Vancouver Information -Long and updated
Speedy
While allot of you are thinking of booking a Alaska cruise this summer
and some have already booked it, I thought I would write about what is
available here in Vancouver. Having lived in Vancouver for 40+ years I
thought a general email on Vancouver may help some of you plan your
Cruise better.
Generally the weather in Vancouver is mild and the summers can be warm
with temps in the 70's F or 20's C . In June darkness doesn't fall till
after 10:00 PM. Twilight starts again at 4:00 AM.
Vancouver moves more cruise passengers than any other port in the world
during the Alaska season.
Vancouver has 2 cruise docks one called Canada Place and one called
Ballantyne. Now Canada Place was built for Expo 86 as the Host Pavilion
for Expo and to be used as a Convention Centre and Cruiseship terminal
in the years after Expo 86. Canada Place is currently under going a
addition of a 3rd berth to be completed for 2003. Ballantyne was rebuilt
in 1995 and offers modern and clean facilities. While Ballantyne is in
the middle of commercial shipping it offers little for the public to do
around it. What I am saying is there is no where to go around there for
shopping without taking a taxi or bus. Ballantyne is located in the
downtown east side part of Vancouver which is not one of the better
parts of town. The Port of Vancouver Cruise ship schedule is online at
http://www.portvancouver.com/frames/index.html
Canada Place is under the Pan Pacific Hotel and across the street from
the CP Waterfront Hotel. This makes it very easy to get to if you are
staying at either hotel on pre/post cruise. Since Canada Place is under
the Hotel it is sheltered and thus you won't suffer from the elements of
outside when getting out/in of taxis or buses.
Getting to/from Vancouver
Most cruise lines use Seattle for flying into and out of and then
bussing the passengers to Vancouver. The bus ride is about 3 -3.5 hours.
Airline flights are very limited to and from Vancouver to the USA with
most flights going to Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver, Dallas, Los Angeles,
San Francisco, New York and a shuttle flight to Seattle.
There are several options to get to from Seattle/Vancouver.
-take the cruise transfer- likely the easiest
-rent a car and drop it off in downtown Vancouver
-Quick Shuttle bus connection- All day service
-Amtrak train- arrives Vancouver at 11:40 AM
Now if you decide on driving on your own I would recommend that you use
the Truck Crossing for crossing into Canada. It is well marked and about
2 miles south of Peace Arch/Douglas Crossing. It is very well signed to
get back onto Hwy. 99 to Vancouver. Take note that the boarder line-ups
can be 2 hours in the summer months especially on long weekends of July
2nd 2001 for Canada Day and August 6th 2001 for BC Day and September 3rd
2001 for Labour Day. The truck crossing is normally shorter but not
always. For the brave of heart there is always Lynden/Aldergove crossing
which is always much shorter.
Arriving in Vancouver by airplane the day of the cruise and heading to
the ship can be done a few ways.
-take the cruise line transfer- I see most cruiselines are charging
$10.00 US each way now
-take a taxi from the airport- about $25.00 CDN
-take a limo from the airport - Limousines comfortably accommodate
between six and eight passengers and charge flat rates to all
destinations. The rate to downtown, including Canada Place Cruise Ship
Terminal, is $34.24 (inclusive of all taxes).
Now this brings up something that you will get a hundred different
answers on and that is the exchange rate of the US and CDN dollar. The
current exchange rate is about 1.50 which means in simple terms $10.00
US is worth $15.00 CDN so you can see how much a bargain the CDN dollar
is to those from the US. Now most places accept US dollars including
taxis, but and I stress this, they may NOT offer you a very good
exchange rate on the US dollar. Each cab or business sets their own
exchange rate. In fact if you plan on taking transit in Vancouver, buses
will take the US dollar at par and skytrain/seabus will not take it at
all.
Where to stay?
Vancouver offers all the major hotels. By Canada place you have Pan
Pacific, Waterfront Hotel, Days Inn Downtown, Renaissance Hotel, and the
Delta Vancouver Suites all within a few blocks of Canada Place. Now if
you don't mind being a 5 min cab ride out, the number of hotels goes way
up. The Hotel Vancouver, Four Seasons, The Crown Plaza, Sheraton Wall
Centre, Hyatt and lots more. In fact I have posted a large list of them
on the Seacruise site under links. Now remember that a $200.00 CDN hotel
room is about $135.00 US
What to do in Vancouver?
Most people will tell you the must do's of Vancouver such as Stanley
Park and Gastown (check out the steam clock here) There are so many
other things to do such as:
-Science World
-The Royal Hudson Steam Train
-Imax at Canada Place
-Capilano Suspension Bridge in North Vancouver
-Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver
-Capilano Fish hatchery- Free
-UBC Botanical Garden
-Vancouver Art Gallery
-Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park
-Queen Elizabeth Gardens- Free
Links to all these can be found on the Seacruise links page as well.
http://www.seacruisechat.com
Shopping can be done at Pacific Centre Mall at Georgia and Granville and
all along Robson Street.
In the summer months Vancouver offers the Symphony of Fire Fireworks in
the West End. Nightly attendance is large, at 250K people a night. Some
cruiseships will anchor in the outer harbour for the passengers to
watch the show. This years shows are:
28 July 2001
1 August 2001
4 August 2001
Grand Finale - 8 August 2001
All shows last about 30 minutes and are free.
Getting around Vancouver:
There is several choices from renting a car, to the Vancouver Trolley to
Transit. Transit in Vancouver has 3 modes of transport from the Skytrain
(driver less trains) Seabus (small 400 seat ferries) and buses. There is
a Day pass which starts after 9:30 AM Monday - Friday and all day
Saturday and Sunday and most holidays. The fare you pay is good on all
forms of Transit and you get a transfer good for a minimum of 90 minutes
to be used on all forms of transit. All the places I listed above have
transit to them.
Gastown and Pacific Centre Mall is a short walk from most major hotels
in the downtown core.
Staying in Vancouver or Richmond or Metrotown which is better?
That depends. The Vancouver airport itself is NOT in Vancouver but in
the City of Richmond just south of Vancouver. It is about 20-30 minutes
driving to downtown depending on traffic and how lost you become.
Vancouver in the downtown core has one way streets and streets that
don't allow left turns (Georgia Street mainly) Vancouver itself has NO
freeway system.
So I say to people if you stay in Richmond to save a few dollars and
want to see Vancouver how do you plan on doing it? Rent a car? Take a
bus? It is a personal preference but I say if you want to make it easier
on yourself stay downtown.
Staying out at Metrotown is in the City of Burnaby and either a Skytrain
ride (20 min) to Vancouver or you need a rent a car. If you don't mind
transit then this will work for you.
Restaurants
I am going to include a list of some of the more well known names in
Vancouver but this is only meant to give you some idea of cost. This is
by no means the only list of restaurants, in fact there are more than
enough choices in just the Westend of Vancouver (Robsson, Denman, and
Davie streets) to satisfy all those out there. Take a look at this site
for more than what I have listed here
http://www.vancouver-bc.com/Dining/Downtown.html
The Cannery Seafood House http://www.canneryseafood.com
The Fish House in Stanley Park http://www.fishhousestanleypark.com
Joe Fortes http://www.joefortesseafoodrestr.com/
Bridges on Granville Island http://www.bridgesrestaurant.com/
The Thai House- several locations http://www.thaihouse.com/
Rasputin Russian Cuisine http://i.am/RussianRestaurant
The Diva at the Metropolitan Hotel
http://www.metropolitan.com/diva/diva.htm
The Aquariva by Canada Place http://www.aquariva.com/
The William Tell http://www.thewilliamtellrestaurant.com/
Getting to Vancouver Island and Victoria
Victoria is on the Southern tip of Vancouver Island. In fact it is said
Victoria is more British than Britain itself. There is Buchart Gardens,
The Royal BC Museum , The Parliament Buildings and The Empress Hotel for
afternoon tea.
Now getting there is an ALL day tour. You would either take a tour or
catch the bus to Victoria via BC Ferry. The Ferry ride is about 1 hour
30 min each way.
Now I have just scratched the surface of what there is in Vancouver and
you can visit the links I have posted on the Seacruise page and take a
look at some of the other Vancouver links I have for far more
information. I know many people will add to this list but this is just
to give some idea.
I hope this helps you.
Phil
webmaster
Seacruise
--
Seacruise http://www.seacruisechat.com
Canal Cam Schedule http://www.seacruisechat.com/panamacanal.html
Cruise Review Archive http://www.seacruisereviews.com
Strange but True:
1) 1) An igloo will stand up to modern artillery better than a concrete
barricade.
Additionally, they are almost invisible from the air and can't be
spotted by infrared sensors!
2) Li Hung-chang is the father of Chop Suey!
Sheree
We're staying at the Pan Pacific pre cruise. After the cruise we plan to
get off the Infinity and head to the ferry terminal to go to Victoria for 2
nighs. We're staying at the Empress.
Any thoughts on best way to the right ferry?
Also, once in Victoria, best way to get to Buchart Gardens. Don't want to
do the grayline tour.
Then we'll be back in Vancouver for 2 nites, not sure where we're staying or
what we're doing!
--
Sheree
Join us for the SGC2001 on Aug 24 2001 on the Celebrity Infinity sailing to
Alaska
http://www.geocities.com/tbruin3235/sgc2001
"Speedy" <ques...@seacruisechat.com> wrote in message
news:3AAEAD04...@seacruisechat.com...
JLeary256
>get off the Infinity and head to the ferry terminal to go to Victoria for 2
>nighs. We're staying at the Empress.
>
>Any tho
>Any thoughts on best way to the right ferry?
>
>Also, once in Victoria, best way to get to Buchart Gardens. Don't want to
>do the grayline tour.
>
>Then we'll be back in Vancouver for 2 nites, not sure where we're
If you do not want to do Greyline tour- (neither do I), I would rent a car-
plenty of downtown offices, and take the Tsawwassen ferry about 45 min from
downtown, then you can drive to the gardens- you dock about 30 min north of
Victoria and the gardens is on the way. If you don't have a car, the city bus
goes to Butchard right from downtown for about $1.50 ca. Much cheaper than the
tour buses. Another great tour is an orca whale watch I have gone with several
companies and really like a zodiac tour- right on the water with the whales.
Linsifer
<<I hope this helps you.>>
It sure DID, Phil! Thank you! We hope to be cruising to Alaska in Aug. 2002 and
will either drive from California (60 mi. south of San Francisco) or take
Amtrak to Seattle and then on up to Vancouver. I know this should be done a day
or even two before the sailing, in case Amtrak has a problem. I'll have to call
Amtrak for their rates and time schedule. Do you know very many folks who take
the train up there to go on a cruise? I'm not a flyer! :)
JLeary256
the Daylight steam engine over 3 days and the scenery is just spectular going
through the Cascades.
H. S. HATCH JR.
Interested in your comment regarding taking a 3 day steam train ride fom
San Jose to Portland. Details please. I have taken the several hour
steamtrain from Vancouver to Squamish (not sure of name).
HAPPY RAILS TO YOU
CRICK
Diane
I thought about you the other day when our March Associate Magazine was
delivered.
Take a look at this. We'd be on it in a heartbeat, except my husband
has a conference starting in California on the 3rd of June.
http://ResidentAssociates.org/rap/tour-jun/rail.asp
Diane
Ray Goldenberg
HATCH JR.) wrote:
>Interested in your comment regarding taking a 3 day steam train ride fom
>San Jose to Portland. Details please. I have taken the several hour
>steamtrain from Vancouver to Squamish (not sure of name).
Hi Crick,
You are referring to the wonderful Royal Hudson. Everyone visiting
Vancouver and has an extra day or 2 should make this a real priority.
You can get information at the following web sites:
http://www.mountain-inter.net/~chadwick/hudson/info.htm
http://www.bcrail.com/bcrpass/hudson.asp
BTW, there is not a steam train that carries passengers from N.
California to the Northwest on a regular schedule. There are some
special trains that do this run a few times a year, though.
Best regards,
Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
http://www.lighthousetravel.com
Carole Dunham
comfortable, they have redcaps for loading luggage in Seattle and lots of
carts on the Vancouver end. customs is a breeze. We just told the very nice
Canadian custom's gentleman that we were taking a cruise and he just passed
us right though.
The train leaves very early in the morning and they serve a fresh hot
breakfast onboard. You travel on the water for most of the way up, so you
have the water on one side of you and the mountains on the other. On the way
back, the train leaves about 5:00 in the afternoon. Have only done it one
way though. We took the cruiseline's transfer (Celebrity) to Seattle. They
dropped us off at the hotel where we were staying in Seattle before they
took everyone else to the airport. Great trip, easy transfers.
Carole
cruz...@cruisemates.com
"Linsifer" <lins...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20010314004806...@ng-cb1.aol.com...
Linsifer
<<I love Amtrak's service between Seattle and Vancouver.>>
Thanks, Carole! I'm glad it seems to work out well. It's sometimes scary not
knowing if you're going to be there "when your ship comes in". :) Sounds like
Amtrak has it taken care of!
JLeary256
convention was held in San Jose. The Portland RR group offered 3 day
excursions on the Daylight both to and from the convention. We took the return
trip. There were 2 overnight stops, Sacramento and Klamath Falls. We also
took other shorter steam engine excursions on the same trip. The Daylight is
magnificant!!!!!!!!
JLeary256
>steamtrain from Vancouver to Squamish (not sure of name).
>
This is the Royal Hudson- we have been on that as well. :)
H. S. HATCH JR.
Thanks for the info from y'all.