Before visiting the Vancouver cruise port, I had been to Canada only one other time when I visited Niagara Falls as a kid. And the only memory I have of visiting the Canada-side of the border was this carnival-type shop that was full to the brim with different ventriloquist dolls and jack in the boxes – and that’s it. So, growing up, I’ve always had this weirdly distorted view of Canada. The logical side of my brain KNOWS that Canada isn’t full of carnival-themed puppets. But another part of me has always associated Canada with that shop. And when we decided to take a cruise from Vancouver, I wasn’t sure what to believe…. what kind of Carnival-themed horrors awaited me across the border?!
Now that I have really visited, I can tell you that Canada is not only NOT filled with carnival-themed dolls, but Vancouver is also an amazingly entertaining town. Out of all of the places we went to on our Alaskan cruise, it was the place that surprised me the most. It’s this chill, smooth place that’s not only a mecca for cruises, but also for movies (seriously – take a look at this list on Wikipedia of films that have been shot there).
And it’s not only enjoyable, but it’s also extremely accessible. We ended up walking the whole of the city; literally – we walked in a square that started near the cruise terminal, went to Granville Island, back around to Yaletown, then to Gastown and back to our hotel. In one afternoon, our step count was something like five or six miles, but we all agreed that we only scratched the surface of Vancouver and all would return immediately if given the chance; there was still so much more to see.
But that’s not why you’re reading this guide. You’re reading because you want to or are going to take a cruise out of Vancouver. You want to learn more about the who, what and why of the city before your cruise. Let’s get to it!
What This Post Covers:
Vancouver Cruise Port
Port of Vancouver
What kinds of cruises leave from the Vancouver port? What cruise lines? – Cruises that leave from Vancouver are typically Alaskan cruises but can also include round-trip North American cruises and Hawaiian cruises. The port hosts almost every major cruise line, with different cruise lines operating at different times of the year depending on what kinds of cruises they offer. You can view the port’s cruise schedule if you want to see more about what ships are leaving and when.
The busiest time of year is during Alaskan cruise season – From a cruise perspective, Vancouver is mainly where people embark or disembark for Alaskan cruises. And if you look at the cruise schedule above, you’ll see that the port is extremely busy during Alaskan cruise season (May to September), with cruises coming in and out almost every day.
This is important to note if you ARE taking a cruise during that time period because that means that both hotels and transportation will book up and get more expensive. If you plan on taking a cruise during this time period, book early. Same with any sort of excursions or travel in and out of the city.
Most cruises are one-way – Before booking your Vancouver cruise (and the trip’s corresponding travel and accommodations), make sure to confirm the embarkation and debarkation ports. Routes can usually be one way in and out of Vancouver, especially when taking an Alaskan cruise.
Where is the cruise port in location to the rest of the city? – The Vancouver cruise port is located in the West End area of Vancouver, near the Waterfront. This is also known as the downtown section of Vancouver. Within walking distance of the port is most of the city’s tourist attractions, including Granville Island and Gastown.
Canada Place Cruise Ship Terminal and Experience
What is the cruise terminal like? – Before saying this, I will admit that I haven’t been out of any of the brand-new Miami terminals. However, I have traveled out of a lot of other terminals, including New York City, Baltimore, Fort Lauderdale, and Rome. And of all of those, this was the nicest cruise terminal I have ever been out of.
I felt this way mainly because of the process for embarkation. As soon as we stepped in the terminal, it was easy to begin the process of embarkation. Why? Because the steps were clearly painted on the wall.
- Baggage Drop-off
- Cruise Check-in
- Security & U.S. Customs
- Boarding
Having these spelled out clearly as you moved through each made the embarkation process easier because you didn’t need to stress about what was next or think, “how much longer?” I estimate that we went through our embarkation in about 45 minutes. But it didn’t feel long at all, because we knew clearly what we had to do and what was next.
I also found that the staff was extremely helpful throughout the process. As we were boarding, there were two other ships in port that day. Almost everyone we encountered was not only trying to get us to the right check-in room, but we found people standing throughout the terminal simply asking if we had questions and/or if they could help. There was no way we could make a misstep because it almost felt like the port wouldn’t allow it – there were simply too many people trying to help. And as we walked around, the port was extremely clean. I’m not saying other ports aren’t clean, but this was one that you could tell was kept up extremely well, which is a great way to end or begin a cruise.
Canada Border – As I said above, one of the steps of boarding at the Vancouver cruise port is officially entering out of Canada and into the United States. This is done so that you don’t have to go through customs when you’re trying to get off the ship to explore your first port. Similarly, the same would happen if you were getting off of a cruise in Vancouver – you would go through customs before being allowed in the city.
Therefore, whenever you are embarking or disembarkation in the Vancouver cruise port, be ready to go through customs. This includes being ready to fill out the customs form, and having anything applicable either in or out of your bag (for example: when we were going through customs, the agent repeatedly made a point of telling people to get rid of their marijuana before going through the checkpoint While it’s legal in some parts of Canada, it was illegal to take it on the cruise because you are crossing borders when you board).
If you’re disembarking and, say, flying back to the United States that day, note that you will have to go through customs twice – once to disembark the cruise and once when you have arrived back in the United States.
Storing Baggage – The Vancouver cruise port also offers options for passengers to store their baggage for the day. This option is available to cruise passengers only but is a great choice if you want to explore the downtown/waterfront area before or after a flight. There are also a few luggage storage locations available in the Vancouver airport, but this may not be convenient if you’re looking to explore the city or downtown area itself.
Where to Stay?
The Vancouver cruise port is located in downtown Vancouver and is surrounded by a lot of different hotels. I highly recommend staying in this part of town because of 1. You can walk to most parts of Vancouver from here and 2. You can walk to and from the cruise port from here. Walking from the cruise port is a big benefit, as what you’ll spend in extra hotel pricing, you’ll save on transportation costs to get to and from the terminal.
We stayed in the Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown and I recommend it if only for the location. I know it’s expensive, but it’s also one of those expensive hotels that are worth the price point (sometimes when you stay in an expensive hotel, you find that it’s not very nice at all. This was not the case with this hotel). We looked heavily into other hotels and found that all hotels within walking distance of the cruise port were around this price point. To get a cheaper hotel, we found that would have had to locate to the outskirts of the city, which would have made embarkation that much more difficult in terms of securing transportation and getting to the port itself. There’s no Uber in Vancouver – you can read more on that below. This would have meant we would have needed to book multiple cars to get six people and their two pieces of luggage each to the cruise port.
Additionally, we were able to walk directly to the cruise port from this hotel, making it worth the price. Because of the location, we didn’t have to worry about an Uber, or anything really on embarkation day. We just got our stuff together, walked over, and within a few minutes, we had started boarding the cruise. On the morning of our cruise, my sister and brother couldn’t sleep. They said they took a walk over to the cruise port and were able to watch the ships come in and out as they got ready for their new customers. They both agreed that it was an exciting way to start our week of cruising off – so for some this may be reason enough to stay near the port 😄
Getting There, Back and Around
Airplane – This is the main way to get in the city. While it is small, Vancouver does have an airport outside of the city (the airport code is YVR). However, the airport is about 7 miles (or 11 kilometers for you Canadians) outside of the city. So, if this is you plan to fly in for a Vancouver cruise, make to also plan time and money to get into the city itself. There is no ridesharing in Vancouver, so if you don’t want to take public transportation, make sure to book a car service beforehand (we have always loved the private car service Blacklane. They are professional, have amazing cars, and are always early and will wait up to 90 minutes for you if you’re late).
Train – When we traveled to the Vancouver cruise port, we went to Seattle for a day before Vancouver. And because Seattle is only a few hours outside of Vancouver, we ended up taking the Amtrak Cascades train. And we all loved it. The trip itself took about two hours, but it allowed us to take in the scenery of the Puget Sound while we traveled. You can extend your vacation, either before or after your cruise in Vancouver, by taking a train to a nearby city.
Vancouver Skytrain – As with most big cities, Vancouver has its own train system, the Skytrain. It’s very clean and reasonably priced ($3 for a one-way trip and $10 for a full day pass). The Skytrain not only goes throughout Vancouver but also goes to towns around Vancouver such as Burnaby, Surrey and New Westminster.
However, something we noticed about the Skytrain was the stops were spread far apart. So, we would want to go to the train and catch it to our next destination, only to find out that we would have to go out of our way to get to the nearest station. For example, we were tired but wanted to go to a restaurant that was a 20-minute walk away. When we checked our phones, we realized it would take almost 15 minutes to walk to the nearest station. So, while our feet hurt, it was more worth it to walk to the restaurant itself, rather than take the extra time and money to go on the Skytrain. Make sure to keep that in mind when considering using the train to get around the city; you may only want to rely on it for cross-town journeys or to/from the airport.
Walking – Honestly, the best way to get around Vancouver is walking. The city itself is not very big and it is fairly easy to get around (i.e. many sidewalks and not many hills). When we started to explore, we meant to walk from the Waterfront to Granville Island, and then we planned to Uber from there to Gastown. Well, since there was no Uber, we ended up walking the whole route. And, aside from the exhaustion that came (as we had traveled there from Seattle that morning), it was actually quite pleasant!
Vancouver is a very clean, interesting city, so there was a lot to see as we walked around, and we found ourselves stopping quite frequently to pop into shops or grab a beer along the way. There was a lot to see and as disgruntled as I was that we ended up walking the city when we didn’t mean to, I’m glad we did as we really saw Vancouver at its finest when walking.
No Rideshare Apps – Unfortunately, Vancouver is one of the few cities left that does not allow rideshare apps. We found this out the hard way when we were trying to reach the restaurant I mentioned above (and we were tired and just wanted to Uber there). So, if you do decide to walk and know you might want to take There are other rental options in the city, such as carsharing apps, if you know you can’t walk but don’t want to take the Skytrain around the city.
Different Neighborhoods – In Vancouver, there are at least ten different neighborhoods that span the city. The area near the Vancouver cruise port is close to at least five of these neighborhoods: Yaletown, West End, Downtown, Gastown and Kitsilano. While this guide isn’t going to go into each neighborhood, I do bring it up so that you’re familiar with each area and where you want to go, stay and see. Unlike many other cities, each neighborhood can be very distinct (Gastown feel very different than Downtown and Kitsilano). This guide from TripSaavy is a great resource on what you can do in each neighborhood.
What to Eat and Drink
What to Eat
Canadian Specialties – If you eat NOTHING else in Vancouver, you have to eat these Vancouverite specialties: the Japadog and Poutine. The Japadog is both salty and sweet, containing seaweed strips, teriyaki sauce, miso, wasabi and kimchi all on a “normal” hot dog. They’re not expensive, so keep an eye out for food trucks that sell them (they’re sold almost exclusively on food trucks) and try a Japadog. Poutine? Well, I’m sure I don’t have to explain poutine. French fries covered in cheese curds and gravy. It’s warm and comforting in all ways (especially after you have had a few drinks).
Granville Island – There will be more discussion below on WHAT Granville Island is. But if you plan to fit Granville Island into your itinerary then plan to eat. And then eat some more. And then eat some more on top of that! There are so many options for food at Granville Island that you could literally spend days there just trying and eating different things.
Tim Horton’s – OK. If you’re from Canada, ignore my excitement at this restaurant. But as a huge How I Met Your Mother fan (a show that routinely references good ol’ Timmy’s) I HAD to stop and grab a crueler and some coffee. And it didn’t disappoint. My Dad described it as a Canadian Dunkin’ Donuts, so if you’re not a HIMYM fan or Dunkin’ doesn’t impress you, then maybe skip this stop. But if you don’t, you won’t be disappointed.
Asian Food – Vancouver is packed to the gills with different types of Asian food. Any sort of Asian food you can think of is offered in the city, from ramen to pho, to sushi and dim sum. There are also many different experimental Asian food restaurants to try. There are many different kinds of Asian-food restaurants in the city. No matter what you’re feeling, I’d recommend picking a type of food (such as pho or sushi), firing up your favorite restaurant-picking apps such as Yelp or TripAdvisor, and finding the closest, most highly rated place because chances are you won’t be disappointed. That’s how many great Asian restaurants there are in this city.
One of the Asian food choices recommended to us a few different times by locals was a B.C. roll. A Vancouver-based specialty, it’s a sushi roll that includes both barbecued salmon and cucumber. If you’re looking for a Vancouver-based dish to try, this is for you.
Eat dim sum – I know I recommended any and all Asian foods above. But, above all others, I highly recommend the dim sum. Before Vancouver, I had never tried dim sum. And now I totally understand why people are so excited about it. The morning before we boarded at the Vancouver cruise port, we headed to Victoria Chinese Restaurant, located in the Royal Centre Mall near the port. The staff seated immediately, and they encouraged us to order as much as we wanted; we put our orders in by marking how many orders we wanted of each dish on a piece of paper left on the table. From our visit, we recommend the following: pork buns, shumai, soup dumplings and the pork steam buns (I could have, and still would eat many, many of the pork steamed buns).
If you doubt whether this is really a great dim sum place, then hear me out: This dim sum was so good that some of my family that lives in D.C. kept thinking about it after our cruise. So, they went to multiple places in D.C. to see if they could find an equivalent restaurant. After multiple tries, they called us to declare that this was some of the best dim sum that they have ever had. Made only better by the proximity to the cruise port, I highly recommend this place if you’re looking for some good food that’s Vancouver-specific and delicious.
FUN FACT: Dim sum is often eaten as a brunch meal. So if you’re arriving in Vancouver early, feel free to indulge in some great dim sum in the morning!
What to Drink
Ice Wine – If you’re looking for a Canada-specific drink, then there is nothing more specific than ice wine. This is a dessert wine that is produced when the grape is still frozen on the vine. The result is an extremely sweet, but extremely rare kind of wine. Most ice wine comes from Ontario but, because it’s a product of British Columbia, there are still many varietals available in Vancouver.
I won’t lie when I say this is David’s favorite kind of wine. So, we seek it out as often as we can and therefore this is one of our biggest recommendations when it comes to wine or a drink to try when in Canada. I will admit that it’s very sweet, but it’s very unique – so if you see it while dining out, then try a glass (and then give it a moment after it rots your teeth – it’s worth the wait!)
Beer – Like any other city, there are multiple options for beer throughout Vancouver. While walking through the city, we found multiple locations to stop and have a beer. One of the places we stopped was at Yaletown Brewing. While I don’t know if I would recommend it if you’re in the area (the beer overall was kind of lacking), it’s a great demonstration of the variety of beers in the city.
Since we didn’t do a true “booze tour” of the city, I can’t recommend which breweries are best. However, similar to the Asian restaurant recommendations, if you are in the mood for a beer, I highly recommend looking up what is highly rated near you. While I can vouch that there are many different choices in Vancouver, especially near the cruise port, I encourage you to look for the kind of beer that satisfies you and try the location to see if it’s good or not (and if you find a particularly good one, make sure to leave its name in the comments below!)
What to do before or after a Vancouver Cruise
Granville Island – Out of all of the things we did around the Vancouver cruise port, this was hands down my favorite. Similar to Pike’s Place Market, Granville Market is home to dozens of shops and eateries, making it a combination of both a farmer’s market a food hall that had offerings such as crafts, performing arts and dining. Granville Island is more than its market, however, as it also offers breweries, theatre shows, and festivals. If you walk there from the cruise port (a walk that is very easy and scenic), you will have to take a short Aquabus across the inlet, which makes the trip that much more scenic. If there is nothing else you do while in town, I recommend grabbing a quick meal and taking some time to explore Granville; you won’t be disappointed.
Gastown – While Gastown is more of a neighborhood than a “thing to do,” there are still plenty of sites to see in this area. The neighborhood is located very close to the Vancouver cruise port, so this is a great option if you don’t have a lot of time in the city. The area is very quirky but also very fun; something to note is that there are many Cowboy and Southern-themed restaurants and shops on the main strip.
The Gastown neighborhood is named a popular resident of the area called “Gassy Jack.” He is known as one of the founders of the area, and you can visit a statue erected in his honor in Maple Tree Square. However, the most famous landmark in this area is the Gastown Steam Clock. Powered by steam (obviously), it chimes and whistles every fifteen minutes; it’s a cool thing to see but don’t go out of your way because, well, it’s a clock 🙃Gastown also has plenty of nightlife, so if you’re looking to grab a drink head down to this area (but remember that there are no Ubers, so make sure you know your way home).
Capilano Suspended Bridge – If you’re a fan of heights (or, like me, try to conquer your fear of them) then it may be worth it to head out of the city and try your hand at braving the Capilano Suspension Bridge. Located 230 feet (that’s 70 meters for you Canadians) off of the Capilano River, the bridge is visited by over 1.2 million people a year. The bridge is part of a private park, so there is an admission to enter, but the fee gives you access to the whole of the park which also includes access to the hiking and nature trails.
Find film sets – Vancouver is an extremely popular town for movies to be filmed in. So if you’re lucky, your favorite star might be in town before or after your cruise. You can check the Twitter account @WhatsFilming to see what is filming (and then subsequently check the What’s Filming website to see who is in the production). If something is filming close by, then it might be worth it to head over and see the production filming!
Eat dim sum – Oh, I already recommended this above? I am going to recommend it again. Because it was that good. Whether you have it for breakfast or dinner, go eat dim sum at the Victoria Chinese Restaurant. And then share a picture with me so I can pretend like I’m eating it with you. Which sounds creepy, I know, but that’s how good the food was.
Karaoke – As we were walking through the city, I saw signs for karaoke restaurants everywhere. Turns out karaoke is a very popular activity in Vancouver! While we didn’t do any karaoke ourselves, there are many options throughout the city. Take a look at the Daily Hive’s list of best karaoke in the city and find a great place to sing out your favorite tune.
Richmond Night Market – Summer cruisegoers may want to travel out to Richmond, B.C. to visit the city’s Night Market. The outdoor market is full of things to do from games and food to entertainment; I highly recommend attending big festivals like these – they are great ways to get to know the city while also sampling a wide variety of food and purchasing unique souvenirs. As the name implies, the market is only held during the night. There is also an admission fee to get in, and you will have to purchase food and drink. However, since the Market is located near the airport, this option may be a bit of a haul from the Vancouver cruise port – so only put this on your list if you are spending the night in the city.
Christmas Market – If you’re visiting in the winter, then don’t worry, there’s still a big market for you to visit! Vancouver is also home to a huge Christmas Market that is located almost directly next to the cruise port. If you’ve ever visited a Christmas Market in Europe, this market compares in terms of size and offerings. Like a German market, Vancouver’s Market includes food, mulled wine, Schweinhaxen, plenty of souvenirs to purchase and winter-themed things to do like ice skating and Christmas performances. While there is no admission fee to the Market, offerings can be very expensive, and the Market only accepts cash, so make sure to note that before you go. If you want to learn more about the Christmas Market, you can visit Happy to Wander’s Christmas Market guide.
Day trips via your cruise line – A popular option for exploring Vancouver either before or after a cruise is to go through your cruise line and book an excursion. Cruise lines often have embarkation/debarkation day tours that they offer, making it easy for cruisers to get around the city (and these tours will often either drop you off or pick you up at the airport too, making travel that much easier). While I will note that these can usually be more expensive than if you explored the city yourself and/or booked a similar tour independently, this is a great option for someone who is looking for ease when it comes to getting around the city. We sailed on the Golden Princess when we went on our Vancouver cruise; our ship offered Vancouver options that included hop-on/hop-off tours, a brewery tour, and a Capilano Canyon hike.
Would I Take a Cruise from the Vancouver Cruise Port Again?
Yes! And I would even intentionally choose the Vancouver cruise port just to have an excuse to visit this city again. While we were walking around Vancouver, David and I both kept saying that we wished we had more time in the city. It’s quirky, but packed with things to do, and I could spend a few days just exploring.
If we went back, one of our first stops would be to get some more Dim Sum from Victoria Chinese Restaurant. But I would also probably want to do a small beer tour of the city (maybe try some of the bars in Gastown), stop at any film sets that may be in production (and secretly hope that Neil Patrick Harris might appear) and visit Granville Island again. I’m a huge fan of big festivals, so I’d also make sure to go to the Night Market or Christmas Market depending on what time of year we were in town.
So, if you’re on the fence about whether or not you’d go to Vancouver, or if you’re not sure you want to spend time there before or after a cruise, I highly recommend it. It’s a city that’s filled with a wide variety of things to do, allowing you to find a good excuse to extend or begin your vacation early 🎉
Any Questions?
Hopefully, this guide helped you understand what to do before or after your Vancouver cruise. But if you still have questions, feel free to ask in the comments and I will get back to you ASAP!
Want to see more of our time in Vancouver? Take a look at my Instagram stories (under the name “Vancouver”) and you can see more about what we did in Vancouver before our Alaskan cruise.
Have you been to Vancouver? What did you like about your time there? Or are you planning a cruise out of the Vancouver cruise port? Comment below – I want to follow along with your journey!
And don’t forget to save this post for later via the images below.
What’s the best way to pay around Vancouver? Should I get Canadian dollars before I leave home? Or use a credit card and pay the international fee? Thanks!
Natalie – good question! Personally, we use a credit card that does not have an international transaction fee, so we pay through that (which can be safer – if you are scammed, you can refute the charge, etc.) If you do not have an international credit card, then your best bet is definitely cash – you can save money too if you find a good exchange rate!