Help with staying in Vancouver

No problem - and you should be OK for May, but I just saw that the Esso site is now for sale too! So just in case there's a very sudden sale, Shell @ Main/2nd and Chevron @ Hastings/Vernon are the next-closest to the pier... both involve overshooting by a little under 2 miles mile if you come through the park, so a ~3.5 mile round trip. Filling up in North or West Van before coming over the bridge there are many stations, but all are still further away than this (closest is ~4.5miles and if you crawl along in traffic over the bridge and through the park, as is often the case, you'll burn extra gas).

Thanks, I am noting all these on my "cheat sheet". Just less than 4 weeks now, so hopefully there won't be many changes.

Kathy

Martincath, thanks for all of the info. We are also cruising on May 17th, but not arriving until Mon., dinnertime and staying on Robson near Stanley Park. After a long day of travel and time zone changes, we probably won't be up for anything that night except maybe a short walk. We will not have a car.

Tuesday I had thought we'd get transit day passes and go to Lynn Canyon for the views and some hiking. Would you recommend Gastown or Granville on the way back? Maybe we'll spend some time in Stanley Park that evening.

Thanks for the advice about arrival time at the pier. I'm thinking we could leave our bags at the hotel, walk to Stanley park for a few hours, pick up our bags, and head to the ship.

Martincath, thanks for all of the info. We are also cruising on May 17th, but not arriving until Mon., dinnertime and staying on Robson near Stanley Park. After a long day of travel and time zone changes, we probably won't be up for anything that night except maybe a short walk. We will not have a car.

Was prior info enough or did you want something more, e.g. resto reccos near your hotel?

 

Tuesday I had thought we'd get transit day passes and go to Lynn Canyon for the views and some hiking. Would you recommend Gastown or Granville on the way back? Maybe we'll spend some time in Stanley Park that evening.

Gastown is definitely the easier visit on transit (whether you Seabus back - which puts you right on the edge of it at Waterfront Station - or bus back, in which case regardless of which bridge you can also get to Gastown without needing to transfer. Granville (assuming you mean the 'island') would need a swap of bus onto the 50 from downtown, or more walking from any of the routes crossing Granville bridge (only the 50 loops back down & around, the rest stay up top). Unless you spend all day at Lynn, you could still reach GI in time to have the shops open for business not just the restos/theatres. If you do plan to board late, you could offload GI until Wed morning though, and even have lunch there before coming back to the pier.

 

Thanks for the advice about arrival time at the pier. I'm thinking we could leave our bags at the hotel, walk to Stanley park for a few hours, pick up our bags, and head to the ship.

Since you're staying near the park this could work well - but Gastown would also be a viable cruise-morning visit, dropping your bags at the pier then continuing.

It sounds like you may have more possible things to do than you have time for - really it comes down to how much time you want to spend hiking at Lynn. If you don't mind busy days and want to hit all the things mentioned above, I think I'd arrange it like this:

Monday:

• arrive, relax, nothing booked in case of delays but if you have time, a walk to nearby parts of Stanley (e.g. Totem Poles)
  

Tuesday:

• hit Granville early, maybe even have breakfast there (unfortunately Edible Canada only does brunch on weekends, but Dockside does a tasty, albeit pricey, sitdown brekky 7 days in a nice waterfront room and more casual fare is available in the Public Market).
  
• Pick up a nice picnic lunch in the public market then get the heck out of dodge by late morning when the pre- and post-cruise buses start rolling in - transit from GI to Lynn c. 11am will take you about 1hr10min - 1hr25min depending on exact time & routing (that includes walk time from public market to bus stop and bus stop to Ecology Centre). Personally I'd do the Seabus on the way over, because it's much more efficient to avoid it on the way back if you're going to the park...
  
• Eat lunch at Lynn - the cafe isn't bad if you don't want a picnic - and take in the canyon. You could get in 3-4 hours hiking and still make it downtown again well before dinnertime if you wanted, but assuming a couple of hours hiking around:
  
• bus back and get off as soon as you are through the park, for ore walking around - or perhaps a bike rental for less effort and more speed? - and, for most efficiency, have dinner in the park. Assuming 2 hours at Lynn, you'll be in Stanley by 3:30-4pm. A couple of hours by bike, 3-4 on foot give you a good chance to see the big hits like Prospect Point, the Rose Garden, Lost Lagoon and some time on the Seawall especially if you did manage to check off the Totems yesterday.
  
• While in general the Sequoia chain is a bit overpriced, the food is good quality - and the $39 prix fixe in the Teahouse is an excellent value offering (a bonus to weekday touring for you). If you're sticking with Shanks' Mare I'd definitely eat there - but if you did rent bikes you'll have to get them back by early evening (most rental spots close about 6pm until summer is well under way) but you'll have covered more ground, so dining outside the park (perhaps Cactus Club at English Bay?) is feasible.
  
• Sunset is at 8:50pm tonight, so if your tums can handle it in their new timezone an 8pm dinner start time is optimal for views. Enjoy a leisurely walk home up Denman St to your accommodation.
  

Wednesday:

• After a very full Tuesday, lie-in a little then head to the pier for 9:30-10am to drop your bags. Perhaps FlyOverCanada first (without queuing, it's about a 30min total show time).
  
• Walk on into Gastown, make sure to hang around the Steamclock (show every quarter-hour);
  
• continue through into Chinatown to see the Gate, the world's narrowest commercial building, and the superb Garden (unfortunately the free park next-door will still be under renovation until late May now, work has been slow);
  
• enjoy a nice lunch before boarding in your choice of Chinatown/Gastown restos.
  
• As you can see it's less than 40mins walk to get around all of these, including a slight detour to Victory Square (two of our nicest historic buildings and the cenotaph) so you can spend 4 hours actually experiencing the sights, shopping, and lunching and still be back at the pier by 3pm even if you don't get to the pier until 10am for bag drop.
  

Wow, I appreciate the detailed itinerary along with the links to maps and attractions. That gives me a good idea of transportation times and routes. If we need to eliminate anything, it may be GI for more time at Lynn and Stanley Park. Thanks for the restaurant recommendations, too. I also read good reviews of Cardaro's. Now all we need is good weather to enjoy it all!

Wow, I appreciate the detailed itinerary along with the links to maps and attractions. That gives me a good idea of transportation times and routes. If we need to eliminate anything, it may be GI for more time at Lynn and Stanley Park. Thanks for the restaurant recommendations, too. I also read good reviews of Cardaro's. Now all we need is good weather to enjoy it all!

You know you better than I do;-) But if you want more time in the parks, GI does seem the most logical drop to me - it's a great site for urban photography (lots of older industrial buildings are merrily decaying away, a nice juxtaposition to both the busy Market and the sleek towers across the creek) and has interesting, but poorly publicized, wartime history, but for most visitors it's about the shopping - and in cruise season it's packed, so if you prefer to see more nature and less people definitely bump it down your list of priorities.

Carderos is another Sequoia resto, similar caveat to Teahouse re: value but they certainly cook well. Views are North to the mountains - Stanley Park blocks your sunset views over the water.