Alaska Cruise out Vancouver - Help Please

[jsglow]

14 hours ago, martincath said:

Thruway buses pick up on the west side of the station, there are signs - I've never actually taken an Amtrak bus from SEA, only been 'ferried' around landslides in them then put back on the train, but from what I recall hearing announced while waiting for trains there you will hear announcements about the Amtrak Thruway to X destination' as well as the trains. However, I can say that King Street has the WORST setup speaker system I've ever encountered in any train station I've ever been to - that beautiful, big, boxy, high-ceilinged marble room makes for the most godawful echoes and zero thought seems to have gone into speaker placement or angles! Move around until you find a sweet spot with minimal echoes and sit there if you are early enough you want to sit down rather than just stand at the curb.

 

Not sure if the porters will load checked bags onto the bus - if so, you need to be there at least 45mins early to check them. If you can handle schlepping them yourself then you can cut it much closer - in case the bus has actually sold-out with the train still not running, I'd recommend obeying the suggested 30min prior check-in to play safe.

 

There are always staff around so if in doubt, ask someone in uniform where to wait for the Vancouver BC (NB: make sure you specify BC!) thruway bus: at least with it being a Cantrail coach it will stand out among the actual Amtrak livery coaches going elsewhere...

 

On the Vancouver end, the Barclay is at least 40mins walk from the station, a bit uphill, so I'd definitely take a cab - they will be lined up outside waiting, but as they fill and move away there will be gaps of a few minutes before the next cabs start rolling in. At least with a bus it's only ~50 or fewer pax, so it's unlikely you'll wait long even if you're the last folks off. A smidgen over 2 miles drive, so ballpark $15 on the meter should allow for a little traffic, and tip as you would in the US.

Thank you.  We'll get there in plenty of time.  Our bus is already Sold Out so I was glad I purchased the tickets some weeks ago.  We'll certainly be able to schlep our own luggage out to the bus in Seattle so I'm assuming the driver or porter simply loads the suitcases underneath at curbside.  And from your description, it sounds like 'check-in' is really nothing more than waiting for the announcement and heading out to board, ticket in hand. If I'm wrong, kindly advise.  It's been many decades since I've taken a 'Thru-way' bus.

 

Any suggestions for our afternoon/evening in Vancouver from Barclay?  It's going to be a long 3 weeks of total travel time for us but some limited sightseeing and a decent casual dinner is in order.  Only time we were there before we immediately had to depart Canada Place for the airport.

Edited July 31, 2022 by jsglow

[martincath]

8 hours ago, jsglow said:

...And from your description, it sounds like 'check-in' is really nothing more than waiting for the announcement and heading out to board, ticket in hand. If I'm wrong, kindly advise.  It's been many decades since I've taken a 'Thru-way' bus.

 

Any suggestions for our afternoon/evening in Vancouver from Barclay?  It's going to be a long 3 weeks of total travel time for us but some limited sightseeing and a decent casual dinner is in order.  Only time we were there before we immediately had to depart Canada Place for the airport.

You're welcome - re: checking in, I'd play it safe and visit the desk inside on arrival (with bus being sold out, they might have stand-by folks waiting to see if anyone doesn't show!)

 

Depending how casually you want to dine, the Barclay is on the same block as an excellent locavore resto, Forage - it is casual in the sense of no dress code, often have 'on the bone' dishes so eating with fingers is normal, but it's not cheap! Good value for the portions and quality though. Within a couple of blocks either direction on Robson though you'll pass over a dozen cafes & restos, from Timmies and ramen joints on the really casual end, Earls as probably the most mainstream-y wide menu midrange spot, to pricier places like CinCin if you want to celeb-spot.

 

What to go see in your limited time? That really depends on what you like to see and do! You're very close to a HOHO stop (outside Blue Horizon, on the next block from Barclay) so if you get here fairly early in the afternoon you'd actually have time to do some hopping on and off (last loop starts around 5pm) - with limited time it would give you an overview on your first day, maybe you'll see somewhere you want to return to next morning before boarding.

 

If you're up for a long walk, or renting bikes, the Seawall around Stanley Park is a great place to take in a variety of views - sunsets from here can be great, but do note that the park is not open overnight (no gates to stop you, but also very little lighting, so hustle out right afterwards if you do watch the sunset from in the park). It looks like the only HOHO running this year no longer has multiple park stops, just one at the pavilion (close to Rose Garden, walkable to Totem poles, but not much use for the rest of the park) so unfortunately without sweating it's hard to see most of the park (the pricey horse trolleys have a limited loop with just 4 stops for $50pp - it's now at least $699 per hour for a private hire, double the pre-pandemic pricing, to go anywhere else).

[jsglow]

We enjoy hiking @martincath so maybe I nice walk from the hotel out to the Totem Poles, back through the Rose Garden and over to Stanley Park Brewpub for dinner (or somewhere else on the route) looks to be about 6.5kms.  I think our bus gets to Vancouver about 2:45p so we could probably head out by 4. Feel free to make my plan better. TY in advance. 

[martincath]

The brewpub isn't close to the best beer or food we can offer locally - for a comparable price (if you avoid the fancy steaks) you will get much better food, and a better sunset view if you time it right, in Cactus Club English Bay - which is basically a 2-tier glass box built on the beach side of the seawall. It would add about 200 metres walking - but takes you right past A-maze-ing laughter, one of my fave pieces of outdoor art which is also extraordinarily photogenic (huge happy people statues, palm trees, and sunset makes for a lot of composition options!)

 

If you dine early, but want to hang around for sunset, then the lounge in the Sylvia hotel is very nice place to chill - extremely old school cocktail bar vibes, lots of quality wood, live music several nights a week.

[sparks1093]

On 7/30/2022 at 12:14 PM, Ferry_Watcher said:

@Heidi13, @martincath, @sparks1093

 

A bit off topic - 

 

A question for my friends - saw a Canadian visa in a foreign passenger's passport, but there was no photo with it.  Always thought there should be a photo on the visa.  Any thoughts?

Sorry, the only visa I've ever had experience with is the plastic one in my wallet, so I can't add any insight.

[jsglow]

I'm also seeing the bike rental places like Spokes. We could do a half day evening rental (4-10p) and cover more ground.  I've looked up Cactus and Sylvia. This is so helpful @martincath.

Edited August 1, 2022 by jsglow

[jsglow]

Double post

Edited August 1, 2022 by jsglow

[Ferry_Watcher]

1 hour ago, sparks1093 said:

Sorry, the only visa I've ever had experience with is the plastic one in my wallet, so I can't add any insight.

Always good to hear from you my friend!

[Julez830]

We have a group of 6 adults arriving the day before cruise.  It is sounding like it will best to just take a couple of taxi's from the airport to hotel.  Any other suggestions?

[cardiffman]

On 7/27/2022 at 1:57 PM, martincath said:

Safe flights, hope your bags arrive here when you do so they get on the ship with you!

We got to the hotel just fine. Thanks again for the information.  The Canadian Govt  decided to randomly test one of us, and the email didn’t get through until we got to the hotel. So we had to find one of the contracted drug stores and get tested. That was a scene. 
 

Honestly, I don’t think it’s an advantage to test at the near-airport site. It just locates you away from the airport after your test. There probably are taxis and such there, but I don’t know if there are as many options. Could have done without that step if it were up to us. 

[martincath]

On 8/1/2022 at 9:09 AM, Julez830 said:

We have a group of 6 adults arriving the day before cruise.  It is sounding like it will best to just take a couple of taxi's from the airport to hotel.  Any other suggestions?

Sorry for the delay, only saw your post just now. Depending which hotel, day, and possibly even time of day SkyTrain might be cheaper and faster - e.g. especially if it's early in the day and you planned to do some sightseeing outside the core, so getting a Day Pass each at the airport to be able to continue transit use until the wee small hours of the next morning could be a real bargain.

 

But with 3 pax per vehicle, taking a pair of cabs is a sensible default policy if all you want to do is get from airport to hotel and then sightsee, eat etc. close to the hotel with no further transit use needed.

 

33 minutes ago, cardiffman said:

We got to the hotel just fine. Thanks again for the information.  The Canadian Govt  decided to randomly test one of us, and the email didn’t get through until we got to the hotel. So we had to find one of the contracted drug stores and get tested. That was a scene. 
 

Honestly, I don’t think it’s an advantage to test at the near-airport site. It just locates you away from the airport after your test. There probably are taxis and such there, but I don’t know if there are as many options. Could have done without that step if it were up to us. 

Yeah, the 'testing no longer done at airport' is less efficient in every way except in the one very specific aspect that made them begin the policy - getting people the heck out of our key airports so they don't add to the already critical problem of massive queues of people all over the place!

[em-sk]

On 7/30/2022 at 8:35 PM, Ferry_Watcher said:

These visas would be in passports from India, South American countries, The Philippines, etc - the ones that I am guessing that cruise passengers submit their passports and two photos to the Canadian Embassy. 

 

Not  countries like the EU, Japan, Oz, NZ, etc

 

As I said, it was surprising to see a full page Canadian visa without a photo.

 

As a Canadian with a Canadian passport, the only ones I have ever had done at an embassy was a Visa for entering Brazil and another for entering China.  The Brazil one had my photo on it.  China did not.  

 

As a Canadian entering Japan I have had a little sticker put into my passport on entry.  Not certain if that counts,  That did not have a photo.

 

As for foreign passports with Canadian Visas, the NAFTA work Visa issued by Canada at the border does not have a photo on it.  At least the ones I have see do not.  

[april_4_us]

On 6/28/2022 at 11:15 PM, YVRteacher said:

Don’t take a taxi from the airport to Canada Place.  Take CanadaLine.  It’s waaaay cheaper and waaaay faster.

what is canada line?

 

[em-sk]

6 hours ago, april_4_us said:

what is canada line?

 

Skytrain is the subway/metro system in Vancouver.  The Canada Line is the Skytrain line that connects the Airport to downtown Vancouver.   YVR is the station at the aiport at one end of the line, Waterfront Station is the station at the other end that is within walking distance of the cruise ship terminal.

 

 

[jsglow]

Hey @martincathand @Ferry_Watcher..... an update. Great evening here in Vancouver after a successful bus trip. Dinner at Cactus Club followed by a nice walk all the way to the totem poles returning to town along the seawall. Thanks for the guidance! 

[martincath]

37 minutes ago, jsglow said:

Hey @martincathand @Ferry_Watcher..... an update. Great evening here in Vancouver after a successful bus trip. Dinner at Cactus Club followed by a nice walk all the way to the totem poles returning to town along the seawall. Thanks for the guidance! 

Glad you made it safe and had a nice first evening. I think we laid on a pretty decent sunset for you - hope boarding goes smoothly tomorrow!

[jsglow]

13 minutes ago, martincath said:

Glad you made it safe and had a nice first evening. I think we laid on a pretty decent sunset for you - hope boarding goes smoothly tomorrow!

By the way, huge thumbs up on Barclay's. Hotels are darn expensive in Vancouver. Our's is wonderfully located and old school nice at a fair price for the area. Great choice for one night beforehand. Reminds me of some of the old classy boutique hotels in Miami.