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Is Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver safe on same day as sailing??


azkcruizers
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Hi,

 

My mom , two sisters and I will be sailing on the Ovation to Alaska May 13th. The ship leaves from Vancouver but we will be flying into Seattle the day before. I've settled on taking Amtrak to Vancouver but am wondering if anyone has had any problems doing that the same day as sailing? It says the train gets in at 11:45 am but I don't know how often this route experiences delays...and have customs and traffic in my head as well. We will have our luggage of course, and my Mom can walk some but will be in a wheelchair..so I won't have the fastest moving group! If I was taking a real chance I would probably fly an extra day ahead to Seattle and then train the day before the cruise to Vancouver but didn't want to unless I really had to . Thanks for your help!!!

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People certainly do it, and you're probably not going to find too many horror stories about "I missed the boat." However given the nature of your group I'd probably look at some alternatives.

 

When you add up all the extra costs and hassle - transport from airport to Seattle hotel, transport from hotel to train station, then transport from the station in Vancouver to the dock... it can turn into a lot of nuisance. Things I'd investigate if I were you:

 

- Fly right to Vancouver in the first place. While airfares tend to be slightly higher, they're seldom more than the combined costs of flying to Seattle plus land transport to Vancouver.

 

- Quick Shuttle - http://www.quickcoach.com/ - which runs buses from Seatac airport right to the cruise terminal. They have wheelchair-accessible buses.

 

- Rent a one-way car. A car would give you far more freedom in choosing a place to spend the night, and if you had any extra time you could choose a more scenic route than just the 3 - 4 hour drive up the freeway. I'd pick a small SUV which would have enough room for the four of you plus luggage. The per-person cost would probably be competitive with the train fare, or maybe less.

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If you take the train - book Business Class - yes it is a few more $$$ but you are first off the train in Vancouver and the first to go through Customs etc. Provided all of you are US or Canadian Citizens with the proper travel documents it is generally a breeze going through customs.

 

Will you need an accessible taxi - is the wheelchair a travel type that can fold up. Only about 25 % of our taxi fleet are wheelchair accessible so you could wait a few minutes for one to come.

The taxi trip itself is only 10-15 minutes so yes it is possible to take the train the same morning - the train starts from Seattle so there is less likelihood of it not leaving on time.

Hope this helps some.

Cheers!

Dennis

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I agree with both posters above that the risk is minimal (I can recall one train ever that was so late that folks on it missed the ship). Due to the morning train both ways having no dependencies on other routes (northbound starts in Seatle and rolling stock is already there overnight, southbound starts in Vancouver and again the entire train has been sitting around overnight) it's rarely late enough to cause problems.

 

 

I also agree that with a wheelchair using person and a group, renting a car would likely be cheaper than regular class train tickets, and a significant saving over business class. You'd also have more flexibility of arrival time, since Amtrak unfortunately spits out passengers right when the pier gets busiest - and since every train from Seattle seems to have cruisers on it all season, unless you are the first folks off from Bus Class all the other cruisers on the train may beat you to the pier to further bulk out the queues!

 

 

Deliberately delaying your boarding would be my recommendation if you do take the train - by all mean cab to the pier right away and drop your bags, but then go have a nice lunch downtown close to the pier, relax, maybe even do a little sightseeing (e.g. FlyOverCanada which is right at the pier, and very gentle so even if your mom has back issues it should not case any problems) and then come back as close to the (departure time - 90mins) cutoff as you can tolerate.

 

 

Otherwise the next-best time to arrive for short queues is early (~10:30am) - this guarantees some waiting, as the ships need to be 'zeroed out' for immigration so the boarding process rarely starts before 11am, but once the queues do start moving they should move fast. With your own wheelchair you should expect some prioritization.

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We did the train from Seattle about a year ago. Great trip, but were about 2 hours late into Vancouver. Then another 30 minute wait for a taxi. We came in a day early, so not a problem, but if I was on a cruise that day I would have been cutting it a bit close (but would have made it I am sure).

 

A few years ago we took Quick Shuttle on the same route. Our bus was a bit late since we had to stop and pickup people from an earlier bus which broke down - not certain those people made it in time, as we got off at our hotel near the airport.

 

So, either way you can run into issues. I would opt for an extra day in this beautiful city.

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I just looked at Vancouver arrival times for this May. Most days it arrived before or slightly after noon. It was later than 12:30 only once and still before 1.

 

 

 

One thing to keep in mind is the ride between Seattle and Everett is along Puget Sound and beautiful views. However the stretch is also along hillsides that can slide onto the tracks, forcing a 2-day moratorium on passenger traffic. This usually happens more in the winter than late spring, but it can happen.

 

 

 

Loren

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I have taken the train to Vancouver 3 times. The first 2 times, the train was 25% full. Last time, the train was packed with Union Officials from all Unions in USA going to their National Convention in Vancouver. I don't know why they picked Canada, you would think that they would have their convention in USA. In all cases we got into Vancouver around 11:30. The first two times, we got a taxi and it was a easy 10 minute drive to the cruise dock. The last time when the train was 100% full, they let you off by the Car. By the time we got to the door, the line to get a taxi was over 1 hour. We walked across the street and took the Skytrain. Once we got on the Skytrain, we got off at the 2nd stop-I think Waterfront station which drops you off one block south of the cruise dock. We were on the ship by 12:15.

Edited by chewap
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We risked it and did it last Sept. We were 1 hr late but still on board by 1 PM. It was a FULL train, they had people seated in the dining car. We were fist class on and off first. Waiting for luggage on the belt in King Station took some time though and finding where to pick up Uber as well.

Repeating it this Sept. Sure saved US$ not having a hotel pre cruise for the first time ever.

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We just did this last week - the trip from to Seattle to Vancouver went smoothly, we had business class and were the first ones through customs. We arrived around noon In Vancouver - no problems at all.

 

That being said, I wouldn't do it the day of my cruise - we did it a few days before.

 

My reason why - fast forward to this past Saturday, June 30th - our Amtrak train from Vancouver back to Seattle was cancelled due a water main break and we were stuck scrambling to get a bus to get us back to Seattle. Lesson learned, you never what can happen. Lucky for us it was the end of the trip. I would have been freaking out if I was trying to get to a cruise.

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We just did this last week - the trip from to Seattle to Vancouver went smoothly, we had business class and were the first ones through customs. We arrived around noon In Vancouver - no problems at all.

 

That being said, I wouldn't do it the day of my cruise - we did it a few days before.

 

My reason why - fast forward to this past Saturday, June 30th - our Amtrak train from Vancouver back to Seattle was cancelled due a water main break and we were stuck scrambling to get a bus to get us back to Seattle. Lesson learned, you never what can happen. Lucky for us it was the end of the trip. I would have been freaking out if I was trying to get to a cruise.

 

I agree with you. After 40 years of extensive traveling for business and pleasure, I have seen so many issues arise and delays occur that I always err on the conservative side. It does cost be a bit more money, but it sure reduces the stress and worry (I am too old for that!).

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We never go the day of a cruise but living on the West Coast we are very familiar with all the ports, so we will go with the flow on the day of the cruise.

Would Never do it normally!!! Anything can happen, that is for sure. We were 1 hr late arriving in Seattle last year but it worked out OK.

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I wouldn’t do it on the day of sailing. We get heavy rain that line closes because of land slides. So unless you have a plan B id spend the night before in Vancouver

This is early Sept. so we don't usually have the heavy rains yet early to mid Sept. But up to the person and how brave they feel doing it the same day.

The train is a 6 AM to Seattle from Van. or a later in the day to stay a night in Seattle before a cruise, doing down. Coming back to Van. to had to wait until 7 PMish in Seattle after debarking the ship in the AM. No worries then the cruise is over! LOL

 

Nothing is risk free, driving or flying. Lots of things can delay or mess you up. People can even miss a cruise in Van. flying in from Seattle in AM day of, know it happened. Flight was delayed so many times they missed the ship in Van. They could have driven and made it if they had known.

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Looks like it is split here for opinions. Having almost missed the ship once, that was enough for us. We never, ever arrive day of sailing. We enjoy a few days in embarkation city, but at the very least we arrive the day before. Amtrak is a beautiful trip - the scenery is gorgeous and so on, but there have been delays in the past. Anything can happen to cause such delays, and then they scramble to put passengers on buses to get them through to the border and then into Vancouver. It's just not a trip I would risk day-of.

 

My opinion - go the day before. You may have to rearrange some things, but this board is filled with threads of how to get that accomplished.

 

Have fun. :)

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Thank you everyone for your help. It looks like it's $1000 more to fly into Vancouver so I think we will fly into Seattle and spend a night and then train to Vancouver the next morning and spend a night there before the cruise. I will worry less about making it on time and we will make the most of our time together. Thanks so much!

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Thank you everyone for your help. It looks like it's $1000 more to fly into Vancouver so I think we will fly into Seattle and spend a night and then train to Vancouver the next morning and spend a night there before the cruise. I will worry less about making it on time and we will make the most of our time together. Thanks so much!

Not trying to be argumentative, and of course it's your trip and your money, but assuming you're flying out of Albany (given your location) a one-way flight to Vancouver on May 11 (Delta via Minneapolis) is $28 more expensive per person than a one-way flight to Seattle (American via Philly.) When you add the (VERY expensive) extra hotel night in Seattle, plus the train fare, plus transport from the Seattle airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the train station.... well, that $28 is a drop in the bucket. Just sayin'. If you were flying out of NYC or Boston, the difference is even greater (i.e. the fare to Vancouver is cheaper than to Seattle.)

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  • 3 weeks later...

I will say that we took the train from Seattle to Vancouver in June 2017. A sink hole opened up underneath the train tracks ahead of our train, so we were stopped. No movement. Very little communication for HOURS. Luckily my family was traveling a day ahead of our sailing BUT the train was FULL of travelers who missed their ships that fateful day. What are the odds that something like that would happen? But it did.

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I will say that we took the train from Seattle to Vancouver in June 2017. A sink hole opened up underneath the train tracks ahead of our train, so we were stopped. No movement. Very little communication for HOURS. Luckily my family was traveling a day ahead of our sailing BUT the train was FULL of travelers who missed their ships that fateful day. What are the odds that something like that would happen? But it did.

 

I think it (track washouts) happens more often the one hears. The terrain that the BNSF line runs from Tacoma north is just prone to slides. Not much can be done about it.

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We live in the Seattle area, and decided to do a one-night repositioning cruise for points towards Elite status. The plan: we'd take mass transit to the Seattle stadium district, have dinner, take the 6:30 Amtrak train to Vancouver, find a way to our hotel, then walk to the ship in the morning, and take mass transit back to our car. The train got stuck behind trees and wires across the track. Zero communication for an hour, then some texts to say that it was delayed "but could make up time". Yeah right. At 8:15, still with no announcements in the terminal, we punted: Link light rail to the airport, one-way car rental, got into the hotel at almost 1am. The train got in at 7am. Supposedly they sometimes switch to buses, but they clearly weren't ready to make that decision in any sort of timely manner.

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It does take time to organise and find enough busses. Given the shortage of qualified truckers, I imagine finding qualified bus drivers isn't that easy either especially at short notice..

 

If one could be sure of where one was, and could get off the train, it wouldn't be the worst idea to be aware of all the taxi companies and bus routes along the way to arrange your own transportation. With all that in mind, it'll be easier and potentially a lot cheaper eventually to fly direct.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just be aware that if there is any type of rock or mudslide on the tracks (even small) passengers will be picked up by bus to finish the trip. They stop passenger trains transiting the slide area for 48 hours after the slide is cleared.

 

The transfer to bus is not a fast procedure as they need to find busses and get them to the train.

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  • 1 month later...

Our recent trip on a Friday, the four hour trip took almost 6 hours. we had to stop twice and wait for the train to go by the other direction and once we had to stop and sit because they had a check engine light and they had to figure out what was wrong with train. and another half hour to leave train, called one car at a time

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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>>>Is Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver safe on same day as sailing?<<<

 

This topic is older, but I think the OP is traveling in May 2019.

I never do anything on "same day sailing" if I am flying in or taking a train in. Others may have different styles or philosophies, but as a constant business traveler for 30+ years I've seen/experienced too many cancelled or delayed flights and train trips to EVER risk going in on the same day. Maybe people who fly (train) once or twice a year have never had to experience delays and cancellations, but they do happen and anecdotal "it's no problem" advice won't help the OP when the Amtrak is delayed.

 

The expense of an overnight hotel seems like cheap insurance compared to missing an expensive cruise.

 

Just my two cents.

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>>>Is Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver safe on same day as sailing?<<<

 

This topic is older, but I think the OP is traveling in May 2019.

I never do anything on "same day sailing" if I am flying in or taking a train in. Others may have different styles or philosophies, but as a constant business traveler for 30+ years I've seen/experienced too many cancelled or delayed flights and train trips to EVER risk going in on the same day. Maybe people who fly (train) once or twice a year have never had to experience delays and cancellations, but they do happen and anecdotal "it's no problem" advice won't help the OP when the Amtrak is delayed.

 

The expense of an overnight hotel seems like cheap insurance compared to missing an expensive cruise.

 

While I am sure that most times taking the train in works fine, it is just my luck that it will be late. Being retired I have the time, so coming in a day early is well worth the extra cost as it really reduces the worry and stress.

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