Plant

I booked the Pan Pacific for May 14th using hotwire. With taxes and added insurance, it was only $213. Looked at the going rate today on Pan Pacific's site and it's over $400.

Thanks! I'm happy to know that I didn't misread the $400.00/per night charge!

We haven't sailed Coral Princess yet (that's coming up), but we've enjoyed Crooner's Bar on every other Princess ship we've sailed. I think they put the most outgoing, friendliest, best bartender's and bar waiter's in Crooner's.

I'd agree that it's not elegant, but it's more like a "Cheers" bar, IMO, which we much prefer.

The Wheelhouse Bar is probably more "elegant" if that's what you're looking for.

Thanks for all the suggestions! I'm now looking at the Hilton, Richmond, which I think is near the airport? The web-site say's it's close to shopping and some interesting sites.

Can someone tell me how far this hotel is from Canada Place and what a taxi to the pier would cost? Thanks!

Those of you who have stayed at the Pan Pacific-are you using a bidding site for reservations? I checked the price for our date and it's nearly $400.00 per night. Not going to happen, no matter how convenient it may be :D!

I guess we'd better back up and look at downtown and airport hotel's. We don't mind spending $150-$200/per night for a nice, comfortable place, but not $400.00!

I'm sure we didn't pay anything like that a few years ago when we stayed at the Hampton Inn near the convention center (I think).

Thanks,

Vancouver's downtown is quite compact so all of the downtown hotels are pretty much within a mile of Canada Place. However, here is a list of many 3*+ hotels that are within 6 to 8 blocks of Canada Place:

 

The Pan Pacific (part of Canada Place)

Fairmont Waterfront (across the street from Canada Place)

Fairmont Pacific Rim

Marriott Pinnacle

Renaissance

Hyatt Regency

The Shangri-la

Fairmont Vancouver Hotel

Auberge

Coast Coal Harbour

Delta Suites

The Metropolitan

Four Seasons

Rosewood Georgia

Sutton Place (about 8.5 blocks)

Sheraton at the Wall Centre (about 10 blocks)

le Soleil

The Wedgewood

 

I have left off the list the Blue Horizon only because it is more like 12 blocks from Canada Place but it hugely popular with cruisers.

 

During the cruise season it is very hard to get a room in a 3*+ hotel in Vancouver for under $200 per night unless you use something like Hotwire or Priceline. You should be able to secure a room out near YVR for $50 to $75 less and most of these airport area hotels will have shuttles to and from YVR but virtually none will have a shuttle to and from Canada Place.

Thanks so much! We always appreciate your info :)!

Sorry, double post.

What month and when were you here? Summer is prime road construction season across the city as traffic is lighter.

 

What activities are "not too physical"?

• Eating at Bella's ice cream?
  
• carrying shopping bags?
  
  
• gorging on AYCE (all you can eat) sushi? Do you like ethnic foods?
  
• spa's?
  
• people watching?
  
• check out the steam clock?
  
• riding the Seabus?
  
• riding the subways (Skytrain)?
  
• riding FlyOver Canada?
  

Sorry, non-specification is noted :)! We'll be there in September. We're not able to hike, eat uncooked fish (ick!), or ride the subway without local help (Hey, we're from the US South where there are NO subway's (unless you count the Subway Sandwich Shop!). We are able to shop, people watch, maybe check out the steam clock, and enjoy history, museum's, aquarium's, etc. . Ooops, I forgot the Bella's ice cream-yes!!

Thanks for your help and your humour!

We'll be in Vancouver for a day and a half next fall before we cruise to Alaska. Last time we were there we stayed at the Hampton downtown (?). It was fine, but there was a lot of construction going on and it was hard to walk anywhere. We went to Granville Island by water taxi and enjoyed that.

What we're looking for is a hotel near the port, but also with something to do nearby that's not too physical. Is there such a thing?

Thanks for your help!

We carry a small dental kit from our dentist. It contained stuff for securing a crown and for fillings. There are commercially prepared one's available.

 

We also carry a small dental repair kit to re-secure a crown or fill a broken area on a tooth (temporarily).

I'd suggest that everyone carry one :)!

Just to be clear, you're flying into Houston Hobby and sailing from the Port of Houston (not Galveston)?

If so, I'd also check on the price of the cruise ship shuttle from the airport to the port. It might be less than a cab.

An airport hotel will have a shuttle back to the airport the day of the cruise. We've done this several times with no problems.

Have a great cruise!

We've done this several times in different ports. We like Hampton Inn, but there are other's that offer the same thing.

We fly in the day before, call the hotel (after collecting our luggage) to pick us up. There's no charge, but you should tip the driver. When we check in at the hotel we ask to sign up for the shuttle to the airport the next day. You can usually select the time you want. We like to go about 10:30 A.M. Again, it's a free shuttle back to the airport, but you should tip the driver.

As far as dinner is concerned, we have a "night before" pizza, ordered from Papa John's or Pizza Hut and delivered to the hotel room. No, it's not very exciting, but we're comfortable, fed and ready to go the next morning.

Have a wonderful cruise,

If that is the case, simply tell your server you would like your courses to be served as soon as you are ready for them, not when others at the table are ready.

Well, unless all manners have disappeared (which I'm sometimes convinced of), IMO it would be rude to not wait for your tablemate's to eat the same course at the same time.

We love Anytime Dining. We don't mind waiting for a table (it's never been more than 20 minutes) and sometimes we share a table, sometimes we have a table for two. When we share, we follow the "courses" rule. When alone we eat at our own pace.

Personally, I find making reservations for Anytime Dining to defeat the purpose. If you want to eat at the same time every night, use Traditional.

I've heard that Traditional Diner's have come to Anytime Dining, but that was in the beginning. Now they check your cruise card which shows which dining time you have.

Thanks for your review. We stayed at the Doubletree a couple of years ago and found it pretty much the same. As a "small town girl" I found the prices of the buffet and the restaurant extremely high!

The next time we sailed from San Pedro we stayed at the Crown Plaza and enjoyed being able to walk to less expensive restaurants and more interesting shops than the Marina area at the Doubletree.

Happy sails,

Danny, I posted this over on the departure forum as well:

We've cruised from Long Beach exactly one time, so I certainly do not consider myself "experienced", but we stayed (as a family of nine) at Crowne Plaza and found it to be a great "one nighter"...the restaurant there is way over priced, and the food underwhelming, but the rooms were clean, and spacious. There are a number of fast food places nearby, and a great "dive bar" up a block and one over. The Crowne Plaza also offers a free shuttle to the cruise docks for those that do not care to drive. All in all, I would stay there again if I were to cruise from San Pedro.

This is good advice if you're sailing from San Pedro. Sailing from Long Beach is a different port. We stayed at the Hotel Maya. It was "California expensive", but a great hotel. They also offered a shuttle to the port. Sometimes they have a Carnival discount, so look for it :) when you check prices!

Would love some advice.

 

Arriving day before cruise and looking for transport to port. We can get free shuttle back to airport and pay for the Carnival pre-cruise transfers for $16 each.

We've already bought FTTF and I love getting on early.

 

Would the pre-cruise transfer get us to the port later, than.....well....I would like? Say 10a-ish?

 

I understand that the bus will want to be filled before it leaves the airport, so, for that reason, should I cross that option off my list?

 

I've found a shuttle service, but it's $50 each vs the $16 each.

 

Thanks in advance!

We've done this several times. We like to board as early as possible, too. As long as there are a lot of people flying in early, the transfer bus will be leaving early. If most people are flying in later, you'll get to the ship later. We've always been there before noon, but I wouldn't count on that if it's very important to you to be there "10 ish".

Sorry I can't give you a more definitive answer :(!

Have a wonderful cruise,

On our last cruise there was no advantage to having any standing with Carnival. We're Platinum, but so were about 90% of the people cruising with us:). Our boarding was delayed, but no one told us why or took down the "Platinum Boarding" signs.

When we tried to line up for Platinum Boarding we were told (emphatically!and rudely) that we should "wait over there" with the rest of the Platinum cruiser's.

There was no explanation or apology for the delay, and there was no food, water or restroom availability while we waited. We finally boarded about 2:30 PM. The rest of the cruise was great, but the beginning, not so much.

Another vote for SuperShuttle! The shared ride was $17.00 per person pre-paid and we got to see part of LA, being dropped off last :D! It still took less than an hour.

We've stayed at both and prefer the Crowne Plaza. There are more restaurants and shopping opportunities in that area than at the Doubletree, which is on a Marina. The area is pretty, but there's not much to do.

Considering BarbaraP's post today, I'd certainly choose the Crowne!

Have a wonderful cruise!

Often it is not a matter of choice.

 

If the AXA account is the employer's retirement provider, the individual has no choice as to who is keeping his IRA.

 

If it is a typical IRA, the poster may be able to, after retirement, roll it to something other than AXA, but if it is an annuity arrangement it may be difficult if not impossible.

My DH, who worked at the home office of an insurance company for (too) many years, said pretty much the same thing. It depends on how things are set up by the company.

Took me all of 30 seconds to buy mine online in my IRA with Fidelity.

Great! Start enjoying the OBC :)!

Run away, run away :D!

I wouldn't try to buy Carnival stock through an IRA. Just buy it through any financial consultant (Merrill Lynch, Ameriprise, Edward Jones, etc.) or through the Carnival website. Much easier, IMHO.

The form we filled out asked about wooden products and I ticked "yes" since we'd bought a painted wooden piece in Bora Bora before we got to Australia.

I think the inspector was laughing to himself that we'd declared it, but I didn't want to be detained for NOT declaring it! He took a cursory look and let us proceed. IMO, better safe than sorry:).

dizzy1948- thanks for the link. I read it, and am still a little confused. The International rules sound identical to our rules (for both domestic and international flights)here in the US, so no problem. However, it says these rules apply to the "domestic leg of an international flight". We will be arriving in SYD, spending 3 nights in SYD, then flying to PER. That wouldn't be a "domestic leg of an international flight", it is a separate, totally domestic itinerary ( a separate booking, even).

 

Not too big a deal, as we will comply with the international flight standards, as we are quite used to them. As long as the domestic standards aren't more restrictive, all will be fine.

Our trip was booked the same way. The domestic flight was separate. I had an open bottle of water they didn't even look at. If you're flying Qantas domestic there's also a luggage allowance of one piece of checked luggage under 50 lbs and the only carry on you're allowed without paying the $40.00 charge is a purse or briefcase. We paid $40.00 for one bag we would be allowed to carry on in the US. We were told it was a "safety measure" so that nothing would fall out of the overhead bins onto passengers. Yet, if we'd booked that leg along with our international flight we wouldn't have had to pay the extra.

In watching the other passengers I noted that most were apparently business people who were flying with just a purse and computer case or briefcase. There was almost nothing in the overhead bins.

It made no sense, but airline policies usually don't :D!

Just FYI for those of us who are used to the US flight rules:

On domestic flights in Australia you can carry on all kinds of liquid and gels, but you cannot take nail scissors that are in a case, in a pouch, in a locked carry-on bag on a one hour flight from Sydney to Brisbane.

Since we'd already paid $40.00 AUS for an "extra" bag, I wasn't about to check a nail case for another $40.00 AUS, so my little nail scissors are now the property of Australia :D !

If you have anything close to sharp, put it in your checked bag.