richmo
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2007
- Messages
- 4,417
A few post-cruise observations:
(Great trip by the way!!)
- Skytrain between YVR and Canada Place worked just fine for us. Very nice train and quite convenient. We bought a pack of 10 two zone tickets for the four of us at London Drugs in Richmond and avoided the $5 YVR add-on. Earlier posts mention you can buy one zone tickets and upgrade them, so you can also do that. There is a short walk from the Waterfront station to Canada Place, but it isn't far, even if pulling luggage (I wouldn't recommend it if you have to carry it). Also, be aware that when you are leaving Canada Place after the cruise to take the SkyTrain back to the airport, the first SkyTrain station you encounter is NOT the Canada Line. You have to walk past that to the traffic light and turn left onto Cordova St., then you'll see the station on the left.
- Parked at YVR using the coupon on the YVR.ca website, for $40/week. With the additional day and taxes, it came to about CA$65, maybe a little less. That's a pretty hefty discount over the Canada Place lots...and I heard some people saying some of those lots were full. If you do want to park near the cruise terminal, I would strongly encourage you to make reservations.
- In Vancouver, if its a nice day, I'd highly recommend renting a bike and do the Stanley Park loop. There's several rental places near the entrance to the park (I believe near Denman and Alberti/Georgia). We used Spokes (a little over $10/hour for a 7 speed single bike), but there are others. You'll need a minimum of an hour, a little more if you want to look at the totems, take pictures, etc.
Slightly off topic, but related to the trip:
- If you forget or choose to leave home raingear/fleece jackets, there are several shops in all three Alaskan ports that sell jackets that are quite nice for about $20. They're not Lands End/North Face quality by any means, but I was surprised how nice they were for the price. (One disclaimer: the Tracy Arm day, which occurs before any of the ports, can be the coldest of the trip...it was on ours). When you get on the cruise ship in Vancouver, you'll also get a coupon book for stores in all three ports and my daughter picked up a nice fleece for $10. Also, don't overpack t-shirts and long sleeve T's. Nice ones can be had for $10 or less. Overall, I was surprised at the low prices... the first shop you'll see in Skagway (Alaska Shirt Co.) is a good one. They're also in Juneau and maybe Ketchikan.
- Tracy Arm observations: people start claiming chairs on deck 10 after breakfast on Tracy Arm day, even though you don't get to Tracy Arm until about 1:00. Observation #1: you can see just as well on deck 4 and there aren't many people there. Plus you're a lot closer to the icebergs. #2: Deck 10 is quite crowded until you get to Sawyer glacier and turn around. On the way back, everyone leaves and the deck is virtually empty. But the view is identical coming back. #3: You are a little more protected from the cold/weather on deck 9. I don't like this as much because you're looking thru plexiglas.
- A popular inexpensive souvenir you'll see all over Alaska is a semi-circular knife called an Ulu. If you do buy one, be aware that you won't be able to bring it back on the ship. When you return to the ship, they'll confiscate it and give you a claim check and you can claim it when you get back to Vancouver.
- This is just personal opinion, but unless you have little kids, I'd recommend the second dinner seating. A couple of the port stops went to 7 or 7:30 in the evening and it was nice to have a little extra time in those ports to walk around town, especially if you have an excursion that lasts a good part of the day. Also, the second seating makes it far less rushed on disembarkation morning. While the first seating breakfast people were crowded into lounges after they ate, waiting for their luggage tags to be called, the second seating could pretty much just leave with very short lines after finishing breakfast. (Of course, if you have an early flight to catch or need to get off the ship fast, ignore all that)
Have fun!
(Great trip by the way!!)
- Skytrain between YVR and Canada Place worked just fine for us. Very nice train and quite convenient. We bought a pack of 10 two zone tickets for the four of us at London Drugs in Richmond and avoided the $5 YVR add-on. Earlier posts mention you can buy one zone tickets and upgrade them, so you can also do that. There is a short walk from the Waterfront station to Canada Place, but it isn't far, even if pulling luggage (I wouldn't recommend it if you have to carry it). Also, be aware that when you are leaving Canada Place after the cruise to take the SkyTrain back to the airport, the first SkyTrain station you encounter is NOT the Canada Line. You have to walk past that to the traffic light and turn left onto Cordova St., then you'll see the station on the left.
- Parked at YVR using the coupon on the YVR.ca website, for $40/week. With the additional day and taxes, it came to about CA$65, maybe a little less. That's a pretty hefty discount over the Canada Place lots...and I heard some people saying some of those lots were full. If you do want to park near the cruise terminal, I would strongly encourage you to make reservations.
- In Vancouver, if its a nice day, I'd highly recommend renting a bike and do the Stanley Park loop. There's several rental places near the entrance to the park (I believe near Denman and Alberti/Georgia). We used Spokes (a little over $10/hour for a 7 speed single bike), but there are others. You'll need a minimum of an hour, a little more if you want to look at the totems, take pictures, etc.
Slightly off topic, but related to the trip:
- If you forget or choose to leave home raingear/fleece jackets, there are several shops in all three Alaskan ports that sell jackets that are quite nice for about $20. They're not Lands End/North Face quality by any means, but I was surprised how nice they were for the price. (One disclaimer: the Tracy Arm day, which occurs before any of the ports, can be the coldest of the trip...it was on ours). When you get on the cruise ship in Vancouver, you'll also get a coupon book for stores in all three ports and my daughter picked up a nice fleece for $10. Also, don't overpack t-shirts and long sleeve T's. Nice ones can be had for $10 or less. Overall, I was surprised at the low prices... the first shop you'll see in Skagway (Alaska Shirt Co.) is a good one. They're also in Juneau and maybe Ketchikan.
- Tracy Arm observations: people start claiming chairs on deck 10 after breakfast on Tracy Arm day, even though you don't get to Tracy Arm until about 1:00. Observation #1: you can see just as well on deck 4 and there aren't many people there. Plus you're a lot closer to the icebergs. #2: Deck 10 is quite crowded until you get to Sawyer glacier and turn around. On the way back, everyone leaves and the deck is virtually empty. But the view is identical coming back. #3: You are a little more protected from the cold/weather on deck 9. I don't like this as much because you're looking thru plexiglas.
- A popular inexpensive souvenir you'll see all over Alaska is a semi-circular knife called an Ulu. If you do buy one, be aware that you won't be able to bring it back on the ship. When you return to the ship, they'll confiscate it and give you a claim check and you can claim it when you get back to Vancouver.
- This is just personal opinion, but unless you have little kids, I'd recommend the second dinner seating. A couple of the port stops went to 7 or 7:30 in the evening and it was nice to have a little extra time in those ports to walk around town, especially if you have an excursion that lasts a good part of the day. Also, the second seating makes it far less rushed on disembarkation morning. While the first seating breakfast people were crowded into lounges after they ate, waiting for their luggage tags to be called, the second seating could pretty much just leave with very short lines after finishing breakfast. (Of course, if you have an early flight to catch or need to get off the ship fast, ignore all that)
Have fun!
