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Seattle or Vancouver


jmspls72
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I am scheduled to take a cruise out of Vancouver off celebrity cruises on May 24 northbound destinations.

 

I am investigating various travel options to get from St. Louis Missouri to Vancouver.

 

I’m interested in peoples opinion about that most budget friendly way to get to Vancouver .

 

My idea is to fly into Seattle from St. Louis and then take shuttle from Seattle to Vancouver. Has anyone done this before. does the shuttle to take you to the cruise port in Vancouver

 

I am also open to suggestions on additional travel options to get from St. Louis to Vancouver.

 

If this is in the wrong for him please direct me to where need to post this question

 

Thank you

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If you want to be as accurate as possible with where to post this - since you will be departing your cruise from Vancouver, arguably West Coast Departures board is the MOST correct option... but I can't think of any regular posters on that who are Seattle or Vancouver-based and don't also check this board, so personally I'd leave it here so all your answers stay in one place rather than post it again!

 

Lots of folks do what you're proposing. More flights means a better chance flight times work well for you, more airlines, and more non-stop options too, plus of course pricing is usually better to SEA than YVR... but before you do book it, you should check just how MUCH you save in money and then much more importantly compare how much you LOSE in time. Even though YVR flights will almost certainly involve a transfer, the odds of them being 4+ hours longer are slim. Look at the total end-to-end time and cost (and don't forget to allocate about $30-60pp to cover the cost of a bus, train, or rental car share between the two cities!) - only you know what you feel your time is worth to you.

 

Your sensible options are those three land-based ones - while it's possible to book a flight on a floatplane or regular commercial flight, or even take a ferry to Victoria then another to Vancouver, those simply aren't practical. This means you have Amtrak (twice a day is the downside - but otherwise it's the nicest way to travel as it has both by FAR the easiest border crossing as well as being the only method that you can buy booze and food onboard, and even the Coach seats are comfier than any bus or plane would be and an absolute bargain at $32 if booked in advance with a Saver fare), several bus companies (QuickShuttle from Seatac, but if you plan to spend any time in downtown Seattle then Bolt and Greyhound work just as well as Bolt is the cheapest, the fastest, and has the newest and shiniest fleet of buses), or renting a car one-way. If you can fill a car, it's very likely to be the cheapest way to travel and the most flexible - if there are two of you it may still be vary comparable to two QuickShuttle tickets ($59pp at this time), while a solo will likely find it the priciest option even with a really good price thanks to having to refill the tank in Vancouver (gas is heavily taxed here!)

 

Oh, and if you get lucky and your cruiseline is offering a shuttle from Seatac, it should be the least-hassle option - no need for any stops, no need to go downtown, no need to get from the bus or train station in Vancouver to the pier. Most recent reports I've seen are that the lines finally realized that these conveniences aspects meant their service was worth more than QS and started charging ~$69pp...

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Do you know if the bolt or the sea tac shuttle takes you to the celebrity cruise terminal in Vancouver

QuickShuttle, and a cruiseline shuttle if available, will go right to the pier. Bolt, Greyhound, Amtrak all use Pacific Central station which is about a $12 cab ride away. QS are priced such that 2 people can save money by cabbing to downtown Seattle, Bolting to Vancouver, and cabbing to the pier - Bolt typically charges $20 or less per person with $1 tickets on every bus.

 

Edit - and there's only one pier, all cruiselines go from Canada Place. Just follow the signs inside if it's a multiple-ship day, and since Celebrity usually have only one Vancouver-based ship you don't need to worry as much as HAL or Princess people about your bags ending up on the wrong one;-)

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To clarify.... where are you staying pre-cruise? Do you plan to land in Seattle and bus into the Vancouver terminal the same day?

 

It will depending on my flight . I’m gonna land in Seattle and find transportation up to Vancouver. I am coming in a day before the cruise. So I have plenty of time to get to Vancouver and get to the ship. I’m off like or probably staying in Vancouver To be honest I don’t have it all planned out yet

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Doing a quick check on Expedia for a May 23 one-way flight into Vancouver and Seattle. It appears to be the same or the savings are trivial... especially when you add in the cost of Quick Shuttle.

 

I recommend flying direct to Vancouver.

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  • 3 months later...

If I had a flight from SEATAC the same day I docked at Canada Place, I would most likely head to Vancouver Airport and fly to SEATAC.

 

Hiring a car is definitely not recommended due to potential delays at the border crossings and traffic congestion in Seattle.

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Flying is the quickest (~an hour in the air) but will usually eat up any savings from flying out of Seatac! Plus, by the time you factor in all the queues at the airport, driving could be almost as fast - it really all comes down to the border crossing time and then Seattle traffic, and both of those can have unpredictable issues (though if you leave downtown before 11am you should have no issues with Seattle traffic unless there's a big crash).  Personally I'd be comfortable allowing for 4 hours to Seatac from downtown Vancouver by car unless it's a holiday weekend.

 

Quickshuttle express is the most efficient bus service for a Seatac flight, but even they only get you there by 1:30pm (and that's assuming no undue border delay - I believe the schedules factor in about 30mins) so you'd be at more risk doing that than a car - since cars can at least choose to drive to one of the other crossings to minimise delay. Very relevant if there's actually an incident as the crossing that's affected could be shut for minutes to hours, while the others remain operating (uncommon, we've experienced just one such event during our 100+ trips down the I5 corridor compared to three times when multiple crashes added and extra 90+ minutes to the drive).

 

Amtrak simply doesn't work for a same-day flight; Greyhound & Bolt have fewer departures than QS, but if you are on a late evening SEA flight would be very possible, Bolt especially as they have the quickest service (fewest stops). First of their buses IIRC gets into downtown Seattle about 1:30pm, so hop in a cab to Seatac and you should be arriving not much after QS.

 

Realistically any flight before 4pm out of Seatac is a definite risk - so factor in that, plus the cost of the car rental/bus tickets, when you're considering whether to book a SEA- or YVR-starting flight itinerary...

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