The Canada Place cruise terminal in the Port of Vancouver handles over a million passengers a year, with 331 ships scheduled for 2023. Most are heading to Alaska, but other destinations include Hawaii, Asia, California and the South Pacific. The port is the only origin terminal supporting one-way Alaska cruises, due to Jones Act restrictions that prevent ships built outside of the US from transporting passengers between two US ports. And only ships departing for Alaska from Vancouver cruise through the spectacular Inside Passage in its entirety. Ships departing from Seattle or other US ports reach Alaska offshore, along the west coast of Vancouver Island.

In another “filling in the gaps” trip, we booked a one-way cruise from Vancouver to Seward, Alaska on the Norwegian Jewel. We had cruised the Inside Passage many times in our first boat, partly in researching our guide Cruising the Secret Coast: Unexplored Anchorages on British Columbia’s Inside Passage, but we’d only visited the Canadian portion. On our trips to Southeast Alaska and Prince William Sound in Dirona, we ran offshore directly from Seattle to Alaska, as the Seattle cruise ships do, and had never seen the Inside Passage north of the Canadian border. And we’d never visited the Alaskan Inside Passage cities of Ketchikan, Juneau, or Skagway, having only stopped in Sitka on our Southeast Alaska trip.

This cruise would give us an opportunity to fill in those gaps, plus spend some time in Vancouver. We’d not traveled to Canada since returning to Seattle, and hadn’t visited in Vancouver for over fifteen years, not since docking there during one of our winter cruises in our first boat.

We had a fabulous weekend in Vancouver before our cruise, revisiting favorite destinations such as Granville Island, and new ones, including North Vancouver and the Capilano Suspension Bridge. And we also took the opportunity to meet up with old friends that we’d not seen in years .

Below are highlights from April 29th and 30th, 2023. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a map with our most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.

4/29/2023

Tulip Festival Position: 48°24.58’N, -122°19.87’W Passing heavy traffic at Mt. Vernon on our way to Vancouver for a cruise to Alaska. The traffic is from the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, a major tourism event in this time of year.

Entering Canada Position: 49°0.13’N, -122°44.12’W Entering Canada for the first time since visiting Victoria in 2017.

Vancouver Skyline Position: 49°10.17’N, -123°0.02’W Looking north near Richmond B.C. to the Vancouver Skyline and the mountains of the Garibaldi Range.

Cherry Blossoms Position: 49°15.26’N, -123°4.55’W The Vancouver streets are lined with cherry trees in bloom.

Pacific NW Limo Position: 49°17.27’N, -123°6.81’W Our ride with Pacific Northwest Limo from Seattle to the Pan Pacific hotel in Vancouver. We initially were planning to drive out last night, but we changed plans to attend the Kraken playoff game.

Pan Pacific Lobby Position: 49°17.29’N, -123°6.77’W The light-filled atrium at lobby level in the Pan Pacific Hotel.

Pacific Rim Coastline Fountain Position: 49°17.28’N, -123°6.78’W A large fountain and pond in the lobby of the Pan Pacific Hotel. A plaque on the fountain reads “In the spirit of Canada Place, this representation of the Pacific Rim coastline is dedicated to the enhancement of friendship and trade between Canada and our Pacific neighbours”. Canada Place, where the hotel is situated, originally was the Canadian Pacific Railway’s ocean liner terminal in the 1920s and later the Canadian Pavilion for The Expo 86 World Fair.

Luggage Position: 49°17.27’N, -123°6.81’W A truckload of cruise ship passenger luggage arriving at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Vancouver. The hotel is adjacent to the cruise ship terminal and a popular stopover for cruise passengers.

Ogre Magi Position: 49°17.25’N, -123°6.78’W This two-person Dota 2 Ogre Magi costume, built by urban fabricators Styrogirls, won the Biggest Transformation at the 2018 International Cosplay Competition in Vancouver. Their work-in-progress photos of the costume show the impressive amount of effort put into the project. It must be hot inside that costume on such a warm day.

Bunkering Position: 49°17.24’N, -123°6.76’W The cruise ship Sapphire Princess bunkering at the Vancouver cruise terminal.

Rhododendron Position: 49°17.21’N, -123°6.92’W Vancouver is in bloom everywhere. Here is a beautiful Rhododendron ‘Purple Gem’ near our hotel.

Granville Island Position: 49°16.36’N, -123°8.16’W At Granville Island, a popular shopping and restaurant district a few miles south of downtown Vancouver. We came here frequently in our first boat and haven’t been back for close to 20 years.

Bridges Position: 49°16.38’N, -123°8.20’W Lunch on the patio at Bridges, a restaurant we frequented when we visited Granville Island by boat. We had a great lunch overlooking False Creek in the warm and sunny weather.

False Creek Position: 49°16.39’N, -123°8.15’W Looking north from our table at Bridges over False Creek to downtown Vancouver, with the Burrard Street Bridge at left.

Public Market Position: 49°16.36’N, -123°8.12’W The Granville Island Public Market is an excellent indoor market with a wide variety of high-quality food, produce, and hand-crafted products for sale. Here is a selection of cheese at Benton Brothers Fine Cheeses.

Armando’s Position: 49°16.35’N, -123°8.11’W Sausages and other prepared meats at Armando’s Finest Quality Meats in the Granville Island Public Market.

South Seas China Trading Co. Position: 49°16.35’N, -123°8.12’W A wide variety of Asian, Indian, Caribbean, and Latin American herbs, spices, sauces, and condiments at South Seas China Trading Company.

Fresh Fruit Position: 49°16.34’N, -123°8.11’W We bought some fresh fruit from this stand for our breakfast over the next two days.

Artisan Bread Position: 49°16.34’N, -123°8.10’W Artisan bread on display at Stuart’s Bakery at the Granville Island Public Market.

Granola Position: 49°16.34’N, -123°8.10’W Buying some homemade granola for our breakfast over the weekend from Stuart’s Bakery at the Granville Island Public Market in Vancouver. It was delicious.

Giants Position: 49°16.27’N, -123°8.03’W The mural Giants, by Brazilian twins Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo, painted on silos at Ocean Concrete on Vancouver’s Granville Island. Ocean Concrete, the island’s longest tenant, has been here since 1917.

Propeller Position: 49°16.26’N, -123°8.21’W Jennifer posing with a large propeller in display at Granville Island in Vancouver.

Traffic Position: 49°16.21’N, -123°8.22’W Heavy automobile and pedestrian traffic entering and leaving Granville Island in Vancouver.

Top of Vancouver Position: 49°17.08’N, -123°6.76’W At the “Top of Vancouver” viewing platform and revolving restaurant to take in the sites. It’s an ideal day to visit, with the weather clear and calm.

Stanley Park Position: 49°17.08’N, -123°6.74’W View from the Top of Vancouver across Vancouver Harbor to Stanley Park and the Lions Gate Bridge beyond. The 1,001-acre (405-hectare) park, a protected area since 1886, is immensely popular and was voted “top park in the entire world” by Tripadvisor in 2014.

Cruise Ship Terminal Position: 49°17.08’N, -123°6.74’W The Vancouver Cruise Ship Terminal at Canada Place, viewed from the Top of Vancouver.

Port of Vancouver Position: 49°17.09’N, -123°6.71’W Looking northeast across the Port of Vancouver from the Top of Vancouver.

Sun Tower Position: 49°17.07’N, -123°6.71’W When completed in 1912, the 270-ft (82m) Sun Tower was the tallest in the British Empire.

Rogers Arena Position: 49°17.07’N, -123°6.73’W Looking from the Top of Vancouver to Rogers Arena, the home of the Vancouver Canucks NHL team, the Vancouver Warriors lacrosse team, and the Vancouver Titans Overwatch esports (a form of competition using video games) team.

Canadian Geese Position: 49°17.27’N, -123°6.75’W We got a chuckle out of this sign warning that not all Canadians are polite and to stay away from wild geese nesting in the area.

Sapphire Princess Position: 49°17.31’N, -123°6.64’W Looking across the bow of the Sapphire Princess from the walkway at Canada Place.

Loading Luggage Position: 49°17.36’N, -123°6.49’W Cart after cart of luggage was loaded onto the Sapphire Princess as it sat at the dock alongside Canada Place

Pan Pacific Hotel Position: 49°17.29’N, -123°6.73’W Our room at the Pan Pacific hotel, with a great view over Vancouver Harbor.

Departing Position: 49°17.29’N, -123°6.73’W The Sapphire Princess departing the Vancouver Cruise Port for Alaska.

Kevin & Arlene Position: 49°17.15’N, -123°6.97’W Dinner at Hydra Estiatorio in downtown Vancouver with Kevin and Arlene Hickman. James, Jennifer and Kevin all met in 1982 while starting the Computer Science degree program at the University of Victoria and later all worked at the IBM software lab in Toronto. Kevin and Arlene live in Vancouver and we’ve not seen them since they visited Seattle in early 2020. It was great to see them again and we had a super-fun evening catching up.

4/30/2023

Turnstile Position: 49°17.14’N, -123°6.71’W Ready to go through the turnstile to take the Waterfront SeaBus across Vancouver Harbour to North Vancouver.

SeaBus Position: 49°17.17’N, -123°5.82’W Watching as the SeaBus departs from the Vancouver Waterfront Terminal.

Cruise Ship Port Position: 49°17.47’N, -123°6.15’W View across the cruise ship port to downtown Vancouver. Our hotel, the Pan Pacific, is at the head of the quay between the two cruise ships.

The Shipyards Position: 49°18.54’N, -123°4.77’W The Shipyards in North Vancouver is a revitalized industrial district that previously was home to The Wallace Shipyard. Established in 1906 and sold in 1971, the shipyard reached its peak during World War II with the construction of 109 “Victory Ships”. Today it is full of restaurants, shops and apartments, with several of the original buildings preserved, along with some of the heavy equipment such as the crane pictured.

Burrard Dry Dock Position: 49°18.54’N, -123°4.70’W The design of this public space in North Vancouver reflects the Burrard Dry Dock that originally stood here.

Pier 7 Position: 49°18.57’N, -123°4.82’W A great lunch with a view to the Vancouver skyline at Pier 7 in North Vancouver.

Think Tank Position: 49°18.67’N, -123°4.81’W Think Tank in North Vancouver is “one of the world’s premier training centers for motion picture effects, television animation, and video game design and production.”

Capilano Suspension Bridge Position: 49°20.54’N, -123°6.85’W At the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park in North Vancouver. A tourist attraction since 1889, the park currently sees over 1.2 million visitors a year.

Capilano River Position: 49°20.60’N, -123°6.85’W View to the suspension bridge spanning the Capilano River canyon. The bridge is 460 ft (140 m) long and is suspended 230 ft (70 m) above the ground.

On the Bridge Position: 49°20.57’N, -123°6.89’W Enjoying the river view from partway across the Capilano Suspension Bridge.

Boardwalk Position: 49°20.60’N, -123°6.97’W On the other side of the Capilano Suspension Bridge is the Nature’s Edge Boardwalk, leading through the temperate West Coast rainforest. Above the boardwalk are the walkways of the Treetops Adventure.

Treetops Adventure Position: 49°20.60’N, -123°6.96’W The Treetops Adventure is a series of suspended walkways high in the rainforest canopy in Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. We quite enjoyed the walk, and it reminded us a bit of the Canopy Tower at Daintree National Park in Australia.

Great Horned Owl Position: 49°20.54’N, -123°6.97’W A spectacular Great Horned Owl at the Raptors Ridge facility in Capilano Suspension Bridge Park.

Harris Hawk Position: 49°20.54’N, -123°6.97’W A Harris Hawk at the Raptors Ridge facility in Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. It is one of the few birds of prey that hunt in co-operative groups rather than alone.

Peregrine Falcon Position: 49°20.54’N, -123°6.96’W A Peregrine Falcon keeping a close eye on us at the Raptors Ridge facility in Capilano Suspension Bridge Park.

Eagle Carving Position: 49°20.54’N, -123°6.97’W We quite liked this large carving of an eagle at the Raptors Ridge facility.

Cliff walk Position: 49°20.61’N, -123°6.83’W Having returned back to the original side of the bridge, we walked along Cliffwalk, the latest addition to Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. In a creative design with some interesting engineering challenges, narrow walkways are suspended above the ground on cantilevered supports anchored to a sheer cliff face.

Viewpoint Position: 49°20.63’N, -123°6.80’W Taking in the Capilano River from a cantilevered viewpoint on the Cliffwalk.

North Point Brewing Position: 49°18.57’N, -123°4.40’W On our way back to our hotel from the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, we stopped in at North Point Brewing for a delicious craft IPA.

Ferraris Position: 49°18.60’N, -123°4.49’W An innocuous-looking building in North Vancouver was full of Ferraris.

North Vancouver Skyline Position: 49°18.15’N, -123°5.52’W The North Vancouver skyline, viewed as our SeaBus departs back to downtown Vancouver.

Discovery Princess Position: 49°17.20’N, -123°6.70’W The Discovery Princess departing the Vancouver Cruise Terminal for Alaska.

Artificial Rock #143 Position: 49°17.18’N, -123°6.76’W The sculpture Artificial Rock #143 by renowned Chinese artist Zhan Wang caught our attention from the Top of Vancouver yesterday. Jiashanshi (“fake mountain rocks”) date back over 2,000 years when they were placed in front of buildings and in gardens to provide a connection to nature.

Kim & Joy Position: 49°17.12’N, -123°7.47’W Dinner at Joe Fortes Seafood with Kim Knuttila and Joy Schiffer. James, Jennifer and Kim all worked at the IBM software lab in Toronto and we’ve not had dinner together for many years. We had a great evening catching up and enjoying their company.

Game 7 Position: 49°17.03’N, -123°6.84’W On our way back to the hotel from dinner, we stopped in at Malone’s Taphouse to catch the third period of the Seattle Kraken game. The Kraken were taking on the Colorado Avalanche in Denver in the 7th and final game of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Amazingly, we were up 2-1 when we arrived at the start of the third period, and that was the final score. In their second year of existence, the Kraken beat the defending Stanley Cup champions and will proceed to the second round of the playoffs.

Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map. And a map of our most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.