Glaciers

The Mayflower is in a better location for the reasons SLC mentioned. You have better transportation options and the Mayflower is in the downtown core with a short walk to Westlake Center for the light rail and monorail as well as Pike Place Market.

There are homeless services in the area near King St Station. I wouldn’t feel unsafe as a guy walking through there to the market but it can be a bit unsavory. If you’re going to explore the market though, it closes at 6pm. Pier 91 is about 3 miles from the market. I walk along the same path daily and there are always a few cruise folks that hoof it from downtown to the ship although not many. It’s actually a flat walk with nice views along Elliott Bay.

We parked at the Value Long Term lot at the airport for 2 weeks in May. About $135US for the 2 weeks. The Templeton station is there and we caught the train to/from downtown Vancouver. It was a short walk to Canada Place. You will find other suggestions by searching this board including hotels with Park n Fly options. https://www.yvr.ca/en/passengers/shop-dine-and-services/340

Yes, $79pp. We received booking info in our cabin a couple days prior to disembarkation. Some have said you can book online or with your TA. They drop at the Seattle airport.

Nice report! I am curious about the decorated Seattle trains. The Amtrak trains haven't been operating between Vancouver and Seattle for over 2 years now but plan to start up again in September. Wonder if they are just getting an early start on advertising.

You’ll have plenty of time to catch a 10:45am departure from King St Station. Also the trains will be running again by next year so will have that option over a bus. The station is in the south end of downtown so actually only about 15 minutes from the cruise terminal. Princess offers a bus for disembarking passengers in Vancouver that goes to the Seattle Airport for $79pp. Possibly they have one northbound as well?

Another option that isn’t mentioned much but exceptional is hiking the West Glacier Trail in Juneau. Transportation is needed as the trailhead is across the lake from the Mendenhall Visitor Center. It gives some incredible views from above the glacier and if you hike up far enough, you can see the tour helicopters landing on the glacier from above. It would also be a cheap excursion as all you’d need is a cab ride there and back. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/alaska/west-glacier-trail

Kincaid Grill is excellent and very popular with locals. It doesn’t get mentioned much here due to the location which is about 5 miles from the downtown area.

Another option is parking at the long-term lot at the airport. We parked there for 2 weeks last month and took the train into downtown Vancouver for the cruise. The station was just a few blocks from Canada Place and about half of the cost of parking downtown. https://www.yvr.ca/en/passengers/shop-dine-and-services/340

Its 3 miles from Pier 91 to the closest light rail station at Westlake Center. You’d need to cab/uber between Westlake and the pier. Actually, many people walk the 3 miles on a nice day along the waterfront.

We had a rough trip out on one of the 6 passenger boats. A couple of folks got sick. One of the operators advised that they shut down their service in September due to the increased possibility of rough water.

Yes, if you can narrow down things a bit or you will get suggestions all over the board. You’re in a neat area in Belltown and there are several “neighborhood” favorites that aren’t always frequented by visitors. Shiro’s, as princeton suggested, is very popular. Bangrak Market opened a few years ago and was an immediate hit and continues to be for Thai food. Some Random Bar has consistently good food. Buckley’s in Belltown is more of a hole-in-the-wall sports bar with a good menu and food. We live in Belltown and are down there weekly. The Thai Sesame Ribs are amazing.

I had wondered if it was available. Another option you might explore is an organized tour. There are several. They pick you up at the pier including your luggage and take you on a tour of the area before dropping you at the airport. This is just one example. https://showmeseattle.com/all-tours/post-cruise-city-tour/

In the past there has been luggage storage at the cruise terminals until 3:30pm. The problem is that the terminal you’ll be arriving at is 3 miles from the downtown area and you’d have to cab back to pick up your bags before going to the airport. Really inconvenient. The Edgewater Hotel stores bags for non-guests. You could cab/uber to there and then head off for some exploring. Similar issue would be getting back to pick up your bags before heading to the airport. Your few hours of exploring would be very limited with the time you’d be spending on the baggage storage. Hopefully someone will chime in with a better solution.

I walked by Pier 66 today and that grocery/deli is no longer there. One of the closest small grocery stores is about 5 minutes away at Site 17 Grocery 2502 Western Ave. Bartells or Target are better choices and probably less expensive.

Labor shortages in Southeast Alaska may result in some vendors operating at less than 100%. https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2022/04/19/help-wanted-southeast-alaska-tourism-businesses-prepare-summer-season-with-labor-shortages/?fbclid=IwAR3dLNdIKFiulefRXP7Gv-Hq4CVtxx9jmcx4elWVwxRu_qmZhMNqm7ox_Ic