Anniversary trip 2019 - Vancouver/Cruise/Hawaii/Aulani

[OKW Lover]

I understand the concern. Curious of you have suggestions about things to do in Vancouver. We've been to the other stops and have a good idea what to do there.

Also, please tell us how smooth (or not) the embarkation process went in Vancouver and the debarment in Hawaii. We will be renting a car at the end of the cruise and it looks like we will have to uber to the airport to get the car.

 

[spacecanada]

We are doing a similar holiday in reverse. We also live in Victoria if you wish to take a day trip here and need suggestions.

All of the Vancouver ideas posted earlier are great. There is also the Capilano suspension bridge and Grouse Mountain hike.

 

[dgbg100106]

I understand the concern. Curious of you have suggestions about things to do in Vancouver. We've been to the other stops and have a good idea what to do there.

Also, please tell us how smooth (or not) the embarkation process went in Vancouver and the debarment in Hawaii. We will be renting a car at the end of the cruise and it looks like we will have to uber to the airport to get the car.

Vancouver was great. We took the skytrain from the airport down to our hotel which was not far from the arena BC Place. It was an easy walk with our luggage. Getting out of the airport was the worst part of that traverse.

Once at the hotel we got them to store our luggage for us we were too early to check-in. We walked around to the Chinese Gardens, China Town was beautiful and I wished we had eaten there, I will when I am back in May. Then we walked to Gastown (lots of homeless people and drug use around the East Hastings). Water st has a ton of tourists and lots of shops. You can see the Steam Clock there.

Must do I would say if the weather is nice... Bike around Stanley Park! it was beautiful. we finished Stanley then biked through English Bay, then to Granville Island. Had to put bikes on the ferry but very easy...

Embarkation was easy in Vancouver, we really did walk right on, but we were in an upgraded line. Not sure which line or if you have perks, but even the general line was moving quickly. People mostly had trouble with the passport readers, you have to do it yourself, almost like the airport.

Disembarkation in Hawaii was easy too, but we were walk-off early in the morning. We walked out of the port across the pick-up lines, follow the signs for Uber/Lyft pick up area. the picked us up right there, took us to Alamo to get our car, it was waiting for us right there.

Hope this helps!

 

[OKW Lover]

Vancouver was great. We took the skytrain from the airport down to our hotel which was not far from the arena BC Place. It was an easy walk with our luggage. Getting out of the airport was the worst part of that traverse.

Sounds good. I'm thinking we will uber to our hotel but its nice to have the option.

We walked around to the Chinese Gardens, China Town was beautiful and I wished we had eaten there, I will when I am back in May.

I didn't realize there was a big China Town there. We will definitely check that out.

Bike around Stanley Park! it was beautiful. we finished Stanley then biked through English Bay, then to Granville Island. Had to put bikes on the ferry but very easy...

We aren't the kind to bike. Is it a nice place for a walk?

Embarkation was easy in Vancouver, we really did walk right on, but we were in an upgraded line. Not sure which line or if you have perks,

Good to know. We are in a suite so we shouldn't have to stand in long lines.

Disembarkation in Hawaii was easy too, but we were walk-off early in the morning. We walked out of the port across the pick-up lines, follow the signs for Uber/Lyft pick up area. the picked us up right there, took us to Alamo to get our car, it was waiting for us right there.

That's great. We will be renting a car and I was thinking that Uber would be the best option to get to the rental place.

Hope this helps!

Yes it did. Thank you very much!

 

[dgbg100106]

Sounds good. I'm thinking we will uber to our hotel but its nice to have the option.
I didn't realize there was a big China Town there. We will definitely check that out.
We aren't the kind to bike. Is it a nice place for a walk?
Good to know. We are in a suite so we shouldn't have to stand in long lines.
That's great. We will be renting a car and I was thinking that Uber would be the best option to get to the rental place.
Yes it did. Thank you very much!

The Skytrain is super easy, don't discount it.

Chinatown in Vancouver I believe is the 3rd largest in North America, go there!

Stanley is easy to walk but if you don't bike it would take forever. The ground is mostly flat and easy but if you don't bike, just take a tour, small has to be better.

The suite line should be good to go.

 

[ksromack]

Oh, shoot, I was hoping to read about your travels. You are back home now, right? I thought, at one time, that our first trip to Hawaii would be a cruise so we could get a little taste of several of the island....but then I got on this kick to go to Aulani! We are traveling next May and it'll be our first trip to Hawaii.....very much looking forward to this! Dh wasn't too sure about it but while watching Inhumans on Disney + he kept commenting on how beautiful the landscape was....and I told him, THIS IS OAHU! He just has to give a slight inclination towards travel and I run with it! The daughter is getting married next year and we thought our travel would be on hold until after that but I figured, it'll only cost us our airfare, car, food, tours, etc....lol. We'll use points for our Aulani stay.

Did you do any sightseeing while on Oahu? Rent a car? I think we'll do a tour of the island (I have a phototour in mind and they'll drive us around), definitely plan to do Pearl Harbor and I'm pretty sure I'm going to want to spend a lot of time there. I saw a chocolate place on the windward side of the island that I have my eye on.....we're foodies so any hints about restaurants would be great too! We'll spend our last night in Waikiki (tried to make that our first night so we could pretty much relax while at Aulani with an occasional day trip around the island) but the dates didn't work our for us so now Waikiki is our last night/2 days in Oahu.

 

[dgbg100106]

Oh, shoot, I was hoping to read about your travels. You are back home now, right? I thought, at one time, that our first trip to Hawaii would be a cruise so we could get a little taste of several of the island....but then I got on this kick to go to Aulani! We are traveling next May and it'll be our first trip to Hawaii.....very much looking forward to this! Dh wasn't too sure about it but while watching Inhumans on Disney + he kept commenting on how beautiful the landscape was....and I told him, THIS IS OAHU! He just has to give a slight inclination towards travel and I run with it! The daughter is getting married next year and we thought our travel would be on hold until after that but I figured, it'll only cost us our airfare, car, food, tours, etc....lol. We'll use points for our Aulani stay.

Did you do any sightseeing while on Oahu? Rent a car? I think we'll do a tour of the island (I have a phototour in mind and they'll drive us around), definitely plan to do Pearl Harbor and I'm pretty sure I'm going to want to spend a lot of time there. I saw a chocolate place on the windward side of the island that I have my eye on.....we're foodies so any hints about restaurants would be great too! We'll spend our last night in Waikiki (tried to make that our first night so we could pretty much relax while at Aulani with an occasional day trip around the island) but the dates didn't work our for us so now Waikiki is our last night/2 days in Oahu.

I must tell you upfront that this was our 5th time in Hawaii, so our sightseeing was different than most people's. Most of the usual spots we have done already and did not feel the need to go back.

The phototour sounds like a great idea. We rented a car and as DVC you get free parking at Aulani.

We cooked a lot of our meals, as we do at home too. but we stopped in Foodland almost every day for my DH to eat his weight in Poke. He had talked about it for a month prior so that was his fantasy come true.

We enjoyed driving around and just taking in some of the smaller communities, going to the local beaches and eating at different places along the way. We hit more than one shrimp truck.

 

[Disneyfamforsure]

The Skytrain is super easy, don't discount it.

Chinatown in Vancouver I believe is the 3rd largest in North America, go there!

Stanley is easy to walk but if you don't bike it would take forever. The ground is mostly flat and easy but if you don't bike, just take a tour, small has to be better.

The suite line should be good to go.

I came across your posts while searching for Vancouver related info. We are traveling to Vancouver in May for our first ever Alaska cruise and looking forward to spending a few days in Vancouver. We are traveling with our 2 DD (10 and 7) and my MIL. It is her first real vacation so we want to have some fun stuff planned. You mentioned biking in Stanley Park. Would this be like mountain biking type of stuff or beach cruiser type of biking. We biked at CC and had a blast with the kids so that is more our type of biking. It sounds like a great way to see Stanley Park, but I don't want to kid myself in thinking we can really push our limits. Nothing worse than a group of tired, possibly hangry, family members during an outing. Any insights you can offer is appreciated!

 

[dgbg100106]

Stanley park is mostly flat. It is really easy to bike around it.

There is a snack place about a quarter of the way in. But we took a back pack with snacks and water. It is not a huge trip around.

I think you will be fine. I am over weight and had not biked in years and I found it easy.

 

[Disneyfamforsure]

Thank you so much for the reply. I really wanted to try the bike ride, but was worried we would be biting off more than we could chew. The kids love riding their bikes so this seems like a good way to keep them entertained, and burn off some energy, while we all get to see the sights. Thanks again!

 

[dgbg100106]

You stop and start very often if you look at all the site and plaques and statues

 

[Disneyfamforsure]

You stop and start very often if you look at all the site and plaques and statues

That sounds like a perfect way to spend the day. I'll be pitching the idea to the family tonight. We only have 2 days in Vancouver before the cruise but we don't want to try to cram too much in. Thanks again!

 

[dgbg100106]

You are welcome...

 

[Sakura1017]

How did you get from the cruise port to Disney aulani?

 

[dgbg100106]

We took an uber to the Alamo car rental then drove over

 

[OKW Lover]

How did you get from the cruise port to Disney aulani?

Several options. Easiest is to just get a taxi. Or you could use Uber/Lyft. Alternatively you can rent a car and drive there. However, there aren't any rental car companies at the cruise dock and they don't have shuttle service. So you would have to taxi/uber/lyft to the agency lot, which is typically at the airport.