Just completed a pre-cruise stay at the Fairmont Waterfront on a LHRC booking. Had a Gold waterfront view for two nights pre-cruise. After a red-eye, arrived at hotel at 0730. Got room immediately and also immediate access to the lounge. While there is no late checkout benefit , one was given to us.

The hotel is nice, but not super-contemporary. It is located right across from the cruise terminal and staff will transport luggage for you. The area is very busy, but the hotel room was quiet.

If we travel to Vancouver again, we may chose to stay at the Westin, which was located nearby Stanley Park, in a more sedate part of the waterfront.

We stayed at that Fairmont in August 2018 and really liked the location - we wanted to be in the midst of it all, I guess ;-) My husband loved their bikes available to borrow - they were really nice! and then he made me bike around Stanley park. I am not great on a bike....but i survived. We had a harbor view and hubs could stay with his binoculars watching for hours....Yeah, we're a little weird. I would look into the Westin if we go again (I know I want to go again as I prefer one-direction Alaska cruises...)

Has anyone stayed at Pan Pacific? I like the idea of taking an elevator down to the cruise

Yes , stayed PanPacific a few times , really enjoy staying there in a particular suite . Lovely views of the mountains , float planes , etc

Taken directly to cruise ship or post cruise , Porter comes by to collect luggage as ships have docked alongside the same building

We've stayed at all 3 of those hotels right near the ships: The two Fairmonts (Waterfront, and Pacific Rim) and the Pan Pacific.

We much prefer the Fairmont Pacific Rim, especially if one can get a view of the water and across to the hills/mountains (not sure which category they are in!). Watching the float planes was fun, and in the winter, seeing the lights of the ski areas across the water was also fun. Tempting... but it's been decades since my skiing days (alas). Do try to get that view!
We did not car for the Pan Pacific at all, so we only stayed there once. Perhaps another stay would have been different.

We've stayed in the Gold level of both Fairmonts there. The Gold lounge in the Waterfront was more "clubby", which more comfy seating, less modern, etc. We tend to prefer that, but many others seem to prefer the more modern (and to us, less comfortable) furnishings. (This reminds me of comparisons between the F lounge for BA at Heathrow and the F lounge for Lufthansa at Frankfort.). Regardless, we do make good use of the Gold lounges at any Fairmont, especially the food.

At the Pacific Rim, they took us and our bags in a car, right to the lower level of the Pan Pacific to check our cruise luggage, even though it wasn't very far at all. Very easy; they handled all of the luggage and we just sort of trotted along. After getting our bags checked in, we went back to the Pacific Rim, to relax a bit more, and to get our few carry-ons before heading back to the terminal to board the ship.

Most of our stays in Vancouver were not for cruises, but for TED conferences after they were moved there from California, so the same location was useful.

GC

One thing about the Pacific Rim is that they have one of the best restaurants in Vancouver (Botanist).