diekmanj

Thanks! I'll remember this for next time we're thinking of a restaurant in Portland. 😀

martincath Thanks for all the help and suggestions for planning our trip. I'm sorry that it has taken me a really long time to respond. We had a death in the family and a couple serious medical problems with other family members in the past couple months (not any of us going on this cruise), so haven't replied yet, but meant to. I really do appreciate all the help. Our trip is getting close! A little over a week now. We ultimately decided to follow your suggestion about a one-way car rental to Vancouver instead of the train as the timing will work better. My parents and sister will still be taking the train partway and then we will pick them up and drive the rest of the way. And they will ride the train back to southern Oregon from Vancouver, WA at the end of the trip. I think we will all be good on riding trains by then, as we will have done a few hours on the White Pass and Yukon Railroad into the Yukon, The Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Seward and back, and 12 hours on the Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Fairbanks. I am hoping we can do another trip up to Vancouver on the train another time when we don't need to board a ship the following morning and have more time to enjoy the area. We're looking forward to celebrating my parents' 50th anniversary on the trip. Those are some fun Portland ideas you gave me! We haven't done much in Portland in quite some time, but may have to check out some of these older restaurants.

martincath Thanks for letting me know all this. We have a Costco membership. I have thought of driving up to Vancouver. Time-wise, it would be easier and more flexible. My husband and I drove up to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal several years ago on a trip to Victoria. We took our vehicle with us to Vancouver Island. But we haven't been to Vancouver. I'm sure sometime we'll explore your city. That's very interesting about Flixbus. Ive never heard of it before, but have heard of Bolt. Sounds like an interesting option. My dad really wants to take the train up to Vancouver-he enjoys the train. My parents live in southern Oregon on the Amtrak Coast Starlight route. He is actually disappointed that he cannot take a train all the way to Alaska. He's always wanted to visit Alaska. My mom wants to go on a cruise. My parents have never been on a cruise before. So this trip is a mix of both to celebrate their 50th anniversary. We will be riding a LOT of trains on this trip-Amtrak, White Pass Railroad, and two routes of the Alaska Railroad. Thanks for the heads up about Amtrak shuttles! We've ridden Amtrak before on a couple routes, but never taken the shuttles. I'm glad that you let me know about them. I'm not crazy about the time the shuttle arrives in Vancouver. I think I will have my parents take the Coast Starlight up to us, then we will all take the Amtrak Cascades train the following day to Vancouver. That way we can avoid the shuttle and break the trip up better. Thanks for the suggestions about hotels. I will look into them some more. It sounds like some really nice hotels and areas.

DaveOKC Thank you for this information!

martincath Thank you for all of this information! I really appreciate it. I'm sorry that it has taken me a while to respond...got busy with life. This is so helpful to me for planning our trip and getting around Vancouver. Thanks for the suggestions about UberXL and the other options. I will look into them. And thanks for the suggestions about hotels. We are considering one near the airport, though may look into the YWCA-sounds very nice! We will be arriving on either the Amtrak Cascades train or the Amtrak shuttle bus. Planning to spend the night in Vancouver before boarding the cruise ship. Sometime we would like to return to explore Vancouver, but not planning to on this trip. We live in the Pacific Northwest in Oregon outside Portland, so it would not be that difficult to return to Vancouver sometime. Any other recommendations for hotels?

I'm glad that you posted this. Good to know! So taking one of the other lines to the cruise terminal might be challenging with all our baggage? Maybe we'll plan on another way to get to the cruise terminal before the cruise.

Thanks!

Thank you all for all of this great information! All of this information is so helpful and what I needed to know. I really appreciate all of your responses! It's nice to know all these details and direction and suggestions. We've never actually been in Vancouver before, so all of this is helpful for us. We have been just south of Vancouver when we went to Vancouver Island on the BC ferry. Looks like we should be fine to book our flight to Anchorage. And the information about the times and where to go will give us a much better idea of how to plan the day. I'm sure that we will be fine if we end up with extra time at the airport-much better than being short on time. We will be a group of 5 for this trip-3 adults-me, my husband, my sister, and my parents, who are seniors. I will have to ask them about the SkyTrain tickets.

We are sailing on the Volendam in mid-June from Vancouver on a round trip through the Inside Passage. We've never been to either the Vancouver port or the airport, so are unfamiliar with either one. We will be arriving back in Vancouver at the end of the cruise on a Wednesday. It appears that we arrive at 7:00am. How early can we expect to be able to disembark? And how long will disembarkation take? Can we request to disembark in an earlier group? It appears that there is only one other ship scheduled in port that day-the Norwegian Spirit (2414 passengers). What should we expect about getting out of the port and over the the airport? We would like to take the SkyTrain if possible. We would like to catch a flight to Anchorage that departs at 1:20pm. Since we're all U.S. citizens, we'll have to go through immigration/customs at the Vancouver airport. Since we don't know what to expect, I'd appreciate any information you can share with me. How long does it generally take to get through immigration/customs at the Vancouver airport? I know the recommended time used to be to allow at least 2 hours. But I also know that things have been unpredictable and different at airports more recently, so I assume it may be longer. How long do you think we should plan for? We haven't booked the flight yet, but are hoping to very soon if it looks like it will work and we will have enough time. I'll appreciate your advice and suggestions.

Thank you for this information! It sounds like that would be the best arrangement for the beds. Good to know about the cabin phone, too...we' will be traveling with my parents who will be in another cabin on a different deck-so will probably need to call their room.

Thank you so much for all of this information about the trains. Great information! I will look into it!

Thanks! I'm hoping that it is the type that flips. We would have the other beds in the twin configuration so maybe it wouldn't be as tight.

We are planning a family cruise and considering booking the Volendam for it. One of the cabins we're considering is an inside cabin on the Main deck that has a sofa bed. We would have 3 adults in the cabin. What type of bed is the sofa bed in these rooms? Is it the pull-out kind or the flip-over kind? I'm trying to figure out if there is still space to walk past the sofa bed from the other beds. Thanks!

Wow! So much great information from you all! Sounds like you've had some amazing experiences and enjoyed spectacular scenery. Thank you! I appreciate the advice and help. I actually have looked into the ferry system for the trip. My husband and I have taken the BC Ferry both ways from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay before on a visit to Victoria and really enjoyed it. My parents have never cruised before (my husband and I have twice before, bur not to Alaska), and my mom really wants to go on a cruise. So we're planning a cruise and extra days on land. My Dad has always wanted to visit Alaska and see the scenery. Other than enjoying the Inside Passage, he wants to go king salmon fishing and ride the various railroads. He especially wants to take the longer Bennett Valley train route on the White Pass and Yukon Railroad, so that limits us to ships that are in port at the right times and length of times and the right days for that excursion. Currently the plan is a salmon fishing charter in Ketchikan, and the train in Skagway. And also ride the Alaska Railroad from Fairbanks to Anchorage (or the reverse), and the Coastal Classic route. And enjoying Glacier Bay, and possibly Hubbard Glacier if the ship we choose includes it. All the ones I'm considering visit Glacier Bay. Not sure what we will do in Juneau yet. We are looking at late June since that is apparently the best time for king salmon fishing in Ketchikan. And the longer daylight will be nice!

Thanks to all of you who have commented on this. Heidi13, thank you for that information! That's good to know. Thanks for explaining about the whole inside passage. My parents will be fine without seeing the whole inside passage. They would really like to see the area between Vancouver Island and the mainland and the AK section, as they've heard it is very scenic. I'm sure that they would love to go on one of the smaller ship lines, but that is unfortunately too expensive for us. I'm looking at the Grand and Sapphire Princess, the Volendam, Noordam, and Nieuw Amsterdam, and possibly the Crown Princess. Does the Crown Princess actually go inside Vancouver Island? Princess' website shows it on the inside, but another site shows it going around the island.