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

[HiMagicFan]

Love all the help. We are going to Grouse Mountain and will now probably not stay for lunch. This was good advice. You all have been great!!!!

Yeah! I am so glad you decided to still do this!

When we get off the ship we have a 4pm flight. Questions???

1. How early has people been getting to the airport?
2. I have a soon to be 5 yr and 13. What can we squeeze in to do? Thinking no on aquarium. We live close to 2.

I have not begun to plan this day.

Another thing besides the biking (as your younger one might get tired sooner) may be to check out Granville Island. If you store your luggage and go down Hornsby Street you can catch an Aquabus ferry to the island. There is lots to do ~ just google it. I know there are kid stuff there.

 

[lbgraves]

I did see some bikes built for 2, some 2 adults and some an adult with a child. Not sure which shop/stand rents them, but that might help you. It was pretty level around the park with no hills.

 

[staffieri]

Love the advice. Is Granville island the same as some kid market I remember reading about. I should have taken notes. I remember Lollipop mom saying something about a kid market.

Also, How early do I need to get to the airport? I hate being there super early.
Ibgraves are you saying be at the airport 2 hours before and it is a 30 minute cab ride?

 

[lbgraves]

It took us 15-20 minutes to get to a hotel outside of the airport with no traffic. The drive from the hotel the next morning took us about 10 minutes so 25-30 total time with no traffic. You driving there from downtown mid-day with traffic on a work day I would allow 45-60 minutes driving time with stops. You don't want to get to the airport less than 2 hours before your flight. After you check in and take your checked luggage to the ramp where you put it yourself, you will need to go through security and then customs. This was the nice thing about it. We did not have to touch our luggage again from Vancouver to our final destination, three flights later. We had an hour or less between flights and always had to race from one end of the airport to the other. It did take longer for us to arrive at the gate for our flight though. It was not crowded when we arrived at the airport at 5:30 a.m. -- at least not all of the line was filled in. When it gets busier I can imagine a longer wait for each step, so would allow more time to make sure you don't miss your flight. Check the airline to see when they cut off boarding/check in for international flights.

 

[E&Cmom]

Love the advice. Is Granville island the same as some kid market I remember reading about. I should have taken notes. I remember Lollipop mom saying something about a kid market.

The kids Market is on Granville Island. It has lots of fun stores and an indoor play area. Outside their is a splash park. It is fun. I love Granville Island. Besides the Kids market, you have the regular public market and lot of little stores and artist studios.

 

[85SLE]

We found that Granville Market had great food at a reasonable price. Lunch was around $25 for the three of us.

 

[staffieri]

Great we will to the Kids Market, Granville. Sounds great. Thanks for the advice about traffic to the airport.

Anyone head to the airport on Tuesday? How long did it take you?

What was the latest time someone got of the boat? I am in no rush.

Any reviews on storing your luggage? where they long line? too long to get back?

 

[smeecanada]

Can anyone confirm what time the ship actually sails from Vancouver?

Have family who want to go down and watch from Stanley Park, but can't locate an actual sailing time.

 

[85SLE]

Can anyone confirm what time the ship actually sails from Vancouver?

Have family who want to go down and watch from Stanley Park, but can't locate an actual sailing time.

I believe that the boarding time starts at 12:30 and the ship sails at 4.
I know someone else will hve the correct time.

 

[richmo]

Anyone head to the airport on Tuesday? How long did it take you?

We took the SkyTrain back to the airport. From Canada Place, the walk to the SkyTrain station is less than 5 minutes. On the downside, you do have to pull your luggage, but the trains run frequently and auto traffic is never a factor. I think from the time we left Canada Place to the time we arrived at YVR was about 35 minutes. In our case, we had the late breakfast seating, started leaving the ship around 9:15 and arrived at YVR a little after 10:30...that includes customs. (If you're not in a hurry, leaving the ship a little later is much easier...the early breakfast folks wind up sitting in lounges waiting for their luggage tag to be called. If you have the late breakfast, they're all called by the time you're done eating and the mad rush is over).

I do also recommend biking Stanley Park if you have some time and its a reasonably nice day (sorry, I can't give advice on storing luggage...we did the bike ride prior to the cruise). The "official" bike rental place is Spokes, which means they're probably a little more expensive, but they had lots of different types of bikes available. We rented a tandem and the two kids each had their own. If you google Spokes Vancouver, you can check out their website and even call them. They had a really nice staff.

 

[RedSox68]

Okay, I have been faithful in reading this whole thread. Some of the best instructions I have gotten are how to use Hotwire and how to narrow down the specific hotel you hope to get. Everyone is trying to get Pan Pacific and many have mentioned that if you look on Trip Advisor for their percent rating, you can use that to narrow down the choices.

However, I cannot find anywhere in Pan Pacific's review on Trip Advisor where it says 90% anything. Where is one to look to find the rating in order to use it on Hotwire?

Thanks tons

 

[lbgraves]

I didn't use that. I was just told by several people to book the 5 start that had a 90% approval rating. It worked.

 

[lbgraves]

Can anyone confirm what time the ship actually sails from Vancouver?

Have family who want to go down and watch from Stanley Park, but can't locate an actual sailing time.

We went back to the port the day we got off the Wonder to watch it sail away. We saw our server on deck 4 with the lifeboat drill. I told David from entertainment that it wasn't as much fun that week. The ship actually pulled away from the dock around 5 pm.

 

[RedSox68]

I didn't use that. I was just told by several people to book the 5 start that had a 90% approval rating. It worked.

No five star hotels come up at all on Hotwire Oh well, guess I'll wait to see if it changes.

 

[smeecanada]

We went back to the port the day we got off the Wonder to watch it sail away. We saw our server on deck 4 with the lifeboat drill. I told David from entertainment that it wasn't as much fun that week. The ship actually pulled away from the dock around 5 pm.

Thanks, Lisa. Exactly what I was looking for. Less than 24 hours to go.

 

[lbgraves]

How many rooms & people are you trying to find and what are the dates? I know that multiple rooms sometimes mixed things up. I would check throughout the day as I found the rooms being offered changed frequently. I kept refreshing every 30 minutes or so when trying to book a room at the Westin airport for the night we got off the ship.

 

[staffieri]

We took the SkyTrain back to the airport. From Canada Place, the walk to the SkyTrain station is less than 5 minutes. On the downside, you do have to pull your luggage, but the trains run frequently and auto traffic is never a factor. I think from the time we left Canada Place to the time we arrived at YVR was about 35 minutes. In our case, we had the late breakfast seating, started leaving the ship around 9:15 and arrived at YVR a little after 10:30...that includes customs. (If you're not in a hurry, leaving the ship a little later is much easier...the early breakfast folks wind up sitting in lounges waiting for their luggage tag to be called. If you have the late breakfast, they're all called by the time you're done eating and the mad rush is over).

I do also recommend biking Stanley Park if you have some time and its a reasonably nice day (sorry, I can't give advice on storing luggage...we did the bike ride prior to the cruise). The "official" bike rental place is Spokes, which means they're probably a little more expensive, but they had lots of different types of bikes available. We rented a tandem and the two kids each had their own. If you google Spokes Vancouver, you can check out their website and even call them. They had a really nice staff.

Thanks. Great info!!!


Anyone know if you don't have to get off the ship early if they will let you get the sit down late breakfast even if you were early seating?

 

[richmo]

Thanks. Great info!!!


Anyone know if you don't have to get off the ship early if they will let you get the sit down late breakfast even if you were early seating?

Probably not. The reason is that you get the same table and server for breakfast that you usually have. So, whoever has the late sitting might be sitting there. You might be able to arrange something, but a better option would be to go to Beach Blanket Buffet, which will be open (not for too long). Its not really advertised as open, but it is.

 

[GrtWtNorth]

The tram ride down itself is a little over 4 minutes. It takes around 6 minutes to go up. We were leaving at the end of the day when lots of others were leaving as well, so there was a 45 minute wait to get onto the tram.

One cable connects two trams -- one goes up just as fast as it's partner goes down. However, the staff adjust the speed depending on the crowd levels. It can take as long as 10 minutes, if it's a slow time of day. When it's busy and running fast (3-4 minutes), riders get butterflies as the trams crest the upper tower.

Another FYI, if you plan to visit Grouse Mountain during busy times -- there is very limited seating on the tram. The bench seats under the front and rear windows fit 20-25 people, but staff fill the trams to capacity (150 passengers) whenever there's a line. Be prepared to be up-close-and-personal with a few sweaty hikers.

It's even more chaotic in winter, when everyone is carrying skis and snowboards. My most memorable ride was at closing time after a long night of skiing. A few craft services staff were wedged in among ~120 skiers and a dozen skaters (background actors). They had finished catering a TV show set (Men in Trees, figure skating scenes). The craft services leader held up her tray and said, "It's a shame that all this good food needs to go in the garbage as soon as we reach the bottom. I don't suppose anyone would like some?" I swear their food trays were empty in less than 20 seconds.

 

[rsjj]

THANK FOR THE INFO. We only have the day of the cruise to go to Grouse. I am very excited to go. We are going to take a taxi over at 8:30 in the morning and play there until 1:45. Thinking this is worth our time since it looks like the cruise is sold out. No port upgrades. Love the info about the bears nap. LOL We are hoping to paraglide in morning. Any more info or advice would be great. What time did the BBQ place open for lunch?

Not sure if anyone answered this, but when we finished the lumber jack show (around 12:45), it was already open. But not busy @ all!! Got really busy around 1 though!