Vancouver or Seattle Hotel Recommendations

[sbfanatic]

A small group of 10 will be cruising to Alaska in 2015 and will be staying 2 to 3 days pre cruise. We have never been to the Northwest and we need recommendations. Would it be better/cheaper to stay in Seattle or Vancouver? Need hotel recommendations as well as transportation options for Seattle / Vancouver. Any suggestions to make the trip better would be greatly appreciated.

[mapleleaves]

where is your cruise departing from?

I think you need to look at the whole picture; price the flights to Vanc vs Seattle, then factor in transfers and hotel to determine the full cost.

Many people say it's much cheaper to fly into SeaTac then take the train or bus to Vancouver. And Vancouver departures provide a better itinerary.

(Usually it's cheaper to stay nr the Vanc or Seattle airports and take the Light Rail or Skytrain into the city to sightsee. Downtown hotels are at least $100 a nite more than at the airport).

[Colo Cruiser]

In Seattle we stay at the Silver Cloud Stadium location

In Vancouver we stay at the Pan Pacific or Fairmont at Canada Place.

 

We have rented a car and taken Quick Coach.

 

http://quickcoach.com/

Edited March 26, 2014 by Colo Cruiser

[martincath]

It sounds like you haven't actually booked a cruise yet. Given the reams of advice on just Seattle, just Vancouver, traveling between the two, preferred routes for round-trips, and north- vs south-bound one-ways you won't get anything but the most general advice without being more specific.

 

Even if your group hasn't decided on a cruise line or departure port, the fact ten of you plan to go together means you must at least have a good idea of how much time you have to spend - will this be a short round-trip cruise? a longer 14 day B2B? a cruise-tour?

 

If you're doing a one-way, a cruise tour, or a B2B, then at least you can narrow things down a bit as you will have to depart from Vancouver (unless you start in Alaska of course).

 

If you're planning a round-trip, broadly speaking Seattle departures tend to be a little cheaper as the 'go around Vancouver Island on the ocean side' route means an extra sea day with less time spent sailing the Inside Passage and therefore less land-viewing time, plus you're forced to stop in Victoria usually for just a few hours.

 

Realistically, once you pick your cruise the city it's leaving from is much easier to hang out for your pre-cruise stay - but since you don't know the cruise you want yet, a brief comparison of the cities:

 

Obviously Vancouver is better so just (wo)man up and come to Canada:D

 

A tad more seriously: Seattle, as with almost any comparison of US to Canadian cities, has cheaper food & drink than Vancouver. Hotels are pricey in cruise season in both. The surrounding area and views from Vancouver are hands-down better than Seattle. Vancouver is a much easier city to get around on foot or by transit. Both have plenty of indoor cultural & shoppy things to do during wet days, which both have in spades.

 

With only a couple or three days, I would always rather stay in one city and get a deeper experience than split an already short visit down into two flying ones. Having never been to the PNW at all, I'd plump for Vancouver first (indeed I did when we first visited the left coast long before moving over here) and do Seattle on your next trip.

 

You will probably find it cheaper to fly to SEA than YVR, or that non-stop flights are more available. So even if you do plan to stay in Vancouver, flying to Seattle can be a viable option. If you're really lucky your flight times will work around the Amtrak schedule and you can book long in advance for a <$30 train ride up to Vancouver, but there are plenty of bus-based options at more frequent times.

 

Assume $50 max per person (Quickshuttle pricing; Bolt & Greyhound much less but go station-station, no hotel or pier stops) plus five hours (to allow for checking-in and border delays) and think about if that still seems better value than just flying in to YVR. If any of your 10 people are kids or low-mobility folks, especially factor in hassle as well as time... One-way car hire is also quite feasible, and with ten of you may be a relative bargain per person too - but again, think about the hassle-factor.

[Putterdude]

Vancouver's downtown is quite compact so all of the downtown hotels are pretty much within a mile of Canada Place. However, here is a list of many 3*+ hotels that are within 6 to 8 blocks of Canada Place and as such are close to transportation and HOHOs

 

The Pan Pacific (part of Canada Place)

Fairmont Waterfront (across the street from Canada Place)

Fairmont Pacific Rim

Marriott Pinnacle

Renaissance

Hyatt Regency

Fairmont Vancouver

Auberge

Coast Coal Harbour

Delta Suites

Metropolitan

Four Seasons

Rosewood Georgia

Sutton Place (about 8.5 blocks)

Sheraton at the Wall Centre (about 10 blocks)

le Soleil

The Wedgewood

 

It sounds as though you may need as many as 5 rooms and you may be able to negotiate a group rate if you contact the hotels directly. If you are a family and might be able to take advantage of suites, then you may care to contact the Rosedale on Robson St. as I am aware that in the past cruisers have been able to negotiate group rates and have been pleased with the accommodation.

[sbfanatic]

Thanks for all the responses. I should have been more clear. We are 5 couples ranging from 40 to 60 yoa. We have booked the Radiance out of Vancouver for the 5/29/15 sailing with a 5 day cruise tour. We are planiing to stay 2 to 3 days pre cruise as well as 2 to 3 days post cruise in Anchorage. We are trying to find a "best bang for the buck" hotel that's safe and clean and some suggestions to make it the best trip possible.

[Gardyloo]

Thanks for all the responses. I should have been more clear. We are 5 couples ranging from 40 to 60 yoa. We have booked the Radiance out of Vancouver for the 5/29/15 sailing with a 5 day cruise tour. We are planiing to stay 2 to 3 days pre cruise as well as 2 to 3 days post cruise in Anchorage. We are trying to find a "best bang for the buck" hotel that's safe and clean and some suggestions to make it the best trip possible.

"Bang for the buck" is subjective of course. You might find airfare cheaper to Seattle, but then you need to add back the cost of getting from Seattle to Vancouver for the cruise. Hotels will be comparably expensive in both cities, but part of your planning would also entail the means of traveling between the two cities. If you want to do it without cars, then the Seattle option will put you into the downtown core, where other cruisers push hotel rates very high, and then you'd need to figure out how to get to Vancouver - early morning train, buses, ?? Of course you could also rent a couple (3?) cars and drive, which would also mean you could (probably should) stay someplace besides downtown Seattle, which would reduce hotel expenses, and you'd also be able to ignore taxi rides in either city. You could also use rental cars to travel from Seattle to Vancouver via a more scenic route, such as Whidbey Island and Chuckanut Drive (a coastal road) which would provide a much better feel for the region than you'll get staying in some big hotel. Get some cheap walkie-talkies for the drive.

 

On the other hand, flying straight into Vancouver avoids all this, and there's certainly no shortage of things to see and do up there. But airfare might be costlier, and depending on your tastes and wallets, hotel costs will also be high.

 

You have plenty of time to do your homework.

Edited March 27, 2014 by Gardyloo

[Northern Aurora]

While I am not sure that either of my Vancouver hotel suggestions will match the OP's "best bang for the buck" definition, if you are sailing out of Canada Place in in Vancouver then consider the Pan Pacific. This hotel is located literally atop Canada Place. It has a great staff and incredible views from some rooms. But they also offer to take your luggage to the ship porters for you. When we stayed there last fall we simply attached our ship luggage tags, called the bell captain and within five minutes a bell man was at our door to pick up our luggage. We didn't see the luggage again until we were on the ship. So convenient.

 

We also like the Sutton Place in Vancouver, but again this hotel's rates may not be seen as the "best bang for the buck." But it also is a great hotel with a fantastic staff.

[Colo Cruiser]

Love the Pan Pacific. :)

[skrapngal]

I did a tremendous amount of research to find a "best bang for your buck" hotel in Vancouver for our upcoming cruise. Finally decided on Times Square Suites. It was hands-down the best value! I'll be putting in a full report when we get back.

[Putterdude]

I did a tremendous amount of research to find a "best bang for your buck" hotel in Vancouver for our upcoming cruise. Finally decided on Times Square Suites. It was hands-down the best value! I'll be putting in a full report when we get back.

 

I think you will be very happy with your choice. It is about as close to Stanley Park as you can be short of pitching a tent in the park. Probably the only reason it does not get a lot of attention on these board and frankly is not one that I recommend unless someone is really looking for a suite hotel is because it is so close to the park it tends to be removed from a lot of the other attractions of Vancouver but that of course can be remedied by walking, HOHOs or transit. Enjoy your visit to Vancouver.

[biomedbob]

It sounds like you haven't actually booked a cruise yet. Given the reams of advice on just Seattle, just Vancouver, traveling between the two, preferred routes for round-trips, and north- vs south-bound one-ways you won't get anything but the most general advice without being more specific.

 

Even if your group hasn't decided on a cruise line or departure port, the fact ten of you plan to go together means you must at least have a good idea of how much time you have to spend - will this be a short round-trip cruise? a longer 14 day B2B? a cruise-tour?

 

If you're doing a one-way, a cruise tour, or a B2B, then at least you can narrow things down a bit as you will have to depart from Vancouver (unless you start in Alaska of course).

 

If you're planning a round-trip, broadly speaking Seattle departures tend to be a little cheaper as the 'go around Vancouver Island on the ocean side' route means an extra sea day with less time spent sailing the Inside Passage and therefore less land-viewing time, plus you're forced to stop in Victoria usually for just a few hours.

 

Realistically, once you pick your cruise the city it's leaving from is much easier to hang out for your pre-cruise stay - but since you don't know the cruise you want yet, a brief comparison of the cities:

 

Obviously Vancouver is better so just (wo)man up and come to Canada:D

 

A tad more seriously: Seattle, as with almost any comparison of US to Canadian cities, has cheaper food & drink than Vancouver. Hotels are pricey in cruise season in both. The surrounding area and views from Vancouver are hands-down better than Seattle. Vancouver is a much easier city to get around on foot or by transit. Both have plenty of indoor cultural & shoppy things to do during wet days, which both have in spades.

 

With only a couple or three days, I would always rather stay in one city and get a deeper experience than split an already short visit down into two flying ones. Having never been to the PNW at all, I'd plump for Vancouver first (indeed I did when we first visited the left coast long before moving over here) and do Seattle on your next trip.

 

You will probably find it cheaper to fly to SEA than YVR, or that non-stop flights are more available. So even if you do plan to stay in Vancouver, flying to Seattle can be a viable option. If you're really lucky your flight times will work around the Amtrak schedule and you can book long in advance for a <$30 train ride up to Vancouver, but there are plenty of bus-based options at more frequent times.

 

Assume $50 max per person (Quickshuttle pricing; Bolt & Greyhound much less but go station-station, no hotel or pier stops) plus five hours (to allow for checking-in and border delays) and think about if that still seems better value than just flying in to YVR. If any of your 10 people are kids or low-mobility folks, especially factor in hassle as well as time... One-way car hire is also quite feasible, and with ten of you may be a relative bargain per person too - but again, think about the hassle-factor.

 

Choice Air hasn't been responsive to my inquires yet.

 

The best I found is to take Southwest to Seattle on Saturday 23rd spend the night at one of the Choice properties near SEA, take a cab the next morning to the King Street Amtrac station.

 

Then we have a 4 hour, scenic train trip, @ $34.00 each to arrive in Vancouver before noon on Sunday, take a cap to the ship.

 

Does this sound doable? Anyone with experience with Amtrac?

 

Thanks.

[Putterdude]

Choice Air hasn't been responsive to my inquires yet.

 

The best I found is to take Southwest to Seattle on Saturday 23rd spend the night at one of the Choice properties near SEA, take a cab the next morning to the King Street Amtrac station.

 

Then we have a 4 hour, scenic train trip, @ $34.00 each to arrive in Vancouver before noon on Sunday, take a cap to the ship.

 

Does this sound doable? Anyone with experience with Amtrac?

 

Thanks.

 

Its done all the time during the Alaska cruise season and it works like a charm. Once at the Pacific Central Station that Amtrak uses in Vancouver you will be less than 10 mins from the pier. There will be a cab line outside the terminal and your fare will be less than $15 or you can take the SkyTrain from the Main Street station which is just across the park and to the left of PCS to Waterfront Station that is about a 3 block walk to Canada Place...the fare is $2.75 pp CAD only, however the ticket machines will take Visa, MC and many US ATM cards.

[biomedbob]

One of us needs to take 13 pairs of shoes. :mad:

 

So a walk in the park seems out of the question.

 

How early do we need to be at Amtrak for the 7:40 AM?

 

Is purchasing tickets online the best way to go?

 

Thanks

[martincath]

One of us needs to take 13 pairs of shoes. :mad:

 

So a walk in the park seems out of the question.

 

How early do we need to be at Amtrak for the 7:40 AM?

 

Is purchasing tickets online the best way to go?

 

Thanks

If you have 13 pairs of shoes(!?) for one party member, I assume you'll be checking at least a few suitcases - Amtrak says to be there an hour before departure when checking bags.

 

Not sure what you're asking re: tickets - online vs. by phone maybe? I've only ever booked them online, the website is functional and easy enough to use.

 

If you mean buy them online in advance vs. buy at the station day of departure... yes, buy in advance and in fact buy them right now. Saver tickets are limited - if you're seeing $34 as cheapest fare that's probably a 'Value' ticket as they're usually $30-40.

 

That means the even-cheaper 'Saver' tickets have all sold out already (I've paid as little as $19 for a one-way on this trip). Assuming there are any seats available at all for walk-up passengers, it will cost you $72 for the regular 'flexible' fare if memory serves.

[Putterdude]

I avoided answer the post all afternoon as I didn't really understand it as well....glad I wasn't alone.

[biomedbob]

Thanks for your replies.

 

I was so elated with finding a great solution I guess I wasn't real clear.

 

I was able to book online and got a senior rate of $34.00/pp.

 

We have traveled several times with a couple where the wife has a totally separate suitcase for her shoes.

 

Ourselves just flip-flops, dress shoes, and tennis shoes.

 

Since our trip to the train station is on a Sunday morning, I'm guessing commuter traffic shouldn't be a problem. ;)

[hollydog]

I did a tremendous amount of research to find a "best bang for your buck" hotel in Vancouver for our upcoming cruise. Finally decided on Times Square Suites. It was hands-down the best value! I'll be putting in a full report when we get back.

 

Good choice; we loved the place but sadly could only stay one night post-cruise last year. Stanley Park was a great place to run/walk and we found many restaurants to choose from. Tip: watch their website. We booked and several weeks later noticed they were running a special for the month we would be there. I called, they were happy to re-book at the new lower rate. We will definitely stay there next time we sail in or out of Vancouver.

[sbfanatic]

Has anyone stayed at the Hotel Blue Horizon? If so, feedback please.

[mapleleaves]

Has anyone stayed at the Hotel Blue Horizon? If so, feedback please.

 

it gets great reviews on this forum. Just use the Search tool above and SEARCH THIS FORUM for " blue horizon". Use the quotes and it will bring up many past comments. I think the search tool is a more reliable resource than TripAdvisor where some reviews are 'staged' or solicited.