ASASJ5 Posted April 12, 2013 #1 Share Posted April 12, 2013 We are cruising from Vancouver to Seward on 7/5 and are in the process of booking airfare from NYC. It is now about $520 cheaper for our family of 5 to fly into Seattle rather than Vancouver. Plus the cheapest flights to Vancouver are on crappy airlines like United. We had hoped to fly on 7/3 and then take in the sights of Seattle and Vancouver. I know we can catch the Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver at 6:50pm for $50 per person but I have a couple of issues with this: 1) I can't find any flights for a good price that get into Sea prior to 2:25pm - this would not leave us much time to sightsee around town 2) How can we sightsee with luggage? Then I thought we could rent a car - already checked the prices and it will be $434 for a one way rental of a mini-van for 2 days. This would give us more time in Seattle but would end up costing the same thing as flying into Vancouver directly, albeit on the undesirable airline. So will we use the car at all in Vancouver for the one day? It seems like the public transit is excellent and we won't need it. And is it worth all the hassle to try and spend time in both cities? We have never been to this part of the country so we wanted to do as much as possible. Any advice is greatly appreciated! Susan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare martincath Posted April 12, 2013 #2 Share Posted April 12, 2013 A car *in* Vancouver is more of a hassle than a help frankly. If you'd been here before and wanted to do some out-of-town-stuff then keeping the car an extra day might be helpful, but for a first-time visit I'd say NO to the car. If there's any way you can get the Tuesday off work too I'd fly in earlier and use the saved $ from flights to pay for an extra hotel night in Seattle, thus relieving the pressure of flight & train time shaving to coincide and giving you more time & flexibility to see both cities - but honestly if you can only get here mid-afternoon Wed with a Friday cruise departure I'd recommend picking just one of the cities to spend time in... obviously Vancouver over Seattle, but then I'm biased;-) Have you considered bus rather than train from SEA to VAN? Far more departure time options, and lower price. I do prefer the train, but the seats on the newer buses (e.g. Bolt) are honestly as comfy as the regular-class seats on the new trainsets, free wifi, and while you have to be really lucky to get the $1 seats it's very easy to pay less than $20 per person to get from Seattle to Vancouver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LetsGoDutch Posted April 12, 2013 #3 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Cathay Pacific flies directly from JFK to YVR. Also, Delta is supposed to have the same thing, not sure which airport they're using though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aohkay Posted April 12, 2013 #4 Share Posted April 12, 2013 ... obviously Vancouver over Seattle, but then I'm biased;-)quote] I agree! :p Seattle is very charming, but is quite similar to Vancouver in way of scenery (water, mountains). However, I wouldn't try to do both cities on your timeline - just do Vancouver! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpokaneDan Posted April 12, 2013 #5 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Cathay Pacific flies directly from JFK to YVR. Also, Delta is supposed to have the same thing, not sure which airport they're using though. And far from the crappy United, Cathay was ranked number one by a world travel magazine recently, but you may need to sell one your kidney to get on it.;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpokaneDan Posted April 12, 2013 #6 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Being familiar with both beautiful cities, I also vote Vancouver. Check "Quick Shuttle" website, it provides Sea-Tac to Vancouver downtown at $57pp. It also make one stop at downton Seattle. Have you checked flights to Bellingham, WA (Alaska airline)? It's 150 miles closer to Vancouver than SeaTac. Sometimes the airfare's the same. GL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASASJ5 Posted April 13, 2013 Author #7 Share Posted April 13, 2013 Thanks for all the suggestions - I am leaning towards skipping Seattle now! I actually found 5 one way tickets thru Celebrity Choice Air on Cathay Pacific non-stop from JFK to VAN for $314 each. Great deal until I looked at the flight time of 10 pm. Do I really want to arrive at 4 am EDT? I am mulling it over..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottbee Posted April 13, 2013 #8 Share Posted April 13, 2013 Cathay Pacific flies directly from JFK to YVR. Also, Delta is supposed to have the same thing, not sure which airport they're using though. last I checked, your only options for the NY region to Vancouver were (nonstop) UA/United: EWR-YVR AC/Air Canada: EWR-YVR CX/Cathay Pacific: JFK-YVR DL/Delta: JFK-YVR The CX flight is part of a JFK-YVR-HKG routing on which CX have 5th freedom rights on the YVR-JFK segment. Sometimes it can inexpensive, other times quite expensive. The DL flight doesn't start until June. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E2ME2 Posted April 14, 2013 #9 Share Posted April 14, 2013 We are cruising from Vancouver to Seward on 7/5 and are in the process of booking airfare from NYC. It is now about $520 cheaper for our family of 5 to fly into Seattle rather than Vancouver. Plus the cheapest flights to Vancouver are on crappy airlines like United. We had hoped to fly on 7/3 and then take in the sights of Seattle and Vancouver. I know we can catch the Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver at 6:50pm for $50 per person but I have a couple of issues with this: 1) I can't find any flights for a good price that get into Sea prior to 2:25pm - this would not leave us much time to sightsee around town 2) How can we sightsee with luggage? Then I thought we could rent a car - already checked the prices and it will be $434 for a one way rental of a mini-van for 2 days. This would give us more time in Seattle but would end up costing the same thing as flying into Vancouver directly, albeit on the undesirable airline. So will we use the car at all in Vancouver for the one day? It seems like the public transit is excellent and we won't need it. And is it worth all the hassle to try and spend time in both cities? We have never been to this part of the country so we wanted to do as much as possible. Any advice is greatly appreciated! Susan Been to Vancouver, via Seattle a few times, and our preferred route is via the Victoria Clipper - we usually take the Clipper to Victoria, then stay a night in Victoria, and take the BC Ferry to Vancouver the next day. But you can do it straight through in one day if you'd like. We did that once when our flight into Seattle was delayed, and we missed the last sailing of the Clipper. Victoria is about as Pretty as Vancouver, just a lot smaller. We never rented a car, on any of our visits there. The Clipper is relatively inexpensive, and the views are amazing. They have decent food service on the Clipper & the BC Ferry. We usually book our tickets through "Clipper Vacations", and they can put a package together with hotels, as well..... Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E2ME2 Posted April 14, 2013 #10 Share Posted April 14, 2013 Susan - We have also done the Amtrak, through the cascades, between Vancouver & Seattle. That was a little more expensive, but it was very comfortable, and the food was good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoHoHo Posted April 14, 2013 #11 Share Posted April 14, 2013 Be careful when looking at Amtrack. Of the several trips offered per day most of them are bus and only a couple are actually a train. Look carefully and there might be a little icon. The description is Thru-way or similar and does not sound like it is a bus. There would likely be more trains but there is a problem of paying for the additional border staff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E2ME2 Posted April 14, 2013 #12 Share Posted April 14, 2013 Be careful when looking at Amtrack. Of the several trips offered per day most of them are bus and only a couple are actually a train. Look carefully and there might be a little icon. The description is Thru-way or similar and does not sound like it is a bus. There would likely be more trains but there is a problem of paying for the additional border staff. Good Point, YOHOHO - The trip through the Cascades is exclusively by train. But Seattle to Vancouver by bus would be a lengthy bus ride.:eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbleackl Posted April 14, 2013 #13 Share Posted April 14, 2013 Good Point, YOHOHO -The trip through the Cascades is exclusively by train. But Seattle to Vancouver by bus would be a lengthy bus ride.:eek: We've done that bus trip a few times usually when Amtrak got into Seattle late in the day. It's pretty boring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E2ME2 Posted April 14, 2013 #14 Share Posted April 14, 2013 We've done that bus trip a few times usually when Amtrak got into Seattle late in the day. It's pretty boring. OK - We're following each other from thread-to-thread:D Looks like we have a lot of cruise experiences in common. I look forward to sailing with you on the DREAM in January:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASASJ5 Posted April 16, 2013 Author #15 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Thanks to all for your ideas! I bit the bullet and booked the Cathay Pacific for $314 pp for one way from JFK to YVR. So we will arrive at 1am, get some rest and begin adventuring! Just need to add one hotel night to our reservation - still can't decide between Delta Suites and Sunset Inn - decisions, decisions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urban trekker Posted April 16, 2013 #16 Share Posted April 16, 2013 If the pricing is similar take the Delta suites - it was built as a suite hotel - the Sunset Inn is a converted apartment building - the Delta is close to the pier - walkable - the Sunset is at the other end of the downtown and would be a $10 - $15 taxi fare to the pier. The only thing in the Sunset's favorite is it is better served with eating options including an all night Denny's around the corner BUT is will also be noisier because of the bars on Davie street and their 3 AM closing. Cheers Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.