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

[goofynut41]

Whats the best way to get from the Port to the airport? How far is it? We will be coming from Hawaii to Vancouver....

 

[canadiandisneycruise]

I second Aerocar--they are not only good quality, but darn nice, too. I was feeling a little under-the-weather when I was traveling from my hotel room to my last cruise about three weeks ago, and what I didn't know is that I had a serious kidney problem. I am usually the one who double-checks that we have all of the luggage, and unfortunately, my husband left a bag with his CPAP and his extensive (and expensive) collection of heart medications in the lobby of our hotel. He figured this out when we reached Ballantyne, and our hotel was by the airport. The driver saw our distress, called his dispatcher, quoted us a reduced rate and took my husband all the way back to our hotel and then back to Ballantyne with the CPAP and medicines. We were VERY grateful. http://www.aerocar.ca/ If you're going to SeaTac, and not Vancouver, go for QuickShuttle: http://www.quickcoach.com/

So, after looking at their website, you don't actually have to reserve them. Is this correct? Will they also be available from the cruise terminal back to the airport without a reservation?

 

[canadiandisneycruise]

I would love some help finding a hotel for our family of 5. We live in Seattle and are coming up for the alaska cruise in August. We want to drive up Saturday morning and spend the weekend in Vancouver before the cruise. I am having trouble finding hotels that accomodate 5 in a room. Here in the states we LOVE the springhill suites for this but it doesn't appear that they operate in Vancouver. We are not opposed to staying out by the airport especially if that gives us a cheaper option for parking the car while we are cruising. Any suggestions?

We booked the Delta. Can't wait!!!

 

[The Hunchback]

Suggest you consider the Radisson Airport if coming in for a an early day. We took their airport shuttle from the airport and stored luggage. Take a local phone number for the shuttle to call them for a pick-up. Then took sky train from hotel front door to all sights downtown. Then took shuttle next day to airport. Drop off point is near where Disney will be ready to show you to their shuttles. Easy transition.

Radisson Shuttle is free but we did tip their driver. Radisson runs good deals on Travelocity.

 

[richmo]

Whats the best way to get from the Port to the airport? How far is it? We will be coming from Hawaii to Vancouver....

If you're going to the port from the airport (YVR), the SkyTrain is a good method. You will have a short walk once you get off the train, so if its not a nice day or you don't have luggage on wheels, you might not want to do that. But it is a nice, efficient ride. (I forget some of the details, but if you pick up tickets in the convenience store within the airport, you can avoid the airport surcharge)

 

[goofynut41]

If you're going to the port from the airport (YVR), the SkyTrain is a good method. You will have a short walk once you get off the train, so if its not a nice day or you don't have luggage on wheels, you might not want to do that. But it is a nice, efficient ride. (I forget some of the details, but if you pick up tickets in the convenience store within the airport, you can avoid the airport surcharge)

But can you do this in reverse?? I hope.. do you have to have tickets to ride the train?

 

[dsnydaddy]

To Lollipop's Mom: I notice the picture of the map on your first post is broken. If I may, can I suggest a YouTube video that a DIS'er made of the short walk between the drop-off of the sky-tram to the cruise port. I found this video very helpful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMKXjXWDh2o

 

[Tenkawa]

To Lollipop's Mom: I notice the picture of the map on your first post is broken. If I may, can I suggest a YouTube video that a DIS'er made of the short walk between the drop-off of the sky-tram to the cruise port. I found this video very helpful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMKXjXWDh2o

I was the one who made that video. feel free to ping me if you have some more specific questions.

There are ticket machines inside Waterfront station (that big brick building) before you go to the trains and they take Credit Cards to buy tickets, or Canadian change.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

So, after looking at their website, you don't actually have to reserve them. Is this correct? Will they also be available from the cruise terminal back to the airport without a reservation?

Aerocar is a sole provider the airport to provide curbside van/limo/SUV service. They do not have vans waiting at the cruise terminal. However, you can arrange with them to pick you up. Also, there are plenty of taxi vans waiting outside Canada Place to take you back to the airport. The cost or our taxi van to the airport was $37.00 CSD.

 

[richmo]

But can you do this in reverse?? I hope.. do you have to have tickets to ride the train?

My Alaskan cruise was 3 years ago, so some of the details are foggy, but, as I recall, we were able to buy a book of the number of SkyTrain tickets we would need for the entire trip. Since there were four of us, we would need 8 tickets for the round trip, so I suspect we purchased a book of ten. (May seem wasteful, but it was still less than paying the surcharge added on to a YVR to port ride).

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

If you're going to the port from the airport (YVR), the SkyTrain is a good method. You will have a short walk once you get off the train, so if its not a nice day or you don't have luggage on wheels, you might not want to do that. But it is a nice, efficient ride. (I forget some of the details, but if you pick up tickets in the convenience store within the airport, you can avoid the airport surcharge)

But can you do this in reverse?? I hope.. do you have to have tickets to ride the train?

We went on the Wonder 5/24-6/2 cruise and used the Skytrain from YVR to the Pan Pacific which is right at the port and then from the port after disembarking to YVR to go home.

We followed the directions from earlier in this thread to go to from the International terminal to the 7-11 in the Domestic terminal to purchase a book of 10 Faresaver Tickets for approximately $20. Since it was after 6:30 on a Friday evening it didn't matter how many zones we were going through so we only needed to use one ticket per person from the book (there were 5 of us) to get from the airport to the port.

(Go up the large escalator (to the departures level), continue straight ahead until you are in the domestic terminal (through the connector building).
Go down the escalator in the middle, then down the ramp or escalator in the middle of the domestic baggage area. The 7-11 is right there.)

After getting off the Wonder we walked back to the Waterfront station and we had to go to the machines and "upgrade" the remaining 5 tickets we had because it was about 10:30 AM on a Monday so the zones counted and we were going through 2 zones from port to airport. We inserted the ticket into the machine and added a zone for the price of $1.16 per ticket (you need to do this separately for each ticket). This validated the ticket to be good for the 2 zone trip back to the airport.

So basically the 5 of us traveled round trip from airport to port for a total of $26. The trains were clean and large enough for us to bring our luggage and we had no problems at all. I would recommend it unless you had very young children or someone who had mobility issues and luggage.

 

[DisneyHelen]

We went from the port to airport for 12 dollars for three people last week. It was so easy ,just leave the terminal and go to the left and follow the signs. The train was not busy in the morning.I highly recommend the skytrain if you can take your own suitcase.

 

[GrtWtNorth]

We went on the Wonder 5/24-6/2 cruise and used the Skytrain from YVR to the Pan Pacific which is right at the port and then from the port after disembarking to YVR to go home.

We followed the directions from earlier in this thread to go to from the International terminal to the 7-11 in the Domestic terminal to purchase a book of 10 Faresaver Tickets for approximately $20. Since it was after 6:30 on a Friday evening it didn't matter how many zones we were going through so we only needed to use one ticket per person from the book (there were 5 of us) to get from the airport to the port.

(Go up the large escalator (to the departures level), continue straight ahead until you are in the domestic terminal (through the connector building).
Go down the escalator in the middle, then down the ramp or escalator in the middle of the domestic baggage area. The 7-11 is right there.)

After getting off the Wonder we walked back to the Waterfront station and we had to go to the machines and "upgrade" the remaining 5 tickets we had because it was about 10:30 AM on a Monday so the zones counted and we were going through 2 zones from port to airport. We inserted the ticket into the machine and added a zone for the price of $1.16 per ticket (you need to do this separately for each ticket). This validated the ticket to be good for the 2 zone trip back to the airport.

So basically the 5 of us traveled round trip from airport to port for a total of $26. The trains were clean and large enough for us to bring our luggage and we had no problems at all. I would recommend it unless you had very young children or someone who had mobility issues and luggage.

It was great that his worked for you. However, those "Faresaver" tickets books are being discontinued some time this summer. Depending on when Translink (public transit operator) transitions to the new fare card system, visitors may or may not be able to buy tickets at the 7-Eleven.

The new fare card system will require buying reloadable fare cards for each rider, and each card has a deposit. This system basically makes it extremely difficult for infrequent visitors to avoid the $5 per person surcharge added to regular transit fares at the airport Skytrain stations.

The 7-Eleven Faresaver tickets may work now, but will cease to be a viable option in the coming weeks.

 

[Tenkawa]

It was great that his worked for you. However, those "Faresaver" tickets books are being discontinued some time this summer. Depending on when Translink (public transit operator) transitions to the new fare card system, visitors may or may not be able to buy tickets at the 7-Eleven.

The new fare card system will require buying reloadable fare cards for each rider, and each card has a deposit. This system basically makes it extremely difficult for infrequent visitors to avoid the $5 per person surcharge added to regular transit fares at the airport Skytrain stations.

The 7-Eleven Faresaver tickets may work now, but will cease to be a viable option in the coming weeks.

This is more than a bit incorrect.

The Compass Card system has been delayed many times. It was supposed to be this summer, but due to technical difficulties, it hasn't moved beyond the initial test groups of people. It is likely near the end of the year before it gets fully phased in at this point, and may delay into next year.

It is not a problem for this cruise season at all.

Source: Live in Vancouver, have friends in the testing program.

 

[GrtWtNorth]

This is more than a bit incorrect.

The Compass Card system has been delayed many times. It was supposed to be this summer, but due to technical difficulties, it hasn't moved beyond the initial test groups of people. It is likely near the end of the year before it gets fully phased in at this point, and may delay into next year.

It is not a problem for this cruise season at all.

Source: Live in Vancouver, have friends in the testing program.

Thanks for the clarification. The last Translink info I read (a couple months ago) said "summer 2014", but I see that they have back-peddled on that implementation date. Since leaving Vancouver, there's a few things that I miss. Translink bureaucracy isn't one of them.

 

[shanhop]

Family of 5 - check the Hyatt Regency. We stayed there in early June 2014 booked through Hotwire for $145 a night (plus tax). When we checked in they said we could have a roll-away bed at no extra charge (did not take them up on it).

Cabs - we took a cab from the airport to the hotel. We were given a hatchback/stationwagon that gave us plenty of room for the four of us and our five bags plus carry-ons.

We rolled our bags ourselves from the hotel to the terminal.

On the way out, we had pre-booked with Vancouver Shuttle, $15 a head for the adults, $11 for the kids. We wanted a no-fuss way off the ship to the airport as we expected to be tired and cranky. They were very good. You don't have to pre-book, you can walk up and get the same price (as several did on our bus).

 

[piglet33]

If I read the SkyTrain website correctly, it says - After 6:30 p.m. on weekdays and all day Saturday, Sunday and Holidays, discount fares apply and purchasing a one-zone ticket will allow you to travel through all zones. So since we're flying into Vancouver on a Sunday and leaving on Labor Day, we only have to pay for 1 zone, correct?

So for 2 adults and 1 child, it would cost 22.25 from Airport to Waterfront Station and 10.75 from Waterfront Station back to the Airport if I paid per ticket. If I buy a booklet of 10, it would just cost me 21.00, correct?

I think I'm overthinking this and confusing myself.

Thanks!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Does Canada celebrate labor day?

 

[piglet33]

Does Canada celebrate labor day?

I didn't think of that so I just googled it. Here's what I found:

Labour Day in Canada is celebrated on the first Monday of September and it is a federal statutory holiday. It is also observed in the United States on the same day. Many other countries celebrate Labour Day on May 1st.

This holiday officially celebrates workers and the labour union movement, however, most of us only think of it as the last long weekend of the summer, a perfect occasion for one last BBQ or canoe trip. Many seasonal attractions and vendors close after the labour day long weekend and it is generally the start of the fall shoulder season.

Note: In the Commonwealth Countries it is spelled "labour", in the United States is spelled "labor". In 2014 Labour Day is Monday September 1.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Well, there you go then.