Alaska Cruise and Vancouver Hotel Suggestions Needed ...

jdg345

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jun 1, 2006
Looking to book an Alaska Cruise and we are planning to do a pre-stay and post-stay in Vancouver to take in some of the City. Need some suggestions on where to stay.

We are Marriott/SPG so would like to stick to that, but would also like to be conveniently located to the attractions and family entertainment. Of course, safety is the number one priority.

Looking to see how close the options are to the port and airport as well as we will be flying in and out of YVR.

Suggestions and thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

TIA!
 
We did an 8/2016 DCL Alaskan cruise out of Vancouver. We stayed 3 nights precruise at the Westin Bayshore (which is in the SPG family). They had a deal at the time 'pay your birth year'--first night was rack rate, next 2 nights cost the last 2 digits of your birth year. With the exchange rate, the hotel ended up costing us less than $200/nt USD. We took a taxi from the airport to hotel ($35 CAD plus tip for the 4 of us and our luggage), and ended up taking a taxi from the hotel to the port--less than $10 CAD. We LOVED the hotel/location. Easy walk to Stanley Park and all its' attractions. Easy walk w/o luggage to the port area/downtown. We spent 1 day in Stanley Park, 1 day walked to the Seabus Station, bought a daypass for public transit--took the 'seabus' (ferry) over to North Vancouver, then a bus to Lynn Canyon State Park with its' free suspension bridge. If you want to see any pics, they're in the first couple pages of my trip report in my signature.

We had 10:30PM flight home on debarkation day--did an all day tour with Land and Sea Tours (vancouvertours.com)--the Sea to Sky tour. They picked us and our luggage up at the port at 10AM, brought us to the airport around 5-6PM. It was a great way to end the trip!
 
Looking to book an Alaska Cruise and we are planning to do a pre-stay and post-stay in Vancouver to take in some of the City. Need some suggestions on where to stay.

We are Marriott/SPG so would like to stick to that, but would also like to be conveniently located to the attractions and family entertainment. Of course, safety is the number one priority.

Looking to see how close the options are to the port and airport as well as we will be flying in and out of YVR.

Suggestions and thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

TIA!
You can stay at one of the Fairmont hotels. There is one at the airport and one at the port, both very expensive, but typically less expensive booked via DCL than on your own. Vancouver is an expensive city to visit.
 
We stayed at the Marriott Pinnacle last summer and were very happy with our choice. We also were looking for a Marriott property so that we could use my husband's points. The location was great - 2 blocks from Canada Place with lots of good restaurants nearby. The staff was great, and they offered a really nice breakfast. There are several options for getting from the airport to downtown (cab, skytrain, Aerocab). We grabbed a cab and it was about a 20 or so minute ride.

We could have easily walked to the port from our hotel for embarkation, but as we had a lot of luggage we opted for a (very, very short!) cab ride there as well. Vancouver is a great city. Enjoy!
 


Using Marriott points at delta suites. Same number of points as Marriott pinnacle, but has option for two queen beds. I looked at Westin bay shore too—it wasn’t as good of a deal point wise but if you’re not using points I’d definitely consider it.
 
Thank you all! Was looking at the Delta and the Pinnacle, seems the reviews were both good. I was able to guarantee two queens at both properties. Looking into the Westin Bay Shore ... from a location perspective, which of these three are best for family events, safety, etc. ?

Also, what's Stanley Park? :)
 
We felt very safe at the Pinnacle, and we wandered around the area every night. I was torn between it and the Delta as they are both about the same distance from the waterfront and Canada Place, just on opposite sides. In the end, I picked the Pinnacle because the Delta was on the side closer to Gastown which I'd read could get sketchy in places after dark (found that to true - the vibe definitely changes around 9 or 10 at night). However, I really never saw the Delta when we were there, so I'm not exactly sure where it was. It very well may be in a perfectly safe area. Sorry - I know that doesn't help you, but hopefully someone that has stayed there will chime in.

One question, though. Are you sure that you have two queens at the Pinnacle? We just booked the standard room you get with points, and it was two doubles, not queens. The only other option was a king bed and as it was my husband and I along with our 19 year old son, that wasn't going to work. I don't know if there was an option for queens if you were paying for it, rather than using points, but I'd recommend double checking on the beds at the Pinnacle if having queens is important to you.

As for Stanley Park - lovely area and definitely a place to see when you are in Vancouver http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/stanley-park.aspx

I also recommend Granville Island. This was one of those things we thought we'd do if we had some extra time and ended up loving it. We had a great lunch, shopped in the market and then walked around to all of the artist's shops. It was actually my favorite thing we did in Vancouver. http://granvilleisland.com

And don't let my above comment on Gastown dissuade you from going there. It's perfectly fine during the day, and even at night it really wasn't so bad. You just had to be a bit more aware of your surroundings. We did a ghost tour there one night, and it was an absolute hoot! https://www.ghostlyvancouvertours.com

We definitely plan to return to Vancouver some time. We were there three nights and never even made it out of the city - no Grouse Mt. or Capilano Bridge which I've heard are great fun. Just another reason to return!! :-)

Edited: One other thing I recommend is Flyover Canada at Canada Place. If you enjoy Soarin at WDW, you will love it.
 


Stayed at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre. Within walking distance to a lot restaurants. They have a taxi stand outside the hotel. Quick taxi ride to Stanley Center (where aquarium is at). Tons of taxis at aquarium. Free shuttle to Canada Place (where the cruise leaves) and from Canada Place (just need to call them when you arrive). One of the whale watching tours (Vancouver Whale Watch) picks up and drops off right across from the hotel.
 
Most of downtown Vancouver is perfectly fine. We've stayed at many hotels there.

Looking into the Westin Bay Shore ... from a location perspective, which of these three are best for family events, safety, etc. ?

Check out a map of downtown Vancouver, and see walking distances. Check out the things you want to do. Since BayShore is so close to the park IMO it's not *awesome* for being close to restaurants etc, but then again we walk nearly everywhere when we stay in Vancouver.

We've stayed there, Westin Grand, Hyatt Regency (their concierge level is AMAZING, but we stayed there in November, not cruise season), Sutton Place (one of our absolute faves, and we saw Sean Lennon checking in there with his band one night they were in town), Le Grande Residence (the condo connected to SP), Holiday Inn, and a few other places of different budget levels.

I've personally never felt the need to stay at a Fairmont or at the Pan. When we cruised Royal for our honeymoon (which didn't leave out of Canada Place, but from Ballantyne, which is not the most romantic pier in the world LOL) we stayed at the Westin Grand before and after and just took a taxi to and from.
 
@jdg345 : What are your desired hotel dates? I can advise on festivals and potential congestion concerns.
  • The two Pinnacles are across the street from one another. It's a 5 block luggage drag to the cruise terminal
  • The Blue Horizon is a popular alternative value hotel for multi day stays and offers more ambience than the two Pinnacles.
 
@jdg345 : What are your desired hotel dates? I can advise on festivals and potential congestion concerns.
  • The two Pinnacles are across the street from one another. It's a 5 block luggage drag to the cruise terminal
  • The Blue Horizon is a popular alternative value hotel for multi day stays and offers more ambience than the two Pinnacles.

July 6/7/8 and 18/19/20 ... I'm not looking to drag my luggage anywhere ... I am hopeful there are taxi's or some other form of transport for the luggage if we decide on the Pinnacle?
 
July 6/7/8 and 18/19/20 ... I'm not looking to drag my luggage anywhere ... I am hopeful there are taxi's or some other form of transport for the luggage if we decide on the Pinnacle?

There were plenty of taxis, often sitting right across the street waiting for hotel guests when we stayed at the Marriott Pinnacle last summer. Just walk out the main entrance of the hotel and the doorman will hail you a cab.
 
July 6/7/8 and 18/19/20 ... I'm not looking to drag my luggage anywhere ... I am hopeful there are taxi's or some other form of transport for the luggage if we decide on the Pinnacle?
Those are great days to cruise and visit Vancouver. You are missing the July 1st congestion and the big fireworks competition the week after you leave.

If you find the cab lines long the 18th... it may be faster to drag the luggage to the hotel than to wait in line (7 blocks or 10 minutes on Google Maps). BTW.... July 18th is a busy 3 ship day.
 
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We are staying at Barclay's Bed and Breakfast downtown. It's very well reviewed, and rates for the cheapest room were surprisingly low. They accept children ages 12 and up.
 
We stayed at the Hyatt Regency for $180/night (4 years ago) on a hotwire deal. It's actually a steal at 12,000/night Hyatt Points if you have their credit card or one of the premium Chase credit cards. We actually walked with our bags to the port since it was such a nice day (we had kids and 2 seniors with us as well). There are plenty of taxis in the city so it wouldn't have been a problem should we need a drop off due to weather.
 
Hampton Inn on Robson is very nice, and it has a free shuttle to the port. I also recommend the hop on/hop off bus tour. It’s a great way to see the city.
 
In addition to staying at Marriott Pinnacle for our pre/post DCL cruises I've stayed there a couple of times for some work trips. Close to pier and restaurants and a very comfortable Marriott property. Of special note the gas light district is a very walkable distance with tons to do at night. We did walk our luggage back and forth from our sailing, it was a bit of hike with luggage in tow but very manageable.
 

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