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

[buddywesley]

In Vancouver, do they still photograph you for facial recognition the way they do in Canaveral? I'm not sure if I've seen that posted or not?

Thanks!

Yes they do but they took our picture as a whole family and then I guess must have separated us after? I did see just me when they swiped the card exiting/entering the boat.

 

[seamour]

You could try this one-maybe call and ask them?
Harbour Centre
555 W Hastings
Vancouver, BC V6B 4N5
(604)660-4574

which is only a block away from Canada Place.

maybe we could put in a big ole order? LOL!

 

[mmouse37]

Hope this helps-we find the day passes very useful-you can buy them in the airport at the 7/11 or pharmacy (same downtown usually London Drugstore)-Last time they were $9 for the day - good for all zones.

http://www.translink.ca/en/Fares-and-Passes/DayPass.aspx

Thanks for the link

Could someone see if I figured this out correctly. We will be in Vancouver for 4 days pre cruise. From looking at the TransLink website it seems there are different options for transportation tickets. We have 12 people in our group and I am trying to find the least expensive way for us to get around on Skytrain, Bus and SeaBus for the 4 days. This is what I found:

Daypass tickets: $9.00 pp per day
12 people x $9.00 per day = $108.00 per day x 4 days = $432 total for 4 days

Faresaver ticket: Booklet of 10 paper tickets cost $31.50 each which covers 2 zone travel.

If you break it down we need 48 tickets to cover our 4 days for the 12 people. If we buy 5 ticket booklets that would give us 50 tickets (2 extra). I read in another post that these can be shared among people are not limited to one person. If that is true then it would be great.

12 people x 4 days = 48 tickets that we would need. If we buy the 2 zone FareSaver tickets at $31.50 a booklet (10 tix in each) for 5 booklets that would equal only $157.50....could it really be that much cheaper over the daypass fares of $432.00 for the 4 days or have I not figured correctly. Seems like a huge difference...I feel I have forgotten something. Did I mess up the math somewhere??? I see something about regular fares are up until 6:30 pm. What happens after 6:30 pm.....can we still use the FareSaver tickets at night?

The Daypass fare covers 3 zones but I don't think we will need more than the 2 zones and if we did I think we can just add on for the 3rd zone when needed.

Any advice??? Help!!!

MJ

 

[DenverVal]

We bought day passes for the four of us at the pharmasave at the airport and took the Sky Train to the Pan Pacific then used them to ride bus and seabus the rest of the day. That actually was cheaper than buying a two-zone ticket with the airport add-on and then a few more for riding the bus and seabus later. We also used them to go to Grouse Mountain and the Capilano Bridge the next day.

My husband viewed it as cheaper than renting a car (and the cost of valet parking) and just bought day passes for our stay.

The only place where we actually used them was to ride the bus. No one ever asked for our tickets when we rode the train or seabus. It seemed to be on the honor system, but I didn't want to be the one to test it out, and I really appreciated the ability to easily get wherever I wanted to go. It was worth the few dollars it cost.

Also, my husband found the visitor's information booth at Canada Place, (or he might have picked it up at the hotel concierge) and one of the flyers there had a list of the most popular sites and how to get there from Canada Place, i.e. which bus/train/ferry. VERY helpful!

 

[Shanny145]

Thanks for the link

Could someone see if I figured this out correctly. We will be in Vancouver for 4 days pre cruise. From looking at the TransLink website it seems there are different options for transportation tickets. We have 12 people in our group and I am trying to find the least expensive way for us to get around on Skytrain, Bus and SeaBus for the 4 days. This is what I found:

Daypass tickets: $9.00 pp per day
12 people x $9.00 per day = $108.00 per day x 4 days = $432 total for 4 days

Faresaver ticket: Booklet of 10 paper tickets cost $31.50 each which covers 2 zone travel.

If you break it down we need 48 tickets to cover our 4 days for the 12 people. If we buy 5 ticket booklets that would give us 50 tickets (2 extra). I read in another post that these can be shared among people are not limited to one person. If that is true then it would be great.

12 people x 4 days = 48 tickets that we would need. If we buy the 2 zone FareSaver tickets at $31.50 a booklet (10 tix in each) for 5 booklets that would equal only $157.50....could it really be that much cheaper over the daypass fares of $432.00 for the 4 days or have I not figured correctly. Seems like a huge difference...I feel I have forgotten something. Did I mess up the math somewhere??? I see something about regular fares are up until 6:30 pm. What happens after 6:30 pm.....can we still use the FareSaver tickets at night?

The Daypass fare covers 3 zones but I don't think we will need more than the 2 zones and if we did I think we can just add on for the 3rd zone when needed.

Any advice??? Help!!!

MJ

Well If you are only going to use the transportation once per person per day then yes but the day pass covers all transportation all day.....at least that is my understanding....maybe a local can chime in

 

[richmo]

Yes they do but they took our picture as a whole family and then I guess must have separated us after? I did see just me when they swiped the card exiting/entering the boat.

I'm thinking this thing is getting overanalyzed, but here goes...

You actually get photographed twice as you board. Once is for the facial recognition picture so they can ID you when you get off and on the ship. Why there's an issue of whether they use a picture from a previous cruise is beyond me.

The second picture is one of the ship's photographers taking a family picture that you can buy later, if you like. That one is not used for security.

 

[3princessMommy]

Our family is taking the Amtrak train from Vancouver to Seattle on the evening of August 2 after our cruise. We've been wondering what we could do during that day - given that we have 3 kids and 5 suitcases. I thought others might be in a similar situation, so figured I'd post what I've found here:

There is luggage storage at Canada Place:
http://www.prioritybaggage.ca/servic...storageservice

It costs $6 per bag per day for your average suitcase size.

From Canada Place http://www.canadaplace.ca/ you have several options if you don’t want to do the “guided tour” thing:
- You can walk about 2 miles along the sea wall and visit Stanley Park http://vancouver.ca/parks/parks/stanley/ and the Vancouver Aquarium http://www.vanaqua.org/.
- If you are going to walk to Stanley Park, you can also visit the Klahowya Village http://www.aboriginalbc.com/klahowya-village for a visit into Aboriginal life, legends, and artistry. You can also take the #19 bus to get here or the aquarium.
- You can take the shuttle to the Capilano Suspension Bridge http://www.capbridge.com/index.php. The shuttles are free and start at 9am. They start returning at 10:45am.
- You can take a free shuttle to Grouse Mountain http://www.grousemountain.com/. You must purchase a general admission ticket ($39.95/adult) to ride the shuttle.

There are also several tour companies that operate out of Canada Place:
West Coast Sightseeing (aka GreyLine) offers a 4-hour Highlights of Vancouver Tour especially for Post (and Pre) Cruise travelers.
http://www.vancouversightseeing.com/...ghlights-tour/
They will take you and your luggage and drop you at the Train Station following the tour.
The website says they also offer other tours, but I haven’t heard back from them to see if any would work Post-Cruise. For example the site suggests adding on the Aquarium Post-cruise, but not sure about the logistics on this one yet.

Landsea Tours & Adventures http://www.vancouvertours.com/tours also offers various city tours. They will pick-up at the Pan Pacific, which is across the street from Canada Place, and drop you at the Train Station. They tour they recommended for this was their 2-hour Vancouver Snap Shots tour, which departs the Pan Pacific at 11am. I have asked them if there are any other options, but haven’t heard back yet.

If you want to do your own private tour, you can book a private car through http://www.ridebooker.com/. They will pick you and your luggage up at the terminal and take you anywhere you want to go for $90/hour. You can choose from stretch limos to 10 pax vans to luxury sedans on this site.

I hope this is helpful to everyone! (A lot of it I gleaned from this thread - so thanks! I just thought it would be helpful all in one place for anyone interested.) Anyone else, please feel free to add on or correct anything here.

Joann

 

[joycsk]

Couldn't quite see this in a quick search. I've read that we can purchase 2 day transit passes at the airport - pharmacy or 7-11. Do the passes activate at purchase, or do they not activate until first use?

We arrive in YVR on Saturday and I'm contemplating taking a cab to our hotel and being quite most of that day. I'd love to purchase the two day passes to be used on Sunday and Monday, but I'm not sure if I can do that.

Thanks for your help!

 

[GrtWtNorth]

Daypass tickets: $9.00 pp per day
12 people x $9.00 per day = $108.00 per day x 4 days = $432 total for 4 days

Faresaver ticket: Booklet of 10 paper tickets cost $31.50 each which covers 2 zone travel.

If you break it down we need 48 tickets to cover our 4 days for the 12 people. If we buy 5 ticket booklets that would give us 50 tickets (2 extra). I read in another post that these can be shared among people are not limited to one person. If that is true then it would be great.

12 people x 4 days = 48 tickets that we would need. If we buy the 2 zone FareSaver tickets at $31.50 a booklet (10 tix in each) for 5 booklets that would equal only $157.50....could it really be that much cheaper over the daypass fares of $432.00 for the 4 days or have I not figured correctly. Seems like a huge difference...I feel I have forgotten something. Did I mess up the math somewhere??? I see something about regular fares are up until 6:30 pm. What happens after 6:30 pm.....can we still use the FareSaver tickets at night?

Faresaver Tickets are good for only 90 minutes of travel time. Most travellers will require two tickets per person per day, assuming they are travelling between their hotel and their destination at the beginning and end of the day.
12 people x 4 days x 2 directions = 96 tickets.

It will still be cheaper to use 2-zone tickets than to buy day-passes. However, if you plan to 'hop' to another destination mid-day or in the evening, day-passes are a better deal. A day pass is very close to the cost of three 1-zone tickets. If you're planning to cross multiple zones, it's an even better deal.

 

[GrtWtNorth]

Couldn't quite see this in a quick search. I've read that we can purchase 2 day transit passes at the airport - pharmacy or 7-11. Do the passes activate at purchase, or do they not activate until first use?

We arrive in YVR on Saturday and I'm contemplating taking a cab to our hotel and being quite most of that day. I'd love to purchase the two day passes to be used on Sunday and Monday, but I'm not sure if I can do that.

Thanks for your help!

Vancouver's public transit system (Translink) only has daily and monthly passes. However, some of the tourist bus systems (Grayline) have multi-day passes.

You can buy Translink daily passes at many convenience stores (including the 7-Eleven in the airport), as well as at the vending machines in every Skytrain Station. (The Skytrain stations on airport may charge a $5 surcharge, like they do for basic 1-zone and 2-zone tickets, but you won't pay this at any other station.) The skytrain ticket vending machines are super-efficient and they take virtually every type of payment. (I personally prefer using Skytrain vending machines to buying from the people who work in convenience stores.)

If you want to take a cab downtown, I wouldn't buy passes at the airport. On Sunday, you can drop in the nearest convenience store or Skytrain station and purchase your day passes. You will have to repeat this on Monday.

 

[richmo]

...The Skytrain stations on airport may charge a $5 surcharge, like they do for basic 1-zone and 2-zone tickets, but you won't pay this at any other station.

My understanding is that if you buy a day pass or Faresaver, you do not get hit with the YVR surcharge. According to the website (translink.ca):

Customers who use prepaid fares such as DayPasses, Monthly FareCards, FareSaver tickets, West Coast Express weekly and 28-day passes, U-Passes, Employer Passes and Government Bus Passes are exempt from the Canada Line YVR AddFare.

 

[richmo]

Arriving in SEA and driving north: what/where is a good way to exchange US$ for CAD$? Same question in reverse also.

 

[3princessMommy]

Arriving in SEA and driving north: what/where is a good way to exchange US$ for CAD$? Same question in reverse also.

I've heard go to an ATM upon arrival on the Canadian side is the best way. Don't know how to change it back though except at a change place, which charge too much IMHO.

 

[Candy Apple]

Vancouver's public transit system (Translink) only has daily and monthly passes. However, some of the tourist bus systems (Grayline) have multi-day passes.

You can buy Translink daily passes at many convenience stores (including the 7-Eleven in the airport), as well as at the vending machines in every Skytrain Station. (The Skytrain stations on airport may charge a $5 surcharge, like they do for basic 1-zone and 2-zone tickets, but you won't pay this at any other station.) The skytrain ticket vending machines are super-efficient and they take virtually every type of payment. (I personally prefer using Skytrain vending machines to buying from the people who work in convenience stores.)

If you want to take a cab downtown, I wouldn't buy passes at the airport. On Sunday, you can drop in the nearest convenience store or Skytrain station and purchase your day passes. You will have to repeat this on Monday.

My understanding is that if you buy a day pass or Faresaver, you do not get hit with the YVR surcharge. According to the website (translink.ca):

Customers who use prepaid fares such as DayPasses, Monthly FareCards, FareSaver tickets, West Coast Express weekly and 28-day passes, U-Passes, Employer Passes and Government Bus Passes are exempt from the Canada Line YVR AddFare.

Can you buy a faresaver at the airport 7-11? We arrive in Vancouver on Saturday and plan to take the Canada line to the Fairmont Waterfront. I'm not sure if we will be doing any more public transport on the day we arrive, so I'm trying to figure out what is the cheapest way to get from the airport to the hotel that day. For Sunday and Monday, we'll do the day passes.

 

[joycsk]

Vancouver's public transit system (Translink) only has daily and monthly passes. However, some of the tourist bus systems (Grayline) have multi-day passes.

You can buy Translink daily passes at many convenience stores (including the 7-Eleven in the airport), as well as at the vending machines in every Skytrain Station. (The Skytrain stations on airport may charge a $5 surcharge, like they do for basic 1-zone and 2-zone tickets, but you won't pay this at any other station.) The skytrain ticket vending machines are super-efficient and they take virtually every type of payment. (I personally prefer using Skytrain vending machines to buying from the people who work in convenience stores.)

If you want to take a cab downtown, I wouldn't buy passes at the airport. On Sunday, you can drop in the nearest convenience store or Skytrain station and purchase your day passes. You will have to repeat this on Monday.

This is what I needed. Out of curiosity, I'll go out on a limb and ask if you can tell me anything about the Festival of Light? We arrive on the 29th, which is the first night. Since China is up, I really want to go. However, that is the reason we are planning a _quite_ afternoon when we arrive. We're from the east coast and will be pulling a 24 hr day. But I just can't imagine passing this up. (Planning also to drug self and kids on the plane ride. I HATE that Newark considers CA to be an "international" flight - I mean I _know_, but _really?)

Apologies for the ramble.

 

[buddywesley]

Arriving in SEA and driving north: what/where is a good way to exchange US$ for CAD$? Same question in reverse also.

Check with your bank. We were able to order CAD$ before we left for no extra fees. also we found here (we are still in Vancouver) when using Amex travelers checks they pretty much used them as if they were Canadian!? (we got right change back)

 

[DisneyBasket]

Check with your bank. We were able to order CAD$ before we left for no extra fees.

I would agree with this advice. We used ATMs and were hit with international fees from our bank. We would have had NONE if we had gone to the branch and picked up CAD before our trip. In the future, I plan to put "visit the bank" on my pre-travel list of errands!

 

[mom_rules]

This is what I needed. Out of curiosity, I'll go out on a limb and ask if you can tell me anything about the Festival of Light? We arrive on the 29th, which is the first night. Since China is up, I really want to go. However, that is the reason we are planning a _quite_ afternoon when we arrive. We're from the east coast and will be pulling a 24 hr day. But I just can't imagine passing this up. (Planning also to drug self and kids on the plane ride. I HATE that Newark considers CA to be an "international" flight - I mean I _know_, but _really?)

Apologies for the ramble.

Saturday July 30th
10:00 - 10:25PM
Celebration of Light Fireworks Show

China: "China Storm"


Wednesday August 3rd
10:00 - 10:25PM
Celebration of Light Fireworks Show

Spain: "Odyssey"


Saturday August 6th
10:00 - 10:25PM
Celebration of Light Fireworks Show

Canada: "Then and Now"

Bleacher seating-
Guarantee the best seats and view at the 2011 Celebration of Light!

So you want to enjoy the fireworks but don’t have time to head down to the beach hours ahead of the big show?

This is your exclusive opportunity to secure a limited number of reserved seats in the new Celebration of Light grandstand, located at the heart of the action in English Bay! From your reserved bleacher seat you will enjoy a fantastic view of the fireworks while listening to the musical simulcast through our bleacher sound system. Get your friends together, head to the beach, and enjoy your reserved seat, front and centre, as we celebrate the Spectacular 21st Annual Celebration of Light fireworks festival!


Net proceeds from the sale of these tickets go directly to the Vancouver Fireworks Festival Society to help keep this event alive for years to come.

Limited Early Bird tickets are only $35 plus tax and service charge, and are available through Tickets Tonight.

 

[DenverVal]

My understanding is that if you buy a day pass or Faresaver, you do not get hit with the YVR surcharge. According to the website (translink.ca):

Customers who use prepaid fares such as DayPasses, Monthly FareCards, FareSaver tickets, West Coast Express weekly and 28-day passes, U-Passes, Employer Passes and Government Bus Passes are exempt from the Canada Line YVR AddFare.

I believe you are not exempt from the surcharge if you buy them from the airport kiosk. You do not pay the surcharge if you buy them from the pharmasave or the 7-11 in the airport. The least confusing way to find these shops is to go to the train platform, and as you face the train, turn right and go back into the airport.

 

[GrtWtNorth]

Out of curiosity, I'll go out on a limb and ask if you can tell me anything about the Festival of Light? We arrive on the 29th, which is the first night. Since China is up, I really want to go. However, that is the reason we are planning a _quite_ afternoon when we arrive. We're from the east coast and will be pulling a 24 hr day.

Celebration of Light is amazing to watch. The challenge is that there will literally be hundreds of thousands of locals also trying to watch the fireworks from the beaches, plus hundreds (or thousands) watching from small boats. It is very crowded. Locals stake out spots hours in advance. Many roads are closed, both in the vicinity of English Bay and Kitsilano Point. Parking is severely restricted. Bus and taxi service in these areas will be slow.

When I was living 'out east' and I travelled to Vancouver on business, I thought about trying to catch one of these shows, but I was too exhausted to venture out of my hotel.

Years later, when I lived in Vancouver, we would watch the show from Kitsilano Point, which was much less crowded than English Bay. See this map. The arrow in the water marks the approximate location of the fireworks barge.

If you do want to spend a few hours at a beach and watch the fireworks in the evening, pay attention to the tides. Some foolish people claim what appear to be choice spots during the day, only to realize that the tide is coming in and they will be under a several feet of water by the time the fireworks start. Some of my friends think watching these people is more entertaining than the fireworks.