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

[smeecanada]

Hi all!
We booked out flights yesterday! Air Canada was having a sale so we jumped on the deal. The only problem is that our flight back to the East Coast leaves Vancouver at 6 am.

Dave and I don't mind getting up early...it's getting to the airport in time that concerns me. We *could* stay the the Fairmont Airport, but it is a little pricey ($244.00 tax included). The big advantage is that we just have to walk down the stairs and we are on the concourse.

Honestly, I'm leaning toward this, just for the convenience, plus Dave would LOVE watching the planes take off and land. We've already spent A LOT on this vacation (but it is worth it!!) so what's a little more?

Any thoughts?

I would bit the bullet and stay at the airport. The peace of mind will out way the worry of having to get there in time, the taxi cost and whatever cost you have for a downtown hotel. Enjoy the extra sleep and watching the planes.

 

[buddywesley]

Hi all!
We booked out flights yesterday! Air Canada was having a sale so we jumped on the deal. The only problem is that our flight back to the East Coast leaves Vancouver at 6 am.

Dave and I don't mind getting up early...it's getting to the airport in time that concerns me. We *could* stay the the Fairmont Airport, but it is a little pricey ($244.00 tax included). The big advantage is that we just have to walk down the stairs and we are on the concourse.

Honestly, I'm leaning toward this, just for the convenience, plus Dave would LOVE watching the planes take off and land. We've already spent A LOT on this vacation (but it is worth it!!) so what's a little more?

Any thoughts?

We are staying at the Fairmont Airport thru DCL from LATE Sunday night till we leave Tues for cruise. Our flight comes in after midnight so the idea of just being steps away from a bed is comforting AND worth the price IMHO Did you check the price thru DCL? Can't remember what we paid for it...

 

[Meskamooska]

Hi All,

We will be on the July 19th Alaska cruise and will be driving to Vancouver from Southern California. I have never been to Canada before and the last time my DH was there he was most excited about the fact that the legal drinking age was 18 (and that was quite a while ago . So suffice it to say that neither of us are in any way experts.

What I am trying to decide is if we would be better off staying in an inexpensive hotel (somewhere in the $50 to $60 range) in Washington near the border the night before embarkation or if we should come into Canada and try to find something there.

And, if we decide to do the cross the border the night before plan, does anyone have any suggestions for where we could find an inexpensive hotel or recommendations for one? I have looked into the Motel 6 in Washington and would ideally be looking for something along those lines.

I would rather spend my extra $ on goodies in Alaska or on the ship than on a one night stay.

Thanks in advance. All advice or suggestions/recommendations will be appreciated.

Take care all, help lots of people and have a "Wonder"ful day!

Tisza

 

[buddywesley]

So after looking around at everything to do we are even MORE confused
We were told NOT to miss Victoria/Butchart Gardens and having tea at the Empress Hotel there. After looking around I found the Prince of Whales Ultimate day tour that includes travel to/from Vancouver and butchart gardens Admission. It is pretty pricey though. I'm wondering if anyone knows any other ways to do the trip (we are staying at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport hotel pre cruise so thought it might be easy to do the trip then getting transportation from the airport to ferries, etc.) ANY help would be appreciated

Also we LOVE sushi and heard there are lots of options for this in Vancouver...any recommendations?

 

[Cerberus9]

So after looking around at everything to do we are even MORE confused
We were told NOT to miss Victoria/Butchart Gardens and having tea at the Empress Hotel there. After looking around I found the Prince of Whales Ultimate day tour that includes travel to/from Vancouver and butchart gardens Admission. It is pretty pricey though. I'm wondering if anyone knows any other ways to do the trip (we are staying at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport hotel pre cruise so thought it might be easy to do the trip then getting transportation from the airport to ferries, etc.) ANY help would be appreciated

Also we LOVE sushi and heard there are lots of options for this in Vancouver...any recommendations?

How long will you be in Vancouver? Are you considering staying in Victoria overnight (or for a few days), or does all of this need to be done in one day?

I'm not sure a "day trip" to Victoria would be worth it. There's plenty to do and see around Vancouver. If you're dead set on afternoon tea and whale watching, couldn't you do these on the cruise (e.g. tea at Palo and whale watching in Alaska?).

As far a sushi in Vancouver, there's a *ton* of restaurants. My favorite is Shabusen (http://www.shabusen.com/) which is "all you can eat".

 

[buddywesley]

How long will you be in Vancouver? Are you considering staying in Victoria overnight (or for a few days), or does all of this need to be done in one day?

I'm not sure a "day trip" to Victoria would be worth it. There's plenty to do and see around Vancouver. If you're dead set on afternoon tea and whale watching, couldn't you do these on the cruise (e.g. tea at Palo and whale watching in Alaska?).

As far a sushi in Vancouver, there's a *ton* of restaurants. My favorite is Shabusen (http://www.shabusen.com/) which is "all you can eat".

Pre-cruise we'll be in Vancouver for one FULL day staying at Fairmont Airport (we arrive late night Sunday have all day Monday in Vancouver and board Wonder on Tuesday) Post cruise we'll be in Vancouver for 3 full days (staying at Club Intrawest)
We didn't care about whale watching (we'll be doing enough of that on board ship and excursions in AK) but wanted a tour to Victoria to see Butchart Gardens and maybe have tea at Empress Hotel (personally I think it's overpriced and would MUCH rather do tea at Palo but my DH was told by a friend it was not to be missed) We wouldn't spend the night in Victoria. Is Butchart Gardens worth a day of our Vancouver stay? We are already set to do the Hop on Hop off Big bus thingy (got a groupon) for 2 days post cruise.

THANKS for the sushi recommendation!

 

[ibouncetoo]

Pre-cruise we'll be in Vancouver for one FULL day staying at Fairmont Airport (we arrive late night Sunday have all day Monday in Vancouver and board Wonder on Tuesday) Post cruise we'll be in Vancouver for 3 full days (staying at Club Intrawest)
We didn't care about whale watching (we'll be doing enough of that on board ship and excursions in AK) but wanted a tour to Victoria to see Butchart Gardens and maybe have tea at Empress Hotel (personally I think it's overpriced and would MUCH rather do tea at Palo but my DH was told by a friend it was not to be missed) We wouldn't spend the night in Victoria. Is Butchart Gardens worth a day of our Vancouver stay? We are already set to do the Hop on Hop off Big bus thingy (got a groupon) for 2 days post cruise.

THANKS for the sushi recommendation!

Actually Butchart Gardens is where you should have tea! I think it was the best tea I've ever done...better than Palo and Grand Floridian.

.

 

[wdhinn89]

Pre-cruise we'll be in Vancouver for one FULL day staying at Fairmont Airport (we arrive late night Sunday have all day Monday in Vancouver and board Wonder on Tuesday) Post cruise we'll be in Vancouver for 3 full days (staying at Club Intrawest)
We didn't care about whale watching (we'll be doing enough of that on board ship and excursions in AK) but wanted a tour to Victoria to see Butchart Gardens and maybe have tea at Empress Hotel (personally I think it's overpriced and would MUCH rather do tea at Palo but my DH was told by a friend it was not to be missed) We wouldn't spend the night in Victoria. Is Butchart Gardens worth a day of our Vancouver stay? We are already set to do the Hop on Hop off Big bus thingy (got a groupon) for 2 days post cruise.

THANKS for the sushi recommendation!

We are also staying at the Fairmont Airport and will have the same amount of time as you. We still have not figured out what to do on Monday. We really don't want to rent a car.

Our plane leaves at 10:50pm on the day we get off the ship and we are renting a car for the day. We figured we would go to the Aquarium and Stanley Park and then head to the airport afterward.

 

[buddywesley]

We are also staying at the Fairmont Airport and will have the same amount of time as you. We still have not figured out what to do on Monday. We really don't want to rent a car.

Our plane leaves at 10:50pm on the day we get off the ship and we are renting a car for the day. We figured we would go to the Aquarium and Stanley Park and then head to the airport afterward.

yeah, we dont want to rent a car either. We were going to do something in the Richamond area but a friend of ours said we should go to Victoria and see Butchart Gardens while we are there. We were thinking about trying to do it that Monday. Still not sure...part of me doesn't even care if we relax and hang at the pool and room and relax to be ready for the cruise

 

[wdhinn89]

yeah, we dont want to rent a car either. We were going to do something in the Richamond area but a friend of ours said we should go to Victoria and see Butchart Gardens while we are there. We were thinking about trying to do it that Monday. Still not sure...part of me doesn't even care if we relax and hang at the pool and room and relax to be ready for the cruise

We are debating on this tour around Vancouver
http://www.vancouvertours.com/vancouver-tour
but hanging around the pool also sounds good too. We land at 1:30am Vancouver time but we are from NY so the time for us will be 5:30am. I hate to waste the day though. Too many decisions to make

 

[mellers]

Hi All,

We will be on the July 19th Alaska cruise and will be driving to Vancouver from Southern California. I have never been to Canada before and the last time my DH was there he was most excited about the fact that the legal drinking age was 18 (and that was quite a while ago . So suffice it to say that neither of us are in any way experts.

What I am trying to decide is if we would be better off staying in an inexpensive hotel (somewhere in the $50 to $60 range) in Washington near the border the night before embarkation or if we should come into Canada and try to find something there.

And, if we decide to do the cross the border the night before plan, does anyone have any suggestions for where we could find an inexpensive hotel or recommendations for one? I have looked into the Motel 6 in Washington and would ideally be looking for something along those lines.

I would rather spend my extra $ on goodies in Alaska or on the ship than on a one night stay.

Thanks in advance. All advice or suggestions/recommendations will be appreciated.

Take care all, help lots of people and have a "Wonder"ful day!

Tisza

Try the La Quinta Vancouver Airport in Richmond.

(Adding with edit--realized I missed something)

If you are driving, you are going to need parking. What I would suggest, in this case, is to check out the FourPoints Sheraton Vancouver Airport Park N' Fly deal: http://deals.fourpoints.com/Four-Po...13/so.htm?IM=PP_LHN_SOP_US_4P_213&iATANumber=

You could either drop your family off at the cruise terminal, return to the hotel to park, walk over to the Lansdowne Canada Line and return to the cruise terminal, or, if you don't have a lot of luggage to haul and you don't mind a 1/4-1/2 mile walk, all of you could walk over to the Canada Line (or you could drop people at the station, return the car, and walk back to the station).

You could also take the hotel's shuttle to the airport, and then all take the Canada Line from there, or take a taxi (VERY short ride) from the hotel to the Lansdowne Canada Line.

 

[Caropooh]

We are debating on this tour around Vancouver
http://www.vancouvertours.com/vancouver-tour
but hanging around the pool also sounds good too. We land at 1:30am Vancouver time but we are from NY so the time for us will be 5:30am. I hate to waste the day though. Too many decisions to make

Not a big deal, but it the west coast is only 3 hours earlier than the east coast, not 4! It's either the first night or 2nd night of the cruise when change time zones. Alaska is one hour earlier than Vancouver!

 

[buddywesley]

We are debating on this tour around Vancouver
http://www.vancouvertours.com/vancouver-tour
but hanging around the pool also sounds good too. We land at 1:30am Vancouver time but we are from NY so the time for us will be 5:30am. I hate to waste the day though. Too many decisions to make

Looks like a decent tour. You could also do the "Hop on Hop off" bus http://bigbus.ca/home/ It takes you all over and you get off where/when you want.
Which cruise are you on? We are June 28th

 

[mellers]

I do love Butchart Gardens but I'm not sure I'd go for a day trip to Victoria. If you're looking for a beautiful garden to see in the Richmond area, check with the temple to find out which hours their garden is open. While not quite as impressive as Butchart Gardens, it is truly beautiful:

http://www.buddhisttemple.ca/

 

[DisneyBasket]

Looks like a decent tour. You could also do the "Hop on Hop off" bus http://bigbus.ca/home/ It takes you all over and you get off where/when you want.
Which cruise are you on? We are June 28th

As an alternative, we took the Hop On Hop Off Trolley, which is slightly less expensive than the bus, and I believe covers the same territory. We found the trolleys charming, and enjoyed our tour around Vancouver.

http://www.vancouvertrolley.com/tours/hop-on-hop-off

 

[buddywesley]

I do love Butchart Gardens but I'm not sure I'd go for a day trip to Victoria. If you're looking for a beautiful garden to see in the Richmond area, check with the temple to find out which hours their garden is open. While not quite as impressive as Butchart Gardens, it is truly beautiful:

http://www.internationalbuddhisttemple.ca/

I couldn't get that link to work but found it at www.buddhisttemple.ca. It looks like they only give tours to groups of 15 or more? Looks beautiful though. I think we will probably not do Victoria. It's too much to pack into a day considering we'll be starting the cruise the next day. Still looking

 

[mellers]

I couldn't get that link to work but found it at www.buddhisttemple.ca. It looks like they only give tours to groups of 15 or more? Looks beautiful though. I think we will probably not do Victoria. It's too much to pack into a day considering we'll be starting the cruise the next day. Still looking

I'm sorry for posting the wrong URL. I would call the temple--there are usually some days which are open to the public--we were able to go, just as a family, about a year ago. The VanDusen botanical gardens are also nice.

 

[Doingitagain]

Very true. My MasterCard charges 3% on all transactions, but my AMEX charges nothing. It can make a big difference, depending on how much you spend.

I have Amex Platinum, and they quoted me 2.7% fee.

 

[nzdisneymom]

As an alternative, we took the Hop On Hop Off Trolley, which is slightly less expensive than the bus, and I believe covers the same territory. We found the trolleys charming, and enjoyed our tour around Vancouver.

http://www.vancouvertrolley.com/tours/hop-on-hop-off

We were trying to decide between the bus and the trolley for our day of official sight-seeing. Did you have to wait any for the trolleys (as in were they full and bypass you?).

 

[DisneyBasket]

We were trying to decide between the bus and the trolley for our day of official sight-seeing. Did you have to wait any for the trolleys (as in were they full and bypass you?).

No, they always were able to stop for us. I don't believe the trolley was ever full. Our longest wait for one was 15 minutes, but usually was much less. They run every 20 minutes, so we timed our stops to match up with that schedule.