**** Vancouver FAQ Thread **** A few updates in main post!

[mom_rules]

Another question-DCL site shows "Guest onboard" in Vancouver at 3pm. This seems to be earlier than their other cruises.
Does that mean the lifeboat drill will be at 3? Ship depart at 4ish?

 

[trimix]

I looked at the Amtrak web site yesterday and the Bellingham Amtrak station looked quite a ways from the airport. Does anyone know if there is a shuttle between them or are we limited to cabs?

Three options: taxi, public bus, or hotel shuttle.
The taxi, I have been told, is about $20.
The public bus is cheaper but much slower, and a pain with luggage.
If you want to take the morning train to Vancouver, a better choice if you want to enjoy the view in May or late August, then several Bellingham hotels will pick you up at the airport and drop you at the train station.

But more convenient and cheaper than Amtrak are the buses like QuickShuttle.

 

[poohj80]

But more convenient and cheaper than Amtrak are the buses like QuickShuttle.

We're actually thinking of taking the train up and Quick Shuttle back.

 

[Padres19]

The announcement that DCL was sailing to Alaska in/out of Vancouver was like a dream come true for me. We've sailed DCL twice before and my daughters LOVED IT, my wife and I have always talked about going on an Alaskan cruise, AND we have a second home in Vancouver (where we spend a total of about one month each year). So this was absolutely perfect.

We have been taking our twin daughters to Vancouver since before they were one year old, they are now almost seven. Vancouver is, bar none, THE most kid friendly city in the entire world. There is an absolute TON of things for kids to do there, so do yourself a favor and try to spend a day or two there before and/or after your cruise. While many of the obvious suggestions have already been posted and discussed, I cannot emphasize how much kids ages 2-8 will absolutely LOVE the Kid's Market on Granville Island. It is a two story marketplace with arcades, playground and tons of great shops entirely devoted to kids. Behind it is a terrific pond that is always full of ducks and to the side of the pond is a great waterpark that is FREE (waterslides, spray cannons, etc--all for free). Granville Island is on the south side of False Creek. On the far east side of False Creek is the Vancouver Science World. It looks like a giant golf ball, but it is full of three stories of amazing things that your kids will love, and the hourly shows that they put on are fantastic. Kids from 2-12 will all have age appropriate places to go to and things to do. Kids (and grown ups) of all ages will really enjoy getting around False Creek on the water taxi's (False Creek Ferries or, my favorite, the Aquabus) which stops at Granville Island and at Science World. Vancouver is a remarkably compact city and it is very walkable to get from almost any hotel that you will be staying in to the water taxi station on the city side of False Creek. By far, THE best way to spend some time in Vancovuer as a family, is to rent a bike and ride around Stanley Park. If you only have an hour or two, just ride around the Sea Wall. If you have more time, stop off at the Aquarium (one of the world's best), visit the totem poles, stop at the water park or the pool, ride through the gardens, etc. There are lots of bike shops all over town, so there will be one close to wherever you are staying.

I could, and over the next year, probably will go on and on about places to go and things to do in this wonderful city, but I wanted to post something to get started to truly encourage all of you to seriously consider spending a day or two or more in Vancouver, rather than just flying in, transfering to/from the boat and flying out.

I can absolutely promise you that whatever age your kids are, they will love Vancouver.

 

[piglet33]

The announcement that DCL was sailing to Alaska in/out of Vancouver was like a dream come true for me. We've sailed DCL twice before and my daughters LOVED IT, my wife and I have always talked about going on an Alaskan cruise, AND we have a second home in Vancouver (where we spend a total of about one month each year). So this was absolutely perfect.

We have been taking our twin daughters to Vancouver since before they were one year old, they are now almost seven. Vancouver is, bar none, THE most kid friendly city in the entire world. There is an absolute TON of things for kids to do there, so do yourself a favor and try to spend a day or two there before and/or after your cruise. While many of the obvious suggestions have already been posted and discussed, I cannot emphasize how much kids ages 2-8 will absolutely LOVE the Kid's Market on Granville Island. It is a two story marketplace with arcades, playground and tons of great shops entirely devoted to kids. Behind it is a terrific pond that is always full of ducks and to the side of the pond is a great waterpark that is FREE (waterslides, spray cannons, etc--all for free). Granville Island is on the south side of False Creek. On the far east side of False Creek is the Vancouver Science World. It looks like a giant golf ball, but it is full of three stories of amazing things that your kids will love, and the hourly shows that they put on are fantastic. Kids from 2-12 will all have age appropriate places to go to and things to do. Kids (and grown ups) of all ages will really enjoy getting around False Creek on the water taxi's (False Creek Ferries or, my favorite, the Aquabus) which stops at Granville Island and at Science World. Vancouver is a remarkably compact city and it is very walkable to get from almost any hotel that you will be staying in to the water taxi station on the city side of False Creek. By far, THE best way to spend some time in Vancovuer as a family, is to rent a bike and ride around Stanley Park. If you only have an hour or two, just ride around the Sea Wall. If you have more time, stop off at the Aquarium (one of the world's best), visit the totem poles, stop at the water park or the pool, ride through the gardens, etc. There are lots of bike shops all over town, so there will be one close to wherever you are staying.

I could, and over the next year, probably will go on and on about places to go and things to do in this wonderful city, but I wanted to post something to get started to truly encourage all of you to seriously consider spending a day or two or more in Vancouver, rather than just flying in, transfering to/from the boat and flying out.

I can absolutely promise you that whatever age your kids are, they will love Vancouver.

Wow! Thanks for this info. My DD will be almost 9 for our Alaska cruise so we will definitely be keeping these things in mind.

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

This is awesome! I'm glad to see someone started this thread (thank you!) and thanks to the mods for making it a sticky!

I can't wait to take the time to really research Alaska and Vancouver! (right after my certification exam and interview....)
We purchased airfare and transfers through DCL. We are also going to be going the day before...We don't want to miss the ship! I figured if we purchased airfare through DCL then we would be locked into a rate-if the airfare went up then we would already have something set in stone.
Any idea what hotel they will be putting us up at? What is DCL going to do for transfers? Will we get airport to hotel then hotel to port then port to airport? More importantly-are we going ot have to take our own luggage to port!?! (Sorry, its the little things like that that I think about. DCL has always thought of every detail! I'd find it hard to believe that they didn't think this through too!)

We are so excited about this cruise!
I look forward to planning with you all!

 

[DisneyParkFan]

This is awesome! I'm glad to see someone started this thread (thank you!) and thanks to the mods for making it a sticky!

I can't wait to take the time to really research Alaska and Vancouver! (right after my certification exam and interview....)
We purchased airfare and transfers through DCL. We are also going to be going the day before...We don't want to miss the ship! I figured if we purchased airfare through DCL then we would be locked into a rate-if the airfare went up then we would already have something set in stone.
Any idea what hotel they will be putting us up at? What is DCL going to do for transfers? Will we get airport to hotel then hotel to port then port to airport? More importantly-are we going ot have to take our own luggage to port!?! (Sorry, its the little things like that that I think about. DCL has always thought of every detail! I'd find it hard to believe that they didn't think this through too!)

We are so excited about this cruise!
I look forward to planning with you all!

I'm curious too. Haven't booked yet. Still trying to figure out if from the Midwest, we need to come in the day/night before to be on the ship on time (Did that for the DCL in FL just to be safe) and where we might get put up for the night.

 

[Alexander]

DCL might have shuttles from Sea-Tac airport in place by 2011. How do the other numerous cruiselines manage?

I was kind of thinking this too. I am hoping anyway! It is considerably cheaper (about $400/person) to fly into Seattle from NY than to Vancouver.

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

The Breakdown...
Here is the break down as it is seen on my confirmation...
It looks like DCL is charging $800/person for airfare! I've found in on Delta for about $400 and Jetblue doesn't have their prices out yet...But for around Christmas time *I figured I'd look at peak season-worst case scenario* Jetblue is about $500--OH and That was for NY to Seattle...I haven't checked anything directly to Vancouver yet...maybe I should
There is not a price for transfers as it shows on my confirmation.
We are going to Vancouver the day before. They are charging us $294.00. They are putting us up at Fairmont Pacific Rim. The lowest price I could find on their website for 2010 at the same time we are going in 2011 (Sailing May 31) The Fairmont price is $399-Canadian...After converting it..it came to $379 American.

I think in the end with Transfers and such...it all works out...Who knows!

HTHs

 

[Nutty4Disney]

Thanks for all the great information. I am sure I will be watching this thread closely over the next two years. We are on the last Alaskan cruise so hopefully I can gain some knowledge from those that travel before me. The only thing that scares me is airfare to Vancouver. We are thinking of flying into Seattle and taking Amtrak to Vancouver. No way would we arrive the same day. We did that with the Panama Canal Cruise and we were so stressed out traveling from the Midwest to LA I thought I was going to have a stroke. We may spend a few days in Seattle and/or Vancouver and take the shuttle back to Seattle after the cruise.

 

[poohj80]

Thanks for all the great information. I am sure I will be watching this thread closely over the next two years. We are on the last Alaskan cruise so hopefully I can gain some knowledge from those that travel before me. The only thing that scares me is airfare to Vancouver. We are thinking of flying into Seattle and taking Amtrak to Vancouver. No way would we arrive the same day. We did that with the Panama Canal Cruise and we were so stressed out traveling from the Midwest to LA I thought I was going to have a stroke. We may spend a few days in Seattle and/or Vancouver and take the shuttle back to Seattle after the cruise.

We'll be cruising with you! We are strongly considering taking the train from Seattle to Vancouver but taking the bus for the return trip. Since cruise leaves on Tues, we'll probably fly to Seattle Saturday and enjoy a day there before training to Vancouver Monday.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Thanks for the info! We're planning on booking the LA-Vancouver repo with some extra points. Of course, we just decided today, and MS was closed - can't wait until tomorrow! We live in Oregon, so we'll fly one way to LA, then one way home from either Vancouver or Seattle. Looks like maybe taking a train into Seattle is a better bet?

 

[mrsmoore]

Thanks for the info! We're planning on booking the LA-Vancouver repo with some extra points. Of course, we just decided today, and MS was closed - can't wait until tomorrow! We live in Oregon, so we'll fly one way to LA, then one way home from either Vancouver or Seattle. Looks like maybe taking a train into Seattle is a better bet?

Depending on where in Oregon you are, the same train that goes Vancouver to Seattle goes as far south as Eugene, It is the Cascade something. It might be worth a train all the way home?

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Does anyone know if there will be a formal night? Or is it too soon to tell?

 

[wdhinn89]

Does anyone know if there will be a formal night? Or is it too soon to tell?

I would think everything planned would be very similar to a typical DCL 7 day cruise. One formal night, one semi-formal night and all the usual shows.

The only exception may be Pirate Night. Curious what they do with that.

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

I would think everything planned would be very similar to a typical DCL 7 day cruise. One formal night, one semi-formal night and all the usual shows.

The only exception may be Pirate Night. Curious what they do with that.

Cool thanks! We have done 3 days and 4 days...but this is our first 7 days! SOOO Excited!

 

[BLTOH]

Ok at this point even though it would save us money to go into washington and then amtrak into vancouver i am considering just saying forget it and pay the extra cost to go into vancouver.
Reasons being
1: the hotel stay would be required no matter what because of the amtrak schedule
2: having an 8 yr old that may not tolerate the long time frames involved of it all
3: we have a timeshare we can use in vancouver and not have to even bother with the extra hotel expenses

My questions now are
1: what airlines do not charge for luggage for the international flight and how many would be allowed?
2: can i pack a regular bottle of shampoo and conditioner in our checked luggage with out any problems?
3.since we will be doing a timeshare what is the price range of groceries?

we have not flown since 1998 so this is a whole new experience with the new rules and such.

 

[jilljill]

Ok at this point even though it would save us money to go into washington and then amtrak into vancouver i am considering just saying forget it and pay the extra cost to go into vancouver.
Reasons being
1: the hotel stay would be required no matter what because of the amtrak schedule
2: having an 8 yr old that may not tolerate the long time frames involved of it all
3: we have a timeshare we can use in vancouver and not have to even bother with the extra hotel expenses

My questions now are
1: what airlines do not charge for luggage for the international flight and how many would be allowed?
2: can i pack a regular bottle of shampoo and conditioner in our checked luggage with out any problems?
3.since we will be doing a timeshare what is the price range of groceries?

we have not flown since 1998 so this is a whole new experience with the new rules and such.

1. Since the flight would not be a transatlantic international flight you need to check with each airline that flies out of your closest airport to see what and if their luggage fees are.
2. Yes you can pack full size bottles in your checked luggage.

 

[BLTOH]

1. Since the flight would not be a transatlantic international flight you need to check with each airline that flies out of your closest airport to see what and if their luggage fees are.
2. Yes you can pack full size bottles in your checked luggage.

good to here on the full size bottles..didnt really want to pack baby bottles since we will be on vacation roughly 2 weeks

Northwest is the only non-stop flight near us and all their site says is Full Coach Y fare gets 2 free check luggage but then below it it says 1st 15 2nd 25 so i am confused.

 

[jilljill]

good to here on the full size bottles..didnt really want to pack baby bottles since we will be on vacation roughly 2 weeks

Northwest is the only non-stop flight near us and all their site says is Full Coach Y fare gets 2 free check luggage but then below it it says 1st 15 2nd 25 so i am confused.

DCL provides shampoo, conditioner and lotion in the cabins, also bar soap.

I checked NW's site and the policy is clear for those traveling in the US and to/from Canada. Yes, full fare Y coach fare gets 2 bags free as do elite members. All others will pay for their bags. If you are not an elite member or are not paying full fare Y Coach you need to look at the right hand column to determine your baggage fees.