Rail/cruise trips...

Anyone done one? I saw them on Amtrak and am really interested in doing the one from LA to Vancouver, where you ride the train from LA, get off in Vancouver, and then do a cruise to Alaska.

Has anyone used Amtrak to book this or did you just do it yourself? Thoughts on this type of vacation???

We've done it a couple ways but always booked on our own. We enjoy rail travel and love cruising so it has been a perfect fit for us.

Have you done a long-haul Amtrak trip before? If not, know that sleeper cars for two are bunk beds. Also, if you are doing a sleeper car, you pretty much can only get a carryon or smaller suitcase into your room with you. You'll need to check your larger luggage at the Amtrak station and they will store it for you so you won't have access to it during the trip.

I don't want to inundate you with things you already know, so if you have specific questions, ask away.

Sounds fun . We have done both rail trips and many cruises but never booked as a package. Even in Alaska we did the rail portion on our own. Other than possible convenience, I suspect it would be better to book these separately OYO. It would certainly give you more flexibility as to whom you cruised with. It also would allow for some time in Vancouver if you so desired.

We've done two cruises using Amtrak to get there and back home. Los Angeles to Seattle and back to do a Seattle Alaska Seattle cruise. The other was on the American Empress and a westbound Snake/Columbia River cruise. We traveled LA to Spokane, did the cruise and caught the train home in Vancouver (the station is real close to the dock and good timing between boat and train!). Plan on overnights before and after the cruise. In both cases, all of this was booked by us as separate entities, NOT a package. All of our rail travel is in a sleeper bedroom using Amtrak Guest Rewards points to pay for the tickets.

We always book on our own. Did Rail Canada for two weeks after our Alaska cruise in 2014. We actually enjoyed the rail more than the cruise.

Have done extra side trips in Europe quite a lot, usually sandwiched between various cruises. It's a great way to travel in Europe.

They offer several of these in Australia where you can cruise to Darwin and then get the Ghan to Adelaide via Alice Springs (or the reverse). there is also the Sydney to Perth train trip (India pacific) and a cruise back (or the reverse).

The coastal route is very pretty and goes thru some places that aren’t open to the public. Takes about 36 hours from Los Angeles.

We did southbound about 15 years ago. Back then they had a restored Parlor Car for the sleeper car pax. Wine in the afternoon. Meals were included in the fare.

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The coastal route is very pretty and goes thru some places that aren’t open to the public. Takes about 36 hours from Los Angeles.

We did southbound about 15 years ago. Back then they had a restored Parlor Car for the sleeper car pax. Wine in the afternoon. Meals were included in the fare.

 

 

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Sounds nice.

The coastal route is very pretty and goes thru some places that aren’t open to the public. Takes about 36 hours from Los Angeles.

We did southbound about 15 years ago. Back then they had a restored Parlor Car for the sleeper car pax. Wine in the afternoon. Meals were included in the fare.

 

 

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The Pacific Parlour Cars were removed from the Coast Starlight earlier this year.

Thank you so much for all the replies. I guess one of my biggest questions is does the train stop and allow you to get off and walk around the town? I'd much prefer a trip like that than just pretty scenery and get off and go on a cruise -- been on an Alaskan cruise before. While I very much want to go on another one, I'd rather join it with a hop on/hop off type of rail vacation than just get to the port. So any input there would be very much appreciated.

We took Amtrak from Chicago to Seattle last year for our Alaskan cruise. I looked at Amtrak’s cruise package but decided to book everything myself.

I’m a control freak and want everything my way. With the package, you are traveling coach on the train and we wanted (needed) a bedroom for the two nights. I also think the package didn’t include the return train trip.

During the train trip, we made a few stops but only for a few minutes and had no time to wander past the depot. Our one long stop was 4 hours when a water truck decided to try and cross the tracks the same time the train was there. Did quite a bit of damage to train but no one was hurt.

Don

 

During the train trip, we made a few stops but only for a few minutes and had no time to wander past the depot.

 

Don

That has been our experience as well.

On the opposite coast we did the Auto Train combining a cruise and land vacation and having our car. It was a nice change from flying.

On the opposite coast we did the Auto Train combining a cruise and land vacation and having our car. It was a nice change from flying.

We live in Central FL. And wish the Auto Train went farther north. It would be nice to get the car into NJ or NY before driving.

Don

Thank you so much for all the replies. I guess one of my biggest questions is does the train stop and allow you to get off and walk around the town? I'd much prefer a trip like that than just pretty scenery and get off and go on a cruise -- been on an Alaskan cruise before. While I very much want to go on another one, I'd rather join it with a hop on/hop off type of rail vacation than just get to the port. So any input there would be very much appreciated.

You'd have to book a whole bunch of short Station X to Station Y trips - depending which part of the route up the left coast, it's feasible to book with only hours between trains in some spots (e.g. once you hit Eugene, where the Coast Starlight and Cascades tour overlap all the way up to Seattle for example there are several trains a day) but you'd realistically need to schedule overnights in hotels in many places. I've never found a scheduled stop longer than an hour - and anything longer than a few minutes has been where transfers occur between major Amtrak routes.

If you have the time to do that it could make for a delightful trip pre-cruise - even if you just focused on the larger urban areas, a few days in San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver would be a great vaycay. Pack in lots of urban sightseeing and then use the cruise to relax!

I imagine the cost starts to escalate by booking lots of shorter legs rather than one long one.

I imagine the cost starts to escalate by booking lots of shorter legs rather than one long one.

Plus you have your luggage to move on and off.

Don

I imagine the cost starts to escalate by booking lots of shorter legs rather than one long one.

Not always - and when you factor in the sometimes HEFTY increase in cost for the sleeper cars vs seats, you can save a bundle by traveling in shorter chunks and staying in hotels that cost less than Amtrak sleepers... as well as being comfier. Schlepping luggage around is one of the downsides though.

I've even considered booking the two legs Vancouver-Seattle and Seattle-Portland on the same Cascades service for example, because it's often cheaper to do so than to book the whole trip right through (it's really common for sales to not include the cross-border trips). But when the total cost is well under $100, a ~20% saving isn't worth the hassle of getting off to join a queue to be reallocated a different seat in Seattle!

Not always - and when you factor in the sometimes HEFTY increase in cost for the sleeper cars vs seats, you can save a bundle by traveling in shorter chunks and staying in hotels that cost less than Amtrak sleepers... as well as being comfier. Schlepping luggage around is one of the downsides though.

 

I've even considered booking the two legs Vancouver-Seattle and Seattle-Portland on the same Cascades service for example, because it's often cheaper to do so than to book the whole trip right through (it's really common for sales to not include the cross-border trips). But when the total cost is well under $100, a ~20% saving isn't worth the hassle of getting off to join a queue to be reallocated a different seat in Seattle!

Thanks for the information, sounds like it is much more viable for us to do that then.