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

[BLTOH]

after a nite and day of researching it looks like the cheapest way for us is to fly into washington and then take the amtrak to vancouver. my questions are 1. how close is the amtrak to the cruise terminals? walking distance or cab ride?
2. Does the amtrak ever get held up at the border or is it a pretty smooth ride?
3.How close is the skytrain to the cruise terminals? like walking distance or cab ride?
4. With us going over the US 4th of July holiday is it worth staying in washington for the 4th and then going to vancouver the day of the cruise?

Trying to plan when we would leave and return and the border crossings. would hate to travel on day of cruise to the port only to get held up at the border.

thought of more to add...lol the excursions.. my daughter will be 8 at time of cruise..there there many age restrictions to the excursions?

 

[trimix]

the Suspension bridge and Canada Place?

We are going to fly in the day before and the flights I am seeing get us there at about 130pm. If we leave the AP get our luggage checked in:

#1 Will there be time to see those sights?
#2)Will we need a taxi?

Thanks Ya'll!

HG

Canada Place is where the cruise ship terminal is, so I am sure you will see it regardless.
To visit the Capilano suspension bridge, your best bet would probably be a rental car.

 

[HappyGrumpy]

Canada Place is where the cruise ship terminal is, so I am sure you will see it regardless.
To visit the Capilano suspension bridge, your best bet would probably be a rental car.

Do you have an idea( approximate) of how long the drive is from the hotels are via rental car to the bridge? I may need to see if one of the hotels you listed has a rental company on the premises.

Thx,
HG

 

[Momrow]

Do you have an idea( approximate) of how long the drive is from the hotels are via rental car to the bridge? I may need to see if one of the hotels you listed has a rental company on the premises.

Thx,
HG

I would consider taking public transit to the bridge - a trip accross the water on the Seabus - which is at Canada Place - and then one bus. My husband and daughter took it to Grouse Mountain (which is on the same bus route, a few minutes uphill) and didn't have any problems. I've rented cars downtown, not at a hotel, but there is a rental car place at the Hotel Vancouver (which is very close to the Sutton Place) and probably at one of the Pan Pacific/Fairmont Waterfront. Downtown is not very large. If you do rent a car, about a 20 minute drive if it's not rush hour. Transit would be closer to 45 minutes, in my estimate.

 

[mousemom11]

after a nite and day of researching it looks like the cheapest way for us is to fly into washington and then take the amtrak to vancouver. my questions are 1. how close is the amtrak to the cruise terminals? walking distance or cab ride?
2. Does the amtrak ever get held up at the border or is it a pretty smooth ride?
3.How close is the skytrain to the cruise terminals? like walking distance or cab ride?
4. With us going over the US 4th of July holiday is it worth staying in washington for the 4th and then going to vancouver the day of the cruise?

Trying to plan when we would leave and return and the border crossings. would hate to travel on day of cruise to the port only to get held up at the border.

thought of more to add...lol the excursions.. my daughter will be 8 at time of cruise..there there many age restrictions to the excursions?

Just an FYI, it is about 15 miles from SeaTac airport to the Seattle Amtrak station. A cab ride will run you about $40 and a shared-ride van (Shuttle Express) will be about $30.

On another thread, someone said that it was a short cab ride (about $7) from the Vancouver Amtrak station to the cruise terminal.

I looked on the Amtrak website, but I couldn't find anywhere where it said whether or not they stop the train at the border. My best guess, after looking at the train schedules, would be that you would go through customs when you get off the train in Vancouver.

It looks like the Skytrain Waterfront station is about a block from the Canada Place terminals from what I could tell on google.

I would be careful about going up to Vancouver from Washington the day of the cruise. Someone on another thread said that they were told by DCL that if you miss the boat in Vancouver, you will not be allowed to get on at any other port (it has to do with foreign port regulations). We live in Washington and will drive up to Vancouver, but because of that, we're going to drive up the day before. Any number of things could happen to delay you. Flat tire, lines at the border, traffic accidents, road construction.

 

[Momrow]

after a nite and day of researching it looks like the cheapest way for us is to fly into washington and then take the amtrak to vancouver. my questions are 1. how close is the amtrak to the cruise terminals? walking distance or cab ride?
2. Does the amtrak ever get held up at the border or is it a pretty smooth ride?
3.How close is the skytrain to the cruise terminals? like walking distance or cab ride?
4. With us going over the US 4th of July holiday is it worth staying in washington for the 4th and then going to vancouver the day of the cruise?

Trying to plan when we would leave and return and the border crossings. would hate to travel on day of cruise to the port only to get held up at the border.

thought of more to add...lol the excursions.. my daughter will be 8 at time of cruise..there there many age restrictions to the excursions?

#1 - it's a couple minutes' walk t o the skytrain station, which goes to Canada Place.
#3 - skytrain is at the cruise ship terminal.
#4 - I would cross the day before, for the reasons the PP suggested unless you leave Seattle at 7am. But given the choice, I would cross the day before.

 

[jlmarr]

I looked on the Amtrak website, but I couldn't find anywhere where it said whether or not they stop the train at the border. My best guess, after looking at the train schedules, would be that you would go through customs when you get off the train in Vancouver.

Yes, customs after you get off the train. Another tip - we paid a bit extra for business class on the Amtrak Cascades, and they let biz class off the train first. All of the other cars had to wait, presumably one-by-one, to disembark. Even though we weren't pushing it we happened to catch the first cab out of the train station for Ballantyne.

It looks like the Skytrain Waterfront station is about a block from the Canada Place terminals from what I could tell on google.

Yes, it's very close, an easy walk even with bags in tow. On our other cruise out of Vancouver we stayed in Burnaby and took the Skytrain to the end of the line near Canada Place. Yes, bags on the Skytrain. Wouldn't do that again, but that's another story.

 

[trimix]

after a nite and day of researching it looks like the cheapest way for us is to fly into washington and then take the amtrak to vancouver. my questions are 1. how close is the amtrak to the cruise terminals? walking distance or cab ride?
2. Does the amtrak ever get held up at the border or is it a pretty smooth ride?
3.How close is the skytrain to the cruise terminals? like walking distance or cab ride?
4. With us going over the US 4th of July holiday is it worth staying in washington for the 4th and then going to vancouver the day of the cruise?

1) Too far to walk, so walk across the street and take a six minute ride on the Skytrain.
2) I've never heard of a holdup northbound, but be patient southbound. Customs and Border Patrol will not let the train move until every single person has been checked. Understandably, sometimes the southbound trains are held up.
3) The station is AT the cruise terminal!
4) Awesome fireworks at Lake Union! But, I like to take it easy so I would head north on the 4th.

Just an FYI, it is about 15 miles from SeaTac airport to the Seattle Amtrak station.

This is outdated information. Seattle has opened light rail from downtown almost to the airport, and plans to finish the route by December - months before the Wonder heads north. It will be about a two block walk from the International District light rail station to the Amtrak station - here's a map. If you can get your luggage across the airport from baggage claim to the light rail station, getting from the other station to Amtrak will be trivial.

 

[delta0413]

So glad to see that DCL is joining the Alaska market. DW and I LOVE Vancouver, BC... it is one of our favorite cities in North America.

Big recommendation for Sutton Place. DW and I have had the pleasure of staying there twice and we have been blown away (in a good way) both times. We've didn't see any stars while we were there (quite frankly, I couldn't care less about them).

Aside from the great accommodations and service, its location is also top notch. It is one block away from the shopping/restaurant area of downtown. We've eaten at some really cool restaurants while there.

 

[WestCoaster]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned before, but the new Canada Line skytrain has been running for about a month now.

For those flying into YVR, the skytrain ride is about 25 minutes to downtown right to the Cruise Ship terminal at Waterfront.

This is my first post, so I can't post links yet, but you can search "Canada Line" on any search engine for more information.

I've lived in the Vancouver area all of my life, and welcome any questions any of you might have.

 

[Schachteles]

So what we are looking at doing is flying into Seattle on Saturday and renting a car...check out Seattle on Saturday and then head for the border on Sunday and drive up to Vancouver and take Sunday evening and all day Monday checking out Vancouver. Will we have problems getting across the border? What about renting a car in Seattle and taking it over the border?

 

[gmark2000]

What about renting a car in Seattle and taking it over the border?

You have to make it clear to the rental company that this is what you are doing. There might be an additional charge but I think you get additional paperwork that illustrates that you aren't "importing" the vehicle.

 

[Schachteles]

You have to make it clear to the rental company that this is what you are doing. There might be an additional charge but I think you get additional paperwork that illustrates that you aren't "importing" the vehicle.

HMMM...I feel this getting more and more complicated and in turn VERY VERY expensive.

 

[mrsmoore]

So what we are looking at doing is flying into Seattle on Saturday and renting a car...check out Seattle on Saturday and then head for the border on Sunday and drive up to Vancouver and take Sunday evening and all day Monday checking out Vancouver. Will we have problems getting across the border? What about renting a car in Seattle and taking it over the border?

We tried to rent a car coming home from Vancouver, and were told there would be an extra $300 fee to drop it off in the US (we are in Seattle area), so we did a town car instead (I got sick unexpectedly). I would highly recommend Amtrak, then maybe rent the car when you get to Vancouver for getting around.

 

[Schachteles]

We tried to rent a car coming home from Vancouver, and were told there would be an extra $300 fee to drop it off in the US (we are in Seattle area), so we did a town car instead (I got sick unexpectedly). I would highly recommend Amtrak, then maybe rent the car when you get to Vancouver for getting around.

Good to know. How much time do you think someone could spend in Vancouver checking it out?

 

[gmark2000]

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

 

[Pinkgurlshubby]

Good to know. How much time do you think someone could spend in Vancouver checking it out?

You could spend weeks in Vacnouver. I posted a bunch of links on another thread but I figure this is Lollipop's mom's thread and she can add any of the info and the mods can might it a sticky note as has been suggested.
You can spend a day at the Vancouver Aquarium, a day at Science World, I wouldn't even think of going to Vancouver without spending at least half a day at Granville Island and even take an Aqua Bus harbor cruise. All these places have links.

 

[Anj]

Good to know. How much time do you think someone could spend in Vancouver checking it out?

Argh, I had typed up a thread and it has disappeared.

Here's my quick and dirty answer:
I've done the main city sites (meaning, not Grouse, Whistler, Capilano) in a day driving around and not getting out of the car. This would be my planned itinerary to actually see some of the city:
Day One - Grouse Mountain, Capilano Suspension Bridge and Lonsdale Quay
Day 2 - drive to Whistler and spend the day
Day 3 - Victoria
Day 4, 5 & 6 (and possibly more) (this is a bit more kid centered)- Stanley Park, Vancouver Aquarium, Science World, Planetarium, Granville Island, Gastown, Harbour Centre (go up to the observation platform), shop on Robson Street, Museum of Anthropology (if I had time), Chinatown. My kids even love just riding the skytrain, the last stop is at Waterfront (where the port is) and take the Seabus over to Lonsdale Quay. For antiques, I might even head to the New Westminster Quay area (on the skytrain route).

 

[pjacobi]

I would consider taking public transit to the bridge - a trip accross the water on the Seabus - which is at Canada Place - and then one bus.

Yes, this is the best option! You can buy a 1-day pass that covers Seabus ferry and the bus runs very frequently between ferry terminal, Grouse Mountain and the suspension bridge.

Grouse Mountain and the suspension bridge can be combined easily into a enjoyable 1-day excursion.

Food at top of Grouse Mountain was expensive, but reasonable. There was a better selection and was cheaper than at the suspension bridge.


-Paul

 

[northyvr]

Argh, I had typed up a thread and it has disappeared.

Here's my quick and dirty answer:
I've done the main city sites (meaning, not Grouse, Whistler, Capilano) in a day driving around and not getting out of the car. This would be my planned itinerary to actually see some of the city:
Day One - Grouse Mountain, Capilano Suspension Bridge and Lonsdale Quay
Day 2 - drive to Whistler and spend the day
Day 3 - Victoria
Day 4, 5 & 6 (and possibly more) (this is a bit more kid centered)- Stanley Park, Vancouver Aquarium, Science World, Planetarium, Granville Island, Gastown, Harbour Centre (go up to the observation platform), shop on Robson Street, Museum of Anthropology (if I had time), Chinatown. My kids even love just riding the skytrain, the last stop is at Waterfront (where the port is) and take the Seabus over to Lonsdale Quay. For antiques, I might even head to the New Westminster Quay area (on the skytrain route).

I would actually suggest longer that just a day trip to Whistler. Whistler is a worthwhile destination of it's own. We love it so much we bought a vacation home there! Quick suggestions of summer activities at Whistler:

world class mountain biking, hiking, sightseeing by using the Peak 2 Peak gondola, glacier skiing, bear viewing, swimming in glacier fed lakes, canoeing, river rafting, taking Rocky Mountaineer train to/from Whistler, cycling the valley trail, ziptreking, golfing, people watching in the village.

Vancouver is great (we live there) but we absolutely LOVE Whister!

Here's a link to Whistler's official website:
www.whistlerblackcomb.com