Vancouver answers from a Vancouverite (part 2)

[martincath]

Got a different one for you. I have tickets to a concert post cruise at the Pacific Colesium . Is there easy transport there by bus/skytrain? Where is a good place to stay near there or transport back to town. Cab fare???

Good place I can't help with - too close to home to ever stay in a hotel nearby. There's a choice of just two remotely walkable hotels - the Atrium, which renovated c.3 years back from the HI Express, and the more distant Ramada on the other side of the PNE grounds (was the BW until c.5 years ago).

 

Personally, unless you were planning to be doing some Vancouver tourism next day, I'd cab to the Accent Inn in Burnaby instead of coming back downtown - likely to be a much better rate than anything downtown if it's just a bed for the night you want, except maybe YWCA Hotel. Plus, if you were driving down to the city for your cruise the Accent offers a very reasonable park & stay package, with the stay at either end so it could be ideal for your cruise parking needs and concert accommodations all in one.

[martincath]

I have been reading up and wanted some input on my plan. My wife and I embark on Radiance of the Seas in June for a 7 night northbound. We are the only cruise ship at Canada Place that day so thats good news. We arrive in Vancouver on Thursday via Amtrak Cascades from Seattle. This first day, or half day really, I was planning to take the hoho and explore Stanley Park via bike rental (aquarium if bad weather) and maybe a good restaurant, pub, or seafood place near our hotel Blue Horizon for the night. Next morning, embarkation day, ship leaves at 430pm, take the Vancouver foodie tour on Granville island beginning at 10:30. Tour is approximately 2 hours, afterwards, back to hotel to retrieve luggage, and then on to Canada place to hopefully sail right through embarkation process and be on the ship later than most but quicker also. Any suggestions on mode of transportation this day. I am open to cabbing it for all trips if i need to for times sake. Any thoughts or advice on my plans. I feel like we could see so much more in Vancouver but I don't want to over do it after the long cross country flights to Seattle ect..

 

P.S. Thanks for the time and info you all have put into this wonderful thread and I look forward to your thoughts and suggestions

Sorry for tripling up on replies, multiquote again just refusing to play ball.

 

The only hesitation I'd have is your HOHO - they stop early, even in summer, so to combine that and bike rental seems very tight. You could keep bikes until sunset from pretty much any vendor near the park, but 9pm our time is midnight for your body clock - unless you've spent a few days in Seattle adjusting?

 

The Trolley HOHO - even without doing their separate Park Shuttle - stops are several points in the park. You really don't need a bike if you get off at the HOHO stops, unless you want to spend a LOT of time exploring the more out of the way interior, or riding the Seawall loop (between Totems, Prospect Point, Teahouse and English Bay stops you will see all the major angles anyway).

 

By the time you actually get off and on again, even if you manage to be right on the next vehicle that arrives (roughly 20mins) every three stops adds an hour onto your route. Trickier with Trolley as they split into two loops in summer, so there's some redundant stops at mostly hotels in the shared side of the two loops, but 2 to 2.5 hours is the base time to just ride around without getting off.

 

Even if you arrive promptly, clear customs fast, get right to your hotel, dump bags and immediately head outside to get on the HOHO that's at best going to be not much before 1pm. Since HOHO dies by 6pm, you cannot realistically expect to manage more than 6 stops total and still see the whole route. If you need to eat before 9pm on your body clock, you'll also lose some HOHO time to dinner.

 

Your next day plan looks solid - walking tours sometimes overrun a little if people have lots of questions, but you should be able to get back to your hotel from GI on foot within 30mins. With just one vessel, queues should not be too bad - but there will be a bump of same-day Amtrak folks around noon to 12:30 as they disembark at Pac Central and jump in cabs. I'd be inclined to fill in the corners on GI after the foodie tour - depending on appetite, you may not be quite full - and aim to be back at hotel by 1:30pm just to be sure you miss all the train pax by boarding closer to 2pm.

 

You could also double-check Amtrak is on time if you have data access - if they're running late, sneaking on ahead of them should make your embarkation very smooth!

[Lulubelle45]

Good place I can't help with - too close to home to ever stay in a hotel nearby. There's a choice of just two remotely walkable hotels - the Atrium, which renovated c.3 years back from the HI Express, and the more distant Ramada on the other side of the PNE grounds (was the BW until c.5 years ago).

 

Personally, unless you were planning to be doing some Vancouver tourism next day, I'd cab to the Accent Inn in Burnaby instead of coming back downtown - likely to be a much better rate than anything downtown if it's just a bed for the night you want, except maybe YWCA Hotel. Plus, if you were driving down to the city for your cruise the Accent offers a very reasonable park & stay package, with the stay at either end so it could be ideal for your cruise parking needs and concert accommodations all in one.

 

Thanks. Be nicer to just get back downtown after the concert. The YMCA hotel would suit our needs fine. Now, would it be safe to take the local bus as i have heard there is a sketchy part of town around Hastings. If not, how expensive is a cab? That or best route to get to the hotel to be safe for 2 gals

[Putterdude]

Thanks. Be nicer to just get back downtown after the concert. The YMCA hotel would suit our needs fine. Now, would it be safe to take the local bus as i have heard there is a sketchy part of town around Hastings. If not, how expensive is a cab? That or best route to get to the hotel to be safe for 2 gals

 

The bus is certainly safe even though it does go through some seedy area of Hastings East. There will likely be some of the local characters board along the line, they may have missed a couple of baths and may be drunk or high...not pleasant but safe enough. A cab fare would be in the range if $20/$25 each way.

[marne-c]

Thanks, martincath, for the excellent detail (and the calculator!).

 

 

 

--Marne

Edited May 12, 2016 by marne-c

[martincath]

Thanks. Be nicer to just get back downtown after the concert. The YMCA hotel would suit our needs fine. Now, would it be safe to take the local bus as i have heard there is a sketchy part of town around Hastings. If not, how expensive is a cab? That or best route to get to the hotel to be safe for 2 gals

Going to the concert mostly commuters heading home toward Hastings-Sunrise and Burnaby. After the concert, your fellow-bus-takers toward town will most likely be other concert-goers, so the relative safety depends on the demographic of the fans of your artist. If it's a thrash metal gig you might have more worries than a Wiggles concert;-)

 

It used to be more in the middle of the day when the buses along Hastings were full of the kinds of locals who I assume PD suggested you avoid - but since the bottle depot moved, now the folks with bags full of returnables are heading to Terminal rather than Hastings.

 

In summer there's little benefit to just riding the buses - you lose income opportunities and limited bus AC doesn't keep you cool compared to just finding a shady spot, whereas in winter the heating does tend to bring more 'bus sleepers' at all hours when staying warm might be more important than potentially getting a handout. Long routes like Hastings are preferred then, more nap time before being forced off if they clear the bus at the end of the line.

[cpl100]

I see a lot of mention of how many ships will be in port on a certain day. How does one know this? Would love to know how many ships will be on July 31st. Thank you,

[Putterdude]

Here is your own personalized Port of Vancouver Cruise Ship Schedule:).....you will see that on 7/31 the Infinity and the Zaadam will be in port. Canada Place will be busy but 2 cruise ships is not unusual and by then all the new hires will/should know their routines and CBP will/should have ironed out their manpower problems.

 

http://www.portvancouver.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Cruise-Schedule-2016-April-27-F.pdf

[xlxo]

I see a lot of mention of how many ships will be in port on a certain day. How does one know this? Would love to know how many ships will be on July 31st. Thank you,

Don't just think about the ships.... also plan for the Disney Fireworks the night before and the morning Pride parade road closures!

[shirlen123]

Sorry for tripling up on replies, multiquote again just refusing to play ball.

 

The only hesitation I'd have is your HOHO - they stop early, even in summer, so to combine that and bike rental seems very tight. You could keep bikes until sunset from pretty much any vendor near the park, but 9pm our time is midnight for your body clock - unless you've spent a few days in Seattle adjusting?

 

The Trolley HOHO - even without doing their separate Park Shuttle - stops are several points in the park. You really don't need a bike if you get off at the HOHO stops, unless you want to spend a LOT of time exploring the more out of the way interior, or riding the Seawall loop (between Totems, Prospect Point, Teahouse and English Bay stops you will see all the major angles anyway).

 

By the time you actually get off and on again, even if you manage to be right on the next vehicle that arrives (roughly 20mins) every three stops adds an hour onto your route. Trickier with Trolley as they split into two loops in summer, so there's some redundant stops at mostly hotels in the shared side of the two loops, but 2 to 2.5 hours is the base time to just ride around without getting off.

 

Even if you arrive promptly, clear customs fast, get right to your hotel, dump bags and immediately head outside to get on the HOHO that's at best going to be not much before 1pm. Since HOHO dies by 6pm, you cannot realistically expect to manage more than 6 stops total and still see the whole route. If you need to eat before 9pm on your body clock, you'll also lose some HOHO time to dinner.

 

Your next day plan looks solid - walking tours sometimes overrun a little if people have lots of questions, but you should be able to get back to your hotel from GI on foot within 30mins. With just one vessel, queues should not be too bad - but there will be a bump of same-day Amtrak folks around noon to 12:30 as they disembark at Pac Central and jump in cabs. I'd be inclined to fill in the corners on GI after the foodie tour - depending on appetite, you may not be quite full - and aim to be back at hotel by 1:30pm just to be sure you miss all the train pax by boarding closer to 2pm.

 

You could also double-check Amtrak is on time if you have data access - if they're running late, sneaking on ahead of them should make your embarkation very smooth!

 

 

Thank you for the input, I think we will forgot the bike rental and see the park and more of Vancouver by using the hoho. Thats also a really great suggestion to check the Amtrak schedule and time my arrival at Canada Place before or after it!

 

Is there any advantage to buying the hoho pass online before we arrive? I have seen posts mentioning buying one from groupon in the past as well as buy 1 day get 2nd day free... didn't know if they still existed or was old info.

 

Also how much time would you allot to go to Vancouver Lookout? I would only be interested during the day light and if it was a clear day but it looks like a great experience.

Thanks

[martincath]

Thank you for the input, I think we will forgot the bike rental and see the park and more of Vancouver by using the hoho. Thats also a really great suggestion to check the Amtrak schedule and time my arrival at Canada Place before or after it!

 

Is there any advantage to buying the hoho pass online before we arrive? I have seen posts mentioning buying one from groupon in the past as well as buy 1 day get 2nd day free... didn't know if they still existed or was old info.

 

Also how much time would you allot to go to Vancouver Lookout? I would only be interested during the day light and if it was a clear day but it looks like a great experience.

Thanks

HOHO pricing seems to have gone from a 'no discount ever on Trolley but get 2nd day free buying in advance' and 'Groupons a-go-go' for Big Bus etc. to exactly the same deal for both (Westcoast has now amalgamated all other HOHO services under their brand): 20% off vouchers through various coupon books (e.g. Vancouver Groupon is offering a discounted book of discount vouchers that includes both HOHOs and many other attractions - no huge discounts, but certainly enough to offset the $14 purchase price very easily).

 

An hour is plenty for the Lookout - half hour actually enough if there are no crowds, but in cruise season you'll probably have a few other folks up there with you so might need to lurk longer for good photo ops at all angles. If you dine there it's a full rotation per hour, so at least that long required to see the full 360.

[PandasRUs]

It looks like there are 2 hop on hop off tours. We have decided we would do one of these tours for our day and a half before the cruise. Is there much difference in the two? Is one better than the other?

Thanks

[Putterdude]

It looks like there are 2 hop on hop off tours. We have decided we would do one of these tours for our day and a half before the cruise. Is there much difference in the two? Is one better than the other?

Thanks

 

Their itineraries are very similar, however I always recommend the Vancouver Trolley for their live narration plus they were the pioneers of the business in Vancouver and operate year round. Like most HOHO's anywhere during the peak months you may have a wait to get on a bus at the more popular shops.

[martincath]

It looks like there are 2 hop on hop off tours. We have decided we would do one of these tours for our day and a half before the cruise. Is there much difference in the two? Is one better than the other?

Thanks

The trolley goes several places WestCoast do not - like Science World, Urban Winery, and more Stanley Park stops. Trolley also has live commentary - so if something is happening on the day, you may get info about it. WestCoast has buses from all the other HOHO fleets that have operated locally - all are bigger, some are open-topped, some have comfier seats than the trolleys.

 

With pricing equal these days, I'd be inclined to go Trolley unless you plan to do a lot of hopping on and off and have time issues - the smaller vehicles mean you're more likely to not get back on with them. They do run floater trolleys, so if folks are waiting at a stop it should be less than the theoretical extra 20mins before the next one comes if they call one of the floaters.

[cpl100]

Here is your own personalized Port of Vancouver Cruise Ship Schedule:).....you will see that on 7/31 the Infinity and the Zaadam will be in port. Canada Place will be busy but 2 cruise ships is not unusual and by then all the new hires will/should know their routines and CBP will/should have ironed out their manpower problems.

 

http://www.portvancouver.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Cruise-Schedule-2016-April-27-F.pdf

 

Thank you, that is very helpful. Two ships is not too bad.

 

Don't just think about the ships.... also plan for the Disney Fireworks the night before and the morning Pride parade road closures!

 

What are the considerations in regard to these events? We will be arriving in Vancouver on Thursday via Amtrak and staying at the Westin Grand.

[martincath]

What are the considerations in regard to these events? We will be arriving in Vancouver on Thursday via Amtrak and staying at the Westin Grand.

Lots and lots of people downtown - just in the evening for the fireworks, but all day for Pride. Most out-of-town Pride people will also be here on Saturday at least, so might help make the fireworks even busier.

 

In both cases, only the English Bay area is directly impacted by seating/party zones and long road closures. For Pride, because of the parade, there are also road closures for a few hours that would definitely impact say a HOHO or other tour. For both, restaurants will be busier than normal so you most definitely want to make reservations for dinner - and don't expect to find anywhere that has a view with seating, all the restos that can offer that charge special rates on fireworks nights and sell out weeks or months in advance even at the jacked-up prices.

 

Personally, if you did not want to see the parade, I'd go over to the North Shore (if Capilano/Grouse look good to you) or somewhere else out of the downtown core - Queen Elizabeth Park is far enough out there won't be an impact from Pride. Or just walk around Gastown/Chinatown. On fireworks night it's very easy for you to avoid the crowds entirely - just hit the bars in Gastown, no views and the other side of all bus & Skytrain routes for the folks coming & going.

 

On the upside - you get to see fireworks and a parade if you want to!!!

[xlxo]

What are the considerations in regard to these events? We will be arriving in Vancouver on Thursday via Amtrak and staying at the Westin Grand.

The Westin Grand is East of the parade and fireworks congestion. However....

 

if you plan to have dinner downtown.... I recommend securing reservations a few weeks in advance for Saturday night. With a surge of residents coming for Disney fireworks.... your preferred restaurants may be unable to serve you.

 

The Hop on services was cancelled on Sunday last year for the parade. Congestion begins around 9am and goes until 7pm.

 

Many will be heading to Grouse and Capilano on Sunday to get out of downtown to avoid the parade. However be prepared for 30 minute waits to cross the suspension bridge and another 30 minute wait for the cliffwalk experience.

Edited May 13, 2016 by xlxo

[cpl100]

Lots and lots of people downtown - just in the evening for the fireworks, but all day for Pride. Most out-of-town Pride people will also be here on Saturday at least, so might help make the fireworks even busier.

 

In both cases, only the English Bay area is directly impacted by seating/party zones and long road closures. For Pride, because of the parade, there are also road closures for a few hours that would definitely impact say a HOHO or other tour. For both, restaurants will be busier than normal so you most definitely want to make reservations for dinner - and don't expect to find anywhere that has a view with seating, all the restos that can offer that charge special rates on fireworks nights and sell out weeks or months in advance even at the jacked-up prices.

 

Personally, if you did not want to see the parade, I'd go over to the North Shore (if Capilano/Grouse look good to you) or somewhere else out of the downtown core - Queen Elizabeth Park is far enough out there won't be an impact from Pride. Or just walk around Gastown/Chinatown. On fireworks night it's very easy for you to avoid the crowds entirely - just hit the bars in Gastown, no views and the other side of all bus & Skytrain routes for the folks coming & going.

 

On the upside - you get to see fireworks and a parade if you want to!!!

 

The Westin Grand is East of the parade and fireworks congestion. However....

 

if you plan to have dinner downtown.... I recommend securing reservations a few weeks in advance for Saturday night. With a surge of residents coming for Disney fireworks.... your preferred restaurants may be unable to serve you.

 

The Hop on services was cancelled on Sunday last year for the parade. Congestion begins around 9am and goes until 7pm.

 

Many will be heading to Grouse and Capilano on Sunday to get out of downtown to avoid the parade. However be prepared for 30 minute waits to cross the suspension bridge and another 30 minute wait for the cliffwalk experience.

 

Thank you for those replies. Our cruise embarkation is on Sunday. How will that be impacted, if at all? I am understanding it to be fireworks (with dinner reservation issues) on Saturday evening and parade on Sunday (with possible transportation issues).

[martincath]

Thank you for those replies. Our cruise embarkation is on Sunday. How will that be impacted, if at all? I am understanding it to be fireworks (with dinner reservation issues) on Saturday evening and parade on Sunday (with possible transportation issues).

I assume you'll be taking a cab from the Westin with your luggage. There are plenty of roads that are not closed for the parade available, but since road closures will be in place before you go to the pier the roads will be busier - even if all locals know to stay away from that neck of the woods, at the very least all the cabs & buses picking up pax disembarking and embarking the cruise ships will be keeping the roads around Canada Place tighter-packed than a normal Sunday.

 

The exact impact on you depends what you planned to do on embarkation day - if you are a 'go straight to the pier early and get on board ASAP' kind of person, minimal impact. If you are a 'board as late as possible' person this would be one of the days I'd plan to be within walking distance of the pier rather than touring far away, just to ensure your transport back to the pier didn't get stuck in traffic.

 

Personally, I'd be inclined to get your bags to the pier by 10am and drop them with the Longshoremen, then visit the attractions close by - walk Gastown, see the Steam Clock & Gassy Jack, maybe FlyOverCanada right at the pier, or even rent bikes/walk along the Seawall to Stanley Park - looping the whole park might actually be easier than normal, as locals are all very aware of the HUGE party zone that basically shuts down the beach and grass and seawall for a big chunk of English Bay.

 

In theory the Seawall and sidewalks in the party zone are still open, but with literally hundreds of thousands of people in town for Pride so many pedestrians criss-cross it all day that no sane local will go anywhere near it unless they are joining the party! The usual hordes of runners & cyclists will stop before the party zone and turn back. BUT - since you'd be coming from Canada Place along the Coal harbour side, you can easily go all the way around the park proper then take the Lost Lagoon trails back over to the northern side of the Seawall again - nowhere near the party. Here's a map - English Bay Beach, clearly marked, is where the party zone is centred. The whole loop, even sticking right to the edge without shortcuts, is less than 10 miles - an easy hour of leisurely cycling, but probably too long for walking on embarkation day.

[xlxo]

Thank you for those replies. Our cruise embarkation is on Sunday. How will that be impacted, if at all? I am understanding it to be fireworks (with dinner reservation issues) on Saturday evening and parade on Sunday (with possible transportation issues).

I'm going to guess Sunday embarkation with a cab from Westin Grand will have minimal impact.

 

I decided to drive into the downtown last year to simulate a cruiser exiting the Amtrak station at noon and going to the cruise terminal via taxi on the Dunsmiur viaduct. Congestion was Georgia South and Burrard street West. Delays on Dunsmuir was minimal (40kph). Westin Grand to pier has you on the outskirts of the congestion (unless you get a clueless cab driver).

Edited May 14, 2016 by xlxo

[cpl100]

Thank you!

[bbappel]

Has anyone stayed at the Rosedale on Robson?

The premium 2 BR suite looks good for 2 couples traveling together - except it seems they have a kitchenette but no table at which to dine and 3 armchairs in the rooms. I couldn't get an answer from the person on the phone, since she was looking at the photos and didn't know the rooms, so we need someone who has stayed there to tell us if it is OK. Is the area OK for us? We would like to get there and then walk or take public transport if possible.

 

Thanks for any info.

 

Beth

 

And if you would rather respond privately, use my e-mail

[Putterdude]

Has anyone stayed at the Rosedale on Robson?

The premium 2 BR suite looks good for 2 couples traveling together - except it seems they have a kitchenette but no table at which to dine and 3 armchairs in the rooms. I couldn't get an answer from the person on the phone, since she was looking at the photos and didn't know the rooms, so we need someone who has stayed there to tell us if it is OK. Is the area OK for us? We would like to get there and then walk or take public transport if possible.

 

Thanks for any info.

 

Beth

 

And if you would rather respond privately, use my e-mail

 

The Rosedale is a good property in a good location. The challenge with the suites is that they are condos in a rental pool so while quality is maintained the actual number of things like tables and chairs as well as décor is left somewhat to the suite owner. I watched the building being built from my office window and have been in a couple of the suites but did not count chairs or look at tables. If it had a negative, its been reported on these threads that the elevators tend to be a bit slow. I would suggest trying the hotel back in a few days and talking to another person and this time telling them exactly what your needs are to ensure that you get what you need then follow it up with an email.

 

The property as I said is in a good location, lots of restaurants around and easy to walk to SkyTrain stations and bus lines. The HOHOs stop at library square which is kitty-corner to the hotel. You can walk into trendy Yaletown, historic Gastown, Chinatown and shop on Robson St. You may find walking to Canada Place with luggage a bit of a challenge but a van-cab will run you $10/$12.

[Lulubelle45]

Stayed at the Rosedale twice last summer, both my suites had a coffee table and 2 chairs, plus another chair at the desk i was on my own and don't recall if there was another one. Check TripAdvisor for photos, i did a review and posted pics as have others

Edited May 22, 2016 by Lulubelle45

[newzandile]

So it's easy to find the flat fare info from the airport but what isn't clear is what to do if you have more than 4 people plus luggage? On one flight we'll have 5, each of us with one large bag and one carryon. On a later flight there will be 6 from our group, each with the same luggage amounts.

 

Does it make sense at that point to just do a car service for each group or do we just divide into two cabs per group at the airport?

 

Thanks for any recommendations!