CMcG

We will be home and I will be looking for you. About an hour after you pass under the Lions Gate Bridge I am on the starboard side. I am assuming it's you who has sent me an email and I will respond with more exact details.

I posted here checking to see if you or any of the other Vancouver regulars would be around for a wave. Jennifer (who started our roll call) sent the email.

Hopefully the weather will cooperate and there will be a gang of us waving!:D

We're planning a meet & greet on the forward balcony of the Island Princess as we leave Vancouver on May 23. It has been mentioned that we may want to wave to Putterdude for all his kind help - when & where do we need to look for you? Unless, of course, you are on your own cruise that day!:D

Not sure if any of the other Vancouver regulars are anywhere near the cruise ship route - let us know if you are (& where) and we'll wave to you also.

Virtual hugs to all of you for your kind help!

Not getting much in the way of insight over on the Princess forum so I thought I'd check here as I've gotten fabulous advice from this thread! We're going to Alaska on the Island Princess in May - wondering about how strictly they check for adult beverages as they seem to be a bit relaxed (especially in Fort Lauderdale) about enforcing the official position.

Is it possible to bring more than 1 bottle of wine per person on?

What about a pint of brandy - better to put in checked bags or carryon - or don't even attempt?

TIA - appreciate any insight!

A short block to the south at the corner of Cardero and W. Georgia there is a White Spot which is kind of an iconic restaurant chain in Vancouver, you won't do better for breakfast or lunch.

 

 

www.whitespot.ca/

Fabulous - looks yummy!

Any ideas for breakfast prior to our cruise?

We're staying at the Westin Bayshore - I know we can get breakfast there but expect it will be pricey.

Appreciate any recommendations - TIA!

Fabulous list - I'll have to see if I can borrow any of these from my library for my nook. If not I'll have to use that B&N gift card that I've had forever.

That secret deck is not very large so I would suggest that you would want to head to the deck right after your muster drill.

Would the Caribe deck forward area be better? It's early yet & we can always change our plans. There aren't very many of us talking on the RollCall and no idea how many may try to meet.

Thanks for all your help.

Depending upon traffic, about 10 to 15 mins but you will start to see it within minutes of leaving Canada Place. Another highlight is me waiving to you:D, I will be on the starboard side about an hour after you pass under the Lions Gate.

That sure was quick - you must have been waiting for my question! :D

I'll be sure to tell everyone on my roll call to wave to you! We're supposed to meet on the forward "secret" viewing area/balcony on the Island's Baja deck for sailaway. My plan is to tell my husband about the great pictures he'll be able to get from there - he'd probably opt to skip it if I tell him it is a meet-n-greet with people I met online!

About how long does it take to reach the Lion Bridge from Canada Place? We'll be on the Island Princess in May.

Can't wait!!!:D

I'll throw out another...if the weather is nice you may care to stroll down Denman St. to the Boathouse on English Bay (wonderful sunsets).

 

http://www.boathouserestaurants.ca/

That would be wonderful if we can stay up that late!

We'll have to see how much energy we have after getting up at 4am to get ready and get to the Orlando airport - I'll probably want to be in bed by 6pm Vancouver time!

You may care to try Cardero's which is an upscale, marina, pub style restaurant which is about a nine iron from the Bayshore. They have great food to go with terrific views of the Coal Harbour yacht basin. There is also the Lift near by but it may be a bit of a challenge to keep the tab at $50.

 

http://vancouverdine.com/carderos0experience.aspx

 

http://liftbarandgrill.com/

 

 

 

 

Thanks. Cardero's is already on the short list and may win mainly due to proximity! I'll check out the Lift also - may decide to splurge a bit.

Appreciate your help.

Cheryl

I would prefer not to walk into Chinatown because of the neighborhoods you have to walk thru to get there...they are safe enough but just not desirable. A cab fare into Chinatown will be less than $10 from most downtown hotels or you could take SkyTrain to Stadium station but even those couple of blocks are not the most pleasant. A couple of more restaurant standbys in China are the Flota Seafood Restaurant and Hons Wun-Tun House. If you do don't want to venture into Chinatown there is the Victoria Chinese Restaurant which has been around for at least 25 years in Royal Centre....but no website.

 

 

 

http://www.floata.com/index_main.htm

 

http://www.hons.ca/

Thanks! We're not wedded to the idea of Chinese or Chinatown - I just thought it would be different from what we'll be eating for the next 1 1/2 to 2 weeks. Any general suggestions for close to Westin Bayshore where two can eat for $50 or so?

I'm going to end up with enough food recommendations that I'll want to come back just for the food!!! :D

Cheryl

Totally agree with this, but as someone who enjoys wandering around downtown Vancouver I've found a few compromise routes which avoid the really unpleasant parts but still get you to the interesting bits with minimal detours. I was going to PM CMcG specifically with a route from the Westin Bayshore to Chinatown, but of course we have no PM functionality on these boards! So I've set up a Gmail account - CMcG, if you'd like me to send you a safe-but-interesting walking route to Chinatown drop me a line: cruisecriticmarty at gmail dot com

thanks - will do!

Cheryl

Just so you know, the best Chinese food in Vancouver is not in Chinatown. Unless, you have your heart set on Chinese, there are many better alternatives downtown and closer to the Westin.

We'll probably be looking for a moderately priced meal - nothing fancy. I was thinking that Chinese might be a nice change from what we'll get on the cruise & near Denali National Park.

I am going back through this and other threads looking for recommendations - want to suggest something for my list? I'm aiming for $50 or under for the two of us (not planning on wine that night).

I agree that walking is great, I do a few miles every day. Also agree that you should take a cab to Chinatown and back. Vancouver is a great place in many ways but like all major metropolitan cities it has areas that it is best to stay away from. Lots of good restaurants in Chinatown and I'm sure someone on these boards can give you suggestions for a fantastic meal.

 

BTW have visited Orlando a number of times, years ago when the kids were little and later just because we really enjoyed your city.

I'll check back through the posts looking for restaurant recommendations - I'm sure I'll find many more ideas than we have time for since we only have dinner & breakfast and we'll probably do breakfast at the hotel just because it will be easier.

Hope you got to see the non-tourist parts of Orlando!!!

Rush hour is from 5:30am until about 6:30pm -- by 3:30 in the afternoon, it's getting pretty busy. if you want to head to the north shore (grouse mt, capilano), you're much better off taking seabus and then a local bus

Thanks - we'll keep that in mind in case we have the energy!

Walking to Chinatown is doable so long as you really enjoy walking because it's quite a distance. While Chinatown itself is safe enough to walk around in I would not recommend walking in some of the areas you would have to pass through to get there. Some of these areas are bad enough in the daytime let alone at night.:(

We just got back from a 5-6 mile round trip walk for a late lunch - we don't mind a bit of a walk. :D

I guess we take a cab to & from Chinatown and sightsee a bit either before or after dinner if we want authentic Chinese.

Just another thought to complicate your decision making. Both the attractions you mentioned are on the north shore, so to get there you would either go to the area where the cruise terminal is located and then take the seabus to the north shore, followed by a bus or a taxi. If you choose to go directly from your hotel you will probably take a cab. Either way you will be pretty much travelling in rush hour. Having spent time in Orlando I can tell you I would much rather travel there in rush hour than in Vancouver.Sorry for the bad news.

You would have to compare the Vancouver rush hour traffic to a real city for the comparison to really mean something. I don't think Orlando traffic is very bad! :D

If rush hour starts by 3:30 in Vancouver then that would make the trip to the attractions less attractive - the ticket price and limited time have already got me thinking that it will not be worthwhile to try to pack either into our day.

Appreciate the help!

I agree. My suggestion would be a walk along the sea wall from your hotel back towards Canada Place. However, the sea wall walk around Stanley Park is great, too. For dinner, Cardero's is very close to your hotel. We ate there last May and plan to go again this May. The north-facing windows will give you a great view of the harbor and yachts, as well as the mountains of North Vancouver.

From looking at the map it appears that Cardero's is either at or next to the Westin where we're staying so that might be a great idea if we decide we are really tired! Glad to hear that it has good food & views. Since we often walk several miles to dinner on the weekend I'm sure we'll find we have a few choices in walking distance! I'll have to check to see how far it would be to Chinatown - if I get a nap that might be nice alternative.

As Scottbee says in his post #3214, Grouse Mountain offers some breathtaking views of the Lower Mainland; however, the general admission of $39.95 may not be worth it if you're only going to be on the mountain for a few hours. Definitely don't bother going it it's cloudy out.

 

Personally, after a long day of travel, I would be more inclined to take a walk around the sea wall and chill out and then go for a nice dinner.

Thanks - the general admission is a bit steep considering how late we would get to either attraction so I'm pretty confident that Stanley Park will be the bulk of our Vancouver sightseeing. But I have to justify it to the guy who isn't doing as much research!

If it were me I would leave the Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain for another visit. Maybe just have a look at Stanley Park (or part of it because it is quite large ), have dinner and a relaxing evening.:)

Thanks - that is my gut feeling but I'm in info gathering mode!

We'll probably leave the decision until we get there & see how tired we are and how quickly we actually get to the hotel. Want to have options for the hubby in case we still have some energy!

I wish we had more time for Vancouver but we are limited by my work schedule and are arriving just the day before our cruise.

We will be arriving at 1:30 and expect to get to Westin Bayshore before 3:30 (Princess transfer so I'm at their mercy for timing). Does it make any sense to try to see either Capilano Suspension Bridge or Grouse Mountain? Is it easy to get to either via mass transit or taxi?

My other thought is to just pick up wine & toiletries for the cruise & enjoy Stanley Park & find somewhere for dinner. It will be a long day for us - plane leaves Orlando at 7am and we have a few hours of time change so we may not be very energetic.

I'm assuming that we won't have time for anything the next morning - I'll be at the mercy of Princess for transfer to the ship and have no idea how that will work timewise.

Appreciate any advice or other suggestions.

Cheryl