Poohx2

Thank you for all of the replies!

Hi,

NCL newbie here. Can you please tell me what is open on the Breakaway while it is docked in Bermuda? My parents may be joining us and they probably will not get off the ship all 3 days. Thank you.

We are staying at the Pan Pacific too.How far is Stanley park? Can you walk or is there public transportation? Thanks for all your info.

Yes, you can walk, it is a mile or so. You can take the #19 bus,. Public transportation is so easy there. Also you can rent bikes to use in the park but you have to rent them outside of the park. There are several bike rental places about a block or so before you enter the park. Have fun!!

Susan,

Thanks for taking the time and coming back to post about your experiences in Vancouver. So glad you had a good time. Hope you can come again! :)

You are welcome, Ellen. Thanks for all the advice. We will definitely visit Vancouver again.

Where did you stay? Were you close to Canada Place? Were you happy with your room........hotel pros and cons, please. Thanks

Donna

Hi Donna,

We stayed at the Pan Pacific so yes we were very close to Canada Place, we were right there. We like the hotel very much, rooms were good size, beds were comfortable and the proximity to the port was priceless for us. Just took the elevator down to parking and walked across to the port check in. So easy. We also liked the proximity to the train station and the food court. We didn't eat in the hotel, so I can not say how that was. We were pleased with the hotel, no complaints.

Oops, forgot this.

I was asked what I would recommend to other visitors of Vancouver.

1. Capilano Suspension Bridge

2. Steamworks Restaurant

3. Walking through Gastown

4. Watching the ships come into Canada Place.

5. Stanley Park.

6. Cupcakes Bakery, the lemon cupcake was amazing and this comes from a woman ( and a family) who bakes alot. The nutella cupcake, chocolate peanut butter and black and white cupcake were quite good too. Of course there were some we didn't like too but for the most part they were yummy.

7. Eating from the food trucks by Canada Place.

8. Walking the streets of Vancouver.

9. Going to see the Olympic Cauldron.

I am sure that I forgot some stuff, sorry.

The city is just beautiful. We hope to go back.

Also just a fyi, we got off the ship at 8:20am, was at the airport between 9:15am and 9:30am, can't quite remember. We did not get through customs till 11:20am. It took so long. Thankfully our flight was 2:00pm. Vancouver airport is a beautiful airport.

I hope this is the right place to post this. I am back from Vancouver. We were there 2 1/2 days before our cruise. Vancouver is a beautiful city! We really loved it. Public transportation is very easy to use. We used the bus to get to Stanley Park. Stanley Park is very nice to walk around in, especially on the sea wall, just watch out if you cross the bikers lane. We also went to Capilano Bridge. We loved it! The bridge scared the heck out of me but I crossed it. The scenery is beautiful. We loved the Treetops and the Cliffwalk. We are so glad we went. We ate at Steamworks in Gastown and it was very good. We loved walking around the city, it is so clean.

Again, a big thank you to all who posted here and answered questions and offered advice. For anyone planning a trip to Vancouver, listen to the people on this board, they know what they are talking about.

We are leaving tomorrow and I just want to say a big THANK YOU to all who have responded and posted, not only to me but to everyone. When I first started on this thread I had no idea of what I was going to do and how. Now I know what I am doing and how. Thank you all so very much for all the answers and advice!!

Hey, I will be waving to you as you sail by on Tuesday , we always watch for what we call Mickey Mouse to sail by ....have a great cruise and visit in Vancouver.:)

Thank you PuttterDude!! We will be looking for you!! Thank you for all of the answers and advice!

Hi Putterdude,

Thank you so very much for the reply. You explained it perfectly for me to understand. I appreciate you always answering my questions. We will be in Vancouver on Sunday. I am so excited!!

Hi,

I know that Capilano Bridge has a free shuttle from Canada Place. We will be 12 people who want to go, including one fold up wheelchair. Do you think we will all be able to get on one shuttle? We were thinking of getting a day pass anyway because we wanted to also go to Granville Island,( does public transportation get you there? we are staying at Pan Pacific) and maybe Gastown too. Also if we take public transportation how do we go from the Pan Pacific to Capilano Bridge? Also from the Pan pacific to Stanley Park? Sorry to ask again I had been making a folder with notes but for some reason I can't bring it up. Thanks.

You get off at Waterfront (which is the end of the line). There are two exits at Waterfront Station, one that goes down a long hallway into the station complex -- that you don't want; and an elevator and escalator right on the platform (at the other end) that pops you straight up onto the street at the Corner of W.Hastings & Granville. From this latter location it's slightly downhill to Canada Place, vs slightly uphill from Waterfront station. So don't follow the crowds into the station, just grab the elevator right on the platform

This one:

 

Heading BACK to the airport, again, use gravity on your side. Walk one along Howe from Canada Place, turn left and two blocks to Waterfront Station (on your left). This way you're walking downhill.

Thank you Scottbee! The visual really helps!

You will take the train to the end of the line, Waterfront Station and the Pan Pacific is closer to 2 blocks than 3.5 blocks.

Thank you Putterdude for the information!!

Really, that's certainly worth a shot. I will check it out. Thanks for the info. :D

Donna

You are welcome! Good luck!!

Can someone please tell what station to get off if I am taking the skytrain to the Pan Pacific from the airport? I thought the station was fairly close to the hotel but my sister found a map online and says it looks to be about 3 1/2 blocks. That is ok with me but want to prepare the rest of the group. Since I am asking that question, my sister has heard conflicting reports on which station to use to go back to the airport from the Canada Place. Which one do you suggest? I know you all are the experts. Thanks.

:confused:

 

I would love to have a "short" list of reasonalble hotels to stay as close to Canada Place as possible. Would love to stay at the Pan Pacific, but $300+ is a little out of our price range. Just need a clean/decent place to sleep, no sightseeing, no walking around, no gambling (lol - will do enough of that on the ship). Someone suggested I stay at the airport and shuttle in the next day. It seems more logical to add the price of the shuttle to the $125 for a room at the airport and find a room around $200 closer to the pier. Here is my email, in case you prefer to respond privately dh93550@yahoo.com. Any help would be greatly appreciated. :)

 

Thanks Donna (& Rick) Herron

If you have AAA, you may be able to get a discount at the Pan Pacific that will bring it to the low 200s with tax.

Available anywhere you see the 'FareDealer' sign. I normally suggest the 7-11 as a US Tourist will know what they're looking for; as Pharmasave is a Canadian chain.

 

As for [2 zone] Faresavers vs Day passes, they're both great deals. It really depends on the makeup of your group, and how much traveling you intend to do within Vancouver. If on your 1st or last day all you're doing is going to or from the airport, Faresavers are probably a better deal; if you're doing a couple of days of traveling or venturing all the way out to Surrey/South Delta/Tsawwassen (zone 3), maybe it's day-passes.

 

Either way, they're both a much better deal than buying a single use ticket, and especially buying that at the airport where there's an extra $5 tacked onto the fare.

 

Just remember with a single ticket (bought on the bus/skytrain/sebus, or a faresaver ticket), it's good for as many rides within 90 minutes from the time you validate it. For example, you could validate it at the airport, ride Skytrain downtown, drop your luggage at your hotel, pop over to Seabus, then the 236 bus and be at Capilano suspension bridge or Grouse Mt all on a single ticket.

Thanks so much for the information! This helps too!

Just by way of a footnote, the all-day transit passes and fare-saver books of tickets can be purchased at any number of convenience stores and news vendors through out Vancouver. In my mind's eye the closest vendors to the Pan Pacific would be the smoke shop in the retail complex between Canada Place and the Pan Pacific and the news vendor in Waterfront Station.

Putterdude, thank you so much for the information! For some reason I thought I could only get them at the pharmasaves and 7-Elevens.

Susan, you can pre-purchase your day passes at the airport. Just make sure you validate them on your first bus ride or at the blue validation machines at the skytrain stations.

Thanks so much Ell!!!

We want to buy the day pass for transportation. We will buy them in the airport so we can use them to get to our hotel. We will also need them the next day to go to Capilano Suspension Bridge and other places. Can I buy both days on the day I arrive or will I need to find a pharmasave or 7 Eleven the next day and buy that day's passes then? And if I need to do that where is the closest place I can buy them near the Pan Pacific? Thank you!!!

No, a city taxi can handle a maximum of 4 regular sized adults with a maximum of a bag each but a wheelchair won't fit. My DW has MS and travels with either a wheelchair or a walker so I have a raised interest in taxis; about 17%+ of Vancouver's taxi fleet are mini-vans. There is no need to reserve a mini-van cab but you may have to wait a few extra minutes for one. A mini-van cab will take five passengers and is the same cost as a regular cab, about $35 +/-.

Thanks Putterdude for the information!

Yes there are minivan taxis, but you'll have to call and pre-arrange for one. The normal taxicab in Vancouver is a Toyota Prius, 3 passengers and a couple of bags tops.

Thank you for the information!

Hi,

Can a taxi from the airport hold 4 adults and a wheelchair? We are planning on sending the older part of our group to the hotel in a taxi and the rest of us are going to take the train. Also are there minivan taxis ( in case more people want to takke a taxi)? How many people can they hold and how much would it be to go to the Pan Pacific? Thanks in adavnce foor all the information.

There is a food court just below the Fairmont Waterfront (across the street from Pan Pacific) with the usual suspects: Starbucks, Subway, McDonalds, Tim Hortons and more --> link to tenants

 

There is also a White Spot on Georgia & Cardero. It's a local chain - a nice family-style, sit-down restaurant --> White Spot

Ell, thank you so much for the information.

Hi,

Can someone please recommend some inexpensive to reasonable places to eat lunch at that is around the Pan Pacific or on the way to Stanley Park? We will be arriving at the Pan Pacific about noon and then want to see Stanley Park. We thought we would take the bus to Stanley Park. Thanks for any info you can give me.