to the ship.
It had been my original understanding that we were staying at the Pan Pacific and our luggage could be taken right to the ship from the hotel via the hotel porter and we could just walk down and check in. This whole thing is not what I wanted at all. Now the interesting thing is we were never charged for transfers or a tour:confused: The crazy thing is we are returning to Vancouver in Spetember for a 4 day repositioning cruise and when we booked that we were told we could only stay at the Fairmont Waterfront and that was OK since it would be our second time up there in the same year and it would be something different but at that time there was no word of transfers or tour for that one either.

Now I know I should not get so upset and my TA is calling HAL first thing Monday morning to find out what happened. Also they do not show any CCL stock credit and I have a fax confirmation that they received my request so we need to get that straightened out. Also you know how previously in your Document booklet it said in the back how much you had in ship board credit, well they no longer print that in your Docs you just have to have a TA that stays on top of it. She had called them yesterday about the shipboard credit and they admitted they no longer give you a voucher for that.

OK now that I have done my venting does anyone have any comforting words for me, is the Fairmont a very close hotel? I really wanted to be right next to where the ships are. Has anyone else stayed at the Fairmont thru HAL?

[WindyCity]

Fairmont Waterfront is right across the street from Pan Pacific and you can walk across the street with your luggage. We stayed at the Fairmont post cruise and did take the tour of the city - was nice but, if we had known that the Fairmont was right across the street, we would have just walked over.

[localady]

Wait Lisa, before you freak!!!
The Fairmont Waterfront is absolutely beautiful and just across the street from the Pan Pacific. Bob and I have stayed there more than a few times and just love it. You can see the ship come in if they still use the dock closest to Stanley Park. The Fairmont has a HAL desk in the hotel and an underground passageway to the cruise terminal. There is no reason for HAL to charge you for transfer to the ship, it's right across the street. The Fairmont is one of our Favorite hotels!!!!

[RuthC]

Lisa, take a deep breath and calm down. Everything is fine.
The Fairmont Waterfront is directly across a fairly narrow street from Canada Place---the Pan Pacific Hotel is in Canada Place.

When it's time to board the bus---don't! Just walk across the street and board. Or---do! It's a lovely tour of a very pretty city. If you haven't taken it I recommend it.
Your luggage will go across the street either on the bus, or (more likely; I haven't done this in a while) be sent by the hotel just as it would be if you were staying at the Pan Pacific.
The transfer is from the airport to the hotel. No?
Feel better now?

[Bill S]

Lisa: windycity has it right.

We have stayed at the Fairmont Waterfront twice-it is a superior hotel--one of our favorites! It is directly across the street from the Pan Pacific. You will enjoy this hotel. It has an underground shopping mall and, except for being across the street from the Pan Pacific and Canada Place, it is every bit as convenient as the PP.

The excursion described is really optional for you. If you have not been to Vancouver before it might be enjoyable. We opted out of it the last time we were sailing out of Vancouver and had the Fairmont bell staff take our bags to Canada Place and just walked over to Canada Place and checked in for embarkation.

You might have your TA request a harbor view room (we had one the last time we stayed at the Fairmont) and we could see Canada Place nicely.

I hope this all works out for you, but the Fairmont IS a great facility! Their vanilla waffles are great! Also, they have a hotel dog, their mascot---complete with a dog house by the front entrance. The dog is not their on weekends, however. During the week, they let guests take the dog for walks-great for folks who miss there home pet. Any hotel which has a dog for guests is first-rate in my book!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Thank you WindyCity, Sher, Ruth and Bill :) that does make me feel better. I was just so frustrated when I found out tha tit was not how I had planned it. We are one of those weird people that like to be on the ship as soon as possible. To us when we board the ship the cruise begins. I had also hoped to get a room that we might be able to watch the Ryndam come in early in the morning. Hopefully we can still do that. I feel better now knowing that it is still very close and that it sounds like the Hotel Porter can take the luggage over to the ship.

Ruth I doubt we will take the tour but if this is what they are doing then I am sure it will be the same when we go up September 23rd for our September 24th 4 day Repositioning cruise. We will then take the tour of Vancouver. I actually had wanted to take the tour of Vancouver and had originally wanted to take it after we get off the ship the following Sunday so I purchased air tickets so our flight did not leave till after 3. Well I purchased them last August and typical United or any airline for that matter the flight times have changed 4 times now and now our flight leaves at 1:55 PM so we knew that we could not do the tour.

I guess it is good we are getting tranfers from the airport to the hotel. Atomica was going to try to pick us up and I thank him, but now I guess we will just have him meet us down at the hotel.

Thanks again everyone, Bill I cannot agree with you more being a big animal/dog lover myself. Too bad that both times we will be there Saturday and Sunday.

[kruzkeen]

I have just skimmed throught this thread, but I do not think it has been mentioned that you actually check in for the ship at the HAL desk in the hotel. The agent takes your immigration form, credit card form and checks your passport. She then gives you your boarding card.

Those who take the city tour are fast tracked through the terminal when the bus arrives at the pier.

If you do not take the tour: just keep the boarding card and your passport in your hand to show security and the HAL people at the terminal and you can bypass the check in line.

If you do a search on the Fairmont, you will see that everyone praises it. I wish that I could stay there and go to Alaska this summer.

Ken

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Hi Ken, Thanks so much for this added information. Our cruise documents just say "You will be traveling to the pier via mortor coach. Please contact the Holland America Tours Host in the hotel lobby for specific departure times" If I did not have these knowledgable boards I would not have found out all this good information. In recent years my TA has not had anyone stay Pre cruise in Vanocuver she said most of her clients stay post cruise so this was new to her as well. So you can imagine my surpise and being upset by not understanding that in fact HAL probably made it easier for me. It would have been nice if they would explain this better or actually say this in the cruise docs.

OK then I have more questions.If we can check in with the HAL Tour Host in the hotel How early do they start doing that? Then what time does boarding start? We are S Suite passengers so I would assume we would get to be in the priority boarding. Where do we take our luggage for them to take it to the ship? And how early can we do this? Has anyone taken this tour and how long is it and when do they usually leave? See I said I had MORE questions:D Those that know me know I like to be VERY planned out with NO surprises and this just took me off guard.

Thanks again for EVERYONE'S help. IT sounds like things will work out better than what I had planned.

[cruisequeen10]

I live in Vancouver and quite close to Canada Place. Yes, this is where HAL ships dock. If you can get a room overlooking the harbour, you can see the ship come in (approximately 7 a.m.). The hotel is right across the street from Canada Place. While it is nice to have a tour of our beautiful city before you board the ship, I am with you and would want to get on as soon as possible. You know for lunch, you wouldn't want to miss a meal. If you were to have the city tour on the way from the airport, that would be a different story.

[dakrewser]

Lisa -

Take a deep breathe.

Take another one.

Now, check in to the hotel. See the HAL rep. Find out where to put your luggage. Then get on the bus to view one of the lovliest cities in western North America (it's not San Francisco, but it beats everything else :rolleyes: ).

When the tour ends, you'll board immediately and (if your lucky) your luggage might already be in your cabin.

Don't stress. Relax. It's a vacation!

[gizmo]

When we booked this cruise last July while on the Maasdam (we did get out ship board credit for this but not our CCL stock credit:mad: which I will explain later) in August I went into my TA's office and I was with her while she booked our pre cruise stay.

Now I know I should not get so upset and my TA is calling HAL first thing Monday morning to find out what happened. Also they do not show any CCL stock credit and I have a fax confirmation that they received my request so we need to get that straightened out. Also you know how previously in your Document booklet it said in the back how much you had in ship board credit, well they no longer print that in your Docs you just have to have a TA that stays on top of it. She had called them yesterday about the shipboard credit and they admitted they no longer give you a voucher for that.



I am not 100% sure if I am understanding this correctly but I will take a shot.

Are you looking to get both the credit for booking while on boad and your CCL stock credit ?

If you get the credit for booking on board AND the stock credit consider yourself VERY LUCKY. Hal usually will not do this. Every now and then someone manages to get 2 credits but it is very seldom.

[localady]

Lisa-
I believe that actual check in for the cruise occurs at the pier in Canada Place. When we were ready to check out of the hotel, 11:00am ish, we called the bellman and when he arrived we told him we were cruising on HAL, we'd also put our HAL tags on the luggage. He told us politely that the luggage would be moved to the pier for us.
We went down stairs to the basement shopping area and walked over to Canada Place via the marked tunnel. As soon as we were to the Pier we proceeded with check-in. I will be surprised if it takes you longer than 1/2 hour max, unless you decide to stop for coffee along the way!;)

[Atomica]

Hey Lisa,

About the luggage, if you wanted to, you could literally wheel it across the road to the ramp leading down to the checkin area and not have to worry about the HAL porters :)

Checkin usually starts promptly at 11, and there's plenty of digital signs and HAL & Port agents there to tell you where to go. Canada Place is usually pretty painless. I always make a point of checkin in around 11am when I leave from Vancouver, and I think the latest I was ever onboard was noon.

I think you will enjoy the Fairmont Waterfront - I was there a few years back for a wedding, and it's quite a nice hotel.

I'm glad they gave you vouchers for the Airporter - that will be very convenient. I will just meet up with you guys later at the Fairmont :)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I am not 100% sure if I am understanding this correctly but I will take a shot.

Are you looking to get both the credit for booking while on boad and your CCL stock credit ?

If you get the credit for booking on board AND the stock credit consider yourself VERY LUCKY. Hal usually will not do this. Every now and then someone manages to get 2 credits but it is very seldom.

I have recieved BOTH credit several other times, our Feb cruise a few weeks ago we actually had $250 in ship board credit $150 for booking on the Maasdam (they admitted it was a mistake and should have only been $100 but because they quoted us the credit for the reamining $2005 cruises we still got that one. I have received the CCL stock credit 5 times now and was always with another type of credit. Of the last 5 cruises the least I have ever had was $200 in ship board credit. Being a stock holder should have nothing to do with the other credit you recieve.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Hey Lisa,

About the luggage, if you wanted to, you could literally wheel it across the road to the ramp leading down to the checkin area and not have to worry about the HAL porters :)

Checkin usually starts promptly at 11, and there's plenty of digital signs and HAL & Port agents there to tell you where to go. Canada Place is usually pretty painless. I always make a point of checkin in around 11am when I leave from Vancouver, and I think the latest I was ever onboard was noon.

I think you will enjoy the Fairmont Waterfront - I was there a few years back for a wedding, and it's quite a nice hotel.

I'm glad they gave you vouchers for the Airporter - that will be very convenient. I will just meet up with you guys later at the Fairmont :)

Thanks Aaron, Yes we can plan on having dinner, remember I have something for you;) (If I do not forget to pack it)

Question does this Airporter run on a regular basis like every half hour?

The only thing that has me just a bit leary is reading the reviews in Trip Advisor. There are not a lot of happy posters there for the Fairmont, hopefully it is just the complainers that decided to post:eek:

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Lisa-
I believe that actual check in for the cruise occurs at the pier in Canada Place. When we were ready to check out of the hotel, 11:00am ish, we called the bellman and when he arrived we told him we were cruising on HAL, we'd also put our HAL tags on the luggage. He told us politely that the luggage would be moved to the pier for us.
We went down stairs to the basement shopping area and walked over to Canada Place via the marked tunnel. As soon as we were to the Pier we proceeded with check-in. I will be surprised if it takes you longer than 1/2 hour max, unless you decide to stop for coffee along the way!;)

Thanks Sher, I guess I will just have to see what they do actually do. Since we are the Very First cruise (at least for the Ryndam) for the season I am sure things will be a bit confusing till they get the routine down for this Alaska Season.

[MrsSparticus]

We stayed at the Fairmont Waterfront prior to our Alaksa cruise last fall and loved it. The morning we boarded we called down to the Bell Captain and they sent someone up to pick up our luggage and take it across the street for us. We had to show the bell man our passports and cruise documents and that was it. The next time we saw our luggage we were on the ship. We then proceeded to check in as we normally would have. If memory serves correctly we were some of the first passengers on the ship. The whole process was very easy and painless.

Have a great trip!

[obriendan]

It should also be mentioned that the small shopping area in the basement of the Fairmont Waterfront contains a food court for coffee and a croissant and such before you board. Even though we stayed at the Pan Pacific, we went through the tunnel and used this facility before our Alaska cruise in 2004.

[kruzkeen]

Hi Lisa:
You have had a lot of advice here, some of it is only relevant for independent travelers who are staying at the Fairmont.

You have a pre package. You will be met at the airport by a HAL rep in a red jacket who will direct you to the Airporter bus. They will be expecting you as you will be on their manifest as you have bought your air ticket throught HAL. I remember the Airporter, I just did a google on it, they are a tooth paste green color.

http://www.yvrairporter.com/

I am in the hotel business in L.A. and another cruise line frequently has their passengers here. The routine is much the same. I just called my aunt who stayed at the Fairmont last year, HAL has a counter just down the hall from the hotel check in and past the bell captains counter.

The HAL rep will have your boarding pass. They will be expecting you as you will be on their manifest. They will ask how many bags you have. The bellmen will do a special bag pull for HAL. I have got to believe that HAL or the hotel will do a bag count check.

Independent cruisers who have not bought their air and hotel tickets must make their own arrangements for bag transfer. They cannot do their cruise check in at the hotel as HAL does not know in advance that they will be staying there.

As stated before if you do not want to go on the city tour, you do not have to. Just walk across the street a little before 11 and make sure you have your boarding pass and passport in your hand.

Ken

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Thanks Ken, Actually we only purchased the hotel thru HAL. I actually used United Air Miles to fly to Vancouver. My TA is thinking that she needs to notify HAL of my flight information since they are supplying me with the transfers.

I am feeling much better about all this, it was just very confusing when I thought we had booked Pan Pacific.

I did some reading and it sounds they they are in the beginning stages of refurbushing the the hotel so it will be a luck of the draw as to if we will get old or new but in reseraching I found this picture someone posted.
I want this room and view.:D
http://cdn.tripadvisor.com/Images-g154943-d182554-b1075765S-a_caption.-The_Fairmont_Waterfront-Vancouver_British_Columbia.jpg

[Atomica]

Thanks Aaron, Yes we can plan on having dinner, remember I have something for you;) (If I do not forget to pack it)

Question does this Airporter run on a regular basis like every half hour?

The only thing that has me just a bit leary is reading the reviews in Trip Advisor. There are not a lot of happy posters there for the Fairmont, hopefully it is just the complainers that decided to post:eek:

Sounds great Lisa:)

The airporter runs quite frequently if I remember; just ask the driver if it goes to the Fairmont Waterfront. And actually, I read tripadvisor as well, and I am always surprised at the number of negative reviews about some Fairmonts. I have stayed at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport and Fairmont Empress in Victoria, and I've never had a problem with them - plus, as you can see in that picture you posted, the views are great! :D