TeanneTX

You were there right about the time we were leaving. You might have used the computers that my dad worked on. I know The Hill was spying on the russians. lol It was a huge listening station. We moved to El Paso and my dad worked out at White Sands Missle Range and there was that same "elephant cage" sitting out in the middle of the desert. I remember my father not answering me when I asked what it was doing there. lol The one at Misawa was also where we got the information when the russians shot down KAL 007 which I remember as a kid.

I'm taking a cruise in Sept '24 around Japan. I was born and raised in Japan (lived there until I was 13). I was born at Tachikawa AFB and than lived up north at Misawa AFB. Any idea if I can get on those bases when I visit there next year. I would love to be able to see all the places I was at as a kid. Mostly just interested in Misawa AFB. Teanne

I'm taking cruise that goes to Amori and Hakodate in Sept '24. I lived in Misawa AFB in the 60's and we used to travel to Amori and Hokkaido too. I remember the Sapporo Ice Festival. Lake Towada sounds familiar too. When were you in Misawa? I'm hoping that while there I could visit Misawa and get on the Base. Not sure if thats allowed. My father was a civilian on the base and worked on the Univac computers up on "The Hill". Not sure if thats still part of the Base either. My parents belonged to the Aero Club and spent the weekends flying there. It was a great place to live. I went to Sollars Elementary but we lived in off-base housing. We lived right next to a horse racing ranch that was owned by the Emperor.

Wow thanks for the info. That sure puts things into perspective. I don't think we'll do the car rental from Vancouver after all. I didn't realize you have to wait an hour to get on the ferry. That is crazy. That ends up being 5 hrs just to get too and from the island. I think flying is starting to sound better. I know its pricey but this is a once in a life time trip for us so maybe we can make it work. Or we may just stay in Vancouver after all and see their gardens.

I want to take my SIL from Vancouver over to Butchart Gardens from the Westin Bayshore Hotel. My problem is that all the regular tours include Victoria and are about 12 hrs long which we can't physically do. So I was thinking about renting a car for just the one day. Is there a car rental place near the hotel and is this doable for 2 women in their 60's to be able to navigate out there. We rented a car when we went many years ago but we were younger and my husband drove.

Wow-great info. So many options. Thank you so much.

I will be traveling to Vancouver for a cruise and will be alone when I arrive. I will need transportation to the Westin Bayshore. Uber and a taxi are about the same price. How is the availability of taxis and Ubers at the airport. Also how safe and clean are the taxi's? Just trying to find the safest and best option for me. A private town car is too pricey now.

Thank you-yes I think the taxi is my best option. That looks like about $ 33 USD for the taxi.

I looked at the cost for RT on HarbourAir and wow-over $400 per person. I'm afraid I'll have to skip that. Too pricey for me. I think we'll just do a tour to the Gardens one day and than Stanley Park the 2nd day and skip Victoria.

This was for Silhouette.

We've only had AQ once and wouldn't do it again. Blu was OK but I found the seating uncomfortable because we were all crammed in the dining room. I did like the fresh juice and snacks in the room in the afternoon. My real complaint was that the rooms have always been right below the pool deck. So in the middle of the night you'd hears the pool chairs being dragged around. So I didn't get much sleep on that cruise. So we won't do AQ again.

I'm booked for an Aug 2023 Iceland/Greenland cruise. I don't have a cabin number yet since this cruise was sold out and I was waitlisted. Now I have a "V1-GTY". Any idea what that means. I've never booked a cruise and didn't get my cabin right away. How does it work for assigning cabins. Any idea when that happens? I did it through my TA and she says they could assign it at any time. I'm anxious about not knowing what cabin we will be in. Teanne

Anyone stay at the Westin Bayshore, Vancouver pre-cruise? Would love some input on the hotel and things to do in the general area. Whats in walking distance, any yummy restaurants? How far is Stanley Park? Any information would be helpful.

I arrive in Vancouver in mid-May at 4:30 pm for our cruise. We're spending 3 days in Vancouver at the Westin Bayshore by Marriott. Whats the easiest way to get to the hotel from the airport. Do they have Uber and Lyft there. Taxi or should I hire a car service to pick me up. I want something fairly easy and not complicated but not incredibly expensive. I'm a mid 60's female traveling by myself so I want safety of course. My SIL who is traveling with me but she doesn't arrive until 9 pm so I'll be sharing this info with her too.

My SIL and I will be going on an Alaska cruise out of Vancouver in May. This will be her first trip but its my 3rd. We will be staying at the Westin Bayshore hotel for 3 nights and will have 2 full days to explore the area. We're both in our late 60's, healthy but the usual issues someone our age has. Joints ache and we don't have the stamina we used to. I do want her to see Butchard Gardens and Stanley Park. I looked at tours to the Gardens and Victoria but they seem all to be about 12 hrs and not sure we have the stamina for that. Is the city of Victoria a "must see" or can we skip that. I've been to the Gardens and Stanley Park but would love to see them again. I just don't want to over-do things and than we're both exhausted. I also have no idea where our hotel is in relation to the cruise terminal. We don't want to rent a car but we're fine with using public transportation. I know we want to do the horse drawn carriage ride in Stanley Park. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for the info. We may just do that instead of spending the time in Vancouver. Wonder how it would work to get back to Vancouver in order to catch the ship.

Thanks. This is very helpful. We may try to do it ourselves rather than the tour. Sounds like they have good public transportation.

My SIL and I are going on an Alaska cruise out of Vancouver in May 2023. This will be her first but my 3rd. I was thinking about arriving in Vancouver a few days early so we can see the sights. I'd love to take her over to Victoria to see the Gardens. I think we rented a car last time I did that with my husband. I'd rather not rent a car though this time since I'm not familiar with the area. We're both in our 60's and fairly active. Is there some sort of transportation over to Victoria and than on to the Gardens? Maybe a tour company that does all the driving for you? Any suggestions? Teanne

Yea!!! So happy that they have lifted all their restrictions. Now to plan some cruises.

I understand. Vaccination is not an option for us unfortunately. Guess we'll just wait it out and see if Canada changes its policies.

Darn-I was hoping Canada would change their rules. Wish the US would allow cruises to go to and from Alaska without stops in Canada.

Oh I do hope that will eventually happen. It upsets me to see people treat the unvaxxed like they are diseased and looked down on. So many people who are on on fully vaxxed and tested cruises still get covid. We need to move on from this and treat the non-vaxxed equal to the vaxxed.

So I'm confused. If you have an Alaska cruise the starts and ends in Seattle but makes a short stop in Victoria. Can you stay onboard during the Canada stop if your not vaxxed? I have no problem skipping Victoria-been there several times. Teanne

I know that there are a bunch of lines that are opening up cruises to the non-vax. We want to finally get to go to Alaska but all stop in Canada. Can you just stay on the ship during the stop in Canada? Does anyone know if you can do this or is there another board to ask this question? Teanne

Thanks for the info. Thats very helpful. So I see your a fellow Texan. I live near Lampasas. I've been through Gatesville many times.