Dumb question about Canadian postage

[Sarah'sMomfrom PA]

I know that this is a dumb question but I have quite a few Canadian postage stamps (and I have no idea from where) and will be taking an Alaskan cruise that ends in Vancouver, B.C. If I want to mail a standard letter to a friend in Australia, how much postage would I have to put on the envelope in order to mail it. How much would it be for airmail? (In the states, we can send it airmail or snailmail!) Thanks in advance. I appreciate it!

 

[bankr63]

I know that this is a dumb question but I have quite a few Canadian postage stamps (and I have no idea from where) and will be taking an Alaskan cruise that ends in Vancouver, B.C. If I want to mail a standard letter to a friend in Australia, how much postage would I have to put on the envelope in order to mail it. How much would it be for airmail? (In the states, we can send it airmail or snailmail!) Thanks in advance. I appreciate it!

Current Canada Post rates for letter:

International
Delivery speed
4–7 days

Price of a stamp
$2.50/stamp (0–30 g)
$3.60/stamp (30–50 g)
$5.90/stamp (50–100 g)

I am assuming you have denominated stamps (cash value)? Much of postage converted to class stamps a few years ago, so a "P" stamp is good for a standard domestic letter (<30g, fits through a standard mail slot). This allows CP to raise the rates over time without invalidating postage that people still have on hand. The current "value" of a P stamp is $1.00.

If the delivery timing is not good, you can use XpressPost, but each one is metered so you would have to stop at a Post Office to send.

 

[xlxo]

Or you can just walk into a post office and they will process everything there. 4 block walk from the cruise terminal. May be a closer one to your hotel.

https://www.canadapost.ca/cpotools/apps/fpo/personal/findPostOffice

 

[Sarah'sMomfrom PA]

Yes..I have a few that are marked 17 and a few marked 20 and a whole bunch marked 5 so I am assuming that I just add them together to total to equal the $2.50? Any tips on what we should see in Vancouver..we are only there for the day after we get off of the cruise (if I had more time, I would have loved to go to Victoria Island but just can't fit that in).

 

[bankr63]

Yes..I have a few that are marked 17 and a few marked 20 and a whole bunch marked 5 so I am assuming that I just add them together to total to equal the $2.50? Any tips on what we should see in Vancouver..we are only there for the day after we get off of the cruise (if I had more time, I would have loved to go to Victoria Island but just can't fit that in).

Exactly, then you can just drop the letter in any mailbox.

 

[bankr63]

I'll let a local chime in with the best things to see. It's been a long time since I've been to the left coast, but a couple of my favorites are Granville Island Market, Stanley Park, and the Gastown area.

 

[xlxo]

Any tips on what we should see in Vancouver..we are only there for the day after we get off of the cruise (if I had more time, I would have loved to go to Victoria Island but just can't fit that in)

• Grouse Mountain
  
• Capilano Suspension Bridge (savings after 5pm)
  
• Fly Over Canada in the evening (closes at 9pm)
  

 

[Mama Bear Me2]

Hi! I'm "assuming" that you will be docking at the cruise terminal that's by Pan Pacific hotel.

If this is the case, you will be very close (across the street from) the "Tourism Vancouver Visitor Centre" (Plaza Level, 200 Burrard Street, Tel: 604-682-2222). They can help you with ideas for your 1 day visit, give you maps, coupons, brochures and direct you to the nearest postal outlet.

In the meantime, you can start planning your visit (ie. get ideas) by visiting their website at the following link:

https://www.tourismvancouver.com/

* Tip: Use google maps to check out distances (ie. walking, driving).


If you can't make it to the Tourism Vancouver office for information, there is a postal outlet at the following location:

Postal Outlet: Rexall Drugstore (499 Granville Street / Tel: (604) 801-6991))

* This Rexall is about a 8 - 10 minute walk from Pan Pacific Hotel (again assuming that you are docking at this cruise ship terminal).

* Tip: ask them to "weigh" your mail item & they can advise "exactly" how much postage you will need. If you don't have enough stamps you can purchase the remainder.

The above noted postal outlet is just one of several that you can walk to from the Pan Pacific Cruise Ship Terminal ... perhaps Tourism Vancouver can direct you to a "closer" location if there is one that's closer.

Good luck and enjoy your visit!

 

[morrik5]

When we flew in for our daughter's UBC convocation we flew in and had arranged for a city bus tour as we had to fly back home the next day. It will take you to see everything bnkr63 mentioned above.

 

[Sarah'sMomfrom PA]

Hi! I'm "assuming" that you will be docking at the cruise terminal that's by Pan Pacific hotel.

If this is the case, you will be very close (across the street from) the "Tourism Vancouver Visitor Centre" (Plaza Level, 200 Burrard Street, Tel: 604-682-2222). They can help you with ideas for your 1 day visit, give you maps, coupons, brochures and direct you to the nearest postal outlet.

In the meantime, you can start planning your visit (ie. get ideas) by visiting their website at the following link:

https://www.tourismvancouver.com/

* Tip: Use google maps to check out distances (ie. walking, driving).


If you can't make it to the Tourism Vancouver office for information, there is a postal outlet at the following location:

Postal Outlet: Rexall Drugstore (499 Granville Street / Tel: (604) 801-6991))

* This Rexall is about a 8 - 10 minute walk from Pan Pacific Hotel (again assuming that you are docking at this cruise ship terminal).

* Tip: ask them to "weigh" your mail item & they can advise "exactly" how much postage you will need. If you don't have enough stamps you can purchase the remainder.

The above noted postal outlet is just one of several that you can walk to from the Pan Pacific Cruise Ship Terminal ... perhaps Tourism Vancouver can direct you to a "closer" location if there is one that's closer.

Good luck and enjoy your visit!

Thank you so much....we are looking forward to visiting Vancouver! And yes, we will be arriving at the cruise terminal. Any suggestions on a hotel? We had reservations at the Fairmount which my daughter was going to pay for but the cost is over $600.00 US for one night. Also checked out the Burrard? We only need one room for the night (husband; daughter and myself) as we are not going to get 2 rooms (my daughter has her own cabin on cruise..she is 28). Any hotel advice would be very welcome!! THANKS AGAIN!

 

[xlxo]

Blue Horizon is a very popular central downtown hotel with Robson amenities for value travellers.

https://www.booking.com/hotel/ca/blue-horizon-hotel.html

 

[morrik5]

If you don't want to stay downtown, we stayed at this Holiday Inn by the airport which had free airport shuttle. The bus tour we took of the city picked us up and returned us to the hotel as well. https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/richmond/yvrap/hoteldetail

 

[Mama Bear Me2]

Thank you so much....we are looking forward to visiting Vancouver! And yes, we will be arriving at the cruise terminal. Any suggestions on a hotel? We had reservations at the Fairmount which my daughter was going to pay for but the cost is over $600.00 US for one night. Also checked out the Burrard? We only need one room for the night (husband; daughter and myself) as we are not going to get 2 rooms (my daughter has her own cabin on cruise..she is 28). Any hotel advice would be very welcome!! THANKS AGAIN!

Hi again! Sorry ... not much help on the hotels as we've only stayed in downtown hotels on points (because downtown hotels in Vancouver are "expensive"!).

Wow! Over $600 USD for 1 night at Fairmont? By the price I'm guessing you were booked at the Fairmont Pacific Rim. That's the newest Fairmont in downtown Vancouver. If you want a Fairmont hotel there's 2 others to choose from downtown ... Fairmont Waterfront and Fairmont Hotel Vancouver but I don't know if their pricing will be much better since you pay a premium for the Fairmont brand. There is also a Fairmont Vancouver Airport (located at the Vancouver International Airport) which might make flying out more convenient since you'll already be at the International Airport. There's also the Pan Pacific (at your cruise ship terminal) but again this hotel is pricey.

I haven't looked into this so I don't know how prices would compare but have you thought about renting a condo downtown (ie. vacation rental)? There will be cleaning fees, taxes etc. but I doubt it would cost USD$600 for 1 night for 3 adults. HOWEVER, there might be a minimum stay requirement (ie. so you may not be able to rent for only 1 night) BUT you can always contact the owner and see if the minimum stay requirement could be waived. You can check vacation rentals on sites such as www.vrbo.com.

Again ... sorry not much help on hotel suggestions ... good luck again and have a fabulous visit!

 

[bankr63]

Been a long time, but I stayed at the Shangri-La hotel just off Robson in the heart of everything (easy walking to all the points mentioned.) Not a familiar name for most North Americans, but it is a high end chain throughout Asia. Seems to still rate fairly well with $200-300 current rates.

 

[isabellea]

When I visited Vancouver in December 2015, we stayed at Hotel Blu. It was really nice and much cheaper than 600$usd/night.

http://www.hotelbluvancouver.com/residences-hotel-blu-en.html

As for things to see, we loved walking at Stanley park with all the big trees. We also had a nice brunch at The Teahouse located within the park.

https://www.vancouverdine.com/teahouse/

I also recommend Granville island where we had an awesome meal at the restaurant Edible Canada where they had many local and canadian specialties. Was delicious and they have a seasonal menu.

https://ediblecanada.com/