A couple of Alaskan Cruise Questions

[Cerczm]

I’ve looked on Princess’ website, but I could not find theanswers to my questions, so I am hoping you all could help me.

 

My husband and I have booked an Alaskan cruisetour in June,departing from Vancouver. This will beour first time in Vancouver as well as in Alaska, so we are not familiar with eitherarea.

 

Our plan is to fly into Vancouver the day before the cruisedeparts , we have reservations at the Auberge Vancouver Hotel, which is locatedwithin walking distance to Canada Place. I emailed the hotel asking if they offertransportation from the airport to their hotel, but they do not. They informed me that we are to take the CanadaLine from the airport to the last stop, Waterfront Station. Finally my first question 😊,would you recommend us taking the Canada Line with all of our luggage (betweenthe two of us we’ll probably have 2 suitcases, 2 carry-ons, and a camera bag)? Or would it be more convenient to call a taxi? Now for my second question, for ourcruisetour we will be doing the cruise first and then the land portion second. Does Mt. McKinley Wilderness Lodge or DenaliPrincess hotel have laundry facilities? I know the ship has laundry, but I don’t think we will need to dolaundry until after we’re done cruising.

 

 

I know our cruise is a ways out, but I am sooo looking forwardto our first Alaskan cruise!

 

Thank you for your help!

[Captain Canuck]

1. dress in layers....weather changes quick so be ready to put on and take off clothes. should not be too cold so a waterproof jacket and a hoody or sweater should do the trick. small back pack to carry this stuff when you do not need it a good plan.

 

2. Canada Line is really easy to do. and cheap. taxi with luggage easier but subject to traffic so exact cost hard to calculate. Uber might be a choice.

 

3. there is a laundry https://www.princesslodges.com/princess-alaska-lodges/mckinley-lodge/mckinley-amenities/

 

have fun

[JF - retired RRT]

oops

[fishywood]

All (or most all anyways) you care to know about the Princess lodges can be found here:

 

https://www.princesslodges.com/princess-alaska-lodges/

 

Both the Denali Princess and Mt McKinley lodges list "laundry facilities" among their amenities.

Though should you find the time and a vacant machine the final day onboard the ship I would take advantage of it there.

[Coral]

There used to be flat rate from airport to downtown hotels (and other zones):

 

http://www.yvr.ca/en/passengers/transportation/taxis

 

There is a zone map at the bottom of the page. I would take a taxi myself.

[Potstech]

We use the Sky train everytime we travel to Vancouver which is one to two times a year. It is easy to use and is way less than the $50.00+ for a taxi ride. You will have to hump your luggage a .ittle ways from the plane to the station and it is about a 25 minute ride to Waterfront.

 

Yes there are laundry facilities in both the Denali and McKinley lodges but they do stay busy.

[martincath]

Taxi fixed rates are still in force per Coral's link - Auberge, like virtually all downtown hotels, is in the CAD$31 zone (call it $35 incl tip - and NB: that because it's on a zone border street the lower rate applies, but many cabbies will still try to charge you the $35 Canada Place zone fare - if they do, remind them it's right on the rate sheet that the lower zone applies and if you're like me, withhold their tip for being a d*ck!)

 

SkyTrain is designed for luggage, so your bags will all fit (and can be rolled on an off from the platforms easily). There's a wee bit of a hill from Waterfront up to Auberge. Due to the inbound AddFare, SkyTrain doesn't actually save you an awful lot of money compared to a cab - it's at least $7.85pp, and $9.10pp weekdays before 6:30pm to use SkyTrain inbound. If saving $15-20 is worth the hassle of dragging your bags an extra ~400 yards, take SkyTrain, if not, take a cab.

[moki'smommy]

delete--found my answer.

[parentsof5]

Do you have to have cash for the taxi, and can it be American?

[Coral]

You can pay via credit card.

 

I hate to use US cash in Vancouver. You get a bad exchange rate compared to using Canadian currency. They are happy to take it via taxi though.

[TravelingEA]

We had good luck with the Canada Line. We took it from downtown Vancouver to the airport and it was very cheap. We each had a suitcase and carry-on It was a Saturday with reduced rates. My wife is over 65, so a special price for her. I don't think it was more than a couple of dollars each US, after the exchange was applied to our credit card. I don't think Uber is an option in Vancouver, or at least is was not last time we were there.

[Captain Canuck]

I am new to using Uber...tried it the first time in LA pre cruise....cleaner than any taxi I have ever been in..also like that fare is done before ride...unbelievably I was scammed by an Athens Greece cab driver...(think I was the only one ever....sarcasm alert)...why I would go Uber rather than cab if available

[Cruise Raider]

I am new to using Uber...tried it the first time in LA pre cruise....cleaner than any taxi I have ever been in..also like that fare is done before ride...unbelievably I was scammed by an Athens Greece cab driver...(think I was the only one ever....sarcasm alert)...why I would go Uber rather than cab if available

 

Uber isn't available in Canada yet ... at least according to my Canadian friends.

I have taken the sky train but only had one carry on piece of luggage so it was good. It would be a struggle with as much luggage as you mention you will have.

I second taking the flat rate cab ride from the airport. Last year, it was about $27 per carload in US $, plus tip, so think it came to about $32 - $35 for us. Just make sure the cab driver knows you want the flat rate and not the metered rate. Even if it is a bit more now, I think it would still be worth it to go door to door and help with your luggage. The sky train is just that ... it is elevated so you have to get up and down from the platforms and then drag your luggage from the train station to the hotel.

PS -- there were people that worked at the airport (YVR) that were really helpful in giving us this information and pointing us in the right direction.