A Disney Wonder... Vancouver, Alaska, Seattle and Mt. Rainier June/July 2020!

Dizney73

DIS Veteran
Joined
Dec 2, 2007
We are so excited to be sailing on the Disney Wonder for our first time!
Our family is not new to cruising (or Disney)... but we are so very excited to be cruising to Alaska this summer on the Disney Wonder!

We are a family of 4. Myself and DH have been to Alaska twice before. We experienced 2 different cruise lines and traveled to Denali, Fairbanks, Alyeska, Talkeetna, Anchaorage and all the ports the cruise lines offered. We love to travel and are always waiting for adventure!

I am not much of a go by the seat of your pants, spontaneous type of person... I like planning everything- every detail! We usually book our vacations very far in advance! We were all booked for Hawaii' for summer of 2020 but then I was unable to secure DVC Aulani reservations for the nights that we needed before our Island cruise. I was going to book a few nights on a cash reservation but $$$WOW! Couple that with the price of flights from the east coast to Honolulu and I was shaking my head at the cost! Then, just before Black Friday the other cruise line that we booked with ran a sale and I was able to change our reservation to summer 2021 and save $1200. We can try again the next summer!

Unfortunately, DH already scheduled his 2020 vacations at work and well.. they can't be changed! So I looked for a couple of options and THIS Disney cruise fit perfectly! I contacted our travel agent and booked an ocean view cabin! (We cruised Alaska in an Inside cabin on Princess and an AFT balcony on Royal Caribbean in the past.) I began booking flights and a hotel in Vancouver immediately.

I am hoping to get lots of feedback, hear about your experiences and of course, I am hoping that you all will offer lots of information that might make our trip a true adventure!

Links to questions and information...
What is the best way to get from Vancouver Airport to the EXchange Hotel?
What do you recommend to do and see in Vancouver?
What tips for the Disney Wonder do you have to tell us? (This is our first time on her)
Ideas for touring Seattle in just a few hours are needed!!
Restaurant recommendations for Vancouver tour day and lunch near Stanley Park or Canada Place?
What do you love to do on a Sea Day?
Port of Vancouver Luggage Storage Service
Your thoughts on the DCL Glacier Exploration Excursion?

DIY Jeep tours! Where else should we visit in our jeep?
Juneau the capital of Alaska? Alaska again!
Catch us in Ketchikan! What else should we do?
Our last sea day:(
Binoculars with a phone attachment
Binoculars review
Air Canada changed my son's seat!
All is good again in the Air Canada World!
No Breakfast with the Bears dates for us:(
Off the ship day- Stanley Park, Amtrak Cascades and Seattle
Our Super Short Day in Seattle
Brest route to Paradise from Seattle? Can you help?
2 nights at Paradise Inn at Mount Rainier
REFUND update


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The first thing dh and I did was check for flights that gave us the most time we could use to fit in his work vacation. Of course we bounced our ideas off of DisBoards before our decision was made. We decided to book a direct flight to Vancouver, Canada from Newark, NJ. Our flight departs at 6:20 pm and lands at 9:09 pm.

We booked our hotel too late, I guess, because we were unable to get 2 nights in Vancouver pre-cruise at the Pan Pacific. I was disappointed and still check here and there for availability. After reading tons of reviews about many Vancouver hotels we decided to book 2 nights at the EXchange Hotel Vancouver in a Deluxe two queen -Club Floor room. We wanted a place close to the port and this one fit the bill. Also, new reviews were really good!

UPDATE: I have since found a room at the Pan Pacific for our two nights before the cruise but have decided that there is no way we are going to spend that amount of money on a room for 2 nights... Remember that we arriving late our first night. So, we will stick with the EXchange and spend the money on cool activities on our trip!

Now my question... What is the best way to get from Vancouver Airport to the EXchange Hotel?Screenshot 2019-12-24 at 7.46.55 AM.png
 
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We will have one full day in Vancouver before boarding the Disney Wonder. We hope to do some cool touristy things in Vancouver on this day. Stanley Park, Gastown, Granville Island and Chinatown are on our list.

UPDATE: With the suggestions of DIS ...we have decided that this day will be our Grouse Mountain Day since we will have the entire day. I've read about an activity called Breakfast with the Bears and will look at perhaps booking this with the extra money we saved on the hotel. From Grouse Mountain we will head to Capilano Bridge and then make our way back to Vancouver stopping in Longsdale Quay. Then, catch the sea bus. We can get a day pass to use all public transportation for the day.

This is something I found on Trip Advisor ... I want to save this so that we can use the directions , suggestions and bus numbers but in the opposite directions.

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What else do you recommend to see and do in Vancouver?
 
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We board the Disney Wonder on a Monday and the EXchange Hotel is very close to the port. Did I mention that we are VERY light packers? We won't have much luggage. We will each have 1 carry on and 1 personal item. We always pack this way as it makes flying, moving luggage and boarding easy. We are Platinum and will take advantage of Boarding Group #1. On the Dream and Fantasy we always go to Cabanas for lunch. I am sure we will do the same! We always enjoy having a table outside or in the bubble part of the window and enjoying a great lunch while setting up the contacts on our phones in the DCL app. We will have to remember that Cabanas is on Deck 9 vs 11!
Our stateroom is an ocean view room on Deck 2... 2620. We chose this room to save money for excursions, for the one large window and convenience to Cabanas. DH and I love to get up early and sit in Cabanas with our morning coffee. And with the Alaskan views we want to spend all of our mornings there!
We have cruised in inside cabins, ocean view cabins, and balcony cabins. We love the 5e aft balconies and large forward ocean view rooms on the Dream and Fantasy! But we have never stayed lower than deck 5 on any of our past cruises with ANY cruise line!

What tips can you tell us about the Disney Wonder (this is our first time on her)?

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We just made our final transportation booking of the Amtrak Cascades train from Vancouver to Seattle last night so our itinerary is now complete! It is time to start focusing on the smaller details now! How exciting!

Our Vacation Itinerary
Saturday.
.. Nonstop flight on Air Canada to Vancouver arrives at 9:10 pm,
check into EXchange Hotel for 2 nights Deluxe Queen Club Floor
Sunday (before cruise)... Tour Vancouver... Shuttle to Grouse Mountain to explore and enjoy the various activities. Tickets for our date are not available yet but we will pre-purchase on line before we go. Walk through China Town (our children are adopted from China and Taiwan), Gastown and/or Granville Island (depends on time) and find a place for dinner. Any recommendations?
Monday...Board Disney Wonder... Platinum members, Ocean View room #2620
Tuesday... Sea Day
Wednesday... Dawes Glacier
Thursday...Skagway 7:15 am- 8 pm...Jeep booked to tour on our own
Friday... Juneau 6:45 am-4:45 pm... private whale watching tour booked
Saturday... Ketchikan 11:15 am-7:45 pm...private salmon fishing excursion booked
Sunday... Sea Day
Monday... Debark Disney Wonder, Store luggage, Tour Stanley Park (by bike? by horse drawn carriage? Stanley Parks' site specifically says not to leave any valuables in the car so using the rental car is not an option for luggage storage) and Lunch, Amtrak from Pacific Central Station to Seattle at 5:45-10:10 pm (Business Class), Check into Seattle hotel for 1 night (Embassy Suites by Hilton Seattle Downtown Pioneer Hall)
Luggage storage at Canada Place: (find out the cost)
Tuesday... Tour Seattle, Pick up Rental Car at Alamo Downtown Seattle, Drive to Mt. Rainier National Park
2 nights at Paradise Inn
Wednesday
... Tour/Hike Mount Rainier
Thursday
... EARLY drive to SeaTac Airport, Return rental car, flight home at 12:21 pm

I definitely need some help planning to tour Seattle in just one day! All recommendations are welcome! I know we need more time but...Our family loves to travel and we visit a National Park/Historic Area each year! Visiting Mount Rainier is a dream and I can't be so close and not go! We all have National Park passports and get them stamped at each park visitor center!
Screenshot 2019-12-30 at 1.28.08 PM.png
Last summer we visited The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island for our National Park before our Bermuda cruise! Our kids, ages 13 and 10, have never been despite the fact that we live less than an hour from the City. Crazy!
 
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Thanks to responses on the DIS we have already decided to change our plans on the day that we return to Vancouver on the Wonder. Traffic outside the city to the North Side to Grouse Mountain, Capilano Bridge or Lynn Canyon may prove to cut our time short and cause much unnecessary stress!
I was also given information about a shuttle that will take us to Grouse Mountain from Canada Place and I discovered with a bit of research a place that will store our luggage till the afternoon when we head to the train.
Sooooooo.... we decided that it would be best to switch our Vancouver touring plans around a bit!
Here are the changes:

Sunday (before cruise)... Tour Vancouver... Shuttle to Grouse Mountain to explore and enjoy the various activities. Tickets for our date are not available yet but we will pre-purchase on line before we go. Walk through China Town (our children are adopted from China and Taiwan), Gastown and/or Granville Island (depends on time) and find a place for dinner. Any recommendations?
Grouse Mountain Information below.
Summer Shuttle to/from Canada Place
The shuttle operates between Canada Place and Grouse Mountain, offering convenient access to Grouse Mountain - and its full range of very British Columbia activities.

Summer Shuttle
During the summer months our shuttle will run daily from 9am-6pm. It will leave downtown starting at 9am, and approximately every 30 minutes* thereafter.
*
Please note that there is a 1 hour gap in the shuttle schedule between 1-2pm daily.

MOUNTAIN ADMISSION & ACTIVITIES
Book online and save! Receive 10% off your mountain admission when you pre-purchase with activities.
In our Green Season (usually May–October), Mountain Admission Tickets include a scenic round trip Skyride, access to the Peak Chairlift, World-Famous Lumberjack Shows, Birds in Motion Demonstrations, visits to the Grizzly bear habitat and more!

Select a date and age category as well as any additional activities available during the date selected. Note: Mountain Admission Ticket is only valid for the date selected.

  • A Family Ticket is for 2 adults and 2 children
  • Tots (4 & under) are free but require a ticket
Screenshot 2020-01-01 at 10.18.24 AM.png
Monday... Debark Disney Wonder, Store luggage, Tour Stanley Park (by bike? by horse drawn carriage? Stanley Parks' site specifically says not to leave any valuables in the car so using the rental car is not an option for luggage storage) and Lunch, Amtrak from Pacific Central Station to Seattle at 5:45-10:10 pm (Business Class), Check into Seattle hotel for 1 night (Embassy Suites by Hilton Seattle Downtown Pioneer Hall)
Luggage storage at Canada Place: (find out the cost)
CDS Baggage YVR?
So I contacted CDS luggage and though their website still lists them at Canada Place... they are no longer there. They did, however, point me in the right direction and I contacted West Coast Sightseeing and they confirmed that they DO INDEED offer the luggage storage service at the port! Yeah!!!!

I need recommendations on restaurants in Vancouver to eat dinner and a restaurant for lunch near Stanley Park or Canada Place!
 
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Like most teachers and kids across the country, I had to return to school today after 8 school days OFF for the holidays! It was so hard to get up this morning and get back to reality! Thinking about and planning this cruise get s me through my day!

I didn't mention yet that we have 2nd seating dinner. We actually chose this seating and it will be our first time in over 20 cruises(not all DCL) that we chose the late seating. We wanted to be sure that we had the opportunity to enjoy our days without having to rush to dinner. We are super excited to eat at Triton's and especially Tianna's Place!

Cruise Day 1... Lunch at Cabanas (I see Triton's is another option). After researching and scouring Navigator's for the 2019 7- night Alaska cruises I found that the first night's show is a featured act. We generally do not go to these unless it is someone we are really interested in. There are always so many things to do on the cruise that we need to pick and choose exactly what we want to do. This could be a good day, weather depending, to use the pool deck at night! We love watching movies out on deck on Funnel Vision while eating pizza and sipping hot chocolate! And of course, we will have to visit Sea Treasures to purchase DCL Alaska souvenirs. We don't buy a lot (remember we travel carry on only) but I buy what I really want! Oh... and we will definitely visit the Disney Vacation Planning Desk to book our next cruise. I've heard it is open limited hours on the Alaskan cruises so we will try to hit it up to book a placeholder in the first few days.

Cruise Day 2... Sea Day... We booked a deck 2 aft room close to the elevators so that dh and I could go to Cabana's early in the am to drink our coffee and enjoy our time together watching the beautiful scenery go by. Our kids know to just come up and look in our "usual seating area" for us when they are ready for breakfast.
In the past there has been Alaska Naturalist Series talks ... That is high on our list of things to do today! We will be sure to catch one! My husband and I are hoping to catch Palo for Brunch... this could be the day as long as I can work it around the Naturalist talks. And there are the animation classes, the trivia and the arts and crafts! Of course, the scenery is what we came to see so we are hoping to spend the day relaxing by a window or out on deck enjoying some adult beverages whenever we have the chance! There is so much that we love to do...and we never have enough time!
Tonight's show is The Golden Mickey's. This is a show that we have seen many times ...so if we see something better happening we will most definitely do that. We always love to catch a few movies in the Buena Vista Theater!
Reminder...Change clock back one hour before bed.

Is there anything else that shouldn't be missed on a sea day?
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Hi - found this thread and am following along. I LOVE that you travel carry-on only, even to Alaska! I’ve often thought about that for an Alaska trip.

Here are some ideas for Seattle- I’ve been there many times as have family there & it is where my dad was born and grew up, so these ideas may not all be too typical but they are fun things I did with my son when he was about the age of your kids.

1 Pioneer Square and Underground Seattle - the original Seattle neighborhood, dates to the 1850’s. And did you know Seattle has an entire town underground? It was built up to its current level after a devastating fire in the late 1800’s, and some of the original city remains underground. There are some companies who offer tours of the old underground.

Pioneer square - https://www.pioneersquare.org/
Things to do there including underground tours - https://www.pioneersquare.org/the-neighborhood/points-of-interest

2 - the iconic Space Needle - built for the 1962 Worlds Fair. If you can go early in the day, the lines can be shorter & price is a little cheaper. Given you only have one day here, I’d skip some of the other things around the Space Needle as they are not unique enough to Seattle. you can buy timed tickets up to 30 days in advance.

https://www.spaceneedle.com/

3 - if you are a Starbucks fan, you might enjoy a visit to the first ever Starbucks, still open and with original logo and decor. You can only find this here. Yes there will be a line but it moves quickly. (PS you will also notice lots of Starbucks in town, sometimes one in each corner in the downtown area so office workers do not have to cross the street to get to one)

https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2015/store-tour-inside-1912-pike-place-seattle-usa/

4 - and as long as you are in the area of the original Starbucks, go to Pike Place Market which is right across the street. It is part farmers market, part original arts & crafts, and part tacky souvenirs which all adds to the charm. There is a famous pig statue out front, and also the famous outdoor fish market where they throw the fish...really fun to watch.

Pike place market - http://www.pikeplacemarket.org/
Pike Place Fish Market - https://www.pikeplacefish.com/
Short video of the fish being thrown -

have fun!
 
Hi - found this thread and am following along. I LOVE that you travel carry-on only, even to Alaska! I’ve often thought about that for an Alaska trip.

Here are some ideas for Seattle- I’ve been there many times as have family there & it is where my dad was born and grew up, so these ideas may not all be too typical but they are fun things I did with my son when he was about the age of your kids.

1 Pioneer Square and Underground Seattle - the original Seattle neighborhood, dates to the 1850’s. And did you know Seattle has an entire town underground? It was built up to its current level after a devastating fire in the late 1800’s, and some of the original city remains underground. There are some companies who offer tours of the old underground.

Pioneer square - https://www.pioneersquare.org/
Things to do there including underground tours - https://www.pioneersquare.org/the-neighborhood/points-of-interest

2 - the iconic Space Needle - built for the 1962 Worlds Fair. If you can go early in the day, the lines can be shorter & price is a little cheaper. Given you only have one day here, I’d skip some of the other things around the Space Needle as they are not unique enough to Seattle. you can buy timed tickets up to 30 days in advance.

https://www.spaceneedle.com/

3 - if you are a Starbucks fan, you might enjoy a visit to the first ever Starbucks, still open and with original logo and decor. You can only find this here. Yes there will be a line but it moves quickly. (PS you will also notice lots of Starbucks in town, sometimes one in each corner in the downtown area so office workers do not have to cross the street to get to one)

https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2015/store-tour-inside-1912-pike-place-seattle-usa/

4 - and as long as you are in the area of the original Starbucks, go to Pike Place Market which is right across the street. It is part farmers market, part original arts & crafts, and part tacky souvenirs which all adds to the charm. There is a famous pig statue out front, and also the famous outdoor fish market where they throw the fish...really fun to watch.

Pike place market - http://www.pikeplacemarket.org/
Pike Place Fish Market - https://www.pikeplacefish.com/
Short video of the fish being thrown -

have fun!
Thank you so much for following along and for the great Seattle ideas! We are staying at the Embassy Suites Downtown Pioneer Square for our 1 night in Seattle. It is right next to the train station so it will be super convenient. Anyway... when looking on Google maps for a hotel I saw a place for Underground tours very nearby! Now I get it and will look into it more for our day in Seattle!

And Starbucks? That is the ONLY thing on my 14 year daughter's list of places to visit!!!

Do you know if the restaurant is still closed at the Space Needle? I saw that it was being renovated.

We have been traveling carry on only for years! It all started when we booked a two week trip to Italy and Mediterranean cruise! We flew into Venice and stayed right next to St. Mark's Square... it was super expensive but my dream! We knew we would have to walk from the ferry to our hotel up stairs and over bridges and then travel to the train station by ferry so we decided to buy ourselves backpacks, packing cubes and carry our bags on our back! It was great and really keeps us from over packing! We have packed carry on only now for years! Alaska may be our biggest challenge but we have been there twice before on cruises over the summer and found that the only day it was really cold was on our glacier sailing day. Layers, Layers, layers, a hat, scarf and gloves did the trick! So I am more than confident that we can do this without a problem!
 
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So I contacted CDS luggage and though their website still lists them at Canada Place... they are no longer there. They did, however, point me in the right direction and I contacted West Coast Sightseeing and they confirmed that they DO INDEED offer the luggage storage service at the port! Yeah!!!!
3D8750C1-035D-4639-B3FE-EA141E847230.pngD2E5BB5F-D5C3-462C-8AC7-3FABBA45B0B0.png
I added this information to my post above with our plans for when we get off the cruise ship.
 
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Cruise Day 3... Dawes Glacier... I am very much looking forward to cruising Endicott Arm to Dawes Glacier! On our last two cruises to Alaska we viewed Hubbard Glacier (Royal Caribbean) and Margerie Glacier in Glacier Bay National Park (Princess). Lots of layers is the key for this day! It is very cold near the glaciers! We will also be taking hats, gloves and scarves! My husband and I have decided that we are interested in doing the Glacier Explorer Excursion. I have read that it is best to book the earlier boat. It is quite expensive for a family of 4 but I have read that it is worth the cost to see the glacier up so close! We aren't able to book our DCL excursions until March 1 but I am very excited about booking this excursion for our family despite the cost!! This is the only excursion I hope to book through DCL. All of our other excursions are booked with outside companies.
On our Princess cruise we did an excursion that included a small plane, a hike, canoeing to a small glacier and a salmon bake! It was everything I ever imagined Alaska would be! I hope that the Glacier Exploration Excursion will meet or surpass my Alaska expectations just as well! What are your thoughts on spending this exuberant amount of money on the Glacier Exploration Excursion?
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I am also very excited to meet all of the characters dressed in their Alaskan outfits! And I hear that this is the day I will find them on the decks... often unannounced! OOh, and it is Frozen night! This is the first Walt Disney Theater Production that we are planning to see! The shows and restaurants that are only on the Wonder were a big draw for us to book this cruise!
 
Do you know if the restaurant is still closed at the Space Needle? I saw that it was being renovated.

From the Space Needle website - the full service restaurant is not currently open. But there is a cafe on the upper observation level that offers sandwiches & burgers.

https://www.spaceneedle.com/experience
What are your thoughts on spending this exuberant amount of money on the Glacier Exploration Excursion
I totally agree! We plan to book this one as well, for both the glacier up closer and hopefully to also see some wildlife. This is our second cruise to Alaska so we are looking for a different glacier cruising day experience. The DCL Blog did this last summer & thought it was worth it.
 
The first thing dh and I did was check for flights that gave us the most time we could use to fit in his work vacation. Of course we bounced our ideas off of DisBoards before our decision was made. We decided to book a direct flight to Vancouver, Canada from Newark, NJ. Our flight departs at 6:20 pm and lands at 9:09 pm.

We booked our hotel too late, I guess, because we were unable to get 2 nights in Vancouver pre-cruise at the Pan Pacific. I was disappointed and still check here and there for availability. After reading tons of reviews about many Vancouver hotels we decided to book 2 nights at the EXchange Hotel Vancouver in a Deluxe rwo queen -Club Floor room. We wanted a place close to the port and this one fit the bill. Also, new reviews were really good!

Now my question... What is the best way to get from Vancouver Airport to the EXchange Hotel?View attachment 460370

I am a Vancouver local. Best way, especially if you travel light is the Canada Line commuter train. It is right at the airport (there is signage telling you where to go). You can either buy a ticket at the kiosk or just tap your credit card. Your hotel is about 2 blocks from both Vancouver City Centre or Waterfront (where the port is).

So you're also a 2 block walk from the port.
 
Thanks to responses on the DIS we have already decided to change our plans on the day that we return to Vancouver on the Wonder. Traffic outside the city to the North Side to Grouse Mountain, Capilano Bridge or Lynn Canyon may prove to cut our time short and cause much unnecessary stress!
I was also given information about a shuttle that will take us to Grouse Mountain from Canada Place and I discovered with a bit of research a place that will store our luggage till the afternoon when we head to the train.
Sooooooo.... we decided that it would be best to switch our Vancouver touring plans around a bit!
Here are the changes:

Sunday (before cruise)... Tour Vancouver... Shuttle to Grouse Mountain to explore and enjoy the various activities. Tickets for our date are not available yet but we will pre-purchase on line before we go. Walk through China Town (our children are adopted from China and Taiwan), Gastown and/or Granville Island (depends on time) and find a place for dinner. Any recommendations?
Grouse Mountain Information below.
Summer Shuttle to/from Canada Place
The shuttle operates between Canada Place and Grouse Mountain, offering convenient access to Grouse Mountain - and its full range of very British Columbia activities.

Summer Shuttle
During the summer months our shuttle will run daily from 9am-6pm. It will leave downtown starting at 9am, and approximately every 30 minutes* thereafter.
*
Please note that there is a 1 hour gap in the shuttle schedule between 1-2pm daily.

MOUNTAIN ADMISSION & ACTIVITIES
Book online and save! Receive 10% off your mountain admission when you pre-purchase with activities.
In our Green Season (usually May–October), Mountain Admission Tickets include a scenic round trip Skyride, access to the Peak Chairlift, World-Famous Lumberjack Shows, Birds in Motion Demonstrations, visits to the Grizzly bear habitat and more!

Select a date and age category as well as any additional activities available during the date selected. Note: Mountain Admission Ticket is only valid for the date selected.

  • A Family Ticket is for 2 adults and 2 children
  • Tots (4 & under) are free but require a ticket
View attachment 461738
Monday... Debark Disney Wonder, Store luggage, Tour Stanley Park (by bike? by horse drawn carriage? Stanley Parks' site specifically says not to leave any valuables in the car so using the rental car is not an option for luggage storage) and Lunch, Amtrak from Pacific Central Station to Seattle at 5:45-10:10 pm (Business Class), Check into Seattle hotel for 1 night (Embassy Suites by Hilton Seattle Downtown Pioneer Hall)
Luggage storage at Canada Place: (find out the cost)
CDS Baggage YVR?
So I contacted CDS luggage and though their website still lists them at Canada Place... they are no longer there. They did, however, point me in the right direction and I contacted West Coast Sightseeing and they confirmed that they DO INDEED offer the luggage storage service at the port! Yeah!!!!

I need recommendations on restaurants in Vancouver to eat dinner and a restaurant for lunch near Stanley Park or Canada Place!

While in Chinatown the Doctor Sun Yat-Sen garden is worth a visit. Really recommend renting bikes in Stanley Park.

As for dinner, what type of food do you like?

My favourite downtown Vancouver nice dinner restaurant is Chambar, which is a Belgian inspired restaurant. For more casual fare my go to is usually sushi. Sushi options are in abundance everywhere in Vancouver.

Another nice option if you are looking for a special meal is the Top of Vancouver revolving restaurant which will give you panoramic views of the city and inlet.
 
I am a Vancouver local. Best way, especially if you travel light is the Canada Line commuter train. It is right at the airport (there is signage telling you where to go). You can either buy a ticket at the kiosk or just tap your credit card. Your hotel is about 2 blocks from both Vancouver City Centre or Waterfront (where the port is).

So you're also a 2 block walk from the port.
Thanks so much for the great information! I just love to know everything I can before we leave! The Canada Line commuter train from the airport sounds very easy!
I honestly saw an open reservation the other day for the Pan Pacific... but I am finding it hard to spend that kind of money on a hotel that we will hardly be at! I would rather spend the extra few hundred dollars on experiences and getting to see Vancouver!
 
While in Chinatown the Doctor Sun Yat-Sen garden is worth a visit. Really recommend renting bikes in Stanley Park.

As for dinner, what type of food do you like?

My favourite downtown Vancouver nice dinner restaurant is Chambar, which is a Belgian inspired restaurant. For more casual fare my go to is usually sushi. Sushi options are in abundance everywhere in Vancouver.

Another nice option if you are looking for a special meal is the Top of Vancouver revolving restaurant which will give you panoramic views of the city and inlet.
We love all types of food really! We are not super picky. We love sushi, and pub food and dress up fancy to dine food! Our children are both Asian, adopted from China and Taiwan. It is important to us to be share we celebrate their heritage while in Vancouver. I am a sucker for restaurants like Top of Vancouver! I am looking them up now! Thanks again!
I'm open to any information you have to share!!!
 
We love all types of food really! We are not super picky. We love sushi, and pub food and dress up fancy to dine food! Our children are both Asian, adopted from China and Taiwan. It is important to us to be share we celebrate their heritage while in Vancouver. I am a sucker for restaurants like Top of Vancouver! I am looking them up now! Thanks again!
I'm open to any information you have to share!!!

There's also Gain Wah restaurant for dim sum in China Town.
 
Thanks so much for the great information! I just love to know everything I can before we leave! The Canada Line commuter train from the airport sounds very easy!
I honestly saw an open reservation the other day for the Pan Pacific... but I am finding it hard to spend that kind of money on a hotel that we will hardly be at! I would rather spend the extra few hundred dollars on experiences and getting to see Vancouver!

I know people love that the Pan Pacific is right at the port and it is a nice hotel (we stayed there after our wedding), every hotel downtown is walking distance to the port so there's no real need to pay extra to stay right there. The hotel you chose should suit your needs just fine. If anything it's a little more convenient for sightseeing because it is more centrally located within the downtown core.
 
Cruise day 4... Skagway 7:15 am-8 pm
Yeah! Our first port! There are just so many choices of places to see and things to do when it comes to ports! We always ask our kids what they want to do on our vacations. What use is it to take them to do things that they really don't don't want to do? We want them to be an integral part of the planning aspect of our vacations! Our daughter, 14, had one request... sled dogs. I researched sled dogs and sledding excursions like crazy. Then I came across someone's Disboards trip report and they really talked up the DIY Jeep Tours and their visit to Tutshi Sled Dog Tours. Sooooo... I rented a jeep from DIY tours and will be heading to the Yukon Territory in Canada (that sounds so far away but it really isn't! hahaha) to take our daughter (and son) to Tutshi Sled Dog tours! I contacted Michelle and she responded to me in less than 30 minutes! My daughter is beside herself that she will get to interact with the dogs!
Screenshot 2020-01-06 at 8.48.14 PM.png
Of course, we will also do lots of other touring with the jeep... Emerald Lake, Carcross Desert and the Welcome to Alaska Sign!
I love touring at our own pace! And DH and I have already been to Skagway twice before and we feel the need to go do something we haven't done before! This was our daughter's big Christmas gift this year! We give our kids an experience for their big gift each year and this one was a big hit!
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This is going to be a long day out and about and let's not forget that we will have to just browse the town once we return the jeep since the kids have never been there. OOOhhh...and the Red Onion Saloon for an Alaskan brew and maybe an app! They do have a Reindeer Fart shot that looks super good too!
Glad we have the late dinner seating as well on this night because the port day is really long and we do love to spend as much time off the ship as possible.
 
Cruise Day 5... Juneau 6:45 am- 4:45 pm
This is going to be a very early morning! The last time we were in Juneau, Scott and I spent the most wonderful blue sky day taking a helicopter to a glacier and hiking! It was absolutely fantastic and a memory I will will cherish forever! I would whole hardheartedly recommend it to everyone... but we decided that we wanted to do something completely different in Juneau this time. I went back and forth honestly between a whale watching excursion and the Taku Glacier Lodge flight and feast. I contacted Wings Airways and found out that although Disney offers this excursion we could absolutely book this ourselves directly. Our son is 11 years old and is considered an adult by Disney for excursions while Wings Airways still charged a child's price for him! That is a HUGE savings! We would most likely travel with those who booked through DCL but unlike them would have to meet the tour on our own vs get picked up at the ship. No problem at all! I was all set to book this when my kids decided that the y really did want to go see whales! So back to square one I went... which of course meant that I came to the DIS to ask about Juneau whale watching excursions.

Once again they came through for me with many recommendations! More than all other companies I kept reading "Rum Runner" over and over and over again. Off I went to Trip Advisor and BooYah... Captain Chris from Rum Runner came highly recommended and had fantastic reviews. I contacted Chris at Rum Runner and heard back from him with his tour recommendations for our family and we booked a private 4 hour Captain's Choice Whales and Wildlife excursion @ 7 am!
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See that whale in the picture above? On our last cruise to Alaska we visited Icy Strait Point where we booked a whale watching excursion and we saw so many whales! It really was wonderful seeing all of the fins and tails and water blowing high into the sky! We were so very pleased as it really was nonstop action! We got back onto our ship and went to the buffet for lunch and we sat down at a table out on the pool deck (it was very warm). As we are sitting there enjoying our lunch talking about how awesome our whale watch was... a whale just literally arched out of the water! We couldn't believe it! THAT was simply wonderful and lucky!

Our tour will return around 11 am or so and Rum Runner will help us get transportation to Mendenhall Glacier and then will arrange a taxi for us after. We would like to head to the Alaskan Brewery Company before heading back to the ship... but if we spent too much time at the glacier we will just skip this and go back and grab a beer and a snack on the Wonder. I mean the brewery is on our list but that glacier...We can't leave Juneau without the kids seeing her! Our first visit to this glacier was in 2000 and then once again in 2005. This year I would really like to hike out to Nugget Falls to view the glacier as we have never done that.
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And just like that our day in Juneau is all planned out! I can't believe how excited I am to return to Alaska on the Disney Wonder!
 

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