Vancouver answers from a Vancouverite

[Putterdude]

First let me thank you in advance of my questions. I have read many pages in this post and it has helped emmensly.

 

We are arriving in Vancouver on tuesday may 29 with 4 adults, one handicapped, and 3 children 13, 11, & 10.

After reading a few of the past post, we have decided Butchard Gardens is not possible for us in the time we have with my Mom in a wheelchair. We really don't even know what other touristy stuff there is to do.... any suggestions? We have to go to the airport twice on thrusday to pick up the last 3 members of our traveling party. We leave on the Celebrity Millennium on Friday.

 

My questions is... do we need to rent a van in Vancouver?

How handicap accessible is the city?

Are the cruise ports near the airport?

What area should I look for a hotel? We need 2 rooms for 2 days and 3 rooms for 1 day.

If we rent a car, how do we get to the ports on Friday?

I'm happy to private message my number or get yours to make a call to you if it is easier.

 

Any question you can answer will be great and I will be very grateful!!

 

As I have a disabled wife I can assure you that the city is very accessible.

Do you need to rent a van, ordinarily the advice would be no...but given your numbers and a mobility challenged mother, it may make sense to do that.

The cruise terminal is a full 30 mins from the airport.

As for what you may care to see, here are some thoughts:

 

www.capbridge.com/

http://www.grousemountain.com/Summer/summer-activities/[/url]

http://city.vancouver.bc.ca/parks/parks/stanley/

www.vanaqua.org/

http://www.scienceworld.ca/

http://www.granvilleisland.com/en

http://www.gastown.org/

www.vancouverchinesegarden.com/

[S_cruiser]

Are taxis readily available at the port after a cruise? We will need a taxi to get to Richmond after our cruise.

 

Thanks

[Quilting Queen]

Wonderful information but I did not find anything about our problem.

 

We will be getting off the Sapphire on Saturday May 19, 2012. We will be taking the Amtrak to Seattle in the evening. There will be at least 3 of us doing this. We plan to take a tour and end at the Amtrak or a restaurant where we can get dinner to go.

 

My question - is there any place to store our luggage at the dock or Amtrak?

 

Thank you,

Norine

[scottbee]

Are taxis readily available at the port after a cruise? We will need a taxi to get to Richmond after our cruise.

 

Thanks

 

Yes, there are a lot of taxies right outside Canada Place. However, if you're in a hurry and heading anywhere near the Skytrain Canada Line, the skytrain will be both faster and cheaper ($3.75/ea)

[aohkay]

Wonderful information but I did not find anything about our problem.

 

We will be getting off the Sapphire on Saturday May 19, 2012. We will be taking the Amtrak to Seattle in the evening. There will be at least 3 of us doing this. We plan to take a tour and end at the Amtrak or a restaurant where we can get dinner to go.

 

My question - is there any place to store our luggage at the dock or Amtrak?

 

Thank you,

Norine

 

There's luggage storage at Amtrack; not sure of the price though.

 

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=am/am2Station/Station_Page&code=VAC

[Quilting Queen]

Aohkay thank you for the Amtrak info. I never found that on the web site before. They have baggage storage and lockers.

 

Now to just figure out where to get dinner to go so we can be at the Amtrak by 4:30 pm.

 

Norine

[ravinglunatic]

Aohkay thank you for the Amtrak info. I never found that on the web site before. They have baggage storage and lockers.

 

Now to just figure out where to get dinner to go so we can be at the Amtrak by 4:30 pm.

 

Norine

 

There are restaurants to fit all tastes and budgets near the Amtrak station. What do like/want?

[martincath]

Aohkay thank you for the Amtrak info. I never found that on the web site before. They have baggage storage and lockers.

 

Now to just figure out where to get dinner to go so we can be at the Amtrak by 4:30 pm.

 

Norine

 

Best option is to store bags at the terminal - all storage is done by Priority Baggage and prices, hours are listed here: http://www.prioritybaggage.ca/services-cruiseterminalbaggagestorageservice

 

Long version follows, but in summary the baggage room at Pacific Central station might not be open on Sunday morning and there are *no* lockers.

 

Canada Place is much more central than the train station both in terms of pickup locations for tours (trolley stop right outside and obviously the Princess tours will go from here if you book them) and food options - if you want to grab sandwiches or similar you'll find plenty of options near the train station but there's nothing approximating fine dining within almost a mile (except a truly superb pizza joint but it doesn't open until 5pm). I live within a block of the station and I walk a long way for a nice dinner;-)

 

And now the long version - they don't have lockers, just a baggage storage room (the Amtrak info page actually states 'No lockers' instead of just not mentioning lockers at all which would be less confusing...) which you can obviously only use when it's open. According to Amtrak that's 6:00am to 8:30pm - but Pac Central isn't run by Amtrak, it's a Via Rail station that just happens to have a couple of Amtrak arrivals daily. Via's website for the station lists baggage room times of 12noon to 8pm Sundays... I'd guess that where the two companies information is different, Via are much more likely to be correct since it's a Canadian station! http://www.viarail.ca/en/stations/rockies-and-pacific/vancouver

 

Since I assume you'll be disembarking early morning Sunday and want to maximize your time touring Vancouver, having to wait until noon to store your bags seems likely to cause problems... why take the risk?

[Quilting Queen]

We will be arriving by ship on Saturday. Taking Amtrak to Seattle for over night, leaving Vancouver at 5:45 pm, arrive Seattle about 10 pm. We do not even have to think about Sunday Amtrak in Vancouver.

 

If we take any organized or other tour we will decide on dinner sometime during the day.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Norine

[CMcG]

I wish we had more time for Vancouver but we are limited by my work schedule and are arriving just the day before our cruise.

 

We will be arriving at 1:30 and expect to get to Westin Bayshore before 3:30 (Princess transfer so I'm at their mercy for timing). Does it make any sense to try to see either Capilano Suspension Bridge or Grouse Mountain? Is it easy to get to either via mass transit or taxi?

 

My other thought is to just pick up wine & toiletries for the cruise & enjoy Stanley Park & find somewhere for dinner. It will be a long day for us - plane leaves Orlando at 7am and we have a few hours of time change so we may not be very energetic.

 

I'm assuming that we won't have time for anything the next morning - I'll be at the mercy of Princess for transfer to the ship and have no idea how that will work timewise.

 

Appreciate any advice or other suggestions.

Cheryl

[smslms]

I wish we had more time for Vancouver but we are limited by my work schedule and are arriving just the day before our cruise.

 

We will be arriving at 1:30 and expect to get to Westin Bayshore before 3:30 (Princess transfer so I'm at their mercy for timing). Does it make any sense to try to see either Capilano Suspension Bridge or Grouse Mountain? Is it easy to get to either via mass transit or taxi?

 

My other thought is to just pick up wine & toiletries for the cruise & enjoy Stanley Park & find somewhere for dinner. It will be a long day for us - plane leaves Orlando at 7am and we have a few hours of time change so we may not be very energetic.

 

I'm assuming that we won't have time for anything the next morning - I'll be at the mercy of Princess for transfer to the ship and have no idea how that will work timewise.

 

Appreciate any advice or other suggestions.

Cheryl

 

If it were me I would leave the Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain for another visit. Maybe just have a look at Stanley Park (or part of it because it is quite large ), have dinner and a relaxing evening.:)

[CMcG]

If it were me I would leave the Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain for another visit. Maybe just have a look at Stanley Park (or part of it because it is quite large ), have dinner and a relaxing evening.:)

 

Thanks - that is my gut feeling but I'm in info gathering mode!

 

We'll probably leave the decision until we get there & see how tired we are and how quickly we actually get to the hotel. Want to have options for the hubby in case we still have some energy!

[smslms]

Thanks - that is my gut feeling but I'm in info gathering mode!

 

We'll probably leave the decision until we get there & see how tired we are and how quickly we actually get to the hotel. Want to have options for the hubby in case we still have some energy!

 

Just another thought to complicate your decision making. Both the attractions you mentioned are on the north shore, so to get there you would either go to the area where the cruise terminal is located and then take the seabus to the north shore, followed by a bus or a taxi. If you choose to go directly from your hotel you will probably take a cab. Either way you will be pretty much travelling in rush hour. Having spent time in Orlando I can tell you I would much rather travel there in rush hour than in Vancouver.Sorry for the bad news.

[scottbee]

I wish we had more time for Vancouver but we are limited by my work schedule and are arriving just the day before our cruise.

 

We will be arriving at 1:30 and expect to get to Westin Bayshore before 3:30 (Princess transfer so I'm at their mercy for timing). Does it make any sense to try to see either Capilano Suspension Bridge or Grouse Mountain? Is it easy to get to either via mass transit or taxi?

 

 

Grouse mountain is easy to get to with Seabus/local bus ($3.75 from downtown); and a lovely view of Vancouver in the evening (sun sets around 9:15pm in June). If you don't feel like that, I would recommend the short walk to Stanley Park, and go for a stroll.

[nonna5]

I confess I did not read all 160 pages. But my question is:

 

If my cruises returns to Vancouver on Tuesday what would be the earliest flight I should book for my return trip home. The latest flight available is 11:30 a.m.. I will be able to take my luggage off the ship so I am usually one of the first off. Thank you so much.

[aohkay]

Thanks - that is my gut feeling but I'm in info gathering mode!

 

We'll probably leave the decision until we get there & see how tired we are and how quickly we actually get to the hotel. Want to have options for the hubby in case we still have some energy!

 

As Scottbee says in his post #3214, Grouse Mountain offers some breathtaking views of the Lower Mainland; however, the general admission of $39.95 may not be worth it if you're only going to be on the mountain for a few hours. Definitely don't bother going it it's cloudy out.

 

Personally, after a long day of travel, I would be more inclined to take a walk around the sea wall and chill out and then go for a nice dinner.

[CMcG]

As Scottbee says in his post #3214, Grouse Mountain offers some breathtaking views of the Lower Mainland; however, the general admission of $39.95 may not be worth it if you're only going to be on the mountain for a few hours. Definitely don't bother going it it's cloudy out.

 

Personally, after a long day of travel, I would be more inclined to take a walk around the sea wall and chill out and then go for a nice dinner.

 

Thanks - the general admission is a bit steep considering how late we would get to either attraction so I'm pretty confident that Stanley Park will be the bulk of our Vancouver sightseeing. But I have to justify it to the guy who isn't doing as much research!

[martincath]

We will be arriving by ship on Saturday. Taking Amtrak to Seattle for over night, leaving Vancouver at 5:45 pm, arrive Seattle about 10 pm. We do not even have to think about Sunday Amtrak in Vancouver.

 

If we take any organized or other tour we will decide on dinner sometime during the day.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Norine

Whoops - my mistake, you even specified Saturday in your earlier post :o So you could leave your bags at the train station from 8:00am Saturday but would need to collect them again by 1pm, still not particularly useful...

[aohkay]

I'm pretty confident that Stanley Park will be the bulk of our Vancouver sightseeing.

Best part about it - it's FREE! :p

[Cruise_More_Often]

Personally, after a long day of travel, I would be more inclined to take a walk around the sea wall and chill out and then go for a nice dinner.

I agree. My suggestion would be a walk along the sea wall from your hotel back towards Canada Place. However, the sea wall walk around Stanley Park is great, too. For dinner, Cardero's is very close to your hotel. We ate there last May and plan to go again this May. The north-facing windows will give you a great view of the harbor and yachts, as well as the mountains of North Vancouver. Edited January 28, 2012 by Cruise_More_Often

[ell52]

I confess I did not read all 160 pages. But my question is:

 

If my cruises returns to Vancouver on Tuesday what would be the earliest flight I should book for my return trip home. The latest flight available is 11:30 a.m.. I will be able to take my luggage off the ship so I am usually one of the first off. Thank you so much.

I would take that 11:30 a.m. flight! It's also the earliest flight I'd recommend going out of YVR.

 

.

Edited January 28, 2012 by ell52

[CMcG]

I agree. My suggestion would be a walk along the sea wall from your hotel back towards Canada Place. However, the sea wall walk around Stanley Park is great, too. For dinner, Cardero's is very close to your hotel. We ate there last May and plan to go again this May. The north-facing windows will give you a great view of the harbor and yachts, as well as the mountains of North Vancouver.

 

From looking at the map it appears that Cardero's is either at or next to the Westin where we're staying so that might be a great idea if we decide we are really tired! Glad to hear that it has good food & views. Since we often walk several miles to dinner on the weekend I'm sure we'll find we have a few choices in walking distance! I'll have to check to see how far it would be to Chinatown - if I get a nap that might be nice alternative.

[smslms]

From looking at the map it appears that Cardero's is either at or next to the Westin where we're staying so that might be a great idea if we decide we are really tired! Glad to hear that it has good food & views. Since we often walk several miles to dinner on the weekend I'm sure we'll find we have a few choices in walking distance! I'll have to check to see how far it would be to Chinatown - if I get a nap that might be nice alternative.

 

Walking to Chinatown is doable so long as you really enjoy walking because it's quite a distance. While Chinatown itself is safe enough to walk around in I would not recommend walking in some of the areas you would have to pass through to get there. Some of these areas are bad enough in the daytime let alone at night.:(

[CMcG]

Just another thought to complicate your decision making. Both the attractions you mentioned are on the north shore, so to get there you would either go to the area where the cruise terminal is located and then take the seabus to the north shore, followed by a bus or a taxi. If you choose to go directly from your hotel you will probably take a cab. Either way you will be pretty much travelling in rush hour. Having spent time in Orlando I can tell you I would much rather travel there in rush hour than in Vancouver.Sorry for the bad news.

 

You would have to compare the Vancouver rush hour traffic to a real city for the comparison to really mean something. I don't think Orlando traffic is very bad! :D

 

If rush hour starts by 3:30 in Vancouver then that would make the trip to the attractions less attractive - the ticket price and limited time have already got me thinking that it will not be worthwhile to try to pack either into our day.

 

Appreciate the help!

[CMcG]

Walking to Chinatown is doable so long as you really enjoy walking because it's quite a distance. While Chinatown itself is safe enough to walk around in I would not recommend walking in some of the areas you would have to pass through to get there. Some of these areas are bad enough in the daytime let alone at night.:(

 

We just got back from a 5-6 mile round trip walk for a late lunch - we don't mind a bit of a walk. :D

 

I guess we take a cab to & from Chinatown and sightsee a bit either before or after dinner if we want authentic Chinese.