Vancouver port questions!

[Chrislovesdisney]

A few questions:

-it seems that all of the non-stop flights from where I live arrive around midnight into Vancouver airport. What happens then if we book a transfer through Disney? Where and when do they take us?

-to confirm, regardless of time our flight arrives, there is none of the automatic baggage forwarding like they have at MCO, correct?

-do we have to select PAT like we do from Port Canaveral? Does the process differ at all if taking Disney transfers from airport?

 

[pixiedustedme]

A few questions:

-it seems that all of the non-stop flights from where I live arrive around midnight into Vancouver airport. What happens then if we book a transfer through Disney? Where and when do they take us?

-to confirm, regardless of time our flight arrives, there is none of the automatic baggage forwarding like they have at MCO, correct?

-do we have to select PAT like we do from Port Canaveral? Does the process differ at all if taking Disney transfers from airport?

You can't enter the ship port in the middle of the night, so no transfer will take you to the port in the middle of the night. If you stay at a DCL-booked hotel, I know you can arrange a DCL transfer to your hotel the day before the cruise. I'm not sure if you can get one in the middle of the night, but you can always ask. That is only if you're saying at a DCL-booked hotel, though.

Yes, you have to select a PAT.

 

[Chrislovesdisney]

Thoughts on DCL-booked hotel? There’s the Fairmonts for 2020. If we select the one by the airport, will Disney transfer us from hotel to port next day? Anyone have experiences with these hotels and using Disney transfer?

Edited: wow, I just looked at the price of the Fairmont in the airport. Not spending that just to sleep! I was prepared for it to be somewhat costly but WOW. And I’m from NY.

 

[jcourtney]

I've never booked a hotel or transfers through DCL but I just wanted to mention that there is a Skytrain that you can take from the airport to the port. We've taken it and it was very quick and easy. The only downside is that you have to walk about a block between the train station and the port. Just as an alternative.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Oh Vancouver is extremely expensive, even by NYC standards. We stay at the Pan Pacific, also not cheap but they have an Alaska Cruise deal. The Pan Pacific is on top of the port where the Fairmont Waterfront is sorta next to the port. I haven't used DCL transfer/booking services, but the big hotels have that service to the port.
Try searching for a better flight option to get you to Vancouver earlier than midnight, even if its a one stop.
The port is not set up like Port Canaveral, they are port employees, thus greeters and personnel put on the uniform of the cruise line for that day. Same for transfers of people and their luggage, not Disney.

 

[lilsonicfan]

The Fairmont Waterfront and Pan Pacific are across the street from each other, but it is not hard to get around that part of downtown Vancouver and it's totally not necessary to book at one of those specific hotels. The Fairmont YVR is very expensive, being literally in the airport. I would look at a hotel in downtown Vancouver but not necessarily the two I first mentioned. Downtown Vancouver is very walkable and public transit is also fairly cheap and easy to use. @Chrislovesdisney If you're arriving at midnight I'd suggest trying a hotel in Richmond with airport shuttle so you can get some sleep; then take a taxi or public transit (the Canada Line/skytrain) into the port the next day.

 

[anjuan]

For our upcoming Alaska cruise we're arriving the afternoon prior to the cruise so I'm just taking a taxi from the airport to the hotel and then from the hotel to the port. I've heard from others that they're plentiful.

Also, yes you do select a port arrival time.

 

[GPaLarry]

We stayed at the Fairmont, across the street from the terminal...booked it ourselves because we drove up from Oregon. It is expensive, but very convenient. Check for AAA, AARP, etc. discounts. We drove up the day before boarding and took some time the night before scoping out the terminal. There may be a number of other ships in there that are boarding at the same time, so look for the big white hands for DCL or you will wind up in Juneau with some other line and no Mickey or his bars. We had to take our own luggage across the street, although you could get hotel staff to do it for a fee. When you do the Alaska cruise, be sure to have a camera, coat and a verandah stateroom that is not far forward, port side and high up...smoking section is just above and can become a real issue during glacier day...dead still with ashes and smoke coming down. It happened to us, yuck! Good luck!

 

[bumbershoot]

Edited: wow, I just looked at the price of the Fairmont in the airport. Not spending that just to sleep! I was prepared for it to be somewhat costly but WOW. And I’m from NY.

Yeah, summertime when a cruise is leaving is pretty expensive, and the Fairmonts are, I believe, 5 star hotels. As in- celebrities stay at them -kind of service.

But downtown Vancouver is small, taxis are plentiful and very reasonable, and there are TONS of motels there. Check out the cruisecritic ports of call section on their message boards and you'll likely come across a list of good motels up there.

 

[allashore]

We stayed at the Fairmont, across the street from the terminal...booked it ourselves because we drove up from Oregon. It is expensive, but very convenient. Check for AAA, AARP, etc. discounts. We drove up the day before boarding and took some time the night before scoping out the terminal. There may be a number of other ships in there that are boarding at the same time, so look for the big white hands for DCL or you will wind up in Juneau with some other line and no Mickey or his bars. We had to take our own luggage across the street, although you could get hotel staff to do it for a fee. When you do the Alaska cruise, be sure to have a camera, coat and a verandah stateroom that is not far forward, port side and high up...smoking section is just above and can become a real issue during glacier day...dead still with ashes and smoke coming down. It happened to us, yuck! Good luck!

 

[allashore]

just want to clarify the smoking is on starboard side? what level and where, so we can avoid
therefore if you don't want to smell the smoke, it is best to be on starboard ? mid to back of ship ?

 

[tankin]

Three summers ago we stayed at the Fairmont Pacfic Rim. Down the street from the port. They were great and transferred our luggage (plus one of us) down to the port while the rest of us walked. Hotel was great... when we do AK again, we will stay there.

One thing to double check when you're looking at pricing... Make sure you're seeing the USD and not the CAD price. Both countries use the $ symbol so if you're not careful, you might be getting sticker shock over the exchange rate instead of the price....

 

[jeffbeardreams]

Three summers ago we stayed at the Fairmont Pacfic Rim. Down the street from the port. They were great and transferred our luggage (plus one of us) down to the port while the rest of us walked. Hotel was great... when we do AK again, we will stay there.

One thing to double check when you're looking at pricing... Make sure you're seeing the USD and not the CAD price. Both countries use the $ symbol so if you're not careful, you might be getting sticker shock over the exchange rate instead of the price....

Yup ... currently the US$ is worth $1.35 Canadian and a lot of times if you book a Canadian hotel directly through their website the prices quoted will be in Canadian dollars. That would actually make your out the door price cheaper if you're American but remember that your credit card will generally charge a foreign exchange rate that takes away some of the fun of actually saving on an exchange rate for a change. Either way those Fairmonts Downton in Vancouver are stupidly expensive. Convenient to port, but still ... whew.

 

[Van Houten]

We did the same flights (JFK-YVR), and stayed by the airport, but not at the airport. There is a cluster of hotels in Richmond, which all have airport shuttles. Last August, I managed to book a very attractive rate for a suite at Hilton Airport; this year we are staying at another hotel in Richmond (yest, we are doing Alaska on DCL two years in a row). Since the hotel will shuttle you back to the airport, you can take Canada Line from there to Waterfront, which is right next to Canada Place / the port. Or - depending on which hotel you pick - you may just walk to another branch of Canada Line, which is what we did; our walk from Hilton to the train took maybe 10 minutes. Very economical option all around; oh, and it costs less to take Canada Line train from elsewhere, as there is a surcharge added at the airport station.

 

[Tasmen]

Just another voice here stating Vancouver isn't all that big of a city. If you don't mind taking a taxi to the port, you can find more reasonable hotels to stay at for a night. That said, yes, Vancouver is pretty darn pricy.

 

[pixiedustedme]

We stayed at the Fairmont Waterfront, which is expensive, but it's "worth it" expensive (if you enjoy great hotels), and not just "because it's Disney" expensive. It's right across from the port, and we booked (not via DCL) a room with a view. We got to watch the Wonder pull into port in the morning, and she docked in full view, so we looked at her while having breakfast in our room.

After the cruise, we stayed at the Fairmont Airport hotel, which was very nice, too. That trip made the Fairmont our favorite hotel brand.

There is a lot to do at Canada Place, so if you can afford to stay by the port, it's worthwhile.

 

[pixiedustedme]

Just another voice here stating Vancouver isn't all that big of a city. If you don't mind taking a taxi to the port, you can find more reasonable hotels to stay at for a night. That said, yes, Vancouver is pretty darn pricy.

just want to clarify the smoking is on starboard side? what level and where, so we can avoid
therefore if you don't want to smell the smoke, it is best to be on starboard ? mid to back of ship ?

There is smoking on the forward port side at all times, and smoking for limited times at the starboard mid-aft.

We stayed in a verandah on starboard deck 5 aft & never smelled any smoke.

 

[GPaLarry]

w
We stayed in staterooms 8004 & 8006 on the Wonder...port (left) side and just below the smoking area on deck 9 next to the spa and fitness areas, if that makes sense. We pulled into the glacier bay and came to a halt. On a count of five the ashes started raining down on our verandahs, covering everything. Daughter and her kids would not come out on their adjoining verandah. I called Guest Services and they roped off the railing so that the ashes stopped. However, there are tables and ashtrays up there and the smoke continued. The wind was dead calm so we were trapped. There were seals on ice flows nearby and calving on the glacier that we had to go up top to see. Why DCL doesn't put the smokers on the aft end of the ship or in the engine room I don't know. Select your stateroom(s) carefully for the Alaska cruise...everything else about the cruise was awesome.

 

[allashore]

w

We stayed in staterooms 8004 & 8006 on the Wonder...port (left) side and just below the smoking area on deck 9 next to the spa and fitness areas, if that makes sense. We pulled into the glacier bay and came to a halt. On a count of five the ashes started raining down on our verandahs, covering everything. Daughter and her kids would not come out on their adjoining verandah. I called Guest Services and they roped off the railing so that the ashes stopped. However, there are tables and ashtrays up there and the smoke continued. The wind was dead calm so we were trapped. There were seals on ice flows nearby and calving on the glacier that we had to go up top to see. Why DCL doesn't put the smokers on the aft end of the ship or in the engine room I don't know. Select your stateroom(s) carefully for the Alaska cruise...everything else about the cruise was awesome.

very helpful information, something I did not consider when picking our cabins. We should be OK deck 8 aft
Thank You for clarifying

 

[quandrea]

Another plug for the Fairmont line of hotels. They are sublime. The one at YVR has beautiful rooms, impeccable service, great dining. They even have a pool. We are booked there the night before we head home. I’ve stayed there before and can hardly wait to return.