Vancouver Transportation

Hopefully this will answer your question - just got off the phone talking to them - inside the terminal there will be a kiosk or person identifying themselves as from Quick Shuttle - they will then escort their passengers out to the waiting bus - remember to have your passport ready as it will need to be scanned to board the bus - this helps speed up the US Customs and Immigration process.

If I get a chance I will try and see if I can get the location of the kiosk but some of the others on this thread have experience working the port and might also be able to tell you.

Hope this helps.

Cheers!

Dennis

Thank you very much for your help Dennis. I also sent an email to QuickCoach/Shuttle and got the following additional information.......they were very prompt BTW.

"The pick up location at the Canada Place Pier is on cruise ship level. Please see our representative from Quick Shuttle when you get off the ship, they will be located inside the terminal at the last set of doors."

I trust we will find it with no problems but pays to plan ahead I think. We have disembarked at Canada Place once before and found it quite confusing. Fortunately, last time we were staying at the Pan Pacific after a cruise with a very nice Hotwire rate. We accidentally met a baggage handler when we asked for directions to the hotel and he took our bags and directed us up to the check in. The next time we saw the bags they were in our room!!! This is a great place to stay and VERY convenient before and after a cruise if you can get a good rate like we did.

One last (I hope) question.

For Canada Line at the airport, does the ticket machine accept US credit cards - in other words not "chip n'pin" ? Hope so, will save chasing around getting $Can.

One last (I hope) question.

 

For Canada Line at the airport, does the ticket machine accept US credit cards - in other words not "chip n'pin" ? Hope so, will save chasing around getting $Can.

Yes, the TVMs will take US Visa and Mastercard without the chip. However your credit card company may levy a foreign transaction fee almost equivalent to your fare so you may want to check with them on this topic.

Oh yes, I do plan on getting an oil change while on the road but I plan on doing that after the cruise somewhere in the US. I don't know if my American car can handle liters of oil! :D

 

BTW, the book on the new Hyundai's state every 7,500 miles which surprised me because I was used to the 5,000 mile standard.

I'm amazed it can handle quarts... Let's all remember that South Korea (Hyundai) like all but three other countries in the world (Liberia, Myanmar and the USA) are metric.

One last (I hope) question.

 

For Canada Line at the airport, does the ticket machine accept US credit cards - in other words not "chip n'pin" ? Hope so, will save chasing around getting $Can.

Yes, they take both debit and credit cards (w/o chip).

BTW, the book on the new Hyundai's state every 7,500 miles which surprised me because I was used to the 5,000 mile standard.

Interesting, I just picked up a new Honda Odyssey about 6 weeks ago and it as well as the 2 others that I have had over the past 8 years have a light that comes on when the oil needs to be changed. The distance between oil changes can vary from about 5,000 miles in dusty AZ to more that 10,000 miles up here on the pristine Sunshine Coast of BC. Even though they are Canadian vehicles when I put quarts of oil and gallons gas in them in the US has the light has never come on with an American accent or ever once has it said "y'all come now ya hear".:D

We are booked on the Quick Coach from the cruise port to the airport in Seattle.

For those who have experience with this trip, is it obvious where to board the Quick Coach at the port after disembarking? Is the waiting area for the pickup marked in any way.

Thank you for any help you can offer and happy cruising

We just came through Canada Place last week with 2 ships arriving together. The signage there is pathetic. After you collect your luggage, head out along the right hand wall/corridor marked "buses". Go past the lines of people waiting for taxis and private transfers. Quick bus is at the end of the corridor. (As you are walking along you will see several buses parked in bays through the glass on your left), quick bus is the last one, just beyond the unmarked Pacific Coach Line waiting area near the toilets.

I want to thank everyone for their input into my hotel/parking questions and I came THIS close to booking the Accent Inn in Buraby, but to put my wife's mind at ease for getting quickly to the car and on the road after our return from the cruise (we have to make it to Newport, Oregon by that evening), I will be using the park garage at the terminal @ Canada Place for the duration of our cruise. BTW, I'm guessing here that the $25 per day parking is CAD which would be $22.82 US? Also, do they charge by the DAY (like Port Canaveral where you get charged for 6 days on a 5 night cruise) or do they charge by night (such as at Miami)? Just figuring out if a 14 night cruise will be $350 CAD or $375 CAD? Thanks.

Try this site. Looks like the parking is operated by Vinci, a French tollway and parking concessionaire.

http://www.vinciparkcanadaplace.ca/reserve-a-space.html

I want to thank everyone for their input into my hotel/parking questions and I came THIS close to booking the Accent Inn in Buraby, but to put my wife's mind at ease for getting quickly to the car and on the road after our return from the cruise (we have to make it to Newport, Oregon by that evening), I will be using the park garage at the terminal @ Canada Place for the duration of our cruise. BTW, I'm guessing here that the $25 per day parking is CAD which would be $22.82 US? Also, do they charge by the DAY (like Port Canaveral where you get charged for 6 days on a 5 night cruise) or do they charge by night (such as at Miami)? Just figuring out if a 14 night cruise will be $350 CAD or $375 CAD? Thanks.

If you check the link I posted back when you first asked, you'd see that it's in Canadian Dollars. That link also goes straight to the booking engine, which confirms if you put in dates & times that the rate is per day, not per 24 hour period - so yes, you'll be paying for one more day than your cruise duration.

Honestly if you want to be on the road to Newport as quickly as possible I'd stick to your Accent Inns plan. Rationale? Local taxi driver is FAR more familiar with the area than you are; they'll get you to your car quicker than you could do it yourself, so as long as you park close to your route you'll actually save time (and compared to the cost of parking at Canada Place, you'll save more than enough to pay your cab fare).

Both Accent Inns in Burnaby and Richmond are right next to a viable route - going to Newport via the Burnaby location adds six minutes to your trip, Richmond adds 7. On an eight hour drive, totally negligible - and remember your cabbie just saved you time and hassle dealing with rushhour traffic in an unfamiliar city, so now you just need to hit the highway without worrying about commuters...

Regardless of where you start from, be aware of the timing for the Express Lanes through Seattle - if they're going in your direction, take them but if not take the 405 route instead (using HOV lane since there's 2 of you). M-F, they run southbound until only 11am which is tight by the time you get over the border - if you're coming down on a weekend you have until 1:30pm before they close for southbound traffic.

We drive down to Portland monthly and try to hit Seattle just after 10am so we can Express Lane through. If you do end up on the 405, watch out for the junction back onto I5 - if your GPS has a lane indicator, believe it... you don't want to end up sailing past the very tight turn to I5 South!

If you check the link I posted back when you first asked, you'd see that it's in Canadian Dollars. That link also goes straight to the booking engine, which confirms if you put in dates & times that the rate is per day, not per 24 hour period - so yes, you'll be paying for one more day than your cruise duration.

 

Honestly if you want to be on the road to Newport as quickly as possible I'd stick to your Accent Inns plan. Rationale? Local taxi driver is FAR more familiar with the area than you are; they'll get you to your car quicker than you could do it yourself, so as long as you park close to your route you'll actually save time (and compared to the cost of parking at Canada Place, you'll save more than enough to pay your cab fare).

 

Both Accent Inns in Burnaby and Richmond are right next to a viable route - going to Newport via the Burnaby location adds six minutes to your trip, Richmond adds 7. On an eight hour drive, totally negligible - and remember your cabbie just saved you time and hassle dealing with rushhour traffic in an unfamiliar city, so now you just need to hit the highway without worrying about commuters...

 

Regardless of where you start from, be aware of the timing for the Express Lanes through Seattle - if they're going in your direction, take them but if not take the 405 route instead (using HOV lane since there's 2 of you). M-F, they run southbound until only 11am which is tight by the time you get over the border - if you're coming down on a weekend you have until 1:30pm before they close for southbound traffic.

 

We drive down to Portland monthly and try to hit Seattle just after 10am so we can Express Lane through. If you do end up on the 405, watch out for the junction back onto I5 - if your GPS has a lane indicator, believe it... you don't want to end up sailing past the very tight turn to I5 South!

Sorry, I missed the "C" in your original post when reading it (I'm used the seeing CAD written after the number). Do you recommend making a reservation prior to arriving or would it be just as well to simply pull in and park on the day of the cruise?

Yes, I wanted to stay in Accent Inn and would have saved at least $150 CAD over staying at the garage but wifey thinks it will make us late getting on the road (taxi travel time back to the hotel, getting the car, then finally getting on the road) and I want to put her mind at ease so I agreed to do this for her.

We will be on a Mon-Mon cruise (14 night B2B north/south) on the NCL Sun so it looks like I need to get down to Seattle by 11:00 to use the expressway. Is it free or do they charge extra like in Florida for expressways? I figure if we're in the car and on the road by 8:00 we should be able to make Seattle just before the expressway closes (depending on how long it takes to get across the boarder heading south on a Monday). My map program shows we should take the PH99 through Vancouver and take I-5 through Seattle and it shows a drive time of 2:06 to get to the 5/405 intersection so if the crossing doesn't take long and there are no accidents along the way, we should be able to make it.

Completely off the wall question. We decided to do 4 nights of timesharing in Whistler prior to the cruise. Looks like some beautiful scenery up there. Any tidbits of info to pass along about "Do not miss doing this" types of things?

Thanks for all of your tips. :)

Sorry, I missed the "C" in your original post when reading it (I'm used the seeing CAD written after the number). Do you recommend making a reservation prior to arriving or would it be just as well to simply pull in and park on the day of the cruise?

 

Yes, I wanted to stay in Accent Inn and would have saved at least $150 CAD over staying at the garage but wifey thinks it will make us late getting on the road (taxi travel time back to the hotel, getting the car, then finally getting on the road) and I want to put her mind at ease so I agreed to do this for her.

 

We will be on a Mon-Mon cruise (14 night B2B north/south) on the NCL Sun so it looks like I need to get down to Seattle by 11:00 to use the expressway. Is it free or do they charge extra like in Florida for expressways? I figure if we're in the car and on the road by 8:00 we should be able to make Seattle just before the expressway closes (depending on how long it takes to get across the boarder heading south on a Monday). My map program shows we should take the PH99 through Vancouver and take I-5 through Seattle and it shows a drive time of 2:06 to get to the 5/405 intersection so if the crossing doesn't take long and there are no accidents along the way, we should be able to make it.

 

Completely off the wall question. We decided to do 4 nights of timesharing in Whistler prior to the cruise. Looks like some beautiful scenery up there. Any tidbits of info to pass along about "Do not miss doing this" types of things?

 

Thanks for all of your tips. :)

Tell your wife that a stranger on the internet says she's wrong - that way it's not *you* getting the flak;-)

Highway 99 is merely a designation - it's a regular city street all the way through Vancouver with a 50km/h limit as we have no highways anywhere in town due to city planning regs (look up 'Vancouverism' if you're intrigued). Use your preferred mapping software - plug in Canada Place to your Newport destination and add the Accent Inn locations as Via points and you'll see what I mean. The Richmond one is literally just off the 99, and Burnaby is right next to the 1.

Following the 99 to the border in the morning also means a single lane bottleneck as you drive through a tunnel with oncoming traffic right next to you (they flip one tunnel to bidirectional traffic so there are 3 lanes in and one lane out) - if your GPS maps are a bit out of date, they might not know about the improved 91 connector that bypasses the tunnel issues.

Unless you are a blatant violator of local speed ordinances, know where cops hang out to check traffic, use bus lanes illegally, make aggressive lane changes, and are familiar with local roadworks/traffic patterns (believe me, the traffic mode on your GPS does not work well in Vancouver - they simply don't get enough data for all the routes as they are surface streets) you will not come close to beating a local cabbie. I strongly believe that they'll save you enough time getting you to either Accent Inn location that it will more than outweigh what you lose having to wait for a cab at Canada Place (I assume you're self-disembarking to get on the road as fast as possible).

If you (or rather your better half) still ain't convinced, then I do recommend prebooking the parking spot - there's no downside as I doubt you'll spontaneously decide to go park somewhere else on the day! I have no idea how many spots are reserved for long-term cruisers, but why would you take the risk of them being oversubscribed?

Driving around a strange city looking for safe longterm parking is most definitely not fun - we made the mistake of not prebooking on a NYC cruise, drove down from Toronto and found no spots available at the pier. Fortunately the parking attendant gave us solid advice to go kill an hour then come back - sure enough, we had arrived just before a ship disembarked so an hour later plenty of people were leaving their spots and we snagged one. But for that hour we sat in a coffee shop surfing the web for other options and freaking the hell out!

Regardless - you'll still be driving across the border/though Seattle yourself, so to answer your other notes:

Seattle Express Lanes are free - they're a traffic management tool rather than a revenue-generator. Lots of interesting stats available on WSDOT website if stats is your thing, but the times they flip actually do make verifiable sense even on game days (2 major stadia right next to I5).

The entrance is a few miles further south than the 405/5 junction, and the HOV lane southbound stops a couple of miles before the entranceway too (since everyone can use the Express Lanes, they need to allow all traffic to come over to the left lane for access). There's always a bottleneck here, so it can take 15 mins+ to get onto the express lanes - and the entry gates close at different times, starting with the northernmost.

I'd take the 405 unless you are at that junction by c. 10:30am - perhaps a local Seattle commuter might have more exact timing of which gates close when, all I can tell you is that when we get our timing right we get on them just after 10am and are long gone before they change direction.

Whistler? Beautiful, yes, and in theory a four-season destination now, but unless you really like hiking or mountain-biking four days is IMO way too long to be there in Summer (especially if you could be in Vancouver!). Here's a link to their official website, with events etc. The town basically didn't exist before the sixties, so in terms of historic buildings and the like there's a grand total of zip, zero, nada.

The Squamish/Lil'wat Cultural Centre is excellent - they built a traditional-style longhouse, give guided walks through the woodland to see important plants and usually bear tracks, have a lot of clothing/artefacts, and a top-notch little cafe.

Other than that, Whistler is disproportionately wealthy so has a high number of high end restos. Everything else is all about the outdoors - unless you're going to get sweaty *doing* something the low-energy-expenditure stuff like Peak to Peak gondola, sightseeing flights, you can do in a single day easily. If you add on a bear watching tour (though why anyone would is beyond me, bears roam through Whistler on a daily basis!) and a fishing trip that's another day.

Oh, in June they might have opened the bobsleigh track for the summer (they use a wheeled sled, with a professional pilot) - that's pretty unusual anywhere except ex-Winter Olympic venues.

We will be getting in from a cruise ship on May 15. Looking to spend one night close to the train. We are looking for transfer to hotel than to the train. I know it's a lot but it's what I need

Darlene

We will be getting in from a cruise ship on May 15. Looking to spend one night close to the train. We are looking for transfer to hotel than to the train. I know it's a lot but it's what I need

Darlene

Unfortunately you can't always get what you want... but fortunately you don't need included transfers on either leg - downtown Vancouver is very compact, no hotel is far from either Canada Place (port) or Pacific Central (Amtrak) station. Going straight from one to the other would cost you approx $10 by cab and you would literally drive right past some hotels en route.

No Vancouver hotel offers a shuttle to the train station. The only hotel I can think of offhand that offers a generic shuttle that's supposed to take you anywhere downtown is the Hampton Inn; and that is only a complimentary drop OFF shuttle, so they will not come and pick you up at Canada Place although if nobody else has requested to go anywhere else they might be able to drop you off at the Pacific Central station.

Here's a map showing Canada Place (A), the Hampton Inn (B), and Pacific Central © with the best driving route between them - there are a few other hotels clustered on Beatty near the Hampton, including the Georgian Court, Sandman and YWCA plus the Westin Grand just a couple of blocks up Robson.

Price up all those and it should give you a pretty good idea of Vancouver hotel price ranges for your dates - if you feel like splurging, the Pan Pacific is literally on top of Canada Place so you would only need to arrange transport to Pacific Central next day, as I said approx $10 in a cab.

Glad I found this thread. Thanks to all who contributed.

Our cruise is from Seattle to Vancouver. We want to fly to San Francisco from Vancouver.

The flight times are 10am and 1pm with Air Canada.

If we do self embark, will we make the 10am flight.

If a taxi is a lot more expensive, we can get the later flight and do public transport.

Thanks in advance as I need a little help

Glad I found this thread. Thanks to all who contributed.

 

Our cruise is from Seattle to Vancouver. We want to fly to San Francisco from Vancouver.

The flight times are 10am and 1pm with Air Canada.

If we do self embark, will we make the 10am flight.

If a taxi is a lot more expensive, we can get the later flight and do public transport.

 

Thanks in advance as I need a little help

Even if you self-disembark, the odds of making a 10am flight are slim to none - and if you don't, it's 100% your fault from the airlines perspective as you're not even close to meeting the recommended 3 hours before departure timeline for a flight to the US. Take the 1pm flight.

As to cost - taxis are relatively much pricier than transit (assuming there's two of you, $35 vs $8 is a huge proportionate difference) but the absolute price difference of c.$27 for a couple may not be 'a lot' by your personal financial definition.

To enter the USA from a major Canadian airport, you actually clear US Customs and Immigration prior to entering the 'transborder wing' (E gates) at YVR. It means that you arrive in SFO as pretty much a domestic arrival, but it does mean that before you get to your gate you're at the mercy of the US Customs and Border protection. Because waits times vary from 0 to >60 minutes, the chance of getting to the airport and through everything to make a 10a flight is slim to none. Go for the 1p.

As for public transportation, there's a Skytrain line -- the Canada line to be specific (all of the elevated/subway lines in Vancouver are called Skytrain) that runs from Waterfront Station (3 blocks from Canada Place) to YVR.

Exit the cruise terminal keeping to your left. Walk past the 1st entrance that you see that says "Skytrain - Waterfront" (as it leads to the Expo/Millenium platforms, not the Canada line platform) to Cordova St, turn left, walk another 2 blocks and Waterfront is the big brick building on your left. $4 one way to the airport. not only much cheaper than a taxi, but during the day in traffic, likely faster too. The trains are clean, quick and have special areas for luggage. Don't be dissuaded by the claims of other visitors to Vancouver that they are filled with "drunks, the unwashed and rabid travellers with suitcases" that's simply not an accurate description.

Thanks for the advice. Being Scottish the $4 always wins. We will probably see more of Vancouver as well. 1pm is probably the safer bet.

I have copied and pasted the directions.

Thanks for the advice. Being Scottish the $4 always wins. We will probably see more of Vancouver as well. 1pm is probably the safer bet.

I have copied and pasted the directions.

Actually that's the one thing you wont see. it's a subway most of the way to the airport. It pops out to fresh air just before it crosses the river and the few stops before YVR itself.

Actually that's the one thing you wont see. it's a subway most of the way to the airport. It pops out to fresh air just before it crosses the river and the few stops before YVR itself.

Ah well, we are coming back in 2016 to do Vancouver to Hawaii and plan a few days then.

Thanks for the help

No 'offsite economy parking' available at the terminal (there used to be, but no more).

 

Official long-term rate at Canada Place - which is where you'll be leaving from as the other port is dead to passenger ships after this season - is just under C$25 a day including all the fees & taxes. You may find a voucher or deal that cuts a couple of bucks off.

 

There are *very* few downtown hotels with free parking even when you're staying; we are a ferociously expensive city to park in. The only hotel I know downtown proper doing any kind of longterm parking deal is the Coast Plaza. It's got decent reviews on Tripadvisor etc.

 

Most folks posting here who've done a park'n'cruise tend to stay out at the airport, in Burnaby, or in North Vancouver - all of which have hotels offering long-term parking in open outdoor lots and usually seem to include a shuttle to get you to and from the cruise. The Accent Inn chain has been mentioned a lot.

 

Since you're road tripping and obviously have no other option but to park your car while cruising, I'd suggest splitting your time between hotels - use one of the out-of-town options with the parking & shuttle, but instead of getting right on your ship come downtown and stay in a hotel here while doing the in-town touristy stuff. That way you won't be wasting time in traffic or on transit when you don't need to. Of course if the Coast Plaza rates look good to you, they do let you park free while staying too so you wouldn't need to move if you stuck to that hotel.

I second the Coast Plaza park and cruise option - about $200.00 (depends on how hard you can grind them ;)) and includes free parking while on your cruise (we are cruising march '15 to Hawaii for 15 days and can leave the car at the hotel for the duration), $25.00 restaurant voucher and taxi from the hotel to the terminal. Pretty good deal IMHO. Call the hotel and ask for Lawrence.

...VTX-Al

Will be arriving around 10pm (1am home time) on a Friday evening for our Monday cruise. Family of 5 with Alaska-bound luggage in tow. While the Skytrain sounds great, the 20 minute interval between runs late night and our tired factor makes me less excited. My first plan was UBER and second thought was car/limo service SUV. Reading reviews of Aerocar (which were terrible on Tripadvisor and on YELP) have led me to not feel good about that as an option. Further searches have yielded no well-reviewed options. Of course, we could just do two cabs.

Which leaves me begging for insight from locals and / or YVR experienced.

Also, when arriving back at Canada Place from cruise and headed to YVR, what's the easiest option? Most ports are crazy busy and hard to get cabs/transport when ships let off.

Thanks, in advance, for your insights.

Will be arriving around 10pm (1am home time) on a Friday evening for our Monday cruise. Family of 5 with Alaska-bound luggage in tow. While the Skytrain sounds great, the 20 minute interval between runs late night and our tired factor makes me less excited. My first plan was UBER and second thought was car/limo service SUV. Reading reviews of Aerocar (which were terrible on Tripadvisor and on YELP) have led me to not feel good about that as an option. Further searches have yielded no well-reviewed options. Of course, we could just do two cabs.

 

Which leaves me begging for insight from locals and / or YVR experienced.

 

Also, when arriving back at Canada Place from cruise and headed to YVR, what's the easiest option? Most ports are crazy busy and hard to get cabs/transport when ships let off.

 

Thanks, in advance, for your insights.

Your options are basically Aerocar or two cabs (our larger cabs do seat five, but that's using a folddown seat in the rear which eats into storage space, so unless you are packed pretty light and everyone has a bag on their laps you'll need two cabs).

You can of course book any limo company you want to come get you, but for the same reason as Uber not being available (a longstanding provincially-mandated minimum $75 charge, which is now being actively enforced to prevent Uber operating) you won't save any cash - official airport cars, i.e. only Aerocar, are exempt from the minimum fee.

Generally-speaking bad reviews on Aerocar are about scheduling, as price is fixed and known in advance (check your hotel's location against their official rates). At the airport, there's no scheduling issue as you just walk up and ask for the relevant size of car - taxis work the same, just a different queue to join (and neither should be large at 10pmish).

Now that all cabs operate on a fixed-price model from YVR you can compare pricing - two cabs should be a little less than a limo.

On the way back if your bags are manageable by your group then Skytrain frequency is back in the 6-7minute area. Whether it's quicker or slower than a taxi is dependent on your mobility, traffic, and length of queue for cabs at Canada Place. Unlike on the way in, cabs are metered normally for trips TO YVR. Expect to pay c. $35 per cab, which should again be a little less for two than the cost of one limo.

Thanks for your excellent insight.