Some info about parking at the PORT

Hi everyone,
For those of us who are driving, it looks like there is a long term parking lot called CruisePark for cruise passengers located right by the port. It is pretty easy and convenient to use it, but it is pretty pricey at about $17.00 per day/$120 for the week. It is located between the 2 cruise ports of Canada Place (which we will going out from) and Ballantyne.
Their site makes it seem like parking is in pretty short supply at the cruise terminals and that reservations at least 30 days in advance are recommended

Check out their link:
http://www.cruisepark.com/home.php

Here are the services that they provide:

"After a long day(s) of driving, all you really want to do is park your car and board your ship. Cruisepark will take every measure to ensure that your parking experience is expedient and efficient as possible. All you need to do is drive in to our facility and we will take care of the rest. We will unload your luggage, park your car for you, return your keys and transfer you to your terminal of departure.
Cruisepark is proud to offer all day shuttle service to and from your cruise ship terminal at no extra cost to our valued passengers on Sundays, Tuesday, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Our shuttles run continuously throughout our days of operation approximately every 15-30 minutes to ensure that our passengers are transported in as timely of a manner as possible.

Not only do we offer long term parking while you’re on your cruise, but also the satisfaction of knowing that our parking facility is a fully gated surface facility with 24 hr security onsite."

From what I have been reading and researching, most hotels in the downtown Vancouver (especially near the port area) do NOT have free parking.
There is a Best Western that has a parking package that is about $259 (not sure canadian or US) a night and includes up to 8 days of parking, they also provide the transportation to the port> For those that are staying the night before, this might be a good option.
http://www.bestwesterndowntown.com/hotel-vancouver-park-and-sail.html

Most people say that hotels in the neighboring town of Richmond (near the airport) has free parking while on the cruise, it's just getting to the cruise terminal that is the catch.

If anyone else finds anythning, please comment and let us know. These are the only 3 options that I could find.
Thanks!

Some tips about TIPS

Hi everyone,
In order of saving grandpa (dad) the most money, we are going to prepay gratuities.
The amounts (the standard requested amount) are $12 per person per day, whether adult, child or baby. He will prepay our room accounts so it will be all taken care of in advance. It also works out better this way because people were listed in rooms according to what would save the most money. So some children will be listed in others' rooms. This way each family will know exactly what to pay and have one amount and one person to get it to.
So for the 7 day cruise, here is the following amounts total depending on the family size:

2 people :$168.00
3 people: $252.00
4 people: $336.00
5 people: $420.00
6 people: $504.00

Thanks so much! We will probably start prepaying these gratuities to the ship around a month before sailing. :)