Vancouver Info if needed

[peymas]

Thanks so much Putterdude. Can you take something to drink with you on the train? Is it like the airlines where you have to buy that something after you go through security check?

[martincath]

The train does not have liquid limits like flying - as long as you're not bringing on alcoholic drinks they should not care.

 

A&W inside the station unfortunately does not open until 7:30am or later, but the Tim Hortons across Terminal is open 24/7; if you are a McDs fan there's a 24/7 one of those just a block down Main Street; and also a 24/7 Subway at Main & National. I'm always surprised if I DON'T see at least a few boxes of Timmies donuts being carried onboard the train!

 

Oatmeal and breakfast sandwiches on the train are quite passable so unless you feel the need to actually eat before boarding, if you want something hot I would simply eat on the train - lots of folks have the same idea though, so head to the bistro car as soon as you board or wait until about 45mins after the train leaves.

[Putterdude]

Thanks so much Putterdude. Can you take something to drink with you on the train? Is it like the airlines where you have to buy that something after you go through security check?

 

Sorry I did respond to your question last evening but it would appear that the post got lost. There is nothing after you clear CBP at the station, you proceed directly to the train. Personally I have never taken any beverages on the train but I can see no reason why you can't. Just be sure that you choose a seat on the right hand side of the train for the view.

[peymas]

I am guessing that Tim Horton's has good donuts? Maybe we can try those for breakfast. Thank you both for the information. Hopefully we can get a seat on the right side. I am definitely NOT a morning person and 4:00 a.m. is the middle of the night for me. My husband, on the other hand, gets up with the chickens. He will be hungry. Me not so much at that time of the morning. I would like to take the evening train, but I don't want to arrive in Seattle after dark. Thanks again.

[Putterdude]

I am guessing that Tim Horton's has good donuts? Maybe we can try those for breakfast. Thank you both for the information. Hopefully we can get a seat on the right side. I am definitely NOT a morning person and 4:00 a.m. is the middle of the night for me. My husband, on the other hand, gets up with the chickens. He will be hungry. Me not so much at that time of the morning. I would like to take the evening train, but I don't want to arrive in Seattle after dark. Thanks again.

 

Tim's menu does centre around donut products and coffee, however they have a number of other breakfast items. There may well be a Tom's close to your hotel so hsve a look. Millions of Canadians love Tim's coffee, however I am not one of them, it's blended for cream and sugar which I don't use.

[peymas]

Personally when I drink coffee, I have a little coffee in my cream and sugar! ha I drink an international french vanilla. I will look for a Tim's. Maybe we can get our donuts the night before. On second thought they may not last the night with my husband around. Sounds like Tim's for breakfast. Thanks

[3 WI Cruisers]

Hi, we will be disembarking HAL Nieuw Amsterdam May 27, 2017. Is a 12:50pm flight out of VYR doable or is that too early? I have what I think is a very good airfare on a return flight to Milwaukee and wanted to make sure we should be able to make that flight time before I actually purchase it. Does HAL offer transfers to the airport (for a fee I'm sure) and would this be the quickest option or would there be a less expensive way to get there in time for this flight?

 

I'll probably be back here with more Vancouver questions. We have a week before the cruise that we are trying to figure out what we should see and do. We were originally planning on flying into Seattle Sat. May 13, staying a night or 2 there, then taking the ferry to Vancouver Island and spending a night or 2 in Victoria (we definitely want to go to Butchart Gardens) and then the rest of the time in Vancouver before emarking the Nieuw Amsterdam on May 20. The more I look at things though I'm thinking we should just skip Seattle (we spent a few days there about 5 years ago) and fly into Vancouver and spend our 1 or 2 nights in Victoria and the rest of the week in Vancouver. The car rental would be much less expensive if we skip Seattle and I just realized if we use our Marriott Rewards points that I have been saving and saving we could use 4 nights worth of points at 1 of the Vancouver Marriotts and get the 5th night "free" which would be a nice savings too.

 

Cheryl

[martincath]

Answers in red.

Hi, we will be disembarking HAL Nieuw Amsterdam May 27, 2017. Is a 12:50pm flight out of VYR doable or is that too early?

Plenty late enough - anything after 11am is a good bet provided you self-disembark; even if you want to use cruise transportation a flight after 12:30 is more than late enough.

 

Does HAL offer transfers to the airport (for a fee I'm sure) and would this be the quickest option or would there be a less expensive way to get there in time for this flight?

Yes, HAL and all others offer insanely overpriced transport. It is literally the worst option in price and speed though - even a single traveler can take their own cab to the airport for a price comparable to a cruise transfer (cab = ~CAD$35, cruise transfers run US$25-35pp). Unless you are terrified of public transit ($4pp for Skytrain straight to YVR, 3 block walk from pier) or taxi drivers, or physically incapable of moving your own suitcases (even then a porter and a cab is likely still cheaper!) you'd be foolish to take a cruiseline transfer (unrefundable leftover OBC is the only sane reason I can think of to do it).

 

I'll probably be back here with more Vancouver questions.

Feel free.

 

As to what to do where, skipping Seattle is a great idea;-) It's a fine city, but if you've never been here or the island, why repeat somewhere you have been? Also, have you considered flying in to YYJ instead of YVR? It does take time getting between Vancouver & Victoria, so unless you fly expect to spend half a day in transit (at least 3-4 hours each way).

 

Having a car on the island is a very good idea - transit is poor, many great sites are far apart, hotels with free parking abound - but unless you plan to drive to lots of places outside Vancouver, a car can be more hindrance than help - parking is $$$, hard to find at times, transit is excellent and cheap, and frankly you can walk from any downtown hotel to anything you'd want to do downtown unless you are mobility-challenged.

[3 WI Cruisers]

martincath thank you so much for the quick response!

 

A 3 block walk and the Shytrain sounds very doable for us, I just wasn't sure on the timing so it's good to know that that will work for that 12:50pm flight!

 

I just checked and it would be about $50.00 each more for both my husband and I to fly to Victoria vs Vancouver and if our daughter joins us it's about the same price for her to fly to either place from Orlando,FL so now you have me thinking that might be the best way to go. I already have more questions. Would it be difficult to take the ferry from Victoria to Vancouver with our luggage? I am thinking we will probably each have 1 checked bag and 1 carry on. We would be going from Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen on the ferry right? Then would we just take a cab to whichever Marriott hotel we decide on in Vancouver or is there something similar to the Skytrain that we could take from Tsawwassen into downtown?

 

We would probably want a car for at least a day or 2 in Vancouver because we'd like to go to the Sea to Sky gondola and possibly Grouse Mountain and/or the Capillano Suspension bridge but I can check to see what the price would be for that. I have sometimes found that renting a car for a week or close to a week is almost cheaper than renting it for a day or 2. I'll check on that and parking prices at the hotels we're considering.

 

Cheryl

[tikibargirl]

martincath thank you so much for the quick response!

 

A 3 block walk and the Shytrain sounds very doable for us, I just wasn't sure on the timing so it's good to know that that will work for that 12:50pm flight!

 

I just checked and it would be about $50.00 each more for both my husband and I to fly to Victoria vs Vancouver and if our daughter joins us it's about the same price for her to fly to either place from Orlando,FL so now you have me thinking that might be the best way to go. I already have more questions. Would it be difficult to take the ferry from Victoria to Vancouver with our luggage? I am thinking we will probably each have 1 checked bag and 1 carry on. We would be going from Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen on the ferry right? Then would we just take a cab to whichever Marriott hotel we decide on in Vancouver or is there something similar to the Skytrain that we could take from Tsawwassen into downtown?

 

We would probably want a car for at least a day or 2 in Vancouver because we'd like to go to the Sea to Sky gondola and possibly Grouse Mountain and/or the Capillano Suspension bridge but I can check to see what the price would be for that. I have sometimes found that renting a car for a week or close to a week is almost cheaper than renting it for a day or 2. I'll check on that and parking prices at the hotels we're considering.

 

Cheryl

 

We just got back from Vancouver/Alaska on July 3rd. We spent 2 days pre cruise in Vancouver and the day we got off the ship we had 9 hours to kill with 8 people and a ton of luggage.

 

We wanted to make sure we saw the most we could see of Vancouver while we were there.

 

There is a FREE coach bus at Canada Place that leaves every 1/2 hour to grouse mountain. It was a nice ride they gave you a lot of history along the way. We stayed at the Hyatt and were able to walk down to Canada Place. Day 2 we booked Landsea Tours. We booked a 4 hour private tour and we saw so much! The tour guide was awesome! Then we booked them again for the 9 hour tour the day we had to catch our red eye flight at 11 pm. They took us to Squamish made a couple of great stops along the way (Shannon Falls and another beautiful park sorry can't think of the name right now). Then we took the sea to sky gondola up the mountain and spent a few hours up there and ate lunch.

 

I would highly recommend them as a tour company if you would prefer to do that instead of rent a car. :)

[martincath]

Again, answers in red.

martincath thank you so much for the quick response!

No problem.

 

A 3 block walk and the Shytrain sounds very doable for us, I just wasn't sure on the timing so it's good to know that that will work for that 12:50pm flight!

SkyTrain is usually the fastest end-to-end trip unless you get a cabbie who speeds rampantly and have a very short wait to get in the cab in the first place. NB though that you can only pay for transit with local cash, so if your credit cards are not yet Chip & PIN enabled at time of cruise be sure you keep some CAD to hand.

 

I just checked and it would be about $50.00 each more for both my husband and I to fly to Victoria vs Vancouver and if our daughter joins us it's about the same price for her to fly to either place from Orlando,FL so now you have me thinking that might be the best way to go.

At $50pp, it would be hard to beat that price for one-way trip on ferries unless you took public transit on both ends (a real hassle with luggage). Flying in to YYJ is therefore definitely a financially wise thing to do.

 

I already have more questions. Would it be difficult to take the ferry from Victoria to Vancouver with our luggage? I am thinking we will probably each have 1 checked bag and 1 carry on.

Ferry no problem. Depending how you get TO the ferry, possible issues...

 

We would be going from Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen on the ferry right? Yes - or to Horseshoe Bay, or from Nanaimo (two terminals there). There are multiple routes, but unless you use your own rental car Swartz-Tsawassen is the easiest to get to.

 

Then would we just take a cab to whichever Marriott hotel we decide on in Vancouver or is there something similar to the Skytrain that we could take from Tsawwassen into downtown?

Skytrain has a connecting bus route that goes to & from Tsawassen ferry. However, Vancouver buses are NOT set up for luggage. Anything that doesn't fit on your lap or under a typical public transit bus seat (i.e. small backpacks) is technically not allowed. At a quiet time of day when seats are not all filled, probably no enforcement - but you might be asked to disembark if your bags take up a seat, a wheelchair/bike spot, or block an aisle. If you refuse to get off, it's a $150 fine.

 

We would probably want a car for at least a day or 2 in Vancouver because we'd like to go to the Sea to Sky gondola and possibly Grouse Mountain and/or the Capillano Suspension bridge but I can check to see what the price would be for that. I have sometimes found that renting a car for a week or close to a week is almost cheaper than renting it for a day or 2. I'll check on that and parking prices at the hotels we're considering.

I would suggest renting in Victoria as you really need a car to maximise sightseeing on the island. This is the only way to see much of the island - and some of the best things like Cathedral Grove and pretty much anything else outside Victoria. Even Butchart, which has a lot of tour options from Victoria, is cheaper and more flexible to visit by car (shuttle tours are about $30pp on top of the ticket price of the gardens).

 

Check pricing to see if dropping that car in Vancouver adds much to the price, and get your out-of-town sightseeing done as early as possible. Then take the car back and use transit/bikes/cabs/walking to see things actually in Vancouver itself so you're not paying for car/gas/parking after the first day.

 

Taking the car on the ferry will cost about $55, but that's MUCH cheaper than using one of the coach services that will pick you up in Victoria and drop you in Vancouver (even if it's just you and hubby expect to pay double the car rate, with your daughter too even bigger savings).

 

Few hotels offer free parking even for duration of stay - our city is very compact, land is at a premium. You might get a deal, but I'd budget at least $50 a day for hotel parking and site parking if you plan to drive around to urban areas.

 

Cheryl

 

Edit - should have specifically mentioned that if you take the ferry from Naniamo to Horseshoe bay you are only about 30mins drive from the Sea to Sky gondola. Easily done before you head south into Vancouver. Cap and Grouse both have free shuttles from downtown, so while parking is cheap ($5 IIRC) it's still money you don't have to spend.

 

Personally with a car I'd do Lynn Canyon over Capilano in a heartbeat - it's free instead of almost $40pp, and frankly more enjoyable due to fewer locals, almost no tourists, and a genuinely educational Ecocentre.

Edited August 5, 2016 by martincath

[peymas]

Martincath I just saw your name on our meet and greet for September legend cruise. I am hoping to thank you for your help in person if that is you.

[Setme2sail]

Never been to Vancouver. Have heard about great King Crab dinners, any suggestions

[Putterdude]

Never been to Vancouver. Have heard about great King Crab dinners, any suggestions

 

King crab is not a local fishery, it is a northern Alaskan fishery and the season for the fishery is October thru January.....so any king crab you may have in Vancouver has been likely been frozen and no species of crab freezes well. IMO to pay for king crab is a waste of money. Personally, I would focus on Dungeons crab which is available fresh most months of the year and is a superior product. Below are restaurants that I would recommend.

 

http://www.glowbalgroup.com/fish-shack/#about-section

 

http://www.bluewatercafe.net/

 

http://rohvan.com/

[martincath]

Never been to Vancouver. Have heard about great King Crab dinners, any suggestions

As long as you have a big enough group, you can enjoy fresh Kings right from the tank in several restaurants around Vancouver and surrounds. Not sure when you're cruising - if it's this season then you might be out of luck, there's only so much tank space, but if it's for next year you should be able to find live crabs well into the summer. I had a quick check on the usual places and don't see anyone advertising crab feasts right now.

 

Even in season there are limitations in order to get the good stuff - you're definitely going to be eating Chinese; you will have to buy a whole crab (very rarely under 8lbs, usually 10+); and they're generally sold as a combo feast with 3-5 different courses using the crab in different ways, plus dessert, veggies, rice etc. which realistically mean that you need at least 8 people, or 6 with BIG appetites! If you can't handle the above, it's frozen crab legs for you just like everywhere in Alaska!

 

Sun Sui Wah have been doing this for decades (also famous for Squab - well worth adding this on to the meal); Red Star kickstarted some new crab dishes a few years ago; but Dynasty has been the place I consistently hear is doing the best seafood dishes these days - and it's pretty convenient for downtown hotels, since it's just across False Creek on Broadway ($15-20 cab ride from most downtown core locations, or a 1 zone transit ticket for $2.75, or even walk if you want to burn some calories before/after dinner).

 

Expect to pay at least $400 for the meal (depends how many courses, and the price to go up as the date moves on - they're expensive to keep alive).

[xlxo]

King crab is not a local fishery, it is a northern Alaskan fishery and the season for the fishery is October thru January.....so any king crab you may have in Vancouver has been likely been frozen and no species of crab freezes well.

fyi.... it's Alaskan ports that will serve you frozen crab. Vancouver have crab hotels that keep them around for summer Alaskan cruisers in Chinese restaurant aquariums.

 

Are you happy with boil 'n butter? Would you like to try deep fried? garlic 'n ginger? baked? all of the above combo? Premium Chinese restaurants will meet that goal. Book ahead to secure availability for your large group!

 

http://www.followmefoodie.com/2014/04/dynasty-seafood-restaurant-alaskan-king-crab-dinner-vancouver/

Edited August 18, 2016 by xlxo

[RedVelvetEverytime]

Hi, bit of a short notice one here and I'd appreciate some advice as quick as you can please! I'm leaving on the 26th August and will be finishing my cruise in Vancouver with my flight not till 8pm.

 

We are not really sure what we want to do-we've heard the sky bridge (?) is amazing as is the whale watching but that's it. Also we aren't sure if we want to do a private tour or just hire a car.

 

Any advice would be very much appreciated-we are rather behind on everything as this is our honeymoon and we just got married last week so slightly forgot about our day in Vancouver as we had all other trips booked a long time ago.....

 

We are in our twenties and one has a back problem but we don't mind a bit of walking and not really keen on just going to museums/galleries all day.

 

Thanks, Gemma

[Sun lover 123]

You can do the pink "hop on / hop off" bus. You get it right outside the cruise terminal and it does a good job of giving an overview of Vancouver. Very convenient:)

[Putterdude]

Hi, bit of a short notice one here and I'd appreciate some advice as quick as you can please! I'm leaving on the 26th August and will be finishing my cruise in Vancouver with my flight not till 8pm.

 

We are not really sure what we want to do-we've heard the sky bridge (?) is amazing as is the whale watching but that's it. Also we aren't sure if we want to do a private tour or just hire a car.

 

Any advice would be very much appreciated-we are rather behind on everything as this is our honeymoon and we just got married last week so slightly forgot about our day in Vancouver as we had all other trips booked a long time ago.....

 

We are in our twenties and one has a back problem but we don't mind a bit of walking and not really keen on just going to museums/galleries all day.

 

Thanks, Gemma

 

While there is some whale watching out of Vancouver, Victoria is by far the better venue for that. Yes, the Capilano Suspension Bridge and its skywalk is a huge tourist favourite in Vancouver and they do offer a free shuttle from in front of Canada Place. You may also care to take a HOHO which will allow you to see a lot of Vancouver in a short period of time. I would recommend the Vancouver Trolley which also stops in front of Canada Place. With either of these tours you will need to check your luggage and there is a luggage checking service in Canada Place who will even transfer your luggage out to YVR. The one thing that most of us Vancouver types do recommend....do not rent a car....Vancouver is very car unfriendly.I hope you have a wonderful honeymoon and a long and happy life together.:)

 

 

http://www.cdsbaggage.ca/

[xlxo]

I'm leaving on the 26th August and will be finishing my cruise in Vancouver with my flight not till 8pm.

 

We are not really sure what we want to do-we've heard the sky bridge (?) is amazing as is the whale watching but that's it. Also we aren't sure if we want to do a private tour or just hire a car.

To clarify... there are two suspension bridges. The Capilano Suspension bridge is the closest and is the one most often mentioned. There is a new attraction called the "Sky Pilot Suspension Bridge". The Skypilot is part of the Sea to Sky gondola attraction and is ten times higher than Capilano! The elevation is higher than the Petronas buildings or Freedom Tower!

 

[YOUTUBE]pJdkKFNLYOE[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]VjmD6_v2200[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]N0w_TTUWV4I[/YOUTUBE]

 

LandSea offers a post-cruise tour to Sea2Sky. Your luggage will travel with you and end your day at the airport if you choose. See this link's itinerary.

http://vancouvertours.com/tour/post-cruise-sea-to-sky/

 

I do prefer the Capilano option. Have your luggage held at the cruise terminal and just get back by 4pm. An 8pm flight may be too early for the luggage transfer service. Discuss with CDS if this is an option for your flight.

Edited August 20, 2016 by xlxo

[Putterdude]

fyi.... it's Alaskan ports that will serve you frozen crab.

:confused:

 

Oh really, as I recall it was only a couple of months ago you were extolling the virtues of the wonderful fresh Alaskan King Crab you had in Juneau during the summer.

[martincath]

Hi, bit of a short notice one here and I'd appreciate some advice as quick as you can please! I'm leaving on the 26th August and will be finishing my cruise in Vancouver with my flight not till 8pm.

 

We are not really sure what we want to do-we've heard the sky bridge (?) is amazing as is the whale watching but that's it. Also we aren't sure if we want to do a private tour or just hire a car.

 

Any advice would be very much appreciated-we are rather behind on everything as this is our honeymoon and we just got married last week so slightly forgot about our day in Vancouver as we had all other trips booked a long time ago.....

 

We are in our twenties and one has a back problem but we don't mind a bit of walking and not really keen on just going to museums/galleries all day.

 

Thanks, Gemma

First, congratulations and good choice of honeymoon.

 

Second, I think xlxo covered the various combinations of bridge attractions that you may have been conflating so I won't repeat that part, but just add that if you do want to see out-of-town attractions then car hire can be very practical - luggage storage for the day, flexibility of where & when you go, possibility of dropping at the airport so you save cab or Skytrain fare.

 

If you did want to see downtown, or even Cap or Grouse just across the water, going carless is much less hassle - free shuttles go from right outside Canada Place to both of these attractions, and anything actually downtown brings parking woes and theft problems (we are a very, very safe town in terms of crimes against people, but opportunistic property theft, especially from cars, is rampant).

 

As to what to do - I know it's not what you're hoping to hear but really you need to 'hit the books' again. Vancouver is bigger than all the Alaskan cruise ports put together and you can basically do ANYTHING here. There's a reason we're constantly in the top three cities in the world for livability and general awesomeness. Not wanting to spend all day in museums and galleries removes a chunk of options, but you could still spend a week here constantly roaming around seeing things.

 

I'd suggest hitting Tripadvisor for the top attractions as voted by Joe Q Public, maybe look at a few lists on there too of 'how to spend a day in Vancouver' and see what jumps out at you. I could tell you what I would do with a day of Staycation, but unless you're also beerswilling foodie culture vultures what I think is best isn't likely to match what you would!

[dd likes to cruise]

Will be in Vancouver, downtown, for a few days prior to cruise. Is there a good place to purchase wine for us to take on board? Flying so really can't bring with us from home.

[Urban trekker]

Yes there will be a number of places both government run and private shops where you will be able to purchase wine - if you let us know which hotel you are staying at we will be able to give you the closest location - I will leave it to some of the other locals to tell you which are the better places as I am not much of a wine drinker - beer yes.

 

Cheers!

 

Dennis

[RedVelvetEverytime]

Thank you to everyone who posted so quickly!! Everything sounds amazing, I'll discuss them with my husband and hopefully get something sorted soon!! [emoji2]

 

 

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