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Vancouver Info if needed

shoppie
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shoreless

shoreless

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I'm thrilled to see a thread with Vancouverites? on it. We'll be there for just a day -- we're taking a 4 day Pacific Northwest cruise on Celebrity's Mercury.

 

My question is more than vague, unfortunately.:) The last time we were in Vancouver, three years ago, we ate at a Greek restaurant that we loved (small lamb chops to die for and a nice Greek salad with no lettuce and lots of cucumber), and we've been trying, with no success, to remember what it was called, or even kind of where it was. It was listed in one of the little free magazines or brochures in our hotel, but it was definitely not near downtown or any of the tourist areas. I think we had to drive through a bit of an industrial area to get there, but I'm not sure. It was on a street (I think on a slight hill) that had lots of shops and restaurants (a nice area, casual rather than expensive looking). It was a fairly small and narrow restaurant, with a section of tables on the right separated by a railing from the entrance. I don't really expect that you could identify the restaurant from this pathetic description, but I thought I'd ask anyway. In any case, we'll only be there during the day on this trip, so I suppose a lot of restaurants are only open at night.

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ell52

ell52

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shoreless, sorry, but your description doesn't ring a bell.

 

You might be able to find the restaurant you're looking for in the following listing:

 

of Vancouver Greek restaurants.

 

My favourite Greek restaurant is a bit of a trek from downtown, so don't know if you'd be interested:

 

It's Taverna Gorgona in Ladner (south of Vancouver towards the Tsawwassen ferry terminal). It's open for lunch. :)

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ell52

ell52

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Hard to give you just one answer. Prices vary quite a bit depending on when you want it, where you're picking up/dropping off, how long you want it, and what type of car you want.

 

Your best bet is to do a search on a site like travelocity, expedia, or directly with your preferred rental agency. Plug in the exact dates, time of pick-up/drop off, and type of vehicle. It's the only sure way to know what the rates will be for when you want the car.

 

.

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  • 2 weeks later...
SFcruiser16

SFcruiser16

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I'm so glad I discovered this thread and I hope I'm not too late...we have 3 1/2 days before our ship departs and I wanted to see Vancouver but also do Victoria.

 

This is our proposed itinerary:

 

Wed - arrive in the afternoon, staying at Westin Bayshore - just plan on walking around, relaxing, shopping on Robson

 

Thurs - Visit Granville Island in the morning and Stanley Park in the afternoon; maybe do the Vancouver Trolley

 

Friday - pick up rental car; driving to Capilano Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain

 

Saturday - OKAY...HERE IS WHERE I WANT/NEED INPUT...Taking the ferry to Victoria to see Butchart Gardens and maybe have time to go to Fairmont Empress for tea in the afternoon. You can now make reservations on the ferry. I was thinking about taking the 9 or 10 a.m. ferry and coming back in the afternoon. Realistic? Doable? Will we hate ourselves? We just really want to see Butchart Gardens.

 

Sunday - head over to Canada Place to board cruise ship.

 

Any input is GREATLY appreciated...we leave for Vancouver from San Francisco on Wednesday.

 

Lucy

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ell52

ell52

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Any input on Sheraton Wall Centre vs. Le Soleil? Location? rooms? etc. Price is the same. thanks!

They are different types of hotel. Le Soleil is a more intimate, boutique hotel, whereas the Sheraton Wall Centre is part of a major chain. Both cater to business and vacation travellers. Le Soleil is closer to Canada Place and in the middle of the business/financial district, but within walking distance of shops, dining, etc. The Wall Centre is a bit further from Canada Place, but still close to shopping, dining. It really depends on what type of hotel you prefer. Both are very nice.

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tvtd4u

tvtd4u

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At the beginning of this thread you talk about the trolley hop on/off option. What is the exact name as I seen the trolley and double decker buses? Which one is better.

 

Thanks,

 

 

Don't know about the double decker bus, but here is the website for the trolley.

http://www.vancouvertrolley.com/citytours/map.html

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jerhardt

jerhardt

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shoppie,

We are coming into Vancouver staying at the Renaissance harborside and would like to know if there is somewhere close by to get icewine and pepsi 7-up and canada dry diet ginger ale.Also how much noise will we have from construction on Sunday.Thanks for the info in advance you have been most helpful on this board

emmy

 

Ice wine is available at any government liquor store or at any wine store in the downtown area. There are several of these within walking distance from where you are staying. As for the Pepsi, 7-Up, and Canada Dry - we can't get those here in Canada anymore.... Kidding.... There's a couple of 7-11's in the downtown area, plus a London Drugs on Granville that can accomodate all of this (I would use the London Drugs, just because they are a heckuva lot cheaper).

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jerhardt

jerhardt

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Any input on Sheraton Wall Centre vs. Le Soleil? Location? rooms? etc. Price is the same. thanks!

 

Both are exceptionally nice hotels. One is deep in the business district, while the other is a bit further away.

 

Personally I would stay at Le Solei. It's closer to the cruise ship terminal (assuming you are leaving from Canada Place) and is in a 'quieter' part of the downtown area. The Sheraton Wall Centre is right across the street from a hospital, and while that might be reassuring, it can get pretty busy at times.

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jerhardt

jerhardt

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We have a car booked for our PNW cruise in Vancouver and in Nanaimo. Does anyone know if you have to purchase all that extra insurance?

 

- check with your insurance company to see if you can temporarily transfer your insurance to the rental.

- not required, but definately a piece of mind if you are from out of the Province (remeber, the rental agencies make a ton of money on this).

- while in Vancouver, you can always pop into an Insurance Broker and purchase Rental Insurance through ICBC with them and save huge $$$ (check out www.icbc.com for more information on this).

- if you are doubting you abilities in driving in Vancouver, don't and just cab it or coach it.

 

I've been working for the Gov. Ins company for 22 years and have seen my share of people that wished they had bought some sort of insurance (or taken a cab).

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awaflyboy

awaflyboy

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Anyone have any suggestions on an inexpensive place to stay before our cruise? Would love to have a place that had a shuttle from the airport to the hotel and then again to the cruise terminal, but I'm being real - lol. Something that was easy to get to from both places.

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nanbill47

nanbill47

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I read someplace on cc about walking around vancouver from the cruise ship terminal. Is it possible to do that, and is there a nice walk on the water front? Have't been there for a couple of years and we never were near where the ships were I don't think. We will just have a day, not even after we arrive and just want to find something that won't be too time consuming. Thanks.

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giblert

giblert

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There's a lot of construction going on by the cruise ship terminal (assuming you mean Canada Place) so you might have to pop up onto the streets before coming back down to the water. One of these days there will probably be nice paths right there. That's assuming you're heading west/north (i.e. towards Stanley Park). The nicest walk would be to take a cab (or hop on/off bus) to Stanley Park and do the loop around the park. It's beautiful and shows you what a magical city Vancouver is. You could even rent bikes if you wanted.

Marie

 

If you headed east, you can't walk on the waterfront much as there are train tracks and industrial areas.

 

I read someplace on cc about walking around vancouver from the cruise ship terminal. Is it possible to do that, and is there a nice walk on the water front? Have't been there for a couple of years and we never were near where the ships were I don't think. We will just have a day, not even after we arrive and just want to find something that won't be too time consuming. Thanks.
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jerhardt

jerhardt

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I read someplace on cc about walking around vancouver from the cruise ship terminal. Is it possible to do that, and is there a nice walk on the water front? Have't been there for a couple of years and we never were near where the ships were I don't think. We will just have a day, not even after we arrive and just want to find something that won't be too time consuming. Thanks.

 

Heading West from Canada Place (like Gilbert pointed out) there is much construction in the way, however it is nicely marked out and you can make it to Stanley Park with little effort. If you want to head to the East, then there's Gastown and Chinatown for you to look at. Both are an easy way to kill an afternoon, morning or whole day. If you want to check out something different, hop on the SeaBus (leaves near Canada Place) for North Vancouver - you get a cheap water taxi across the harbour (about $3pp per trip) and there's some interesting things to do/see in North Vancouver right where the SeaBus docks.

 

For some other walking tours, check out this link:

http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/engsvcs/transport/walking.htm

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awaflyboy

awaflyboy

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Anyone have any suggestions on an inexpensive place to stay before our cruise? Would love to have a place that had a shuttle from the airport to the hotel and then again to the cruise terminal, but I'm being real - lol. Something that was easy to get to from both places.

 

Got a great deal at the Holiday Inn Downtown Tower and Suites, supposedly it's just 1km from the pier so I'm guessing it should be too hard to walk from the hotel to the pier. Also been told there are plenty of wine and liquor shops within walking distance so I can get my wine to take on board there and not worry about checking wine on my flight.

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Chivalrygirl

Chivalrygirl

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We are arriving from down-under next Tuesday evening in Vancouver, very excited 1st time to Canada. We have 2 1/2 days before we join our ship. Since the upheaval with air travel occurred last month (we had planned to bring wine with us from home) now we can't carry liquids in the cabin and its much too much of a hassle to pack in luggage because of weight restrictions, Here is my question, can we buy NZ Sauv.blanc in downtown area at a reasonable cost, or has someone some other suggestions? and where we go to buy.

Also what are the suggestions for making the best use of our time while we are in the city. All suggestions will be much appreciated.

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jerhardt

jerhardt

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We are arriving from down-under next Tuesday evening in Vancouver, very excited 1st time to Canada. We have 2 1/2 days before we join our ship. Since the upheaval with air travel occurred last month (we had planned to bring wine with us from home) now we can't carry liquids in the cabin and its much too much of a hassle to pack in luggage because of weight restrictions, Here is my question, can we buy NZ Sauv.blanc in downtown area at a reasonable cost, or has someone some other suggestions? and where we go to buy.

Also what are the suggestions for making the best use of our time while we are in the city. All suggestions will be much appreciated.

 

I pretty sure that the goverment liquor store in downtown Vancouver will carry this, however here's a link to their site where you can search on the product:

http://www.bcliquorstores.com/en/customerservice

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