The next stop on our journey to Alaska included a stop in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada where we would be spending the night before boarding Brilliance of the Seas! Our trip to Vancouver began with a quick Uber ride from our hotel to the train station. This is walkable but I wouldn’t recommend it with a lot of luggage! During the planning phase of our vacation, we found out that there are only 2 “Cascade Train” options per day, one early in the morning, and one later at night. There are other bus transportation options through Amtrak, but the Cascades train has incredible views and took you right along the coast which we loved! We opted for the early morning train which left close to 8 am. Make sure to arrive early to the station (at least 30 minutes before your departure) to ensure that you have time for them to check your passports and check any extra luggage that you don’t want to carry on. It was a bit chaotic at the station for us so be prepared with your QR code ticket that will be emailed to you when you book Amtrak and travel docs handy! 
Our total time on the train was around 5 hours but it seemed to fly by while we were starting at the mountain vistas, wildlife, and beaches as we chugged along. I was blown away by the amount of eagles that we saw and if you’ve seen some of my trip pictures, you know this was only the beginning of our experience with these beautiful birds! The wifi was not reliable onboard so definitely download your favorite shows and movies if you want some entertainment to pass the time. There is a cafe car available on this train but there always seemed to be a long line so I would plan for snacks and food before boarding. If you’re travelling with little ones a train is a great option since they can get up and move around, it was great for our family of all adults as well.
Once we arrived in Vancouver, we went through Canadian customs. Again, make sure to have your passport and travel documents handy and always have a pen in your backpack or suitcase to help with filling out your entry forms! After getting through customs we had a short walk to the front of the station. Since our hotel near the port was about a 10 minute drive, we chose to take an Uber. If you do not have international wifi, you can opt for using a local taxi service. I try not to post much negative when it comes to my planning page, but definitely steer clear of Chinatown in downtown Vancouver. It is not safe for walking and even felt unsafe for driving through at the time we visited.
Our hotel for this stop was the Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle and was the perfect fit for us! It was walking distance to the waterfront and to the port (about 5 blocks) and had a great restaurant and bar where we spent much of our time and even got to enjoy some playoff hockey (Go Canes!!). Once we arrived and checked in, we changed into shorts and put on our sunscreen to explore the Vancouver waterfront. It was surprisingly warm during our visit but I would recommend a jacket at night and comfortable shoes.
We walked straight from our hotel to the Olympic torch and surrounding areas to grab some lunch. One thing that surprised us here was that there are 2 different lines when waiting for a restaurant, a reservation line, and a walk up line. The first restaurant we tried was almost an hour wait but we were hungry so we opted for a Tap & Barrel which offered a quick 10 minute walk up line to sit inside. They also use Open Table for reservations. If you are not on open table while travelling, you need to be! This is the easiest way that I have found to find restaurants and make reservations, I even use it when I am back home. The food was good and we enjoyed the big windows so we could see what was going on outside.
After our lunch we wandered down to the seawall. There were lots more restaurants to choose from as well as yachts and house boats to see. Some of the houseboats really did look like little floating bungalows. We stopped for Gelato at Casa Dolce and it was the perfect treat before continuing on to Stanley Park. This was definitely our favorite spot in Vancouver and is worth the walk! You can bike around the park, but it is a 1 way bike lane. Their website offers updates for traffic pattern changes so always check before visiting. Biking is the quickest way to ensure that you see the entirety of the park, but I would recommend taking the walk over and allowing yourself time to explore. We stopped at different points of interest on our walk and really enjoyed watching the seaplanes take off and land. There are tons and it seems like one is always on the move!
The totem poles in Stanley Park were beautiful and each have their own unique story. I would definitely recommend the Vancouver Aquarium which is also located in the park (more to come on this, we ended up visiting after our cruise). There are lots of statues and points of interest along the route so definitely leave your group some time to just wander and see what you can find along the way. We continued our walk down the seawall and saw huge cargo ships and saw the route that our ship would be taking the next day! We could’ve spent a whole day walking around the park but once we made it about halfway around the loop we started the trek back to our hotel for some drinks and playoff hockey.
Our hotel offered some great food and drink options, but we ended up deciding on a Neapolitan style pizza place that was just walking distance away. Sadly I cannot remember the name but as soon as I do I’ll update this post! We finished the day with more hanging out at our hotel and gearing up for boarding Brilliance of the Seas the next morning. We really enjoyed our day in Vancouver and were excited to begin the next step on our journey to Alaska!
Stay tuned for all of my thoughts on boarding and setting sail on Day 1 of our time on Brilliance of the Seas! Adventure is out there! – Ashley
