Amazing Canada, USA and Alaska - Our Pre and Post Alaska Cruise Report (Updated!)

Alaska Pre and Post Cruise Report . 2012 . September

This post is a follow-up of our popular Alaska cruise series. In this post, we would like to share our pre and post cruise itinerary. Do check out our Alaska Cruise story too if this is your first time here! :)

From tiny little Singapore in Southeast Asia, we found ourselves having to travel across half of the globe to Vancouver where the Diamond Princess departs for our 10-day Gulf of Alaska cruise-tour.  Not that we minded!

Our vacation started with a 19 hour flight to Los Angeles via Singapore Airlines. It was not our first trip to the United States.  In fact, this is our third USA trip in 2 years!  The cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco were not new to us, but since we making the trip across the Pacific, we took the opportunity to re-visit these beautiful cities again.

We also took the opportunity to visit 2 new cities, Vancouver and Seattle.
  
Vancouver, Canada – a land that we had never stepped foot on before this trip.   It holds so much much beauty and culture that we must come back again soon, for the few days that we spent at Vancouver pre-cruise was not sufficient to explore it in greater depths.

Seattle, USA – the place renowned for its great coffee and which was the birth place of the famous Starbucks chain of coffee houses was a stop-over point for us on the way home to Singapore.

The beauty of this trip was that we got to experience the cultures and beauty of a few different cities, had a relaxing and eye-opening cruise to Alaska where we got to see lots of wildlife, did lots of shopping at and out of Alaska, and had great experience with gourmet food and coffee all within a short but exciting period of 18 days. 

Here's a quick preview of our itinerary.  Stay tuned and bookmark this page as we bring you the details in each article.

Last Updated: 14 August 2013

PRE-CRUISE

Singapore -> Los Angeles via Singapore Airlines

Hotel Review:  Four Points by Sheraton LA International Airport

Los Angeles -> San Francisco via Southwest Airline

Airline Review:  Southwest Airline
Hotel Review: Red Roof Inn San Francisco Airport
San Francisco Ferry Building Marketplace
Restaurant Review: Blue Bottle Coffee
Restaurant Review: Hollywood Cafe
Pier 39 and Fisherman Wharf
Alcatraz Visit Part 1 - Exploring Alcatraz Island
Alcatraz Visit Part 2 - Cellhouse Audio Tour

Seals resting on Pier 39 (Credits: staysf.com)

Alcatraz Island (Credits:www.baycityguide.com)

San Francisco -> Vancouver via United Airlines

Airline Review: United Airlines
Hotel Review: Days Inn Vancouver Downtown
Vancouver Chinatown Walking Tour
Restaurant Review:  New Town Bakery and Restaurant
Vancouver Cruise Terminal and Gas Town
Granville Island Public Market

Vancouver Gastown (Credits: www.flickriver.com)

Gulf of Alaska Cruise on Diamond Princess

Alaska Cruise Trip - Our Full Story

POST-CRUISE

Fairbanks -> Seattle via Alaska Airlines

Airline Review: Alaska Airline
Hotel Review: Hampton Inn Seattle-Airport
Restaurant Review: Pike Place Chowder
The First Starbucks Store
Pike Place Market
Restaurant Review:  PF Chang’s China Bistro

Restaurant Review:  Jade Garden Restaurant
Seattle Chinatown

Pike Place Market (Credits: seattlephotographs.smugmug.com)

First Starbucks Store (Credits: thekotykreport.blogspot.com)

Seattle -> San Francisco via Alaska Airlines

Airline Review: Alaska Airline
Hotel Review: Red Roof Inn San Francisco Airport again!
Downtown San Francisco
San Francisco Chinatown
Restaurant Review: Oriental Pearl Restaurant
Land’s End Hiking Trail

 San Francisco -> Singapore via Singapore Airlines

This post is a follow-up of our popular Alaska cruise series. Do check out our Alaska Cruise story too if this is your first time here! :)

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. To receive notifications on updates, subscribe to our blog via RSS feed and email.

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Do check out our Flickr photos & Youtube videos too!

Granville Island Public Market Morning Visit, Vancouver

Vancouver (Alaska Pre Cruise) . 2012 . September 15

This post is part of our Alaska Pre and Post Cruise Report and follow-up of our popular Alaska cruise series. Do check out our Alaska Cruise story too if this is your first time here! :)

Vancouver was once called Granville until it was renamed in 1886. The name of Granville was then used for an area spanning an inlet known as False Creek. The tidal flats at the creek included a large permanent sandbar, which would eventually be known as Granville Island today.

Today, there is a large public market with an assortment of stalls selling home made products and some fine seafood and baking delights.

We visited Granville Island on the morning before our afternoon embarkation on the Alaskan cruise. There is a direct bus N10 near where we stayed at Days Inn Vancouver Downtown along Howe Street that goes to Granville Island. Here's how a typical vancouver bus looks like.

As we were quite early on a Saturday morning, the streets were quite empty. That's the Vancouver Lookout, a observation tower with enchanting views of Vancouver's stunning natural landscape including world famous Stanley Park, the Pacific Ocean and the historic gastown. An admission ticket cost CAD $15.75 per adult (as of 13 July 2013) and is valid throughout the day and evening and you’re welcome to return as often as you like on the date of purchase.

If you are staying in the downtown area or Gastown, you can take the #50 False Creek bus that stops just off Granville Island, at the intersection of Anderson St. and West 2nd Ave. It will let you off on the southeast side of West 2nd Ave. Look for the large Granville Island sign and the yellow building with a rainbow Kids Market signalong Anderson St. northward.

 After a short bus ride, we arrived at Granville Island.

Saw these beautiful yachts parked at the bay...

As most of the shops are still closed, we made our way to the Public Market, which was also the main purpose of our visit. First up, the vegetables and fruits section...

Fresh Tomatoes!

Fresh fruits galore!

The banner says it all..Fresh Produce....Grown Locally....Picked Daily....

Besides fresh vegetables and fruits, there are also freshly baked pastries and bread in the market!

What a beautiful cake!

Isn't these chocolate bears cute?

 Found some interesting notices behind this stall...

And this stall selling cute hats!

 There are also stalls selling fresh flowers in the market..which look really lovely!

And stalls selling meats and sausages....

It seems that they do sell the famous maple syrup too...

After some time exploring the market, it was time to look for something to eat for our breakfast...and these were the options around..though a number of them are not opened yet...

We decided to settle down with a cup of coffee at the Blue Parrot Organic Coffee Cafe as it has a spacious seating area with good views around it.

Bought this from Terra Breads and it was not too bad.

 After our breakfast, we stepped out of the cafe and took some photos around the area.

Saw this warning sign - Protect Your Food from Sea Gulls

Indeed, there are lots of seagulls around..but thanks to this kind lady, they can enjoy a sumptous breakfast like we did! :)

The seafood stalls are now starting to open after we finished our breakfast and we took a short tour around.

We were about to leave the market when we passed by this coffee cafe..a quick check on our Tripadvisor App seems to indicate that this stall receive rave reviews on their coffee..

JJ Bean Coffee Roasters. Highly recommended!

The coffee. divine...

If you have more time to spare, you might want to take a ferry service from Granville Island to Downtown Vancouver with a number of stops in Yaletown, Downtown South/False Creek, and the West End as well as Vanier Park near Kitsilano Beach.

There are 2 companies, False Creek Ferries and Aquabus that provide such ferry service. Other water transportation options include a taxi service to Bowen Island provided by English Bay Launch and a number of private tours.

After an enjoyable morning at the Public Market, we walked around the small island and found some interesting art installations.

Time really flies and soon it was time to say goodbye to Granville Island..

At the Bus Stop waiting for bus #50 back to downtown Vancouver. There is a Starbucks just opposite the road.

Took a quick snap of the bridge while waiting for the bus.

Bye Bye, Granville Island! We had a great time on the island and visiting the Public Market. So do try to take a half day trip there when you visit Vancouver next time!

Stay tuned on our next post as we will share our post Alaska cruise itinerary at Seattle!.
Do check out our Alaska cruise series too if you have come here through a search engine.

This post is part of our Alaska Pre and Post Cruise Report and follow-up of our popular Alaska cruise series. Do check out our Alaska Cruise story too if this is your first time here! :)

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. To receive notifications on updates, subscribe to our blog via RSS feed and email.

Like us on Facebook @ Discover. Book . Travel and follow us on Twitter @Discoverbooktra!

Do check out our Flickr photos & Youtube videos too!