Going to Whistler After Getting Off the Wonder in Vancouver

[havaneselover]

Our flight home after our August cruise isn't until 11:20 PM. I had thought about leaving our luggage at our pre-cruise hotel or doing a post-cruise tour to Grouse Mountain and Capilano Suspension Bridge, but now I'm considering renting a car in downtown Vancouver, driving to Whistler to zipline, then heading to the airport and dropping the car there. Anyone done something like this? Trying to figure out if this is possible/makes sense.

 

[otten]

Whistler is an hour and a half from the port in good traffic. The road there is accident prone, less so in the summer but there’s still a decent chance you’d get stuck on a closed highway. I think it would be a lot of stress and hassle.

 

[SlickWilly]

When we got off the Wonder in Vancouver last June, it took forever to get off the boat and still more time to get out of the cruise terminal. Car services gave up on their passengers, people worried about missing flights, etc. If you plan to do something complicated after the cruise, be prepared for a disruption in your schedule due to debarkation.

Also, when we arrived at YVR at 11:30 for our 2pm flight, the security and customs lines were crazy. Made it through in plen of time, but again, if you plan too tight, you may cause yourself a problem.

 

[Geomom]

In 2016, we did the 'Sea to Sky Tour' through Landsea Tours (www.vancouvertours.com). They picked us and our luggage up at the port by 10AM, did the full day excursion (Horseshoe Bay, Shannon Falls, Britannia Mine, some photo stops, and Sea to Sky Gondola), and she got us to the airport by 6PM. (We had a 10:30PM flight.) We loved it!

 

[fraucow]

We did a separate family vacation to Whistler and Vancouver a few years ago, and I'd agree that it can be a bit of a hassle to get back and forth. The drive is beautiful, but as @otten said above, it will take you at least 90 minutes. Our experience for our June trip was closer to 2 hours door to door. There are so many awesome things to see and do in Vancouver and the immediate area (Grouse Mountain and Capilano Park are great choices!), that you really can't lose.

 

[bcwife76]

There are so many things to do in Vancouver, I wouldn't waste an entire day (stuck in potentially horrible traffic) just to zipline in Whistler.

 

[remlap]

I agree with above. Unless you have a Red Eye flight leaving at night, I'm not sure it's worth it. That said, the drive to BEAUTIFUL. I'd recommend the Grouse Mountain chair rides just across the bay as a great alternative.

 

[havaneselover]

We do have a red eye. We don’t need to be to the airport until after 9pm so we probably have 12 hours after debarking to kill. That’s why we’re considering Whistler. Plus we love to zip line but wanted to do other things in Alaska Appreciate the feedback!

 

[Pooh2]

We did an excursion post cruise that could only be booked after we were on the Wonder.
I think it was listed at the bottom of the excursion page.
We met after breakfast in the designated area on the ship and were walked off by the CM to where people got their luggage, then walked through customs to a tour bus.
Our bags were loaded under the bus and we got a narrated tour of the downtown area and Stanley Park. We got out at Stanley Park for about 20 minutes to view the totem poles (and use the restrooms!).
Then we were driven over to the Capilano Suspension Bridge park and did the walks.
We boarded the bus and were dropped back off at the cruise terminal (special request).
Most of the participants were dropped off at the airport.

Our train back to Seattle did not leave until 5pm so we had a nice lunch on the harbor and leisurely walked to the train station. (Had planned to take light rail but it was a very pleasant day and we do carry-on wheelie bags).

It was a great way to spend the day without worrying about what to do with our bags on an excursions.

 

[dvcdisney]

I don't have any advice, but I will tell you what we experienced. We spent 2 days before and 4 days after our cruise in Vancouver/Whistler. When we disembarked in Vancouver, we picked up our rental and began our drive to Whistler where we were staying for 2 nights. On our way, the highway suddenly closed. There was an accident and there are no real detours unless you go the other way around which is VERY long. So we spent time in Horseshoe Bay and had lunch. We stayed there for 3.5 hrs before it was clear to go. When we did go on our way again, the traffic was very slow.

Although we were planning on getting to Whistler, checking in by early afternoon, we ended up getting there much later. It wasn't a big deal since we had a late dinner reservation, but we didn't get to spend a lot of time on our first day.

By the way, the zipline we did was at Cougar Mountain which is far superior than the one at Whistler if you're looking for a good zipline experience. Although, this is not meant for those who have a limited zip lining experience.

 

[xlxo]

I think you need extra days in Vancouver and Whistler....

If you enjoy ziplining.... you want to meet the Sasquatch.

• https://whistler.ziptrek.com/tours/sasquatch/
• https://whistler.ziptrek.com/latest-news/sasquatch-is-katy-perry-approved/

 

[dvcdisney]

I think you need extra days in Vancouver and Whistler....

If you enjoy ziplining.... you want to meet the Sasquatch.

• https://whistler.ziptrek.com/tours/sasquatch/
• https://whistler.ziptrek.com/latest-news/sasquatch-is-katy-perry-approved/

We tried Sasquatch once and thought would like it much better because of the hype. It was fun....however, we all agreed we'd like Cougar Mountain better because there were 4 lines, the first 3 were amazing, with the 3rd one being the biggest surprise...it wasn't long, but it was fast, felt like it was vertical (it wasn't, just felt like it)...the last one was cute...

We're taking another DCL Alaskan cruise next year and my whole family insisted on booking that zipline again.

Actually, what would be great is if they combined the Cougar Mountain and Sasquatch.

 

[yargrnhoj]

We did this last summer. We did the express walk off (took our luggage with us). My wife walked up to the Avis location downtown while I waited with the luggage at Canada Place. Drove to Whistler and back and still had plenty of time for our late night flight. Took the gondola up and did some hiking and took the skimlift back down and ate at Whistler. Even stopped at a few waterfalls on the way back.

Some photos at http://www.jrgray.net/photos/2017/2017alaska/20170802.php