Alaska cruise

[Mouseketeer peter]

Are there any hotels in Vancouver that have a shuttle to the cruise port? Any other tips would be appreciated.

 

[VowRenewal13]

The Fairmont Waterfront is right across the street from the cruise terminal.

 

[nbrmommy2005]

We stayed at The Hampton Inn and they had a shuttle to the port.

 

[tajz90]

Stay at the Pan Pacific.

Take the elevator down to the port check in. Our kids woke up early to watch the Wonder sail in. It's a great hotel.

 

[cheryllarsen]

There is also the city bus line. Very reasonable if your hotel doesn't have a shuttle

 

[cheryllarsen]

We took the city bus line from Vancouver to Seattle were we got our rental car after our cruise.

 

[MagicMe]

We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Aug 2011. We loved the location. It was right near a HopOn HopOff bus stop. We took that all around the city and enjoyed the sites. We checked with the desk and if I remember, I believe you could go down that morning to sign up for the shuttle (I went down 15 minutes before the time they gave and there were already people waiting!!). No problem as I think we were on the third shuttle over (there were seven of us) and we were still at the port before they opened the security gates.

PS. the shuttle was free although I did tip the driver for handling our luggage including a wheel chair for my mom.

 

[Cmbar]

For those of you mentioning Hampton Inn. Which one is it? There are three in Vancouver and I can't figure which one it is that you say has the shuttle. Thanks for any help!

 

[BowlerHatGirl]

We booked at the Best Western Plus. It's a little further away from the dock but they have a shuttle service that will drop you off.
I was shocked to see the cost of the hotels in Vancouver (I guess I'm not a city girl lol) and while I'm sure they're all awesome places to stay, our budget doesn't allow for the fancy places.

 

[Aby]

I absolutely adored the Fairmont Waterfront when we were there for the Alaska cruise in 2011. Our room was literally looking over the port, and I got to watch the cruise ship pull in! It is literally steps away from the terminal, so we just walked over in the morning with our baggage in tow (if you book the hotel through Disney, they will offer you resort to port transfers - don't bother!).

Also, the hotel has an amazing breakfast buffet with omelettes to die for, and very close to the pick up spot for many tour busses and the hop on hop off Vancouver Trolley, so it was very convenient. We also walked a few blocks to do some shopping, and the olympic cauldron was a sight to see, again, only a short distance from the hotel.

It can be pricey, but worth it!

Aby

 

[Pooh001]

We landed with 5 people and 12 pieces of luggage . I found the limousines in front of the airport to be excellent and helpful. We all hopped in the limo and went to Waterfront Fairmont for about 80.00 w tip ! Far better than in Orlando . I would talk with the limo guys when you come out of baggage claim . We stayed 5 nights at the Waterfront and loved it ! Would repeat anytime . Would recommend a sea plane to Victoria and renting a car for the day to drive to Whistler . Hope that helps

 

[meajuly5]

We landed with 5 people and 12 pieces of luggage . I found the limousines in front of the airport to be excellent and helpful. We all hopped in the limo and went to Waterfront Fairmont for about 80.00 w tip ! Far better than in Orlando . I would talk with the limo guys when you come out of baggage claim . We stayed 5 nights at the Waterfront and loved it ! Would repeat anytime . Would recommend a sea plane to Victoria and renting a car for the day to drive to Whistler . Hope that helps

We be staying there and have approx 2 days in Vancouver. Any suggestions for that short time frame?

 

[dahuffy]

I don't want to spend $100 a night for a bed

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Aug 2011. We loved the location. It was right near a HopOn HopOff bus stop. We took that all around the city and enjoyed the sites. We checked with the desk and if I remember, I believe you could go down that morning to sign up for the shuttle (I went down 15 minutes before the time they gave and there were already people waiting!!). No problem as I think we were on the third shuttle over (there were seven of us) and we were still at the port before they opened the security gates.

PS. the shuttle was free although I did tip the driver for handling our luggage including a wheel chair for my mom.

Great to know!! I think we will book there as we have hotel points we can use. More money then to spend onboard! Woot woot!

The Hop On, Hop Off bus sounds perfect. Do we need to buy tickets in advance? Do they take American dollars or will we need to exchange beforehand?

 

[KingRichard]

I don't want to spend $100 a night for a bed

Ha Ha that's cheap in lot of places.

 

[BowlerHatGirl]

I don't want to spend $100 a night for a bed

We're cruising to Alaska in September, and unfortunately, $140 a night seemed to be the very cheapest we could find in the Vancouver area.

I'm willing to stay in a cheaper hotel the night before, since:
1: It's not even a place to sleep, it's a place to pace back and forth staring at the clock.

2: I'd rather pay for an awesome stateroom onboard the ship.

3: It give our budget more wiggle room for sightseeing.

Priceline and others are your friends- keep your eyes peeled and you'll find a deal, I"m sure.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Stay at the Pan Pacific.

Take the elevator down to the port check in. Our kids woke up early to watch the Wonder sail in. It's a great hotel.

Ha Ha that's cheap in lot of places.

I was going to say the same - I *wish* I could have found one in the area we wanted for $100 a night but it wasn't meant to be. I knew going in we did want the Canada Place/Port area and unfortunately those are among the highest. We also had our heart set on the Pan Pacific and it was about $250 a night for the Harbour View room - which we also wanted. I know this is more than we are used to paying however we wanted to enjoy it thoroughly and good sleep is important to us. I'll be building this into my budget to accommodate the price!

I agree with checking all websites, AAA, Last Minute Travel, hotwire, etc and go with the best rate you can find.

Heather

 

[Disney Dreams]

We stayed at Pan Pacific for a great rate off of Hotwire. We arrived almost 24 hours before the ship left, so we got out use from it. It is a great hotel, but you cannot beat the location: there is literally a button in the elevator for "Cruise Ship Terminal."

We checked out, said goodbye to a very helpful/kind employee that had helped us the afternoon before, walked to the elevator with our carry-on bags, went down to the parking garage level, walked through the garage following signs to "Cruise Terminal" and on to the ship.

Our bags were picked up at the hotel for us and landed in our stateroom a few hours after boarding. Cannot recommend Pan Pacific enough.

- Dreams

 

[jenna7394]

We stayed at Pan Pacific for a great rate off of Hotwire. We arrived almost 24 hours before the ship left, so we got out use from it. It is a great hotel, but you cannot beat the location: there is literally a button in the elevator for "Cruise Ship Terminal."

We checked out, said goodbye to a very helpful/kind employee that had helped us the afternoon before, walked to the elevator with our carry-on bags, went down to the parking garage level, walked through the garage following signs to "Cruise Terminal" and on to the ship.

Our bags were picked up at the hotel for us and landed in our stateroom a few hours after boarding. Cannot recommend Pan Pacific enough.

- Dreams

Was the arrangement with your bags through the hotel or through DCL? Was it an extra fee? I would love to stay there and am waiting to see if we can get a good price through Priceline, etc.

 

[dahuffy]

Ha Ha that's cheap in lot of places.

Yeah I know