Flight into Vancouver or Seattle?

[Hate 2 W8t]

We are cruising on Princess for a northbound cruisetour. I was reading someone's review from last year that indicated Princess air flew them into Seattle and then bussed them to Vancouver. This is not my idea of how to start my vacation. We are paying for the pre-cruise overnight in Vancouver at the Westin. I would not be happy to spend 5 1/2 hours sitting on a bus when I could have been in Vancouver enjoying my pre-cruise stay.

 

Does anyone know if this is standard operating procedure for Princess? Do they do this in hopes you will pay the price to deviate and pick different flights? I don't leave until 8/28, so I know they haven't booked my flights yet.

 

TIA,

[Texasbob]

The drive to Vancouver is fairly scenic, and your return trip will be less hectic than having to deal with the airport in Vancouver.

[maxs mom]

Flying into Seattle rather than Vancouver (for us) is going to save us a substantial amount of money. We are looking forward to the scenic drive as we are renting a car. Staying one night in Seattle and two nights in Vancouver pre-cruise. I'm looking forward to visiting those two cities.

[hcf]

We are cruising on Princess for a northbound cruisetour. I was reading someone's review from last year that indicated Princess air flew them into Seattle and then bussed them to Vancouver. This is not my idea of how to start my vacation. We are paying for the pre-cruise overnight in Vancouver at the Westin. I would not be happy to spend 5 1/2 hours sitting on a bus when I could have been in Vancouver enjoying my pre-cruise stay.

 

Does anyone know if this is standard operating procedure for Princess? Do they do this in hopes you will pay the price to deviate and pick different flights? I don't leave until 8/28, so I know they haven't booked my flights yet.

 

TIA,

 

If you hadn't committed to use the Princess fly-in package, you may want to entertain booking your own flight into Seattle (it will be much cheaper than flying into Vancouver). You can rent a car, or even take the train up to Vancouver and enjoy the scenery along the way. The drive by car only takes about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. This will give you a car to explore Vancouver as well.

[lrm1964]

We are cruising to Alaska in June out of Vancouver. We booked a night flight from JFK for 350 roundtrip. If we had wanted to go the next morning if would have been 700 roundtrip per person. So I am a fan of flying to Vancouver and booking my own airfare.

[musicmansmom]

i may be totally off base here , but what princess ship sails from vancouver? i thought they sailed out of seattle for the alaska cruise. please find out for sure if you are sailing from vancouver before you commit to a hotel room in vancouver the night before.

 

we are also saving alot of money by flying into seattle instead of vancouver. (and i totally agree with texasbob about the vancouver airport. i dont like all the lines for security, immigration and then another line to pay just to be in their airport.it is very busy and is very time consuming) then we are taking the quick shuttle from seatac to our hotel in vancouver. a 4 star for $50 on priceline. and then it brings us back to seattle after the cruise. $70 roundtrip. we are still saving over $200 on the air fare with this shuttle included and the hotel room. i would always purchase my own airfare instead of going with the cruise line. it is much cheaper and i can choose my flight and times i want to leave. have a wonderful time.

[ripleysmom]

Both the Sun and Coral Princess cruise from Vancouver.

[John L.]

Last year I was looking at a Spring 05 Hawaiian cruise ending up in Vancouver. The one way fare back to Philly from Vancouver was more than twice that of Seattle. I ended up scuttling the plan. I since have booked an Alaskan on Princess out of Seattle just to lower the air fare or hastle to/from Vancouver. We are looking forward to our extra day before and after in Seattle which gets many raves from visitors. The air savings is paying for this mini vacation. I'm sure Princess flies Vancouver passengers into Seattle because it is far cheaper than the alternative.

 

John L.

[Budget Queen]

Most certainly, plenty of cruiselines will fly you into Seattle and bus you to Vancouver. I would strongly suggest you book your own air since you have your preferences. It also is no bargain booking your hotel with the cruiseline, usually a hefty surcharge. So perhaps, you should look at "multi city" options on airline sites and at least compare hotel costs- remember booking direct will be ca. If you are sent into Seattle, allow about 4 hours for the transfer, not very scenic in my opinion , but I have driven it a lot. :)

[Budget Queen]

i may be totally off base here , but what princess ship sails from vancouver? i thought they sailed out of seattle for the alaska cruise. please find out for sure if you are sailing from vancouver before you commit to a hotel room in vancouver the night before.

QUOTE]

 

 

 

All the Princess one way trips go Vancouver/Whittier. Coral, Island, Sun, Dawn.

[musicmansmom]

ripleysmom and budget queen. thanks for correcting me. for some reason i totally missed the fact that princess leaves from vancouver. great info to know.

[Hate 2 W8t]

remember booking direct will be ca.

 

Thanks BQ, but what did you mean by this? <look up>

 

I looked into booking the air myself originally, but Princess beat my best deal by over $300. Of course, I was looking at Vancouver, not Seattle. I will try again. Maybe I can catch a sale day. ;)

[mslvp7]

Hi...

 

I've traveled in & out of the Vancouver airport (pre/post cruise flights) twice - pre & post 9/11 & found it fairly simple to navigate & not crowded at all.

 

Maybe I was just lucky. Traveled the 4th week in August both times.

[Budget Queen]

Thanks BQ, but what did you mean by this? <look up>

 

I looked into booking the air myself originally, but Princess beat my best deal by over $300. Of course, I was looking at Vancouver, not Seattle. I will try again. Maybe I can catch a sale day. ;)

 

 

 

Booking a hotel direct will be in Canadian funds, the cruise rates are US per person. Check out priceline- for their REGULAR purchase of airline tickets, they have a good listing of the cheapest flights available at the time. But with a $300 savings go with that. :)