Last Spring, we decided to book a three night fall season cruise from Vancouver to San Francisco. With a brief stop in Victoria, we thought this would be a great break (ten weeks since our last trip) while also moving us into Princess' highest past-guest category. Moreover, disembarking in San Francisco allowed us to easily rent a car for a day and drive back home - rather than deal with the time and expense of a flight home.
In July, we received an "upsell" email offer from Princess Cruises. The offer allowed us to move from a mid-aft mini-suite cabin to a Penthouse Suite for an additional $199 per person. As we had not previously stayed in any kind of suite, we decided to splurge and take the offer for this short cruise.
We flew into Vancouver the night before embarkation and stayed at the downtown Residence Inn hotel. Rather than taking a cab, we rode the Vancouver Skytrain from the airport to downtown Vancouver (fas $4 CAD per person). The downtown walk between the light rail station and our hotel took about ten minutes. The next morning, we walked a couple of blocks to Burrard Street and caught a bus over to Canada Place pier ($2.75 CAD per person). We could have alternatively took the Skytrain to reach the pier from our hotel.
After checking in at the downtown Residence Inn, we walked back to the Yaletown area. Near the intersection of Davie and Hamilton Avenues, Yaletown is a a former warehouse district. Now it is a bustling area of dining spots, shopping and personal services (beauty shops, etc.). With almost an endless number of al fresco restaurants, we stopped at the Flying Pig. There, my wife and I shared a large and inviting dinner platter containing a green salad, red wine infused short ribs, grilled salmon, roasted beef marrow, mashed potatoes and roasted green beans, squash and kale. Accompanied by Stanley Park microbrewery beers, the dinner was very enjoyable. It was quite noisy in the restaurant and our table, along the rear wall, was a quieter location - much more conducive to conversation.
After getting settled in our cabin on the Grand Princess, we had a chance to notice the amenities offered in a penthouse suite compared to a mini-suite cabin. Besides the greater floor space, the cabin had separate shower and jacuzzi bath, complimentary champagne bottles, liquors and canapes, a live orchid plant, thicker bathrobes, complimentary laundry service, complimentary dining in a specialty restaurant for one night and an extended balcony area with teak lounge chairs and a teak table with seating for four. I'm not sure we would ever reserve a suite cabin again, but the upgrades were nice.
In July, we received an "upsell" email offer from Princess Cruises. The offer allowed us to move from a mid-aft mini-suite cabin to a Penthouse Suite for an additional $199 per person. As we had not previously stayed in any kind of suite, we decided to splurge and take the offer for this short cruise.
We flew into Vancouver the night before embarkation and stayed at the downtown Residence Inn hotel. Rather than taking a cab, we rode the Vancouver Skytrain from the airport to downtown Vancouver (fas $4 CAD per person). The downtown walk between the light rail station and our hotel took about ten minutes. The next morning, we walked a couple of blocks to Burrard Street and caught a bus over to Canada Place pier ($2.75 CAD per person). We could have alternatively took the Skytrain to reach the pier from our hotel.
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| Source: www.where.ca |
After getting settled in our cabin on the Grand Princess, we had a chance to notice the amenities offered in a penthouse suite compared to a mini-suite cabin. Besides the greater floor space, the cabin had separate shower and jacuzzi bath, complimentary champagne bottles, liquors and canapes, a live orchid plant, thicker bathrobes, complimentary laundry service, complimentary dining in a specialty restaurant for one night and an extended balcony area with teak lounge chairs and a teak table with seating for four. I'm not sure we would ever reserve a suite cabin again, but the upgrades were nice.
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| Lots of balcony space, © 2015, R. Ono |
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| Vancouver, BC, © 2015, R. Ono |
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| Victoria, BC, © 2015, R. Ono |
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| San Francisco, Pier 35, © 2015, R. Ono |
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