Vancouver answers from a Vancouverite

[Jana White]

Just wondering if anyone can recommend a hotel that has two at least queen beds and sleeps 4. We are coming in on the late Amtrak from Seattle and just need a room to sleep that is not so so expensive. I am really finding limited rooms of this type, thank you!

[Putterdude]

I am surprised of your findings as most hotels have a large number of double queen bed rooms. The real issue is to find a room under $200 in cruise season but here are a few that you may care to try:

Sandman Inn on West Georgia St.

The Georgian Court

The Blue Horizon

Best Western-Downtown on Drake St.

Holiday Inn on Howe St.

The Cascadia

[Jana White]

Thank you Putterdude. I have tried some of these hotels already but will check the rest out. I am sure we will find one that works for us. The Blue Horizon looks very promising

[Putterdude]

You are welcome; the Blue Horizon is used a lot by cruisers, has large rooms and is well located on Robson St. If none of these pan out just come on back and we can expand on the list.

[Jana White]

Thank you again. Putterdude, are there places near The Blue Horizon to grab a small breakfast too? They are offering rooms for $169 and that sounds great.

[Putterdude]

You likely could do better bidding on Priceline but as you have the 2 bed requirement, the $169 is not a bad price during the cruise season. What about a AAA or AARP (sorry if you are not a senior) discount?

Yes you will find any number of places to have breakfast close by, Starbucks, Tim Horton's and lots of other cafés.

[Jana White]

Yes I am pretty happy with that price. I have major medical issues (yes I do get insurance) and so I normally do not book any room that cannot be easily cancelled. For that reason unless it is at the very last moment, I do not use Priceline. Saying that I have never had to cancel a trip even though it has been pretty iffy sometimes up until the last couple days whether I can even go. At this moment things look very good for this trip.

[Putterdude]

Well I hope everything works out for you and you have a wonderful cruise.:)

[CanWeGoYet?]

Can anyone tell me which pier carnival uses in Vancouver?

 

Also what time they begin embarkation? I may want to buy a tour I can only get onboard, that sells out quickly.

[Putterdude]

Can anyone tell me which pier carnival uses in Vancouver?

 

Also what time they begin embarkation? I may want to buy a tour I can only get onboard, that sells out quickly.

 

Carnival does not regularly sail out of Vancouver so it would be pretty hard to guess which pier or time they will embark in May 2012. My suggestion would be to speak with Carnival directly on this topic as it is their tour. The port schedule will not be finalized until early 2012 but here is a link that you could try in January come February 2012.

 

http://www.portmetrovancouver.com/en/Default.aspx

[southpawsdakota]

I am staying at the Holiday Inn on Howe prior to a cruise in Sept. How far is the hotel to Canada Place? AND are there any good resturants around this hotel? I have some mobility problems so walking can be a problem. I did purchase the two day pass for the hop on hop off trolley. Thanks for any information you can give me.

[CanWeGoYet?]

Carnival does not regularly sail out of Vancouver so it would be pretty hard to guess which pier or time they will embark in May 2012. My suggestion would be to speak with Carnival directly on this topic as it is their tour. The port schedule will not be finalized until early 2012 but here is a link that you could try in January come February 2012.

 

http://www.portmetrovancouver.com/en/Default.aspx

 

Thanks Putterdude, I will try calling them. I know from past experience the phone reps aren't the most reliable in their info - I get better information from the people on this board! That link for the port schedule may be my best hope.

[moosa]

there's a hop on hop off trolley????????????? what is this and where is it??? where does it go??? this sounds great!

[Putterdude]

there's a hop on hop off trolley????????????? what is this and where is it??? where does it go??? this sounds great!

 

There are actually 3 HOHOs that operate in Vancouver. I will provide links below. For what it is worth I tend to prefer Vancouver Trolley as they were the pioneers in this field and provide live narration.

 

http://www.vancouvertrolley.com/

http://www.bigbus.ca/

 

http://www.vancouverpinkbustours.com/

[Putterdude]

I am staying at the Holiday Inn on Howe prior to a cruise in Sept. How far is the hotel to Canada Place? AND are there any good resturants around this hotel? I have some mobility problems so walking can be a problem. I did purchase the two day pass for the hop on hop off trolley. Thanks for any information you can give me.

 

Your hotel is about 11 blocks from Canada Place. You will find a Starbucks close by for a light breakfast but for dinner most of the restaurants tend to be on Robson St. about 4 blocks away. Ut is our resident expert on restaurants in that area but I believe that he is away right now hiking in the Rockies.

[scottbee]

I am staying at the Holiday Inn on Howe prior to a cruise in Sept. How far is the hotel to Canada Place? AND are there any good resturants around this hotel? I have some mobility problems so walking can be a problem. I did purchase the two day pass for the hop on hop off trolley. Thanks for any information you can give me.

 

About 10 blocks straight down Howe Street. As for restaurants, there are lots. What kind of food do you like?

[moosa]

There are actually 3 HOHOs that operate in Vancouver. I will provide links below. For what it is worth I tend to prefer Vancouver Trolley as they were the pioneers in this field and provide live narration.

 

http://www.vancouvertrolley.com/

 

http://www.bigbus.ca/

 

http://www.vancouverpinkbustours.com/

 

 

thanks so much! wow! this opens up a whole new plan for us.

[cruiserjanet]

We took the Trolley by accident (long story) and while not cheap, it was worth it. It's like getting a guided tour and you can hop off and get back on without paying extra as long as you have your ticket and it's the same day.

[southpawsdakota]

As far as food goes, since I am in Vancouver seafood would be great. I enjoy pretty much anything. I did go to Granville Island last year and just enjoyed sitting having a drink, reading a book and people watching.

Edited August 2, 2011 by southpawsdakota
put down wrong city

[juanrod]

tea house in stanley park good or bad? do taxi's take major credit cards or cash only? been reading this thread and knew someone out there would have the answers as we approach our cruise date

[Putterdude]

tea house in stanley park good or bad? do taxi's take major credit cards or cash only? been reading this thread and knew someone out there would have the answers as we approach our cruise date

 

 

The Tea House in Stanley Park has been around forever, it is in a lovely setting and yes it is well worth a visit.

Vancouver cabs do take Visa and MC, I doubt they currently take Discover or AMEX. They are also always happy to take good old CDN or US cash.

[scottbee]

tea house in stanley park good or bad? do taxi's take major credit cards or cash only? been reading this thread and knew someone out there would have the answers as we approach our cruise date

 

The Tea House in Stanley Park is gets generally good reviews,, although it's pretty strong on the tourist trade; owned by the same group that owns Cardero's and Season's (QE Park).

 

Taxis will take VISA/MC and C$ and US$ cash; possibly AMEX and JCB. Discover is rarely seen in Canada, so I would assume not.

[robsmom]

Thank you to Scottbee, Urban Trekker,and Pudderdude as well as everyone who has posted questions and answers on this thread. I am spending 2 nights in Vancouver pre-cruise and had not given much planning to this part of the vaction. In the past few days I have gotten excellent advice and ideas on this thread. Thanks to all of you:

 

I know that we are taking a cab ($35) for 3 of us from the airport to the Pan Pacific at Canada Place.

 

I have purchased 2 days for the price of 1 hop on hop off trolley tickets on-line

 

We have dinner reservations at Joe Fortes for Seafood

 

We will be having a casual lunch/dinner at a chinese restaurant

 

We will definitely go to granville island.

 

We will take the free shuttle to the suspension bridge and Grouse Mountain if the weather is good.

 

Thank you.

Edited August 3, 2011 by robsmom

[scottbee]

Thank you to Scottbee, Urban Trekker,and Pudderdude as well as everyone who has posted questions and answers on this thread. I am spending 2 nights in Vancouver pre-cruise and had not given much planning to this part of the vaction. In the past few days I have gotten excellent advice and ideas on this thread. Thanks to all of you:

 

I know that we are taking a cab ($35) for 3 of us from the airport to the Pan Pacific at Canada Place.

 

I have purchased 2 days for the price of 1 hop on hop off trolley tickets on-line

 

We have dinner reservations at Joe Fortes for Seafood

 

We will be having a casual lunch/dinner at a chinese restaurant

 

We will definitely go to granville island.

 

We will take the free shuttle to the suspension bridge and Grouse Mountain if the weather is good.

 

 

If you're headed to Grouse Mtn/Capilano Suspension Bridge and Granville Island, I recommend a transit day pass for $9. Good for all buses/Skytrain/Seabus. it will get you to all of those places (and a lot more)

[robsmom]

If you're headed to Grouse Mtn/Capilano Suspension Bridge and Granville Island, I recommend a transit day pass for $9. Good for all buses/Skytrain/Seabus. it will get you to all of those places (and a lot more)

 

I have already purchased the hop on trolley tickets. These include tranportation to Granville Island. Both Grouse Mtn and Capilano indicated that there are free shuttles from Canada Place. Do you think I will still need the transit pass? Do you think I should cancel the trolley (I think i may be able to do that) and just go with the transit pass both days?

 

Thanks.

Edited August 3, 2011 by robsmom