Trip log, day minus one. ✈️ Travel Day from Orlando, Florida to Vancouver, British Columbia.
9-Night Alaskan Cruise from Vancouver, Canada 
July 13, 2024

We are setting out on our next adventure, a DCL Blog Cruise to Alaska on the Disney Wonder. First however, we need to depart the sunshine state and head to Vancouver. Our friend tendered us over to MCO and we started our adventure.

Although the skies looked ominous and there were storms in the area, we managed to avoid any ground stop issues at the airport. The bag check line and security lines were both walkups at this time of the evening; which was good news, as we did get sent back to the check-in desk because one of the digital boarding passes was not valid. A quick trip back to the WestJet counter where they rescanned each passport just in case, and issued us printed boarding passes. I am not joking, I always choose printed boarding passes and port arrival forms because tactile tickets have never failed me. Today, I decided to roll with the airline app and this happens. I try to trust technology, but the second I do, it lets me down. Thankfully, we had time and the lines were very short.

As we waited to board our plane I feverishly worked to finish up the last day of the Lookout Cay preview cruise trip report.

Our plane arrived, we boarded, and we settled into our seats for a non-stop flight to Vancouver (YVR).

Yippee skippy, no in-flight entertainment available on the seats!

We did prepare for this scenario by downloading the WestJet app, but it was a good thing we also downloaded shows and movies to our phones and tablet because the plane’s internet was offline for the duration of the flight. Mid-flight they even tried to reset the entertainment system without any luck. In reality, this was a non-issue because these days, all I really want from an airline is the essentials. Be on time, and don’t lose my luggage.

After a near scare a with a brief WestJet strike, I am thrilled the flight was unaffected. The good news is that we had a direct flight with WestJet to Vancouver; the bad news was that we would be arriving in Vancouver very early on the 14th.

Trip log, day zero. Pre-Cruise day in Vancouver, British Columbia.
9-Night Alaskan Cruise from Vancouver, Canada 
July 14, 2024

I highly recommend arriving at YVR at midnight, virtually guarantees no lines!

After collecting our luggage and somehow managing not to get in a wreck, our taxi driver had us at our hotel at 1 AM local time (which was 4 AM Orlando time). Emily did message the hotel ahead a few days prior to let them know we needed LATE check-in.

We booked a couple of pre-cruise nights at the Rosedale on Robson in a deluxe two double-suite. We’ve previously stayed at the Pan Pacific and Abercorn Inn near the airport during our other Alaskan cruises, so this time around, we wanted to position ourselves elsewhere in the downtown area. Overall, the Rosedale on Robson exceeded our needs for our pre-cruise stay and offered us a home base to explore more of downtown Vancouver.

Following a 3 hour time change during our cross county flight, we partially recharged after a restful sleep. The room was large enough where Emily could do a yoga class in the other space with the door closed while Isabelle and I slept a little longer. Once everyone got ready, we started the day by walking around the hotel and spotted a book exchange in the lobby where a book caught my attention. Only one problem, I didn’t bring a book with me.

It was time to find some nourishment and caffeine. Where else does one go? Pizza? Just down the street I saw pizza pizza, or the actual pizza shop that is the reason Little Caesars cannot use their slogan in Canada. Unfortunately, it was temporarily closed for refurbishment so no breakfast pizza this morning.

I guess we’ll settle for Tim Horton’s – which I believe is a required stop for anyone who visits Canada.

Caffeinated, we set off to fulfill another requirement for visiting Canada, a trip to Roots. With the Summer Olympics in Paris, it felt un-American to be in the shop surrounded by Canadian merchandise. Roots was a longtime outfitter for the Canadian Olympic teams, but ended the relationship in 2008, this year they are outfitted by Lululemon which had a new store coming very soon in the downtown area.

It was a busy Sunday morning at Canada Place with cruise passengers arriving from all directions. Traffic was bumper to bumper, and the sidewalks were packed with folks dragging rolling suitcases.

We did not have any real plans for our pre-stay in Vancouver except walking around. We did briefly talk about visiting the Capilano Suspension bridge park, but ended up just enjoying touring the town.

We stopped into Steamworks Brewpub a short walk from Canada Place. In fact, the picture above was the view from our patio table.

Having recently indulged in treats at Tim Hortons, we planned on ordering a snack and ordered this impressive Oktoberfest Pretzel served with a dill mustard dip. It’s a sharable pretzel so order wisely.

The beer and cocktails were fantastic and they even offered some zero-proof non-alcoholic options such as Edna’s Paloma that Isabelle really enjoyed. Edna’s is a British Columbia company, and I just discovered they are available at our nearby Target in Florida!

We stopped across the street to get some stuff from the Dollarama, including a book to exchange back at the hotel! If you are looking for pre-packaged snacks, or sundries to take aboard the ship, this may be worth a stop. The Unoffical Universal Theme Park Cookbook for The Exorcist Legacy book seemed like a good book trade – there is a loose Halloween Horror Night connection that made it seem appropriate.

We were going to head back to the hotel, so our last stop was to get some provisions for the cruise, our allotment of carry on wine. I’ve come to find out, Canada has some unique laws and grocery stores do not sell beer and wine even though there was a recent change in the law. BCLIQUOR Harbour Centre just across the street from Steamworks Brewery and a short walk to the port has been our go-to store in Vancouver to grab bottles of wine before an Alaskan cruise.

Later in the evening, we headed out on a mission to find dinner. Emily placed a take out order for Isabelle and herself at Original Joes, a restaurant in the same building as our hotel. Not finding anything I really wanted to order on the menu, we set out to forage for my dinner. Started out by walking down Robson towards BC Place, home to the BC Lions of the CFL and Whitecaps FC of MLS. This area had a number of places catering to the events crowds, but not much in terms of grab and go.

As I typically do when traveling, I usually end up finding a grocery story. The IGA on Robson had a lovely selection of items in the deli.

On the way back from IGA to the hotel, we stopped in Original Joe’s to pick up the take-out order and returned to our room for the evening.

The remainder of the evening we sat around relaxing to fully recharged before our adventure to the last frontier embarks tomorrow.

Complete Trip Log Index

• Pre-Cruise – ✈️ Travel Day from Orlando, Florida to Vancouver, British Columbia & Pre-Cruise Day in Vancouver
• Day 1 – Vancouver, Canada
• Day 2 – At Sea
• Day 3 – Ketchikan, Alaska
• Day 4 – Glacier Viewing (Stikine Icecap), Alaska
• Day 5 – Juneau, Alaska
• Day 6 – Icy Strait Point, Alaska
• Day 7 – Sitka, Alaska
• Day 8 – At Sea
• Day 9 – Victoria, Canada

We love it if you considered joining us on our next DCL Blog Cruise in May 2025 as we sail from cay to cay. We will be returning to The Bahamas visiting both Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay. Click here to learn more.