Best Travel between vancouver airport & cruiseport

I'm looking to go from vancouver airport on Aug. 19th at 11 AM to cruiseport. Would like to share taxi. Please contact me at hagwas@aol.com

Canada Line SkyTrain from the airport YVR to the pier.

About 1 block walk from the station to the cruise terminal. I think the ride takes about 20 minutes..

At least that's what I did last year. Gonna do the same this year I think.

The taxi will cost approximately $35. There will be lots of taxis available agt the airport, and at the cruiseport for the return trip.

We used the sky train too, but got goofed up at the very end when we got off and wandered a bit downtown across plazas and down stairs with our suitcases to get to the Fairmont Hotel, right opposite the cruise terminal. Maybe there is a better link now because I think this was just a recently opened route. Watch your signs carefully when you get off the sky train and go above ground.

BTW - if one is choosing a hotel nearby for an overnight we would pick the Pan Pacific instead of the Fairmont because it is ...right there, overhead of the dock and embarkation location and not across the busy street. Best departure morning breakfast is in the Pan Pacific hotel cafe with their towering windows and outdoor patio tables looking right at the ships front decks.

Let me look into finding the video, but a young lady on CC has posted a video of how exactly to get from one to the other....

OK, My mistake, it wasn't a video, but there were so many pictures it should have been. This is a GREAT way to know your way.... check it out. Scroll down the first page and you will see the beginning of it.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2094606

ENJOY!

The OP wants to share a taxi not take rapid transit. I would not want to do rapid transit with a heavy suitcase. I have a walking problem and found it too far to Pan Pacific from Waterfront station and I was just going there for dinner.

Haha .. oops. Apparently I glazed over that important detail and skipped directly to the next post.

Apologies.

We've been in Vancouver for a number of trade shows and meetings over the years. We prefer the Fairmont Waterfront. Yes it's across the street, but there are lights and everything. It's not like you're running across the highway. :) Also, the Fairmont has yellow Lab canine ambassadors - trainees from the BC Guide Dog program. (A hotel with Labrador Retrievers is always A-OK in our book.)

OK, My mistake, it wasn't a video, but there were so many pictures it should have been. This is a GREAT way to know your way.... check it out. Scroll down the first page and you will see the beginning of it.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2094606

 

 

ENJOY!

That is a very interesting description of the journey. I will say, however, that it made the walk seem way longer than it actually is. Having said that, you cannot do it if you are mobility challenged at all.

We've been in Vancouver for a number of trade shows and meetings over the years. We prefer the Fairmont Waterfront. Yes it's across the street, but there are lights and everything. It's not like you're running across the highway. :) Also, the Fairmont has yellow Lab canine ambassadors - trainees from the BC Guide Dog program. (A hotel with Labrador Retrievers is always A-OK in our book.)

I agree. Very easy to cross the road, usually with a police officer directing traffic and pedestrians on cruise days, and also there is the underground to the food fair and shops. It's amazing how popular the dog programme is, too.:)

The OP wants to share a taxi not take rapid transit. I would not want to do rapid transit with a heavy suitcase. I have a walking problem and found it too far to Pan Pacific from Waterfront station and I was just going there for dinner.

Some would rather write than read! :)

Taxis from YVR are flat rate, so the fare is predictable. It would seem to me to be more trouble than it is worth to try and link up with some strangers, load four people's baggage into a Prius (almost all our cabs are Priuses), and then shoehorn four people into the taxi to save $20 ($20 CAD, at that).

A slight variation on the theme.

Before cruise we are staying overnight at the Pan Pacific. However, our flight home is early on Sunday morning. Right now I have a booking at the Airport Marriott for a quick trip to airport in the morning (8am flight).

Is it easy to get to the Airport using the SkyTrain after disembarking, then to hotel to drop off bags and get back into town for walking around and dinner? Or is there a convenient place to check the bags after disembarking and do Vancouver before going to the Marriott first? How late in the evening does the SkyTrain operate? I will be checking if the Marriott has a shuttle from SkyTrain station.

Dennis

I'm looking to go from vancouver airport on Aug. 19th at 11 AM to cruiseport. Would like to share taxi. Please contact me at hagwas@aol.com

You might want to post this on your roll call. There are probably people there that will be heading to the airport.

We were going to share a cab last time but because of the marathon, we both opted to take our own cabs. It didn't take long and it wasn't as much as I thought it would be :)

Some would rather write than read! :)

Yeah, Fouremco... Sadly, I was glazing past here while multi-tasking at work and just wanted to be helpful with a post (not even my own post) that I thought was very valuable, and had missed the one-liner from the OP. Hopefully it will be helpful to someone else.

Sorry about that.

Yeah, Fouremco... Sadly, I was glazing past here while multi-tasking at work and just wanted to be helpful with a post (not even my own post) that I thought was very valuable, and had missed the one-liner from the OP. Hopefully it will be helpful to someone else.

 

Sorry about that.

I would say it's natural to miss that because I believe under Cruise Critic guidelines requests to share rides are ONLY supposed to be on the appropriate roll call.

Roy

A slight variation on the theme.

 

Before cruise we are staying overnight at the Pan Pacific. However, our flight home is early on Sunday morning. Right now I have a booking at the Airport Marriott for a quick trip to airport in the morning (8am flight).

 

Is it easy to get to the Airport using the SkyTrain after disembarking, then to hotel to drop off bags and get back into town for walking around and dinner? Or is there a convenient place to check the bags after disembarking and do Vancouver before going to the Marriott first? How late in the evening does the SkyTrain operate? I will be checking if the Marriott has a shuttle from SkyTrain station.

 

Dennis

I LUV to stay at the Fairmont at the vancouver airport! Its right on top of the USA Outbound flights terminal. No shuttle needed in the morning, bell hop usually picks up our bags and takes them to the ticketing counter.

Plus great shopping and restaurants at the airport and now a new factory outlet mall a few blocks away (believe they have a free shuttle). A bit more expensive but a nice way to end a vacation

Some would rather write than read! :)

And some would rather criticize than help.

The subject of the thread is ..

"Best Travel between vancouver airport & cruiseport"

Most people would rather be helpful, but you go ahead and be negative if you want.

There seems to be a few posters who can't wait to jump in and criticize other posters rather than offer helpful advice or.info. I find.this forum invaluable and have learned much from other members posting snippets of.info not strictly adhering to the.original post. Too many would-be mods!

I LUV to stay at the Fairmont at the vancouver airport! Its right on top of the USA Outbound flights terminal. No shuttle needed in the morning, bell hop usually picks up our bags and takes them to the ticketing counter.

 

Plus great shopping and restaurants at the airport and now a new factory outlet mall a few blocks away (believe they have a free shuttle). A bit more expensive but a nice way to end a vacation

Agree! The Fairmont-YVR is a great hotel to stay in and the Canada Line train station to downtown is not a long/far walk

I know that the OP was asking for someone to share a taxi. I feel compelled (one of my faults) to add that we took the train from downtown to YVR in April and were amazed how easy, quick, and predictable it was. Not to mention economical. However, neither of us has mobility issues and we just had a suitcase and carryon each, so that may not be a good choice for everyone.

A slight variation on the theme.

 

Before cruise we are staying overnight at the Pan Pacific. However, our flight home is early on Sunday morning. Right now I have a booking at the Airport Marriott for a quick trip to airport in the morning (8am flight).

 

Is it easy to get to the Airport using the SkyTrain after disembarking, then to hotel to drop off bags and get back into town for walking around and dinner? Or is there a convenient place to check the bags after disembarking and do Vancouver before going to the Marriott first? How late in the evening does the SkyTrain operate? I will be checking if the Marriott has a shuttle from SkyTrain station.

 

Dennis

Marriott (and all airport hotels) have shuttles to & from the airport only. Drivers will frequently DROP you at Skytrain stations, especially if you offer a few bucks tip, but I don't know of any hotels at YVR who offer a pickup from Skytrain.

It is easy to get there, but it sucks time - allow a minimum of 90 minutes to make the round trip by the time you get to YVR, wait for shuttle, check in & drop bags, wait for shuttle, ride Skytrain back again.

Bag check at Canada Place only operates until 4pm, so best plan IMO to maximize convenience and time is to make use of the bag TRANSFER service. For up to 4 bags, any size, it's $40 and they will be available at YVR for collection some time after 4:00pm. Both offices (international and domestic terminals) are open until at least 11:30pm.

This way you drop your bags right at the pier with no detours, get on with your day enjoying the city, have dinner at your leisure and even a few drinkies afterward (sunset views from the Pan Pacific lounges, Cactus Club at Convention Centre or English Bay, Tap & Barrel convention centre patio are all damn fine), take Skytrain for discount price (after 6:30pm it's only $2.75 to anywhere) without your suitcases, then call the hotel shuttle when you grab your bags at YVR.

The other almost-as-efficient option is to bribe (ahem - 'preemptively tip') the bell staff at the Pan Pacific or Fairmont Waterfront to hold your bags for the day. $5 per bag seems to get the job done, but then you do have to come back for them and schlep them out to the airport yourself.

YMMV as to the best value...

Yeah, Fouremco... Sadly, I was glazing past here while multi-tasking at work and just wanted to be helpful with a post (not even my own post) that I thought was very valuable, and had missed the one-liner from the OP. Hopefully it will be helpful to someone else.

 

Sorry about that.

And some would rather criticize than help.

 

The subject of the thread is ..

 

"Best Travel between vancouver airport & cruiseport"

 

Most people would rather be helpful, but you go ahead and be negative if you want.

Truth be told, I had no issue whatsoever with the posts dealing with the Sky Train, given the thread title. We've considered using it in the past but had taken a taxi. The hotel posts, though, could have gone into a separate thread I felt. When searching down the road, they'd be easier to find than under the current thread heading.

Marriott (and all airport hotels) have shuttles to & from the airport only. ......

 

YMMV as to the best value...

Thanks this was very helpful.. I have a sneaky feeling our travelling partners won't agree to a convoluted travel arrangement.. He is a 'drop a wad of twenties to the driver kinda guy.' :) Thanks for responding.

Dennis