Vancouver/Seattle Transportation-Need Your Opinions

[cruisebie]

For our June cruise on the Island Princess, we will be disembarking at Canada Place on 6/18. We found it was way cheaper to fly back from Seattle, so have been doing some research on our transportation options from Vancouver to Seattle. I'm hoping that some of the savvy, experienced travelers on this Board can help answer some of my questions! :)

 

1. The summer schedule for the quick shuttle shows that the last Seattle shuttle departs from Canada Place at 10:50 am. The cruise itinerary shows that we will dock at 7:30 am. Will I have enough time to disembark, clear customs and catch the shuttle? If not, are there other options on the schedule that I'm just not seeing? http://www.quickcoach.com/schedule.htm#sched_summer

 

2. I'm found a price for a one-way car rental from Budget for 106.70 US$. Does that sound like a reasonable price?

 

3. What are your opinions on car rental vs quick shuttle. Seems easier to just sit back and let someone else do the driving, but on the other hand with a car we could go at our own pace & stop where we wanted.

 

Sorry, guys. I know I've been awfully wordy! If you're still here, TIA!:D

[ute_fan]

Compared to our quote from last summer, your price for the rental car seems a little high. Our original quotes were more in the range of $50 or $60 one way -- we ended up deciding at the last minute that we needed a van, so we ended up paying about $110 for a minivan.

 

We ended up using Hertz one direction and Avis the other. I'd do a little more price checking before settling for Budget's rate.

[mhb1757]

I think a lot depends on when your flight leaves from Seattle....if all you are going to have time to do is drive straight to the airport, leave the car and jump on the plane, I would just do the Quik shuttle....let someone else do the driving and you can avoid the inevitable hassle/line/wait for a rental car.

 

 

On the other hand if your flight doesn't leave Seattle until evening it would be worth it to me to rent the car, take the scenic route and stop along the way.

 

If there are only 2 of you travelling together the Quik-shuttle and a rental car will be give or take $20 about the same cost, if there are 4 of you there would be savings in renting a car..... Mostly however I would just look at when your flight leaves Seattle.

[Urban trekker]

Just a reminder that if you are travelling by car you will have to wait your turn to clear the border and if you are travelling on a regular or holiday weekend the wait can be up to 2 hours - while the scenery is nice at the Peace Arch border crossing you probably won't want to wait that long and then there is the matter of the constant Seattle rush hour traffic which exists all day and most days - catch it on a Mariners afternoon game day and even worse yet.

 

If you take a bus of any kind you are going to get priority handling at US Customs at the truck crossing.

 

Hope this helps you decide

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[JohnQ]

Also make sure that the car has unlimited milage. We had one reserved with Budget or National and when we went to pick it up we found out it was not unlimited. Haven't seen that for a while, so I had to go back downstairs at Canada place and find best car rental for 1 1/2 days to Seattle. I would try to have flt on next day to give you less stress. 11:00 is not allowing enough time to get off ship and get to Seatac early.

[cruisebie]

Thanks, guys! This is just the kind of information I need.

 

We will be disembarking in Vancouver on Saturday, and our flight from Sea-tac is the next morning. So we have plenty of time to get there. It will only be DH & I, so no savings there. I'll keep checking rates. I haven't looked for any discount codes yet, that would help get the price down.

 

A 2 hour wait at the border and Seattle traffic will definitely be a factor, though. I'm not sure DH would appreciate me arranging to be tied up in traffic on the tail end of our vacation! I'll check the Mariner's schedule and see if they are in town.

 

Does anyone know how long it will take to disembark? Would we be able to get to the Quick Shuttle in time?

[ute_fan]

We didn't run into long border delays going either way last summer. We went through the Peace Arch border crossing in about 15 minutes going from Seattle to Vancouver. Coming back, it was closed due to some sort of scout activity, so we were detoured through the truck crossing. The wait there was also only about 10-15 minutes headed back into the US. There was a long line headed the other direction, but it didn't bother us.

 

I know there can be long waits, but we sure didn't experience any.

[BCHappyGal]

Simply put you will definitely be off the ship in time to catch the 10:50am shuttle bus to Seattle - however that is not the last Shuttle bus to Sea Tac airport - Quick Shuttle run all day long and the last bus actually leaves at about 5pm each day for Sea Tac. Remember they need you off and out of the way so they can start boarding the new passengers - which they start at about 11:30am

 

Ann

[garycarla]

You mentioned that your flight is not until the next morning. If you take the bus, what will you do until the next morning?

 

Sounds like a car would make MUCH more sense in this case.

[cruisebie]

It's true that a car would be much more convenient in a lot of ways. We could go at our own pace this way and stop where ever we wanted.

 

Though, I had thought if we used Quick Shuttle we might be able to get a downtown hotel near restaurants and pike's market (maybe within walking distance) and take a cab to Sea-tac the next morning. Or stay near Sea-tac at a hotel with an airport shuttle.

 

Any thoughts about which is the best location?

[mhb1757]

If you are on a tight budget, then Quic Shuttle back to Sea-Tac and then book a hotel near the airport with a complimentary shuttle.

 

 

Airport hotels will probably be 1/2 the price of comparable rooms downtown (or less) and cab fare from DT hotels to airport will run $30++.

 

You can Priceline hotels near SeaTac in either the airport zone (go for 3* at around $35/night +taxes and fees) or the Renton Kent zone (go 2.5* for about $32 - 35/night, newer hotels, than airport zone and nicer but still have complimentary airport shuttles and offer complimentary shuttle service to area shopping and dining, also have good access to public transportation if you want to bus it DT to sightsee, easy and cheap)

 

If the budget is not an issue, then you could stay in a nice place DT and enjoy the sites there and cab it back to the airport the next AM.

[GloriaF]

If staying DT Seattle hotel, are there shuttle services for a charge to SeaTac that would be less than a taxi? Does anyone know names of shuttle services?

 

Also, what priceline zone for nice hotel DT Seattle? Is there more than one DT zone?

[Budget Queen]

A cab is the most convenient, but there are shuttles to the airport. With an early morning Seatac flight, I would stay by the airport.

[GloriaF]

Our flight isn't until noon the following day, so was just trying to cover all the options. I figured a shuttle would be cheaper than a taxi.

[buzzandjulie]

I am in same situation. We are going to fly in and out of seattle. I plan on taking shuttle back to seattle stay at a hotel near Seatrac, got it for about $50/night from hotwire. I am hoping we will either beable to pick up a tour or take cab to downtown in late afternoon to see sights but wanted to be near airport for flight home in early am. Are there any shuttles from airport area to downtown. Other option will be to try and rent a car when we get back to seattle on Sunday afternoon for 1 day

[Budget Queen]

I am in same situation. We are going to fly in and out of seattle. I plan on taking shuttle back to seattle stay at a hotel near Seatrac, got it for about $50/night from hotwire. I am hoping we will either beable to pick up a tour or take cab to downtown in late afternoon to see sights but wanted to be near airport for flight home in early am. Are there any shuttles from airport area to downtown. Other option will be to try and rent a car when we get back to seattle on Sunday afternoon for 1 day

 

 

You can easily take the city bus to downtown Seattle. If you shuttle back to the airport baggage claim - pick up the express bus and get off at West Lake or Pioneer Station in the tunnel.

[GloriaF]

All this planning could make you crazy :D But it is fun at the same time.

 

We've finally gotten our plans firmed up. When we depart the ship on May 28 we will have a rental car reserved for pickup at Canada Place and head to Victoria for an overnight and visit to the gardens.

 

It would help if we knew in advance where at Canada Place the rental car agencies are located. We've had a very reasonable quote from Budget. Is there a website that shows the layout of Canada Place or can someone tell me where the Budget desk is?

[garycarla]

Better yet, can anyone CONFIRM which agencies are in Canada place vs. the ones that are a few blocks away. They all would work, but sure would be nice for those that are right there.

 

By the way Canada place is HUGE.

[Budget Queen]

In the past VERY FEW cars have physically been at Canada Place. There may be temp- booths set up for the rental agencies but you then may have to shuttle to the downtown offices to pick up the car. When I have rented from Budget I picked up on W. Georgia- walkable without luggage and mobility limitations and usually way quicker than waiting for a shuttle, especially if several people ahead of you. I strongly suggest you also reserve a spot on the ferry for an additional fee. I have been at the ferry for the 10am departure- but a first timer would have a very difficult time doing this. Most sailings run full with the cars.

[John L.]

Last fall I was planning on a Hawaii to Vancouver cruise for April/05. The one way flights from Van to Philly were in the $l,000 range down to $500 for Air Canada with stops in Ottawa. The flights out of Seattle were around $200. Rather than cope with the high costs or transfers to Seattle, I cancelled out. I just booked Alaska in July out of Seattle. We are staying overnight before and after at the Silver Cloud in the City. Expensive at around $150 a nite. Best air was Alaska out of Newark non stop. Trans from airport to town is $35 for van (there are 4 of us) and hotel said to reserve for return to airport in Town Car for $35. The hotel has free shuttle around Settle and will come for us if we call. That should save lots of taxiis. Don't know if hotel will take us to the pier or pick us up. I noticed that Alamo has car return at Hilton in Seattle but car is pricey without any discount coupons. Don't know if it would be necessary with hotel shuttle. We are looking forward to this mini vacation before and after in downtown Seattle. Airport hotels are much cheaper but it looks like a 15 mile drive to Downtown. That gets expensive to go back and forth. Being downtown will allow us to see what Seattle is like at night and free to rest during the day at our hotel.

 

Good luck on your planning.

 

John L.

[GloriaF]

Thanks BQ for the heads up on picking up rental car at Canada Place. Probably easiest to pick up at W. Georgia like you said, even if we need a taxi with luggage. I guess I could wait with luggage and DH could hoof it to car and swing back for me and bags. But the taxi sounds easiest and less confusing, we want to try to keep it enjoyable and the stress level down.

[ritajmae]

Runs between Vancouver and Seattle. We are taking it in May from Seattle to Vancouver for our cruise. However, I just read that there are luggage size limitations and it has me very concerned--nothing larger than 28 x 22 x 14!

 

If this works for you, it is only around $20/person one way.

[ute_fan]

Gloria --

 

Just a little word of warning about the taxis at Canada Place. When we were there last summer, we had planned to take a taxi back to the downtown car rental site (I forget if it was Hertz or Avis -- we used one going and the other coming). There were 3 ships disembarking the same day we were there -- we were on the NCL Sun, a Celebrity, and a HAL. Canada Place was absolutely mobbed with people. There was a HUGE line waiting for taxis.

 

We ended up finding a booth for the car rental agency and found out they would sent a shuttle after us. It still took about 30 minutes to wait for the shuttle, but the CS rep at the booth looked at the line of people waiting for taxis and remarked that it was probably about a 1 1/2 hour wait.

 

I know you're staying overnight in Victoria, but just be prepared to have a wait for your rental car.

[Kaylas Mom]

I don't know if you'd consider the train for hassle reasons, but I booked it going the other way just yesterday and was very pleasantly surprised how cheap it is. We're going one way from Seattle (where we'll be for a couple days ahead of the cruise) to to Vancouver to catch the Island Princess in August and the full fair for 2 adults and a child was only $60, or $20 each.

 

I hope you enjoy the Island. We are so excited about it.

[GloriaF]

Thanks! I guess we'd better make those ferry reservations for afternoon.