seattle for vancouver?

[dmen131]

has anyone flown into seattle for a cruise leaving from vancouver? i know that some cruise lines fly you into seattle and then bus you to vancouver in some cases, but this doesn't seem to be true for celebrity. does anyone know how possible this would be and what the best way to go about it is? thank you!

[Galer99]

dmen131:

 

We live in the Northwest and have taken many trips to Vancouver BC driving up through Seattle. My initial hit is that it's a long ride from Seattle to Vancouver (approximately 4+ hours), and that doesn't even calculate your border wait time. With increased security it can sometimes be a long wait to get through the lines of cars and up to the entry gate. Are you interested in seeing Seattle? Is that your motivation for flying into that city? You could always fly a day or so early and make your own travel arrangements to Vancouver.

 

Good luck,

 

Gale and George

Oregon

[high seas gal]

dmen,

Last summer our NCL Sun cruise departed Seattle, but ended in Vancouver. I think it was the last cruise of the summer (mid-September) thus the change to Vancouver, afterwhich they were doing a re-positioning cruise to Hawaii. While most of the passengers were bussed to the airport in Seattle, we were very surprised to find that we were bussed to the Vancouver airport and flown to the Seattle airport. It was about a 20 minute flight. We went through customs at the Vancover airport before we boarded the flight for Seattle. If additional airfare isn't too expensive, I'd go for flying directly to Vancouver. And just a little tip, it's far cheaper to book your own airfare. You can still contact the cruise line for transfers from the airport to the ship, and then at the end of the cruise from the ship to the airport.

 

High Seas Gal

Northern California

 

NCL Sky Jun. 2000 (ALASKA)

NCL Sky Aug. 2001 (ALASKA)

Princess Regal Princess Jul. 2002 (ALASKA)

NCL Sun Sep. 2003 (ALASKA)

Celebrity Mercury Oct. 2004 (Mexico)

[cruisintwinsmom]

We live in the midwest and flew into and out of Vancouver. X set up the air, it was about the same as if I had done it ourselves (plus it included the transfers). If you did your own air then I would just catch a taxi at the airport: we had to wait for the bus to fill up. On the return there were shuttles for the airport that looked fairly cheap, but I'm not sure if there was a wait. We stayed post-cruise in Vancouver and had Celebrity set it all up. It worked out very well for us.

[dmen131]

Wow. I am glad I asked. I saw a bunch of sites that made it look like an easy hour or so drive through beautiful scenery. But now that I hear your responses, I will either fly into Vancouver or take a cruise out of Seattle. Thank you again.

[nmtraveler]

We have done this twice. We stayed at the Wyndham at SEATAC and took the QuickShuttle to Vancouver. They offer a package for transportation to Vancouver and hotel. We stayed at the Georgian Court and it was very nice. The price also includes a taxi to the vruise terminal. QuickShuttle leaves from the airport so you have to get to the area outside the baggage claim. Click on http://www.quickcoach.com/ for more info.We also called Celebrity on one cruise and they were offering same day transportation to the ship from the airport. They picked us up at the Wyndham. We are taking the coastal cruise in September and they were unsure whether this would be offered then. Hope this helps!

 

George and Susan

Song of America May 1999

Galaxy Alaska May 2000

Zenith April 2001

Summit Hawaii May 2002

Infinity Hawaii May 2002

Mercury Alaska Coastal 9/2002

Splendour of the Seas March '03

Summit Alaska Coastal Sept '03

Infinity Canal 04/25/2004

Summit Alaska Coastal Sept '04

[dmen131]

Thank you so much. That looks very interesting. Do you remember how long the service takes?

[davis0056]

We took Amtrek from Vancouver to Seattle late last summer at the end of our southbound cruise. The scenery was spectacular and the train was roomy and staff were friendly. If you decide to take the train, just make sure that when you buy your ticket, its for the train, not the bus ride (which Amtrek also sells.

We paid a few extra dollars for first class, but coach looked nice too.

 

Dave and Elaine

 

Transatlantic sailing on the Constellation

[nmtraveler]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by dmen131:

Thank you so much. That looks very interesting. Do you remember how long the service takes?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

The "express" bus from SEATAC to Canada Place takes 4 hours. The others take about 4 and a half. We didn't experience much of a delay at the border.

 

George and Susan

Song of America May 1999

Galaxy Alaska May 2000

Zenith April 2001

Summit Hawaii May 2002

Infinity Hawaii May 2002

Mercury Alaska Coastal 9/2002

Splendour of the Seas March '03

Summit Alaska Coastal Sept '03

Infinity Canal 04/25/2004

Summit Alaska Coastal Sept '04

[corkpopr]

usually border crossing is a nightmare. fly into vancouver, forget seattle. go the day before, stay on robson street. take a limo from the airport to your hotel 30 U.S. whereas a cab is about 22 dollars. that way you are well rested, can see the town for a bit and board about 3 pm after the mad rush.

 

Galaxy 10 day Rome Next

[ESquared]

The border crossing on the train is a breeze (paperwork done in the Vancouver train station rather than at the border) and the scenery is wonderful. Do consider it.

 

Also, I have seen postings of bad experiences with Quick Coach. Do a search of the boards for more info.

 

Elizabeth

[BCHappyGal]

Vancouverite here

We fly out of Seattle often due to the cheaper air fare and use the Quick Shuttle bus service. it runs 5 scheduled trips per day and takes approx 4 hours Seattle Airport to downtown Vancouver - cruise ship terminal. they have very comfortable buses and the price is $44. Ca each way.

[transactionchick]

I do NOT recommend QuickCoach - it can be anything but quick. Our last trip with them took almost 8 hours to get from Seattle to Vancouver. The driver made umerous 'unscheduled stops' including a stop just before the border to let off someone who it is assumed would have trouble making the crossing. Apparently he would make an unscheduled stop for anyone who tipped him.

 

At the border, we and all of our luggage was unloaded and sniffed by dogs - it took over two hours. Apparently this outfit has some kind of a unsavory reputation with customs and/or immigration, or they heard about the guy that was mysteriously dropped off a few miles earlier!

 

We left Seattle 3:30 pm and finally made our hotel at 11:00pm - NEVER AGAIN!! Pay the extra money for a private transfer or pay the extra $$ to fly directly to Vancouver!

 

Happy Sailing!

 

Cyndi Wagner, AKA Transaction Chick

Carnival Celebration - 5/98

RCI Rhapsody - 5/00

Carnival Sprit - 10/01

Celebtrity Mercury - 5/04

 

Parley Vouz Francais? Si vous pouvez, email moi en Francais!

[sueal]

We will be taking the train from Seattle to Vancouver. Cost about $24. Heard it was a wonderful trip. Celebrity does have a bus to transfer you from the Seattle airport to the ship. Cost is $50. They will pick you up at the baggage terminal. We decided that we'd rather take a train than a bus.