Carnival Spirit 05/11 - parking in Vancouver?

[dreamk]

We're going on a cruise for the first time in our lives. We're leaving on May 11 with the Carnival Spirit from Vancouver to cruise the Inside Passage. We're driving up from Portland, OR. I found the website for Canada Place and tried to book a parking space there, but when I called to confirm, the lady said there would be plenty of space, so I didn't have to book anything. Last week we got the info from Carnival in the mail and they listed another website called cruisepark.com. It said you're supposed to have your car parked by 2pm, but the cruise doesn't leave until 5:30. I'm worried that we might be late. We're leaving Portland at 7am and should be able to drive up in 6 hrs, but what if we hit bad traffic? Does it take a lot of time to cross the Canadian border? And should I book a parking space in advance?

 

Thanks for any advice you can give me.

[Gitane]

If the Spirit is leaving from Canada Place, I would try to park there since it is right at the boat. CruisePark is aways away, and you will be shuttled to and from the docks.

 

As to the drive, it should be ok leaving a 7am, but you can never tell what the traffic is going to be around Seattle, esp if you hit it during am rush. You are going on a weekday, so this may be something to think about. I don't know if there any construction areas (there always are!!) on I-5, but you can check them at the WA DOT site.

 

Border crossing probably will be ok, maybe 20 to 40 min wait, but again you can't predict traffic. Maybe an hour or so early departure time would be wise.

 

You are going to have a great time. Have fun!!

[dreamk]

Thanks for your advice. I think we're leaving from Canada Place, but I'd have to check to make sure. I'm hoping we can leave before 7am.

[seattlecruiser]

You can also reserve parking for Canada Place on the internet. (Go to the Canada Place site and click on Parking). You can then print out a confirmation. The confirmation says to call them with your payment information, but when I did that they said it wasn't necessary...just pay when you get there. By doing this at least you would have something showing you had reserved a spot. I think this is the best option if you are leaving from Canada Place. The parking is covered and right at the terminal.

[dreamk]

Thanks, that's exactly what I did, but I got confused since the lady there said the same thing, that it wasn't necessary to give her the credit card info. So I guess I'm good to go then.