Jump to content

Getting from Seattle ro Vancouver


jmspls72
 Share

Recommended Posts

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, dang. I just finished typing a reply on your other thread, and now I see you have this one too on the 'most correct' board;-)

 

I expect others will see this one first and reply here, so now you've got two threads to follow for opinions on your question!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Again I Appreciate you taking the time to compose such a long post for me she was very helpful. Plus my other question here as well does this bold or Supertek shuttles take you directly to celebrity cruise port up in Vancouver

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Again I Appreciate you taking the time to compose such a long post for me she was very helpful. Plus my other question here as well does this bold or Supertek shuttles take you directly to celebrity cruise port up in Vancouver

 

If you bring them a sack of White Castle hamburgers and toasted ravioli, they will transport you free.:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you bring them a sack of White Castle hamburgers and toasted ravioli, they will transport you free.:D

 

Oh how I wish that was true Maybe if I had some gooey butter cake and Imo’s pizza and some pork steaks You’ll take me for free

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh how I wish that was true Maybe if I had some gooey butter cake and Imo’s pizza and some pork steaks You’ll take me for free

 

Ahhh yes, gooey butter cake and Imo's, and yes I would transport you for free if you threw in some steak-n-shake as well.:D:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I am following Both of these threads now. lol

We fly into Seattle the day before our cruise from Vanc.

 

What about he cruise shuttles from SEA/Tac to Vancouver?

Are they any better than renting a One way car Rental?

(reason wondering because last time we did this with rental car,

we were given the third degree getting into Canada.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/11/2018 at 7:49 PM, CalLuvsCrusingToo said:

I am following Both of these threads now. lol

We fly into Seattle the day before our cruise from Vanc.

 

What about he cruise shuttles from SEA/Tac to Vancouver?

Are they any better than renting a One way car Rental?

(reason wondering because last time we did this with rental car,

we were given the third degree getting into Canada.)

If by 'better' you mean 'are they less hassle at the border compared to your own car' the short answer for ALL bus-based crossings is 'no - quite the opposite.' While in theory buses wait less time than cars do, due to a dedicated bus-processing area with it's own access lane, in practise if the overall traffic is light cars go through faster (fewer people in each) and you never need to take your stuff out of the car unless you get pulled for secondary inspection. If traffic is heavy (an hour or more delay), it backs up far enough that buses cannot reach their lane so are stuck with everyone else!

 

Only in the sweet spot of a border delay that is at least ~30 mins at BOTH of the I5 corridor crossings (since cars can use either whereas buses are stuck with only one option), but less than an hour, will you probably spend less time total crossing on a bus - and even then, if ANYONE on your bus gets pulled for secondary inspection, you ALL wait for them. Check the contract terms - if a passenger is rejected the bus can leave them at the border, but until CBSA actually make the decision Yea or Nay for that person getting into Canada, the bus must wait... so rather than just you being singled out by a CBSA person having a bad day, you need to worry that any of the other 50+ folks on your bus get a grilling too!

 

If you can actually find a SEALED transfer things would be very different - but this seems to be a very random thing and I've only heard reports of them going southbound in recent years if at all. If you can score one of those, for all legal purposes you technically never leave the USA, going straight between actual US territory and effectively-US-governed space inside the pier - but you'd need to reach out to your cruise line and check whether they are offering such a thing for your date, and it guarantees zero pre-cruise time spend in Canada they are only ever allowed when they take you straight to/from the pier on (dis)embarkation day.

 

Plus, if whatever triggered your grilling last time was down to a still-relevant thing about you (e.g. past misdemeanours that are taken more seriously up here, gang tattoos, just having one of those unfortunate faces that looks shifty to LEOs) rather than it having been a random CBSA thing, you can expect similar treatment regardless of the method you use to cross the border;-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
7 hours ago, CalLuvsCrusingToo said:

after reading martincath reply, I would prefer One way car rentals, but guess what?

I can't find ANY Rental cars available the day before, or day of, our cruise leaves.

Its 6 months away.

We might be stuck doing the bus thing. ugh.

I just plugged in 30 April 2019 (you seem to be cruising May 1st) for a one-way, one-day, rental SEA to YVR on Costco's car rental page and both Avis and Budget are showing availability of virtually all car categories (Avis for drops at all downtown as well as YVR airport branch, Budget just airport right now). $200+ at the moment as they're still padding rates a LOT this far out.

 

If you were trying for a one-way with a drop at the pier, that may explain zero results - the pier is a temporary rental location and the franchisee(s) operating changes occasionally. Until closer to cruise season it's very possible that no bookings will be taken to or from the pier. and the rates and availability across different companies will definitely vary - in general they get cheaper and cheaper though. You may also have chosen a drop time too late for the downtown branches - in spring it's pretty rare to have a car rental office open beyond 6pm, so if you were planning to leave Seattle in the afternoon and drop the car on arrival in the evening that could be problematic (choosing a still <24 hr rental period but with return next morning should alleviate that problem, then drop the car early with a 'keys in the slot and walk away' return rather than pay for overnight parking at a hotel).

 

The train is always a possibility too, unless your flight arrives too late for it the day before your cruise (and even then, Amtrak virtually never runs late enough to risk a cruise when you take it morning of; the rolling stock is sitting in Seattle waiting to go for the morning train, no dependencies on other Amtrak routes so only catastrophic issues with the line are a realistic factor).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

I travel between Vancouver and Seattle often. I went to school in Bellingham and became best friends with a darn Canadian now for 30 years we have been back and forth to each others home a few times a month. I have tried all the ways. My favorite is the train, but it can be a bit difficult with scheduling. The train though is the fastest through the boarder because they have already checked everyone. The shuttle is great because it is very direct service but if you have one problem child the whole bus has to wait while they are cleared, which sometimes takes forever. The airport is absolutely not worth the effort. When I have needed to only go one way (like, when we are meeting in Vancouver to fly out somewhere together) I usually book a one way car. If everything is in order it is the second fastest boarder crossing and the drop off is right at Canada Place. If i go through costco it is never more than $100 for the one day rental and I think worth it for the convenience.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/18/2019 at 7:51 PM, Peckishpixie said:

I travel between Vancouver and Seattle often. I went to school in Bellingham and became best friends with a darn Canadian now for 30 years we have been back and forth to each others home a few times a month. I have tried all the ways. My favorite is the train, but it can be a bit difficult with scheduling. The train though is the fastest through the boarder because they have already checked everyone. The shuttle is great because it is very direct service but if you have one problem child the whole bus has to wait while they are cleared, which sometimes takes forever. The airport is absolutely not worth the effort. When I have needed to only go one way (like, when we are meeting in Vancouver to fly out setomewhere together) I usually book a one way car. If everything is in order it is the second fastest boarder crossing and the drop off is right at Canada Place. If i go through costco it is never more than $100 for the one day rental and I think worth it for the convenience.

I booked through Costco,  but its $399 for a rental !!! Seattle to Vancouver.  My cruise is September 30th. I rented a car from the 29th to the 30th. How can I get a better deal??? I am picking up fro SeaTac , dropping ogmf at cruise port. I priced dropping off at Vancouver airport. Same price. I priced a 12 hour rental. SAME PRICE!

 

Edited by MoyCoy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, MoyCoy said:

I booked through Costco,  but its $399 for a rental !!! Seattle to Vancouver.  My cruise is September 30th. I rented a car from the 29th to the 30th. How can I get a better deal??? I am picking up fro SeaTac , dropping ogmf at cruise port. I priced dropping off at Vancouver airport. Same price. I priced a 12 hour rental. SAME PRICE!

 

Well, part of the problem might be that I only rent it for the day. From 10AM to 6PM for example. Depending on your timing, overnight can cost more. Also, there are no economy cars available and you are looking at a premium crossover or better if you are booking today for the 29th of September. Lastly, some of that might be taxes and fees. I just booked a car for my trip in April and its $119 plus tax for a 12 hour rental. It comes to $156 with tax. I don't know how to get a better rate. Some people use places like Kyak but I usually find that Costco has the best choice. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Tourist1292 said:

One way rental is always expensive, particularly when crossing the border.

No they aren't. Avis picking up and returning in Seattle versus picking up Seattle returning in Vancouver is only $30 more. I don't think that is expensive at all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would definitely check back before the cruise date.  You're booking much too early IMO.

 

I just checked on Expedia, and found numerous deals for $260 or thereabouts for your dates, but even that seems quite high. If there are two of you, you can fly for less than that, or of course take the train for MUCH less.

Edited by Gardyloo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/19/2019 at 6:43 PM, Tourist1292 said:

We are going to take Amtrak Cascades from Seattle to Vancouver. It costs us only $31 per person after discount.

When you get your seats, try for the west side of the train car (it should be the left side of the forward facing train).  This way you can look out towards the beautiful Puget Sound for a good part of your train ride.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...