Hotel/Shuttle advice for Vancouver, BC

[Guiding Light]

Hi,

We will be arriving in Vancouver, BC the night prior to our cruise.  We will need a hotel for the night and transportation to the cruise terminal the next day.  Would we be better off staying close to the airport, then using a shuttle service to the cruise terminal?

[DaveOKC]

28 minutes ago, Guiding Light said:

Hi,

We will be arriving in Vancouver, BC the night prior to our cruise.  We will need a hotel for the night and transportation to the cruise terminal the next day.  Would we be better off staying close to the airport, then using a shuttle service to the cruise terminal?

The airport hotels generally are much less expensive than the downtown area ones, plus many have shuttles to the airport.  If you are able to handle your bags, you could even shuttle back to the airport the next morning and take the train/tram at the airport to right near the pier - easy. quick and alot less expensive than taxi.  Look for information on this on the Alaska boards.  I think it is called the Skytrain.

 

If money is not a consideration, stay downtown at the Pan Pacific which is right on the pier!  They will move your bags the next morning to the ship right from your room.

Edited October 28, 2021 by DaveOKC

[d9704011]

2 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

Would we be better off staying close to the airport, then using a shuttle service to the cruise terminal?

DaveOKC suggested using the Skytrain to make your way from the airport to the cruise terminal.... an excellent idea given the alternative from the airport is a taxi, no shuttles.  Whether staying near the airport is 'better' than making your way downtown is kind of subjective.  Cost wise, it'll be less expensive but don't plan on doing much of anything if you have some time on your hands after arrival in Vancouver.

[si4444]

30 minutes ago, Guiding Light said:

Hi,

We will be arriving in Vancouver, BC the night prior to our cruise.  We will need a hotel for the night and transportation to the cruise terminal the next day.  Would we be better off staying close to the airport, then using a shuttle service to the cruise terminal?

Depends on season. I assume it's Alaska cruise season. From YVR I would suggest take a taxi to maybe west end area by Stanley park (or skytrain to save money if u don't have to much baggage or mobility issues), then that night u can have a walk around enjoy some food and next day your close to cruise terminal. Just a quick cab. As a local I see decent deals on travelzoo. 

[bennybear]

We really enjoy staying downtown,  last time we could see the water from our hotel.   The Coast Coal harbour by APA was lovely and reasonably priced.  We took a taxi from the airport and one to the ship,  they were both very reasonable in price.  

[NCTribeFan]

I just booked my B2B for next year and immediately started reading over on the Canada (Alaska/Pacific Coast) Port of Call board.  There's lots of info over there.

 

Since I have (at least) 4 cruises prior to Alaska for which I haven't finalized plans, it's going to have to take a back seat.  But since I've never sailed Alaska, and never been to Vancouver, I'm going to need to do much more research.

 

I don't know how diligent the mods are on this board, but this may get moved over there, so I'll keep an eye on it for updates.

[CJcruzer]

I used Skytrain last time disembarking in Vancouver, to get to the airport. easy peasy. 

 

nice hotel I have stayed twice - Blue Horizon Hotel, on Robson - walkable to Stanley Park, HOHO stop I believe is right by the hotel. Robson has plenty of shopping, restaurants - not far from cruise terminal

 

www.rome2rio.com is your friend !  you can get distances, various travel times, depending on modes of transportation or walking.

 

Carol

[Crew News]

1 hour ago, Guiding Light said:

Hi,

We will be arriving in Vancouver, BC the night prior to our cruise.  We will need a hotel for the night and transportation to the cruise terminal the next day.  Would we be better off staying close to the airport, then using a shuttle service to the cruise terminal?

As a seasoned cruiser, I plan to eliminate risks and prevent surprises (traffic jams, weather, etc.) which translates to arriving a day early and staying close to the cruise terminal.  For Vancouver Holland America departures, I stay at the Pan Pacific (elevator ride down to the cruise terminal check-in) or the Fairmont Hotel across the street.  Holland America can book both of these hotels for you but you can get them much cheaper through a travel agent.

 

Under the Fairmont Hotel is an underground mall with lots of food court restaurants and even an H&R Block to pay your taxes.  Food at both hotels is very expensive so the underground mall gets my business for breakfast and my Middle Eastern gyros fix.

 

Taxi fare from the airport to the Pan Pacific/Fairmont is about $28 US. 

 

Here is a link to the stores in the underground mall:  Mall Stores

Edited October 28, 2021 by Crew News

[GeezerCouple]

There are two Fairmonts almost next to the pier, in addition to the Pan Pacific (not a Fairmont) in terms of higher end hotels "right there".

 

We much prefer the Fairmont Pacific Rim, although the Fairmont Waterfront is also nice (older, but still great).

The staff at the Pacific Rim will help take your bags (and you!) to where you drop off bags, so it's really not much more difficult than staying "upstairs", given the help you can get.  (It's a very quick walk, but with heavy bags... not so great.)

 

The main reason is that when we stayed at the Pan Pacific, we did not have a good stay at all.  The "vibe" was not pleasant, and nothing else was better than at either Fairmont, including service and rooms.  The difference was enough that we just won't stay at the Pan Pacific again (and we *rarely* say that about any luxury hotel).

 

IF you stay at the Pacific Rim, request a water and mountain view.  It's beautiful!

(The Pan Pacific also has great views.  The Fairmont Waterfront isn't a modern high-rise, and takes 3rd place in terms of views.)

 

We used to go to conferences in Vancouver, so we've stayed there quite a few times, in addition to boarding cruises there.

GC

[DogLover]

9 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

The main reason is that when we stayed at the Pan Pacific, we did not have a good stay at all.  The "vibe" was not pleasant, and nothing else was better than at either Fairmont, including service and rooms.  The difference was enough that we just won't stay at the Pan Pacific again (and we *rarely* say that about any luxury hotel).

Sorry to hear you had a negative experience. We stayed at the Pan Pacific prior to our Celebrity Eclipse Alaska cruise in August 2019 and had an exceptional stay.

 

We've been to Vancouver many times (not related to cruising) and usually stayed at the Wedgewood Hotel (love the old world charm there 😉 .) We changed it up for our pre-cruise stay and were pleasantly surprised. That said, the Pan Pacific YVR is HUGE and can seem very impersonal, but our stay was seamless including the direct delivery of luggage to the ship.

 

Vancouver is an awesome city to explore so wherever the OP decides to stay, enjoy!

[Milhouse]

I would tend to agree with most of the commentary on the thread.

Hotels are going to be cheaper near the airport but the neighbourhoods around the these hotels generally aren't the most enjoyable to walk around with a lot of strip malls and heavy traffic streets.  Although you could potentially drop your stuff off and get to a skytrain station/take a taxi and take a 30min trip to head downtown for the evening. 

If taking a taxi/Uber to get to downtown, you do have to go over one of the bridges that crosses the Fraser River.  If you travel during rush hour or if there's an accident on one of the three main bridges, you might face some slow going due to congestion but I'd say it's low risk.

 

Downtown hotels are generally noticeably more expensive but the downtown core is very walkable with easier access to sites, dining, and shopping.  So, if you're wanting to check out Vancouver the night before, staying downtown might be the better option.  Careful to avoid staying in some of the sketchier neighbourhoods though (like east Hastings, south Granville, etc).

 

[martincath]

If it's a late enough flight that your only evening plans are eating & sleeping, the cash saved staying out at YVR makes sense. Heading downtown for some sightseeing though and consider that you're adding ~$80 for a round trip by cab plus the 30+ minutes each way. Skytrain is fast and cheap - if you're comfortable using transit to go sightseeing you should still save cash with an airport stay, but you do still waste time... and late evening frequency of service drops to 20mins, so even in a hotel conveniently walkable to a station you could be spending an hour to get back.

 

If you don't need fancy - the YWCA Hotel is downtown and probably cheaper than most airport hotels as well as vastly better-located for both sightseeing and getting to the pier. Save both time and money = win-win!

 

As to shuttles - no idea if the last shuttle service will have survived the last couple of years, there's only been barely enough business in cruise season to keep one company operating ever since the Canada Line skytrain to YVR opened. Price for a single was <$20 one-way, but with 2 people you might as well take a cab instead and not worry about the very limited service times for shuttles even if they are operating.

[dawnvip]

Note that the Canada line Skytrain starts at the airport and ends right next door to the cruise ship terminal (Canada Place) so theoretically you can stay anywhere along the skytrain route and catch it to the pier next day. Website for maps and fares here. 

[d9704011]

2 hours ago, dawnvip said:

Note that the Canada line Skytrain starts at the airport and ends right next door to the cruise ship terminal (Canada Place) so theoretically you can stay anywhere along the skytrain route and catch it to the pier next day. Website for maps and fares here. 

Sure.  Do you have any suggestions on a suitable 'anywhere' for for an out of towner to stay for an evening?

[dawnvip]

1 minute ago, d9704011 said:

Sure.  Do you have any suggestions on a suitable 'anywhere' for for an out of towner to stay for an evening?

Definitely! Depends on whether you've been to Vancouver before, how much you want to do while here (hotel and dinner or see something specific?) and of course - the price point... I'd also consider whether mobility/ handling your own luggage is an issue. Last trip we took to Paris I thought to myself "public transit in Paris is probably similar to Vancouver ". Turns out the subway there is WAY less accessible.  We hoofed luggage up and down stairs, along endless connecting passages - never again! I'm not saying this will happen in Vancouver but something to consider...

Anything between Broadway-City Hall Station and Waterfront will be a good choice.

 

[Ashland]

We'll be an extended family of 6 that includes a 5 & 8 year old. We'll have lots of luggage and would prefer private transportation to/from the cruiseport.

 

This will be for our Sept 2022 cruise. Not interested in the Skytrain and using ship transfers would have us at YVR too early for our 1:00pm return flight.

 

Suggestions please.

[Crew News]

2 hours ago, Ashland said:

We'll be an extended family of 6 that includes a 5 & 8 year old. We'll have lots of luggage and would prefer private transportation to/from the cruiseport.

 

This will be for our Sept 2022 cruise. Not interested in the Skytrain and using ship transfers would have us at YVR too early for our 1:00pm return flight.

 

Suggestions please.

There is a big factor when planning disembarkation day transportation to the airport.  My last Vancouver taxi driver informed me that taxis have a choice of fares only city, only from cruise terminal to airport, or only from airport.  This means that the same taxis are picking up passengers at the cruise terminal and returning an hour later for more passengers.

 

If you are one of the first group of passengers disembarking and grabbing the first group of taxis heading for the airport, you will be early for your flight.  If you disembark in the middle or last of the disembarking groups, you will be in a long waiting line for taxis up to two hours.  If the ships in port have 5000+ passengers, this may be a longer wait  The latter should have you at the airport by 11:30 AM.  Then you have to negotiate the much longer cruise-day airport check-in/Security lines that may push you close to aircraft boarding times.

 

In Vancouver, it is probably best to be early to the airport than stressed with long lines.

[Ashland]

Thanks for all your input but not really what I was asking about. I've done the taxi thing at this port several times before so am aware. A taxi isn't what we're looking for this time with our group....and ship transfers I know leave very early from the ship.

[Crew News]

34 minutes ago, Ashland said:

Thanks for all your input but not really what I was asking about. I've done the taxi thing at this port several times before so am aware. A taxi isn't what we're looking for this time with our group....and ship transfers I know leave very early from the ship.

I have used a limo service in Seattle to/from cruise terminal.  I found this limo service that does the same in Vancouver: 

Destiny Limousine LTD Vancouver BC

Phone: 604-597-9040 | Toll Free 1-855-597-9040 | Mobile 604-319-2278
8033 156A Street, Surrey, BC V4N 0X6

[visagrunt]

Important factors are:  1)  your budget; and 2) your baggage.

Secondary factors are the style of hotel that you like; the hotel group you stay with most often and the kind of activity that you want to be near.

One option to consider is the Fairmont YVR.  It's located inside the airport directly above US departures, and a few minutes walk from International arrivals.  The bell staff will store your bags overnight so you only need to take your overnight bag into the hotel with you.

The hotel is across steps away from the Skytrain which provides seamless service every 7 minutes or so to Waterfront station.  However, with baggage you should consider taking a cab, a limo (both available on demand outside international arrivals) or an Uber/Lyft.

There are reliable car/limo services that can provide vehicles of any size for transporting and can be booked well in advance.

[dawnvip]

On 11/7/2021 at 4:40 PM, Ashland said:

Thanks for all your input but not really what I was asking about. I've done the taxi thing at this port several times before so am aware. A taxi isn't what we're looking for this time with our group....and ship transfers I know leave very early from the ship.

You may be able to arrange 1 or 2 transfer vehicles with Uber or Lyft. Other options to check out are gowithus.com and perimeterbus.com

[Ashland]

1 hour ago, dawnvip said:

You may be able to arrange 1 or 2 transfer vehicles with Uber or Lyft. Other options to check out are gowithus.com and perimeterbus.com

Thank you so very much for your response.

[PGCruiser2]

On 11/11/2021 at 10:33 PM, Ashland said:

Thank you so very much for your response.

The Sutton Hotel on Burrard street is a nice hotel and has good prices and is  right downtown. They would likely have shuttle to port. You can walk to anything from there. Lots of Restaurants and amenities close by. There is a great Thai Restaurant just across street and a short walk to the left (north) down the street. The Mall is also within a few walking blocks.

 

[d9704011]

1 hour ago, PGCruiser2 said:

They would likely have shuttle to port

Unlikely to find any hotels in Vancouver with shuttles to the cruise terminal.  The Sutton Place Hotel is well located in downtown and, depending on how you feel about walking, not too far (less than 15 minutes) from the cruise terminal with a rolling piece of luggage.

[Ashland]

Just looking for roundtrip private transportation for our group of 4 adults and two kids ... an 8 year old and a 5 year old. We won't have carseats with us if those will be necessary.

Our cruise is in Sept 2022 and would love to be able to arrange this in advance...Thanks so much.