{"id":19220,"date":"2013-10-30T01:09:40","date_gmt":"2013-10-30T08:09:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cruisingdoneright.com\/?p=19220"},"modified":"2013-10-30T01:09:40","modified_gmt":"2013-10-30T08:09:40","slug":"wednesday-61","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vitaluna.net\/?p=19220","title":{"rendered":"City of Five Sails Tops at Cruise Critic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Best North American homeport for cruise ships? <\/span>Miami<\/a>? <\/span>New York<\/a>? <\/span>New Orleans<\/a>? <\/span>Fort Lauderdale<\/a>? <\/span>Galveston<\/a>? <\/span>Los Angeles<\/a>? All wrong, so guess again.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Try…Vancouver<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

That's the gospel according to the editors of Cruise Critic<\/a>, lost there in the midst of a bunch of annual cruise awards, version 2013. For those of us who know the city (we used to live there), this is not shocking…in fact, anybody <\/span>\"Vancouver\"<\/a>who has will surely have a soft spot upon hearing this news. For those of us who have cruised into Vancouver (and we've done that, too), it's an unforgettable experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a different way, it ranks up there in the "awe" department with Venice<\/a>, a very different city.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the cruise industry, Vancouver is regarded as the gateway to Alaska, but it's much more than a stopping off point to give cruise ships that "other country visit" as decreed by the Jones Act. From the deck of a ship, the five sails that mark the Vancouver waterfront and cruise terminal is more unique and recognizable than any port in North America…and as much so as any port in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

Off the ship, Vancouver offers cruise passengers — whether embarking or on a five-hour stopover — a variety of experiences. There's funky Gastown just footsteps away, two major sports arenas not much further, majestic Stanley Park<\/a> within walking distance, Whistler two hours north and waterfronts everywhere.<\/span><\/p>\n

Business was up in Vancouver last year for cruise passengers, by 22 per cent, and the city is closing in on a million per year. One minor cautionary note: Getting from your ship with luggage can be challenging, especially if you're headed for a nearby hotel. It can be crowded and the exits can be tight for getting on the street…at least they were when we cruised into the "five sails."<\/span><\/p>\n

Even winners of Cruise Critic's Editors Picks' Awards<\/i> are allowed to have the odd blemish.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Carnival Ecstasy<\/a>
\n\t4 nights<\/span>
\n\tMay 5, 2014<\/span>
\n\tMiami<\/a> (return): <\/span>Key West<\/a>, <\/span>Cozumel<\/a>
\n\tInside: $309<\/span>
\n\tCost per day: $77<\/strong><\/span>
\n\twww.carnival.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Best North American homeport for cruise ships? Miami? New York? New Orleans? Fort Lauderdale? Galveston? Los Angeles? All wrong, so guess again. Try…Vancouver. That's the gospel according to the editors of Cruise Critic, lost there in the midst of a bunch of annual cruise awards, version 2013. For those of us who know the city… Continue reading City of Five Sails Tops at Cruise Critic<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,32,31,36,15],"tags":[137,154,390,633,912,427,72,819,35,765],"class_list":["post-19220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cruise-industry-news","category-deals","category-ports","category-reviews","category-stories","tag-caribbean-cruises","tag-carnival","tag-carnival-ecstasy","tag-cruise-awards","tag-cruise-bargains","tag-cruise-critic","tag-cruise-deals","tag-cruise-news","tag-cruises","tag-vancouver","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitaluna.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitaluna.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitaluna.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitaluna.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitaluna.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vitaluna.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19220\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitaluna.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitaluna.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitaluna.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}