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

[Tenkawa]

There is really no "unsafe" time or area of Vancouver. Especially compared to most cities in the US.

I used to work security in downtown vancouver, including graveyard shifts and really there would be no problems. The worst I had to deal with is some skateboarders being stupid.

Yes there are some homeless people, but for the most part they are relatively nice and/or leave you alone.

The worst area is the downtown east side around 1am or so, but if you are in that area you are WAY out of the area that your hotel or run is taking you. And even then, it is not unsafe, just more drunk/drugged up people in that area.

 

[GrtWtNorth]

Salmon lovers rejoice: It could be a record year for Sockeye Salmon on the Fraser River. The lower estimate is 7.2 million, or nearly double number of fish from last year's dismal season. The upper estimate for this year is a surreal (and unrealistic) 72 million.
http://bc.ctvnews.ca/record-breaking-year-predicted-for-fraser-river-sockeye-run-1.1717931
A record number of salmon could also attract a lot of the Orca's from around the Georgia Strait.

 

[TheRichFam]

Our plan at this time......fly into Seattle day before our Alaskan cruise, 7:40 Amtrak to Vancouver morning of our cruise. We plan to fly home from Vancouver the morning our cruise returns.... My questions for those of you who have done this before: 1. Where did you stay overnight in Seattle/ near the airport or near Amtrak station? Any hotel suggestions close to the Amtrak station, preferably accessible by light rail. 2. What is the earliest return flight we can book? How far is the Vancouver airport from Canada Place? What is the best and cost effective way to get to the airport? Thank you for reading. Any help is greatly appreciated.

I live in Seattle and can see the Amtrac station from my office window as I type this! What type of hotel are you looking for? Posh? Chic? Cheap? Let me know and I'll send you tons of recommendations with links!

 

[mellers]

Our plan at this time......fly into Seattle day before our Alaskan cruise, 7:40 Amtrak to Vancouver morning of our cruise.
We plan to fly home from Vancouver the morning our cruise returns....
My questions for those of you who have done this before:

1. Where did you stay overnight in Seattle/ near the airport or near Amtrak station? Any hotel suggestions close to the Amtrak station, preferably accessible by light rail.

If you really want to take the train, I'd go for the Silver Cloud: http://www.silvercloud.com/seattlestadium/ .

If you're more concerned with getting to Vancouver, I would stay at the Best Western Executive Inn: http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwes...e=SelectHotel&isMapOpen=false&selectedHotels= and take the Quick Shuttle: http://www.quickcoach.com/

The reason I recommend this is that the Quick Shuttle picks up right in front of the Executive Inn, and will drop you off at most of the major Vancouver hotels, or the Canada Place Pier, so you don't have to pay for transportation to or from the train station on either end.

There is a restroom, but food and drinks are not available on the Quick Shuttle. It's wise to pack drinks and snacks.

 

[DisneyHeather]

Our plan at this time......fly into Seattle day before our Alaskan cruise, 7:40 Amtrak to Vancouver morning of our cruise.
We plan to fly home from Vancouver the morning our cruise returns....
My questions for those of you who have done this before:

1. Where did you stay overnight in Seattle/ near the airport or near Amtrak station? Any hotel suggestions close to the Amtrak station, preferably accessible by light rail.

2. What is the earliest return flight we can book? How far is the Vancouver airport from Canada Place? What is the best and cost effective way to get to the airport?
Thank you for reading.
Any help is greatly appreciated.

I'm not sure how close it is to the Amtrack station but I'm staying at the Holiday Inn Express City Centre my night in Seattle.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Last year we only had one full day in Vancouver and we wanted to cram as much in as we could so booked a private tour for us, covering Vancouver, Stanley park, Callipino suspension bridge, Grouse Mountain we used .

http://www.vancouvertours.com/

We had a fantastic guide, Cheryl, she has worked on cruise ships and knew Vancouver very well, at each place she went ahead and got our tickets and was able to cut lines for us, say on the Gondola up to Grouse Mountain.

Overall for a family of four it wasn't far off the price of a tour coach doing a similar thing, and we were picked up and dropped off at our hotel and had some extra stops for photos.

For Alaska August Navigators and photos and information look at my link below.

 

[Mickdeb]

I live in Seattle and can see the Amtrac station from my office window as I type this! What type of hotel are you looking for? Posh? Chic? Cheap? Let me know and I'll send you tons of recommendations with links!

Thanks so much for the offer, but since the recommendation has been to not take the train to Vancouver the morning of our cruise, we are now looking into flying directly into Vancouver, despite the exorbinant cost. Also we waited for SWA to open for our travel dates and their prices were not that great, we were hopping to get at least a flight and a half on points.

I will continue to follow airfare prices for Vancouver, but appreciate all the info and assistance on this thread.

 

[Mickdeb]

I'm not sure how close it is to the Amtrack station but I'm staying at the Holiday Inn Express City Centre my night in Seattle.

Thank you, how and when are you planning to get to Vancouver......I am having such a hard time planning this trip, there are so many variables.

 

[DizDragonfly]

Does anyone have a good suggestion for a Stay/Park/Cruise hotel in Vancouver? We may just end up parking at the port, but it is _very_ expensive.

 

[JAMWDW]

Does anyone have a good suggestion for a Stay/Park/Cruise hotel in Vancouver? We may just end up parking at the port, but it is _very_ expensive.

I've researched this as we'll be driving up from California. I found the Accent Inn, in Richmond and Burnaby, both offer park/stay/cruise options that are extremely affordable. Parking at the port would cost us $186, but doing a stay/park/cruise runs about $100-$130. Well worth it!

 

[richmo]

Does anyone have a good suggestion for a Stay/Park/Cruise hotel in Vancouver? We may just end up parking at the port, but it is _very_ expensive.

What we did was park the car at the Vancouver (YVR) airport, even though we didn't fly in to there. (Flew in to SEA and drove...kept the rental round trip because it was way less than 2 one way rentals)

Parking at YVR is pretty cheap. There's currently a coupon for $50/week on the airport's web site. From the economy lot, you just take a shuttle, then take SkyTrain to a couple blocks from the port. The walk isn't bad, as long as your luggage has wheels and is way less expensive than parking at the port.

 

[mellers]

Thanks so much for the offer, but since the recommendation has been to not take the train to Vancouver the morning of our cruise, we are now looking into flying directly into Vancouver, despite the exorbitant cost. Also we waited for SWA to open for our travel dates and their prices were not that great, we were hopping to get at least a flight and a half on points.

I will continue to follow airfare prices for Vancouver, but appreciate all the info and assistance on this thread.

If it's still too expensive to fly into Vancouver, someone mentioned earlier on the thread that there is a "Park/Stay/Cruise" at the Accent inn in Richmond. Richmond is the same city in which the Vancouver Airport is located, so a taxi from the airport to the inn isn't likely to be very expensive, and it's pretty cheap to take the Quick Shuttle from the Seattle Airport to the Vancouver Airport. That would give you the night before your cruise and transportation to your cruise in one, and might save you some money over airfare to Vancouver.

If it's cheaper to fly home from Seattle, you'll want to make sure you take an evening flight (I wouldn't recommend earlier than 5 p.m., to be safe, assuming you take the 9 a.m. shuttle), but the Quick Shuttle also has a shuttle which picks up at the Canada Place Cruise Terminal and takes you directly back to Sea-Tac. If you plan to stay in Seattle for a few days, get off in Downtown Seattle--you'll pay less, and it will put you close to the Space Needle. It drops off and picks up at the Best Western Executive Inn, which is worth considering if you need lodging in Seattle.

If you're looking for a good deal on airfare to Seattle, it's a good idea to keep an eye on Alaska Airlines--they're the most common carrier here. If you're coming from a long distance, you may also want to consider getting an Alaska Airlines credit card: http://www.alaskaair.com/content/credit-card/visa-signature.aspx
The card comes with a $100 companion fare--if you're traveling from the East Coast, this can be a BIG savings. Around Seattle, some of us (including my husband and me) have each person get the card solely for the coupon. Alaska Air also flies to Vancouver, although it usually transfers through Seattle.

A few notes about the Quick Shuttle:

1. They do have a bathroom, but no place to buy food or drinks, and they don't (usually) make food stops, so it's a good idea to bring water and snacks.

2. If you have someone traveling with you in a wheelchair, they are much better about handling wheelchairs than Amtrak. Just tell them that you need a wheelchair lift. They are great. (so says the woman in a wheelchair.)

 

[Riverhill]

I just booked a flight in to Vancouver for our family of 4 from Detroit. Total cost was $2006 (Air Canada) only $500 more than our flight into Orlando 2 years ago. I checked the airfare each day for the past few months, this was $1000 less than I had seen previously.

I hope everyone can find reasonable rates out there No fun when the flight can cost as much as the cruise

 

[DizDragonfly]

I've researched this as we'll be driving up from California. I found the Accent Inn, in Richmond and Burnaby, both offer park/stay/cruise options that are extremely affordable. Parking at the port would cost us $186, but doing a stay/park/cruise runs about $100-$130. Well worth it!

What we did was park the car at the Vancouver (YVR) airport, even though we didn't fly in to there. (Flew in to SEA and drove...kept the rental round trip because it was way less than 2 one way rentals)

Parking at YVR is pretty cheap. There's currently a coupon for $50/week on the airport's web site. From the economy lot, you just take a shuttle, then take SkyTrain to a couple blocks from the port. The walk isn't bad, as long as your luggage has wheels and is way less expensive than parking at the port.

Thanks for the suggestions and recommendations! I appreciate it!

 

[sorceressk]

What is your favorite restaurant in Vancouver? We have limited time in town and want to make the best of it before the cruise

 

[DisneyHeather]

Thank you, how and when are you planning to get to Vancouver......I am having such a hard time planning this trip, there are so many variables.

My plan is to fly into Seattle on Saturday and spend a few hours exploring as I've never been there. Then Sunday morning my son and I will take Amtrack into Vancouver where we will explore there and stay at the Pan Pacific that night. After the cruise I'm taking the train again back to Seattle and it leaves at 5pm or so, so that gives me a little more time in Vancouver before leaving. We're staying at an airport hotel and leaving from Seattle the next morning.

I had a companion pass for Delta and got both plane tickets for $300 total (couldn't use the pass to fly into Vancouver) and since it was looking like $400-$500 each to fly into Vancouver it's still cheaper to do it this way even with the Seattle hotels and the train cost. I know it adds a couple days to the trip but I think my 3 year old and I will enjoy the train.

 

[peachygreen]

Does anyone know when the QuickCoach typically opens their schedule for the summer? They've been out to the first week of May for what seems like forever now.

 

[mellers]

Does anyone know when the QuickCoach typically opens their schedule for the summer? They've been out to the first week of May for what seems like forever now.

I'm booking them for mid-May for a cruise, so I know what you mean, but I called them and they said their summer schedule will open up at the end of the month.

 

[GrtWtNorth]

Parking at YVR is pretty cheap. There's currently a coupon for $50/week on the airport's web site. From the economy lot, you just take a shuttle, then take SkyTrain to a couple blocks from the port. The walk isn't bad, as long as your luggage has wheels and is way less expensive than parking at the port.

FYI, the SkyTrain charges an extra $5 per person for all tickets purchased in the airport Skytrain stations. I am planning to buy all-day passes at another station before parking at the airport. (You can also avoid this by buying Fare Saver tickets from 7-Eleven in the airport.) Then we are going to either go for a harbour cruise on the Sea Bus, or maybe just hang out in Stanley Park before boarding time.
Or I might plunk DD6 down in the "drivers seat" and ride the Skytrain around Vancouver. If you ride the Millennium or Expo lines, most of the route is above ground and you get nice views of the mountains and Fraser river. (More than half of the Canada line connecting the airport to the port is underground - views compromised.) The trains are driverless, just like the Orlando airport trains, so kids can sit right at the front window.

 

[GrtWtNorth]

A few notes about the Quick Shuttle:

1. They do have a bathroom, but no place to buy food or drinks, and they don't (usually) make food stops, so it's a good idea to bring water and snacks.

Remember that you are crossing an international border. Don't pack any snacks that you would feel guilty about throwing in the garbage at the border. Most packaged snacks (like potato chips) are fine if they are unopened. But meats and dairy products can't cross either direction (exceptions are few, usually related to fish and game caught by anglers and hunters - lots of legal fine print). You can't legally bring any fruits and vegetables into the US. Some fruits can't come into Canada, usually the ones grown in Canada like cherries, peaches, blueberries, apples, grapes, etc.
The Canadian and US government web sites have lots if information about what you can and cannot take into each country. You can do some research. Or just eat everything before the border.