orchid72

Pokerpro5, thanks for what I thought was a well-balanced review.

 

The Sun was the first ship I cruised on with NCL and we will be sailing on it again in a few weeks, so I was curious to see what it is like now. Based on your review and those of others, I am quite sad to read (but not surprised) that there seems to be a consensus that the cruising experience has been declining the last few years (and this is not exclusive to NCL either).

 

I agree with you on your take about the Inside Passage, because that was my experience in 2012, which was vastly different from my experience in 2007.

 

In 2007, we too sailed on the east side of Van Island, but we sailed the "true" Inside Passage. We sailed between the islands slowly and at times it felt like I could just reach out and touch the trees. I think that particular route was made possible by the fact we did not sail as far as Glacier Bay and just stuck to Tracy Arm. It's a shame as I was looking forward to that again.

 

P.S. Sorry for all the snarkiness hurled at you. :( I think this is the reason I've stopped posting reviews on CC. (That said, I think people here are much kinder than the ones on the Rick Steves forum! ):D

We thought we would just get off the ship and wander around, but now I am thinking maybe we could go afar (on Canada Line) to Richmond or somewhere. Anyone have a good half-day to somewhere on the Line? We have been to Granville Island, on the HOHO bus to Stanley Park, etc. It would be fun to do something different. We are two over 65 ladies not in great shape and afraid of heights (like Grouse Mountain). But not afraid of escalators! :)

 

Another option aside from those already mentioned, is to go to Steveston Village. Take the Canada Line to Richmond and then get on a bus to take you to Steveston. I recommend it as somewhere you can go to just chill out, look at the fishing boats, have some frozen yoghurt at Timothy's, and/or fish 'n' chips at Pajos....

We are arriving on September 17th at 9 PM at the Vancouver airport and staying at the Pan Pacific. What is the cost of the train and what stop do we get off to go to the Pan Pacific Hotel? How far of a walk is it from the train station to the hotel? On Sept. 19th we sail on the Zuiderdam out of Canada Place. Can we check in with HAL right in the hotel? How far of a walk is it from the Pan Pacific to Canada Place? Thanks,Donna

 

Get off at the Waterfront station, and you are practically at your hotel (about a 2-3 minute walk).

 

Cost for the train is $3.75 before 6:30 PM and $2.50 after 6:30 PM.

 

Pan Pacific is at Canada Place so all you need to do is take the elevator down to the cruise ship level.

can you expound on this statement?? I'm very curious as to why your ship would have 'brought in a fin whale'?:o:eek:

 

thanks

 

 

http://www.theprovince.com/travel/Princess+cruise+ship+impales+whale+docks+Vancouver+port/1829040/story.html

Hi, without reading the whole 97 pages for this thread, maybe someone can answer a few questions. We will be arriving in Vancouver via Coral Princess on 9/21 and staying at Sutton Place. We would like to take a tour of Grouse mt and Capilano suspension bridge. Can you recommend a tour provider.

Can't really recommend a tour (maybe other posters can), but I can say that it is easy to get to these two places either by car or by public transportation.

 

second is Sutton place near Stanley park?

Stanley park is about 2 kms away from Sutton Place - about a 15-20 minute walk to the edge of the park. I find it close; some people might not.

 

And last (but not least) We are flying out 9/22 and is the new train going to be open and is it near to where we are staying? Thanks Linda

Yes, it will be open by then, and the closest station is Vancouver City Centre: http://www.canadaline.ca/constructionAdvisories.asp?stationID=2

Just a note regarding my earlier comment on Grouse, just note that it may be too expensive for your group. Adult tix are $38; seniors $36; teens $23; child $14. Unless this is something you are just DYING to do, I would probably consider other places first considering you are only here for 1 full day.

 

I personally like going for the free stuff, so if I were planning *my* day, I would explore more of Stanley Park/English Bay, Granville Island, and Gastown. All these sights should fill your day no problem.

 

And if it is a hot day, there is an outdoor pool in Second Beach (@ Stanley Park) and water park at Stanley Park and in Coal Harbour (by The Mills) for the kids....

Hello Vancouver! My family of 13 will be flying in on Wednesday August 12th. We will have all day Thursday to explore the city, if you had our day in your knowledgeable hands how would you spend the day as a tourist? We have 5 kids (sons/nephews) - 4, 6, 10, 14 & 17, 2 senoirs (60's) and 6 of us who are 36-40, the parents of the boys. We are hoping not to rent a car and are staying at the Westin Bayshore. Also, Please suggest a few restaurants with character or a view, thanks! Can't wait :)

 

Since you are staying at the Westin Bayshore, you are a stone's throw away from Stanley Park, so you may consider that as a sightseeing option. There are many things to do in Stanley Park - go for a bike ride/rollerblade/walk along the seawall. Go to the Aquarium. Have lunch or afternoon tea at the Fish House (a little pricey) or at the Stanley's Park bar & grill (in a heritage building) by the rose garden (I just do not know if kids are allowed in there, though).

 

If you do not want to walk the whole seawall (it can take about 1.5 hrs), you can cut across through the lost lagoon area to Second Beach then walk east past English Bay, where you can take the Aquabus to Granville Island. You can have lunch there, where you will have quite a few choices for restaurants.

 

After lunch, you can head back to the city and either catch the bus or take the seabus to Grouse Mountain. Since you are looking for a place with a view for dinner, you can go to Altitudes bistro up at Grouse (there's a fine dining restaurant there too, but it may not be up the kids' alley).

 

Alternatively, for dinner, you can head back down to the city and go to Cardero's, which is next door to your hotel. It has a nice view facing the north shore mountains and the water; their prices are fairly reasonable as well (they are also open for lunch).

 

Also next to your hotel is The Lift, which is a little bit more expensive than Cardero's. It also offers great views.

Hi we just booked a cruise leaving from Vancouver. We have done cruises before leaving from Canada Place and usually come in the day before. In the past we stayed out in Langley but this time we want to stay somewhere closer to port. I know parking is at a premium and we have a full size pickup truck so we need someplace where we can park this. Does anyplace come to mind?

 

Thanks,

Eileen

 

If you want to stay downtown, you can park here:http://www.cruisepark.com/home.php

 

If you do not want to stay downtown, but still be a bit closer to town, maybe get a cruise and park package. Check out these deals in Richmond (the Radisson's package seems like a good deal): http://www.cruisepark.com/home.php

 

You may also want to consider the Accent Inn in Richmond. They used to offer stay and park packages. Not sure if they still do, though, but it may be worth a try.

Can you buy liquor at the airport after you arrive and before you take your shuttle to the hotel?

 

Yes you can. There is a liquor store in the domestic terminal building (in the arrivals area).

 

Alternatively - I am assuming you are staying in downtown Vancouver or in Richmond - you can go get your liquor at any of the provincially-operated liquor stores close to your hotel (where you'll probably get a better deal).

the last cruise we took out of Vancouver left from Canada Place. According to our E-docs our departure on Sep21 will be from Ballentyne.:( Please tell me is is just as easy for embarcation as CP, just not as beautiful.... also, haw far is it from CP?

 

Thanks.

TuTu

 

Ballantyne is about 2.5 kms (about 1.5 mi?) away from Canada Place. Probably a 5 minute cab ride.

 

Can't comment about embarkation at Ballantyne because I have only ever boarded at CP. However, I have not heard of anyone saying that it was harder or less organized at Ballantyne compared to CP.

double post - deleted

Hi Shoppie,

I found this old post of yours about your knowledge of Vancouver. My wife and I will be leaving next Saturday out on the Sapphire. I was wondering we will be flying in Friday night. We will be staying at the Westin Bayshore. What is the best way to get from the hotel to the cruise terminal? Also, wanted to know once at the terminal, since we came in on Friday, will we need to go through Canadian Customs before boarding the ship? What is that process like? Thanks for the help,

 

The best way to get to Canada Place from the Bayshore is to take a cab. It will cost about $10. Some hotels offer shuttle services to the pier, so you may want to check with your hotel to see if they offer this service.

 

No, you would not need to go through Canada Customs before boarding the ship, but you will go through US Customs and Immigration after you go through security.

 

If you are taking a cab, the cab will take you to Canada Place cruise ship terminal passenger drop off (underground parkade area). The porters will take your luggage, then you go through security. After security, you will go through US Customs and Immigration then you board your ship. The process is easy and painless. You may encounter some long lines if you get there during peak periods - I think between noon and 2 probably - but it is not that bad.

Hi everyone I have been reading this blog for about an hour. so I still have a few questions,

My DH and I are staying 2 nights at the Metropolitan hotel but we have 8 friends going with us who are all in thier 70's. so what I need to know is what is the best things for them to do when they get off the ship we will be on the X Millie and they are taking the train at 5:45 to settle. Luggae is the problem I thought maybe they can bring it to our hotel? we are planing on doing the hop on hop off bus so any insight you can give me will be a help. our trip is in Sept.

Thanks Deanna

 

Since there are 10 of you, how about getting a Private limo or minibus tour? It may be more convenient than doing the HOHO tour - perhaps you can customize it so that they can pick you up at the port, drop off the luggage at your hotel, do your tour, and then and drop off your friends at the train station after? Try pricing it out because it may not be that much more $$ than 10 of you paying for your HOHO tours + cab rides from pier to hotel and hotel to train station. Also, you and your friends will need 3 cabs (depending on amount of luggage, and depending if you can get a minivan cab) to transport you from port to hotel then from hotel to train station.

I can also tell you on excellent authority that the Airporter bus service will cease on September 30

 

first word in headline should be speaking

 

:( Is there any reason why they are discontinuing the service?

 

I like the airporter because it is handier for me to take it to the airport even with the new skytrain route in place. I can practically stumble out of my apartment - and in some people's cases, their hotel - and the airporter bus is there. Without the airporter, I would either have to take a cab or the skytrain (taking the bus is so out of the question). The cab is too expensive compared to the skytrain and airporter, so to me, it does not represent good value. Yes, Skytrain would be the less expensive option than the airporter, but it is not as convenient. Skytraining it means having to make my way to a skytrain station and then having to drag my luggage in amongst other commuters, etc, etc (good luck taking it during peak hours!). Even if the airporter works out to be a little bit more expensive than skytrain, I would gladly pay the wee bit of premium for the convenience of door-to-door service.

Thanks Orchid & Putterdude.

 

One more question - I take it that if you go to the departures food court area, it is before the departure security area and there is no problem with dragging your luggage.

 

no, no problem at all. The food court -and all other restaurants I mentioned - is in the pre-security area. You can get to the international/USA departures (pres-security) area either by taking the escalator one level up from arrivals, or if you have a lot of luggage, you can get a cart (for free from baggage claim) and take the elevator up one level to departures. Easy peasy.

My wife and I are meeting my son & his girlfriend on Aug 29 to sail on the 7 day Alaska cruise on Celebrity Mercury on Aug 30.

 

They arrive at YVR at 11:45 AM and our flight gets in at 1:30 PM. What do you recommend as to how we meet up at the airport. We will be staying at the same hotel downtown, so I thought that it would be a good idea to share a Limo from YVR to the hotel.

 

Is there a place where they can get something to eat while they wait for us to arrive?

 

If necessary they can go ahead to the hotel on their own, but I thought if it wasn't to inconvenient they could wait for us to arrive.

 

I'd appreciate any suggestions from those of you who are familiar with the logistics of YVR.

 

Thanks.

 

Once they pass through Customs and Immigration, they can either go to the International/USA departures level 3 and hang out at the food court or one of the restaurants (there are 2 restaurants there - Hanami and another restaurant/bar- the name escapes me right now) or go to the Fairmont's Jetside Bar. Alternatively, if they do not mind walking about 5-10 minutes to the domestic departures level, they can either go to the White Spot/Legends or to the Milestones.

Dennis,

when is the celebration of lights, we will only be in town 7/25, then get on board the ncl sun for our cruise and will be flying home on 8/2. our flight leaves at 2pm. thanks

 

I am not Dennis, but these are the dates for the celebration of light competition:

 

• Canada: Wednesday, July 22

• South Africa: Saturday, July 25

• UK: Wednesday, July 29

• China: Saturday, August 1

 

http://celebration-of-light.com/

 

Looks like you'll be here to watch S. Africa's entry!

Where is there internet access or an internet cafe? Everything I've read about printing airline boarding passes & checking in online on the ship on the last night is long connection time & iffy. We are spending the day on the HOHO with our flight at 9PM, so would have ample time. Is there a location at Canada Place or Granville Island? Thanks for all the wonderful help from all you Canadians.:)

 

There is a Kinko's on Pender and Howe, which is about 2-3 blocks from Canada Place (rates may be a bit pricey though). Also, there is a printing/copying place that has internet kiosks along west pender street (between Thurlow and Bute) in the same building as the marriott pinnacle, which is about a 5-minute walk from Canada Place (can't remember the name). There are also a couple on Robson street (one on Robson and Nicola, and the other one on Robson and Bidwell), but neither is that close to Canada Place.

 

Other than these places, I do not know of any others out there. I am not familiar with Granville Island so I can not comment on that.

Our family will be arriving at the Vancouver airport. We will need a taxi for 4 with 5 pieces of luggage. Do I need to reserve a taxi for transportation to hotel? Also, how long will it take us to get luggage and go through customs? And, can you give me a general idea of the cost. Thanks.

If you want to take a taxi from the airport to downtown, it will cot you about $40 --- no need to reserve as there are usually a few waiting curb side. Since there are 4 of you with 5 pieces of luggage, you will have to get a minivan cab since you will not fit in the typical compact to mid-size cab. Alternatively, you may want to consider a limo - for $39 + tax, I think this is better value than a taxi. Info on limo: http://www.yvr.ca/guide/toandfrom/limos.asp

 

As for how long it will take to you to go through customs and get your luggage, it really varies on time of day, etc. It has taken me as little as 10-15 minutes and as long as 1 hr. On average, I would say budget for about 1/2 hr.

 

 

From the links we have to take the 424 and then the 098 to Granville St. if im reading it right. Do i need Cdn coins or can i use US quarters? thanks roy

You can use US quarters, but they will be taken at par by the bus driver. I don't think any of the ticket machines will accept US quarters.

According to their website, there's one downtown at 818 Burrard, and one in Yaletown at 1145 Mainland. If you head to Granville Island, there's nearby one at 1598 W.Broadway, or.. If you're feeling up to it, ride the subway/elevated train to Metrotown, and there's one across the street at 4883 Kingsway.

 

PD was right - there are no more death by chocolates in the downtown core. The only surviving location they have in Vancouver is the one on Broadway. The Burrard location has been closed for sometime now, and is now a "Joey's". I do not know when the Yaletown location closed, but it is no longer there either.

Seafood would be first on our list....mid price...and a good breakfast place.

 

 

Seafood: everything UT mentioned are viable options. There is also The Cannery, and Salmon House on the Hill but you would need to cab it there. I recommend Hapa Izakaya on Robson, but it is not a seafood restaurant per se, but they do serve fish. It is more a Japanese "pub fare" with a twist. Note that it is not close to your hotel, but you can easily walk there. Here is their website: http://www.hapaizakaya.com/

 

Breakfast: everything that UT mentioned + Elbow Room, a Vancouver institution (you have to be thick-skinned to go here, though). Here is the Elbow room website: http://www.theelbowroomcafe.com/zgrid/proc/site/sitep.jsp

Would this market be a place to purchase wine? If not, where would the closest place be??

One can not buy alcoholic beverages in a supermarket/grocery in BC. However, there is a wine store about 2 blocks downhill from your hotel attached to the Sutton Place. Otherwise, there is a Provincial Liquor store on Alberni and Thurlow.

 

How about a good nearby resturant???

There are many. What kind of cuisine are you after, and what price range are you looking at?

That Italian restaurant sounds fine to me.

 

I have one whole day in Vancouver and I am into photography. Any suggestion as to what I should take photo's of. It makes no difference what the subject is, as long as I can put togeather a slide show showing the sights of Vancouver. It will be very much a shoot and run day for me, as I want to get as many photo's as I can. I would welcome any suggestion from the locals of Vancouver, if you think a particular place worthy of being photographed let me know.

 

Just a few I could think of: Go to Gastown, Stanley Park, English Bay, and Granville Island. You should be able to take some pretty cool photos in those places. Also, the view towards the North Shore Mountains from the downtown core is pretty cool - you can take it from Coal Harbour, or from the new convention centre. Oh, and in Coal Harbour, you can take pics of the seaplanes taking off and have the north shore mountains as a backdrop. There's also the coal harbour marina.

Hello-

My husband and I are staying at the Fairmont Waterfront and want to have dinner on Granville Island at either Dockside Brewing Company, Dockside Restaurant or the Granville Room.

 

Any recommendations on the above restaurants (entertainment coupons) and how do we get to/from Granville Island in the evening from the Fairmont?

 

Thanks in advance :D

 

 

Granville Room is on Granville Street and it's in the bar/club area of downtown (it's not in Granville Island). It's a lounge/restaurant, but I feel it's really more a lounge than a restaurant.

 

I would personally choose Dockside over Granville Room. Dockside has a nice patio. Dockside Brewing and Dockside Restaurant is the same place - sort of. The Brewery is the loung-y/pub-y part; the Dockside Restaurant is the restaurant part...The location is waaaay better, and the atmosphere more relaxed, than the Granville Room.

 

Your best bet is to take a cab from your hotel to get to Granville Island. Another option, if you're not averse to walking about 20 minutes to the foot of Hornby, is to take the Aquabus. Or you can take the Aquabus to Granville Island and take a cab back (the Aquabus I think stops service at 10PM)

 

The only upside to the Granville Room, IMHO, is that you can walk there. But that is not enough for me to want to go there, especially if a nice dinner is what I am after.

Can we DROP a rental car at Canada Place kiosk? (I had read on a Vancouver cruise info website that Avis, Budget & National have kiosks at Canada Pl.)

National has a kiosk at Canada Place. I do not think that either Avis or Budget has a kiosk at Canada Place.

 

OR are there any drop locations in nearby hotels, etc?

Avis has a location pretty much at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver on Hornby street and W. Georgia. It is about a 5-minute walk to the terminal, if that.

 

Budget is on the corner of Homer and Georgia, which is about a 10-minute walk from the terminal. You might notice that their website lists a location at Canada Place, but as far as I know this is not the case. You might want to double-check with them though.

 

OR do we have to drop at airport?

You're best to contact the car rental company for this info; it will depend on the terms of your agreement. Most car rental companies will let you drop off the vehicle in their downtown locations.

 

[We're renting car at SEA and driving into Vanc -- departing on cruise from Canada Place on a Friday -- We may be driving into downtown from Blaine the morning we embark, -OR- we may stay in a downtown hotel 1 nt before embarking. Any comments on idea of staying in Blaine at the resort that was an old cannery...

Can't really comment on the resort in Blaine, but I would say that the border line ups can be unpredictable. So if you are driving from Blaine on the morning you embark, allow some time for delays at the border.