Help in Vancouver

[tidefan]

I recommend Hampton inn which was only 300 for 1 night, but when researching Vancouver there's not many places that are cheaper than 300. It's an expensive city. Seatle is only 3 hours away so there is an option to stay there and drive or take the train to Vancouver.

I'd second this. We used Hilton Honors points, so it was free for us. They have breakfast included and a free shuttle to the cruise port...

 

[bumbershoot]

We stayed at the Hyatt Regency for $280 (USD) inclusive of all taxes and fees but I'm sure had I looked earlier I could have got a better deal. LOVED it there! We walked to the port in about 10 minutes. You can take a cab too if you have anyone with mobility issues. It's attached to a little shopping center with a few quick eats there. I would stay there again.

That's a great hotel. We got to stay there on the company's dime one November, so we got about that rate for their club level, which was *incredible*. Loved their personalized elevators.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

We have stayed in Vancouver prior to a cruise twice. Once at the Westin Bayshore, right along the water and within walking distance of the pier (wouldn't walk with luggage though). Once at the Delta Vancouver Suites. Also within walking distance and we did walk to the pier with our luggage. We paid $183.22 for this one.

Both were really nice and I was very happy with my choice. Both were booked through Last Minute Travel. I found calling rather than booking on line had much lower rates.

I would stay at either one of these again.

 

[lilsonicfan]

We're in the Park Inn & Suites; 4 blocks off Canada Line for $210 CD/night

I work in this area - it's not strictly downtown (I imagine you know this) but there are lots of restaurants nearby and the proximity to Canada Line / downtown is excellent.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

I work in this area - it's not strictly downtown (I imagine you know this) but there are lots of restaurants nearby and the proximity to Canada Line / downtown is excellent.

Awesome. Looked like that from what we'd read/researched. We're flying in 3 days early to see your amazing city; very much looking forward to it!

 

[lilsonicfan]

Awesome. Looked like that from what we'd read/researched. We're flying in 3 days early to see your amazing city; very much looking forward to it!

I may be biased, but Vancouver is one of the best cities in the world! Hope you have a great time!!

 

[Luckymommatoo]

We were in Vancouver before our cruise in July 2017 with a family group of 14, and we stayed at the Residence Inn on Hornby. The breakfast was excellent and it worked really well for us. You do have to take cabs to the cruise terminal, but it's inexpensive, and the cabs drop you directly at luggage drop-off.

 

[DisneyB]

We stayed at the Radisson Vancouver Airport for two nights before our cruise in August and it was perfect. There is a free shuttle from the airport and it is directly across the street from the Canada Line. Tim Hortons is also across the street for a quick breakfast. We took the train to Canada Place for a few dollars and it was only a 20 minute ride. The hotel is less than $200/night so worth the extra few minutes on the train. It's worth looking at. Save the money on the hotel and put it towards the amazing excursions Alaska has to offer.

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

Flying in the day beforehand i presume...

Stay at an airport area hotel (w/ free shuttle between airport and hotel) then either take a cab(s) or the sky train into downtown the morning of the cruise. We've done this a couple of times and it's pretty easy. Only about 2 block walk from Waterfront Station.

This sounds like a good plan if you are flying in, going on the cruise, and then leaving again right away.

We figured we weren't likely to get up that way again soon (we live in Florida) so we flew into Seattle, stayed the night there and went to the Space Needle and the Museum of Flight, then the next morning we took the Amtrak Cascades (leisurely and beautiful 4 hour trip) to Vancouver, so we ended up much closer to downtown already. We were then able to visit Queen Elizabeth Park that afternoon (the day before the cruise), VanDusen Botanical Gardens after disembarking, and Stanley Park the next day (we had an evening flight the day after disembarkation). We did take the skytrain to the airport, though and that is definitely highly recommended. Much cheaper than a taxi and very easy to do.

 

[gilsan]

Another vote for the Blue Horizon. It was a nice hotel with large rooms and centrally located there is even a liquor store around the corner.

 

[su_A_ve]

Back in 2016, we stayed at the BEST WESTERN PLUS Uptown Hotel. We flew to Seattle and rented the car there to be dropped off at the port in Vancouver. My rate back then was about $180 CA including taxes. Car rental was about $75 US. Probably will book that one again on our next Alaska cruise next year (though we plan on driving from NJ)

 

[arlopop]

Highly recommend Hotwire or Priceline. We ended up with The Four Seasons @ $270 per (my MIL is with us and we are doing 4 days prior to embarkation in Vancouver, so we stepped up.) And there were really good deals for hotels less than FS. I was impressed.

 

[cruiser21]

I've found the best rates on Last minute travel club. I booked the Pan for 180.00 a night 2015 and the Hyatt for 135.00 2017. These were both Labor Day weekend. I booked in May. Prices did go up and since it's a holiday weekend most hotels were sold out.

 

[whistlinmickey]

For our 2014 cruise, these were our criteria:

• Flying our family of six into Vancouver was not a budgetary option. So we opted to drive.
• We required parking for a minivan with a hard-sided rooftop luggage carrier.
• With young children, we strongly preferred a large room or a suite so we didn’t have to split up into separate rooms.
• Again for budgetary reasons, we needed relatively affordable accommodations.

Perhaps we didn’t do an exhaustive search, but meeting all of those requirements in Vancouver seemed nigh impossible. Parking for the tall vehicle seemed especially problematic in the city. If worse came to worse, we could have removed the luggage carrier and stored it in the van. But that would have been extremely inconvenient.

We ended up booking at the Holiday Inn Express in Langley. We paid a total of $184 CAD at the time for a very large family suite. It was a very easy 40-minute drive from the hotel to the cruise terminal. As a bonus, we had the flexibility of choosing different border crossings. We ended up crossing through Lynden/Aldergrove to not have to backtrack to Langley and because the wait times at Peace Arch were looking long as reported online.

Perhaps this information can be of use to those traveling with larger parties and/or larger vehicles.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Langley is very far from downtown Vancouver, and on a weekday it’s easily 1.5 hours to get downtown. I would recommend Richmond (close to the airport) for anyone who wants hotels that are a bit cheaper without being super far.

 

[bumbershoot]

It was a very easy 40-minute drive from the hotel to the cruise terminal.

I don’t know how you made it that fast. Though I think there’s a toll road; did you take that?

I’ve never gotten to the outskirts of downtown Vancouver in anything under an hour from Langley. The Delta can get quite backed up!!!

I think you were fairly lucky.


ETA: I was thinking of the actual nearby crossing. Was mixing up signs and actual towns.

Still no way I would do that. When I’m in Vancouver I’m IN Vancouver. Too much fun stuff there!!

 

[lilsonicfan]

The tolls have been eliminated on the various bridges that had tolls!

 

[whistlinmickey]

I don’t know how you made it that fast. Though I think there’s a toll road; did you take that?

I’ve never gotten to the outskirts of downtown Vancouver in anything under an hour from Langley. The Delta can get quite backed up!!!

I think you were fairly lucky.


ETA: I was thinking of the actual nearby crossing. Was mixing up signs and actual towns.

Still no way I would do that. When I’m in Vancouver I’m IN Vancouver. Too much fun stuff there!!

Phew! Glad we didn't have major issues! It really wasn't too bad. The hotel says it is in Langley. But it was well north of the main part of town. It was adjacent to the Trans-Canada Highway. So it had really easy access to a great path into town. We signed up for TReO to use the Port Mann Bridge, which was a toll bridge at the time. But the bridge was undergoing construction when we were in town. So maybe that affected the cameras, because we actually didn't end up getting charged the toll.

Anyway, for our family's needs, it ended up working out quite well. If (when!) we have to do it again, we would probably still do something similar.

 

[ajo]

Any thoughts on how long it will take to drive from Bellingham, Washington to Canada Place on a Monday morning? We will be visiting family there and we’re planning to drive to port that morning. The internet says approximately 1.5 hours but I’m not sure how accurate that is.

 

[lorenni]

We are traveling with my parents, arriving two days before the cruise, and so we opted for an Airbnb rather than two hotel rooms. Found a terrific place in Kits for less than the cost of two rooms pretty much anywhere in town.