Flying in/out of Seattle instead

[lovetotraveltx]

We are planning to do a one-way cruise in June 2015. To avoid one leg of our trip being an international flight, is it easy to take a train or bus to or from Seattle and fly in or out of there instead?

 

Thank you!

[MarkSeattle]

Assume you're talking about coming from Vancouver. There are Amtrak busses and trains, but they drop you downtown. Really not worth it IMO, due to the time and having to lug your luggage around. The fares from Vancouver vs. Seattle to TX aren't that much different, and customs in SEA has always been very fast, esp. coming from Vancouver.

 

Edit: you'd also probably have to take an overnight flight from SEA and get home the next day if you took the train first. If you fly directly you'd be able to make a late afternoon flight and get home that evening.

Edited October 28, 2013 by MarkSeattle

[Vexorg]

I've taken the Amtrak train home from Vancouver after a coastal repo, and it's not a bad way to go, but the morning train leaves too early for departing cruise passengers, so you would have to take the evening train (that leaves around 5:45) and it's about a 4-hour ride, so you wouldn't make it into Seattle until about 10pm, at which point you'd probably need a hotel for an overnight stay to catch a flight in the morning. There are also bus services that go from Canada Place to Sea-Tac Airport or Downtown Seattle, but I'm not too familiar with those.

[Potstech]

There are also several buses that leave from the Vancouver Amtrak station. They take about 4 hours to get to Seattle. Walk around the block and get on the light rail to the airport. That takes about 25 minutes. Have done it several ttimes to visit my daughter in Vancouver. Check Amtrak on line for departure times from the Pan Pacific terminal. Lite rail is less than $4.00 pp to SeaTac. Hope this helps.

[TexasCPA]

We took a 14 day RT Vancouver Alaskan cruise this past August. The customs and check in process in Vancouver was a real BEATING -- so bad it would make me think twice about going again anytime soon. Multiple check-in and screening procedures and very slow moving lines both at the airport and at the cruise port. We did meet quite a few passengers who had come into Seattle and had Princess bus them up to the ship from there. Not sure if they booked everything themselves or if they did it through Princess Air.

 

I don't know if this would help bypass the customs processes, but if it does it would be worth it.

[NewPennCruiser]

We have disembarked twice in Vancouver. The first time we paid for a Princess transfer to SeaTac because the air back from there vs Vancouver was much cheaper. The transfer will not save you anytime at the border and it took us so long that folks who had "early" flights missed them. We were taking the Redeye back so we were not in a hurry at all and not affected. But the ride was long and we swore we would never do it again.

 

Our second time we just flew home from Vancouver. Much more pleasant and at least for this trip the fare was roughly the same as SeaTac. Check your options and if you choose to do SeaTac, leave time for the border crossing. Dave

[MarkSeattle]

...

I don't know if this would help bypass the customs processes, but if it does it would be worth it.

 

Trains and busses don't bypass customs. If Canada or USA are on high alert/whatever the trains would likely have the same delays.

[vantec]

On our last Coastal Cruise we wanted to miss Vancouver because of what a mess we have experienced there in the past - so we got off the ship in Victoria and then took a ferry to Seattle. This might not be for everybody, but it was relaxing and we wanted to see what the ferry ride was like. If you want to do this, you must get approval from Princess prior to the cruise - of course this is also assuming your cruise has Victoria as a port . Were we to do it again, we might spend a couple nights in Victoria instead of catching the ferry right away. You also have to consider that you might miss docking in Victoria because of weather, and then the "relaxing plan" would be ruined. We did have to go through customs once the ferry arrived in Seattle, but it was nothing compared to Vancouver.

[lovetotraveltx]

Thank you everyone!

[peety3]

In 2010 we did a northbound cruise. We flew into Seattle the night before, then took the Princess bus from the airport to the Vancouver cruise terminal. We didn't realize the bus picked up at the airport, so we stayed downtown and had to get back to the airport to catch the bus. Once we got there, we snaked through the line to get checked in, then had to wait for the next bus with room, so it was rather boring. Aboard the bus, it was fairly boring, and there was a long delay at the border (due to US Labor Day weekend surge). The bus was somewhat late, but since we were on the official bus we weren't worried.

 

Thinking we could do better, and having moved to Seattle just two months before our 2012 cruise, we drove our large SUV up to Vancouver and brought a friend along who drove our SUV home the next day (after visiting some friends). In the end, we really struggled with Vancouver traffic (the "highway" goes right through town with stoplights, etc.), particularly in figuring out how to get right up to the terminal, and honestly the bus got us so much closer the first time.

 

On our 2010 cruise, we also heard from one couple that they flew into Vancouver, and because they took the Princess airport-terminal transfer in Vancouver, they had a unique experience: as they walked the international corridor, a sign diverted them to a specific spot for the cruise transfer buses. They boarded the bus having never passed through Canadian customs, and the customs staff put a "seal" on the door. When they got to the terminal, another customs person inspected the seal, and they were declared "to have remained within the US throughout their transfer", and skipped "being in Canada whatsoever". I have no idea if/how to arrange that though.

[wrp96]

On our 2010 cruise, we also heard from one couple that they flew into Vancouver, and because they took the Princess airport-terminal transfer in Vancouver, they had a unique experience: as they walked the international corridor, a sign diverted them to a specific spot for the cruise transfer buses. They boarded the bus having never passed through Canadian customs, and the customs staff put a "seal" on the door. When they got to the terminal, another customs person inspected the seal, and they were declared "to have remained within the US throughout their transfer", and skipped "being in Canada whatsoever". I have no idea if/how to arrange that though.

 

This program has been discontinued.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Technically, it's possible, but I would not recommend it based on my own experience. My husband and I routinely do the 1 way Voyage of the Glaciers cruise from Vancouver and highly recommend it.

 

The first time, we flew into Seattle and took the Princess coach to Vancouver. We arrived early but were placed on the second to last coach. After waiting hours, we boarded and had a smooth drive to the border. Unfortunately, that's when everything went wrong. The coach broke down, we had to be rescued by the last coach, and we almost missed the cruise. The driver kept updating us and realistically told us we may not make it because the ship has to leave at the right time for the tide. We literally ran to check in, missed muster, but made it aboard right before sailing. We vowed never to do that again!

 

Since then, we fly into Vancouver the day before, and it's EASY! We have a relaxing day in Vancouver, stay at the luxurious Pan Pacific or Fairmont Waterfront (both right at the port), and board the cruise the next day without stress.

 

Happy cruising!

[emilygrace]

We have taken QuickShuttle (bus) numerous times from Canada Place, the cruise terminal in Vancouver, to the airport in Seattle. The bus picks up around 9 am and you must have a late afternoon (or later) flight out of SEA because the bus does stop at the border so you don't arrive at the airport until around 1-2 pm.

 

During cruise season there are direct non-stop buses from Canada Place to SEA and sometimes (not always) a border guard will get on the bus, ask everyone to hold up their passports, asks if you all came from a cruise ship and then lets the bus continue on its merry way.

 

It's worth looking into.

[scottbee]

We took a 14 day RT Vancouver Alaskan cruise this past August. The customs and check in process in Vancouver was a real BEATING -- so bad it would make me think twice about going again anytime soon. Multiple check-in and screening procedures and very slow moving lines both at the airport and at the cruise port. We did meet quite a few passengers who had come into Seattle and had Princess bus them up to the ship from there. Not sure if they booked everything themselves or if they did it through Princess Air.

 

I don't know if this would help bypass the customs processes, but if it does it would be worth it.

 

Note the Customs process at checkin (both departing at the airport and departing at the cruise terminal) are the UNITED STATES Immigration and Customs. If you'd like to complain to your congressional representative, I'm sure all residents of Vancouver would appreciate it, but Canadians have little pull into the whims of the United States.

[DaveOKC]

We used Quick shutttle last month from the Seattle pier 91 to the Vancouver airport (we could have stayed on and gone to Vancouver Canada Place pier.

 

Bus ride was pleasant, took about 4-4.5 hours, and it had wi-fi access to help pass the time. Border crossing was only about 15 minutes - not mad IMO.

 

Nice thing about Quick Shuttle is the various options you have for pickup and getting off - pier, airport, and several other stops. We got off at the Vancouver airport since we were staying there overnight and then took the Canada Line train ($2.75) into downtown and the Canada Place pier the next morning - very easy and convenient.

 

Having said all this, I would still vote for paying a bit more and flying into and out of Vancouver (remember, the shuttle cost about $50), plus it may save you an extra night in a hotel.

 

DaveOKC

[scottbee]

We are planning to do a one-way cruise in June 2015. To avoid one leg of our trip being an international flight, is it easy to take a train or bus to or from Seattle and fly in or out of there instead?

 

Thank you!

I picked random one-ways in mid-June. While YVR is always a little higher, it's not always by that much, and certainly not enough to make a shuttle worth it (except for the fortress hubs of DFW/IAH). Entering the US by air you do pay a premium as there about about $35 in US taxes to enter the US (vs free by land crossing)

 

_____SEA__YVR

AUS $171 $217

SAT $209 $217

DFW $178 $311

IAH $227 $360