Transports upon arrival in Vancouver after the cruise.

I recently got quotes from our travel agent for transport from the boat to our hotel in Vancouver at the completion of our cruise. We will be staying at the Residence Inn by Marriott downtown. The prices seemed excessive for 2 people for what we were told is about a 10 minute drive. Depending on what type of vehicle, it ranged $100-$120. The hotel told us it is very easy to get a cab from the boat and would probably be much less expensive. Does anyone know if in fact it is easy to get a cab, also considering we will have our luggage from a 2 week cruise tour? We will also need transportation from the hotel to the airport when we leave. What have your experiences been?

I recently got quotes from our travel agent for transport from the boat to our hotel in Vancouver at the completion of our cruise. We will be staying at the Residence Inn by Marriott downtown. The prices seemed excessive for 2 people for what we were told is about a 10 minute drive. Depending on what type of vehicle, it ranged $100-$120. The hotel told us it is very easy to get a cab from the boat and would probably be much less expensive. Does anyone know if in fact it is easy to get a cab, also considering we will have our luggage from a 2 week cruise tour? We will also need transportation from the hotel to the airport when we leave. What have your experiences been?

That's more than excessive. I would think you should be very upset with your TA for steering you in this wrong direction. Your hotel has given you great advice.

Go slap your travel agent. I'll wait... they deserve it because they're either ripping you off by padding the quotes, or utterly uninformed about Vancouver and unwilling to take 2 minutes Google the info. Either way, I'd be kicking them to the curb myself.

If a cab takes 10 minutes, traffic is brutal - and even then you'll be paying <$10 incl tip. You can WALK there in under 20mins easily if you're in decent shape. However, since you might not enjoy walking to the RI with 2 weeks of luggage (it's exactly one mile on foot), getting a can could involve a wait but there are several factors to consider - primary of which is how many other people also want them, and did they disembark before you did?

Cabs are readily found at the pier and immediately around it, but there are not enough to handle disembarking thousands in short time periods. Depending how many ships and how quickly you get off, you might end up with a wait of a few minutes to over an hour (3+ ship days are rough). If the queue looks long head upstairs to the Pan Pacific hotel and get a cab from outside the door, or across the street at the Fairmont Waterfront if you can manage to wheel your bags any distance at all without a cart.

Heck, give me $20 and I'll come drag them for you;-)

To airport, if you cannot wheel luggage to SkyTrain then a cab is your best bet again. Ballpark $35 on the meter. Limos could be hired - but there are minimum prices in play, so while the amounts listed by your TA are still too high (even in CAD, a towncar is $90 per hour with minimum 1 hour rental charge) you can get around them when going to or from the airport by using the official franchise holder, Aerocar. They are allowed to charge fixed prices based on zones and car size, found here. Roughly double the cab fare for a towncar, so about what 2 cruiseline transfers would cost you but with much more luxury and flexibility in timing.