Seattle Hotels and Express Bus from Vancouver to SEA/TAC Airport?

[TexasBlue7]

Looking forward to our cruise (Celebrity Solstice – 7-nightPacific Coastal, starts in Seattle ends in Vancouver) in September. We cruised the Solstice to Alaska in June2016 out of Seattle and loved the itinerary and the ship. We stayed at the Hampton Inn near downtownarea. Any other hotel suggestions near downtown Seattleand port? Also, has anyone used ExpressBus from Vancouver to SEA/TAC airport? Trying to decide whether to fly out of Vancouver after the cruise ortake the express bus to Seattle and fly back on Southwest. Just concerned about the time constraints in regardsto departure from the ship, catching the express bus to Seattle, thenprocessing out of the Seattle Airport by late afternoon. Last summer (2016) we flew round trip to andfrom Vancouver on another Celebrity cruise to Alaska and found the Vancouver airportexperience to be efficient, but costlier than the round trip to Seattle on Southwestin 2016.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I love the Inn at the Market in Seattle.

It will always be more expensive to fly out of Vancouver. I've not experienced the bus--I solved that problem by hopping on a Hal 1-night cruise from Vancouver to Seattle and then flew back from Seattle. That just happened to work with the Alaska cruise I was on.

[LPCKG]

We stayed at the Edgewater, Seattle in a Cityside room. Get location, hotel and easy transfer to port. We’ve rebooked to stay later when sail again on Solstice.

 

We also stayed at the Mayflower once, we didn’t rated but I know this suits lots of others. They did offer a port transfer for 1$10pp I seem to recall.

 

We haven’t disembarked in Vancouver so cant comment on transfer options.

[fleckle]

......Also, has anyone used ExpressBus from Vancouver to SEA/TAC airport?

We have used the Quick Shuttle (Quick Coach) and it was very convenient.

It picks you up right at the pier and drops you off at the airport. You only need to get off briefly for the customs stop at the border.

We have also done the trip with a rental car, for the freedom to do sightseeing along the way, choosing your own route, stopping when and where you wish.

But the bus was preferable when we just wanted transportation from point A to point B without needing to concentrate on driving, and eliminating the hassles of picking up and dropping off a rental car.

Then there is also the train, which is more scenic than the bus ride, but you need additional transportation to get to and from the train station, and the train schedule may not fit with your schedule.

There are also flights between YVR and SEA airports, which are the quickest (about 45 minutes) and quite scenic, like taking a sightseeing excursion in a small plane, but that is usually the most expensive choice.

[martincath]

^Pretty thorough post right above already. All I'll add is that the train simply cannot work for a same-day flight out of SEA - if on-time arriving in Seattle King Street station you still have to get to Seatac, so realistically that's going to be after 11pm. Even domestic flights late at night that would be seriously pushing the envelope to get your bags checked in time and reach the gate unless your flights is actually in the wee small hours of the next day.

 

Best advice is obviously to stay on in Vancouver, then you can take the early train/bus/rental car with plenty of time to make it to Seatac. If you can't spare the time off, then personally I'd look at one-way car rentals with a dropoff at Seatac. All the major companies have downtown offices, some even in the pier itself, so you can be in your rental minutes after disembarking - and with a drop at the airport, you're exactly where you need to be! Book far in advance and there may well be fees - but keep checking, as within a month you can usually find a car with all taxes & fees for under $100, making it cheaper than QuickShuttle as well as even more convenient.

[Cruise Raider]

I second the post recommending Quick Coach Express Bus. We've used it several times and even used it to be dropped at the Bellingham airport a few times. We've experienced some delays, however ... with the bus once and a couple of times, at the border. Just make sure you book your flight out of SeaTac to allow an extra couple of hours to allow for any delays. SeaTac is also one of those airports where you might hit some long lines at security ... so plan for that as well.

The Quick Shuttle bus will wait for you, though, if the ship is late in disembarking passengers. They are very good about that and try to keep their phone number on hand just in case.

BTW, we stayed at the Sheraton in downtown Seattle and loved everything about it. The location was perfect and the rooms were so clean! Very impressive, indeed!! I am sure there are many great hotels in Seattle, though. I can only speak to the one we stayed at, though.