Alaska inside Passage cruise in May- What to do, where to stay pre cruise

[Fourseventeen]

Taking the 6 day Carnival cruise May 4th. We are flying into Vancouver May 2nd and need a hotel close to the terminal...or close to things to do in the area. Anyone know of a decent hotel (100 a night approx). And what is there to do in the Vancouver area for the night of May 2nd and all day May 3rd?

 

Our cruise ends in Seattle...I want to see the space needle, whats the best way to get there? and what else is there to do...I will have until 5pm in Seattle before needing to head to the airport for a 7pm departure. Keep in mind...I will 4 in our group, all will have luggage and not know what to do with it all.

 

Then while in Alaska I want to do Mendenhall...what is the best tour to take that includes a stop there? by land, air or sea I dont care. Money isnt a huge issue...I just want the best excursion

[Budget Queen]

Look at Priceline in Vancouver. For the best location, you want downtown and may have a problem with that price range. Plenty to see and do in Vancouver. Request their visitor guide.

 

Take a cab from the Seattle port, there is baggage storage at the terminal.

 

For 4 people a cab is in the same ball park as the shuttle bus, of $14pp. This is transportation only.

 

IF You want a TOUR bus, MGT on the dock offers a good one. Includes several Juneau area stops and narration, with about a 45 minute stop at Mendenhall.

 

IF you want "best" then a glacier helicopter landing can fit that description. BUT this tour isn't exclusive to "Mendenhall". Any of the glacier landing tours are excellent. Available via ship or independent booking.

[Putterdude]

Taking the 6 day Carnival cruise May 4th. We are flying into Vancouver May 2nd and need a hotel close to the terminal...or close to things to do in the area. Anyone know of a decent hotel (100 a night approx). And what is there to do in the Vancouver area for the night of May 2nd and all day May 3rd?

 

 

Vancouver is like Florida ports in the winter is expensive during the Alaska cruise season. It will be hard to keep the room much under $125/n. Although I lived in Vancouver all my life I now live a bit out of the city and use Priceline.com whenever I need a room. Go to the bidding screen, choose Vancouver-Downtown, click on 3*+ and start bidding at about $90. All of the hotels in this range are good, all are within a $10 cab ride of the pier and some you can even walk to the pier from. Hotels will likely include the Marriott, the Renaissance, Hyatt Regency, Sheridan-Wall Centre and the Sutton Place.

For a first time visit to Vancouver I would recommend one of the HOHOs which are a great way to see a lot for the city in a short period of time.

 

http://www.vancouvertrolley.com/

http://www.bigbus.ca/

[jenng1976]

Hi there,

 

We just recently bid on Priceline for 05/19-05/21 pre-cruise and got the Sheraton Wall Centre for $101/night. We're quite happy about that as it looks like a beautiful hotel for 1/2 the price!

 

We've also booked the Trolley tour - on their website they have a special where you can get 2 days for the price of 1 if you book online.

 

Have fun!

 

Jenn

[Darr83]

We are also leaving from Vancouver and returning to Seattle on May 14th. What I have booked in Vancouver is the Pre Cruise tour, which picks you up at the hotel and drops you off at the cruise terminal.

 

In Seattle, I chose the post cruise tour, which picks you up at the ship and drops you off at the airport.

 

Both of the above handle your luggage and hit the high points in both cities, which was what we wanted with the limited time.

 

Darr

[Putterdude]

I think the tour that Darr83 is referring to is one that is operated by Vancouver Tours and cruisers always speak very highly of it. link

[Darr83]

I think the tour that Darr83 is referring to is one that is operated by Vancouver Tours and cruisers always speak very highly of it. link

Thanks Putterdude, I didn't see that tour actually, and I like it better than the one we were planning on doing (didn't have to pay when you booked, so easily cancelled).

 

The one I was looking at is located here: http://www.bcpassport.com/vancouver-tours/bus-tours/precruise.aspx

 

I like the one you posted better because it start at 9 AM instead of 10 AM. The one we were looking at does drop off at Ballantyne, but I was worried with a drop off at Canada Place first, we may only get to Ballantyne at 2:30 or so. I am a chronical get there too early kind of person, so that was cutting it too close to the 4 PM departure time.

 

the Seattle on I have reserved can be found here:

http://www.letstourseattle.com/submain.php?category=tours&subnav=tours&tourid=7

 

That one will drop you at the airport about 2:30 PM, which may be too early for anyone with a late flight. Ours is 6:30, and being the chronic early person, don't mind getting there 4 hours ahead of time since we have to go through customs as well.

 

My only concern for this one (I worry way too much as well), is that we won't be off the ship for the 9 AM pickup. But since we only pay when we get on the tour, if we miss it, we will just cab around the city and go to the airport.

 

We want to see as much of every city we are in that we can, in case we don't ever get a chance to return!