What to do in Vancouver for 5 hours

[SydGirl2]

Hi all. We will be disembarking from our Alaskan cruise in Vancouver from 7 am. Our flight to Hawaii doesn't leave until 6 pm. We could do some kind of tour or HOHO bus but we will most probably have our luggage with us. Our cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas usually docks at Canada Place, but I'm pretty sure that it is docking elsewhere. Any thoughts? Thanks. I'll also post this on my Roll Call.

[mapleleaves]

There is a left luggage service at Canada Place, PRIORITY BAGGAGE. They also offer a service to take your luggage to the airport.

HOHO is an option. If you have nice weather rent bikes and peddle around Stanley Park for a few hours.

[Kamloops50]

Hi all. We will be disembarking from our Alaskan cruise in Vancouver from 7 am. Our flight to Hawaii doesn't leave until 6 pm. We could do some kind of tour or HOHO bus but we will most probably have our luggage with us. Our cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas usually docks at Canada Place, but I'm pretty sure that it is docking elsewhere. Any thoughts? Thanks. I'll also post this on my Roll Call.

 

You won't actually be cleared from the ship until after 8am. You'll need about two hours at YVR to clear security and US customs on a flight to Hawaii.

Earliest we have ever been cleared in Vancouver was around 8:30 carrying our own bags. You'll probably have less than five hours to kill.

Edited August 12, 2014 by Kamloops50

[martincath]

OP you are correct - you're docking at Ballantyne, not Canada Place, if you're on Rhapsody this September.

 

Which means no left luggage unless you first go to Canada Place (or the Amtrak station, but given the easier options for getting to the airport from the former I wouldn't suggest it).

 

For a US-bound 6pm flight, you are recommended to be at YVR by 3pm. I would suggest that under the circumstances a regular post-cruise tour that drops you at the airport c. 2pm would be the least stressful plan. It combines transportation, sightseeing, and luggage storage all in one. Your cruiseline undoubtedly offers such things - compare them with local providers e.g. Land Sea (NB: they assume pickup at Canada Place - I'd call them, as with a ship unloading at Ballantyne odds are good there are enough folks who want to do a tour that it will be worth them running a coach or two directly from Ballantyne).

 

If you're independently-minded, then a cab to Canada Place will cost $10-12, give you access to the luggage storage there (Priority Baggage, $7 for a suitcase until no later than 4pm), and is a key stop for boarding all the HOHOs. In total you'll see more on the HOHOs for less money than a normal tour (large coaches have very few stops in Stanley Park, HOHOs offer several more as well as Science World and a downtown brewery) - but you'll have a bit more hassle queuing for luggage and of course not much time to actually get on and off the HOHO at more than a handful of stops...

[cruisin0218]

We just returned and were very pleased with the service we received from Luxury Tours. We were a group of 9 and by the time we divided the cost of the tour among the 9 of us it came out to $31 each. We were picked up at the dock with our luggage and provided with a 2 hour tour prior to being dropped off at the airport at 12:00 for our 2:20 flight. I just called Luxury Tours and they individualized the tour to meet our needs.

[genealogyfan]

Got recommendations on this board for this company and we have booked two tours with them (we are staying 2 nights in Vancouver)- the Vancouver City tour - picks you up from your cruise and takes you to the airport, it's a 4 hour tour that starts at 10am and I guess ends at 2pm

 

http://vancouvertours.com/tour/pre-cruise-vancouver-city-tour/

Edited August 15, 2014 by genealogyfan