Seattle to Vancover Transfer

[Particle_Penguin]

I'm flying into Seattle for my Alaska cruise this summer and I've booked the Princess transfer up to Vancouver.  Does anyone know if transfers have the same guarantee as shore excursions regarding delays?  On the off chance there is an accident, issue at border crossing, etc. and the transfer doesn't make it to port in time, does the ship wait?  I'm not overly worried about it, but I always like to have a backup plan if needed.

[neverbeenhere]

I’m not sure they promise to hold the ship with any transfer, I think they will make an effort to get you to the ship. But I’ve been wrong before.   

 

On your specific situation, I would read the contract and I would get my information from the horse’s mouth. As whatever is written here is only guaranteed on the 30th of February. 

[ohnonotmeagain]

1 hour ago, Particle_Penguin said:

I'm flying into Seattle for my Alaska cruise this summer and I've booked the Princess transfer up to Vancouver.  Does anyone know if transfers have the same guarantee as shore excursions regarding delays?  On the off chance there is an accident, issue at border crossing, etc. and the transfer doesn't make it to port in time, does the ship wait?  I'm not overly worried about it, but I always like to have a backup plan if needed.

Do you mind me asking the cost of the transfer as we are planning an Alaska trip and deciding on what airport to travel too. 

[Particle_Penguin]

2 hours ago, ohnonotmeagain said:

Do you mind me asking the cost of the transfer as we are planning an Alaska trip and deciding on what airport to travel too. 

Sure thing.  It is $74 for the Seattle to Vancouver transfer.  It would have been $29 from the Vancouver airport.  I'm using miles on Southwest, and they only fly into SeaTac so it was an easy decision for me.  Hope that helps!

[Sea Hag]

How long does it take to get from Seattle to Vancouver? Do you all do this day of cruise or what?

[Particle_Penguin]

34 minutes ago, Sea Hag said:

How long does it take to get from Seattle to Vancouver? Do you all do this day of cruise or what?

Yeah, it leaves the morning of the cruise.  From what I can tell, its a first come first served kind of thing.  You check in with a rep at the airport (they have a designated meeting point) and they fill up buses as people arrive.  The check-in times are between 8-10am, with the last bus leaving at 10:30.  They say it takes about 4 hours including the border crossing.   
 

  

[Sea Hag]

19 hours ago, Particle_Penguin said:

Yeah, it leaves the morning of the cruise.  From what I can tell, its a first come first served kind of thing.  You check in with a rep at the airport (they have a designated meeting point) and they fill up buses as people arrive.  The check-in times are between 8-10am, with the last bus leaving at 10:30.  They say it takes about 4 hours including the border crossing.   
 

  

Thanks! Good info.

[LeeW]

The problem with getting you to the next port is that if you are on a one-way Vancouver-Whittier cruise they cannot legally allow you to board in Ketchikan because it is a PVSA violation.  Typically if the transfer is delayed they hold the ship (and we have seen this happen - bridge collapse caused a ton of people to be late to the ship).

 

We normally fly into Seattle, rent a car and drop it off in Vancouver, followed by a hotel stay the night before the cruise.  Lots of people come in the day of the cruise and don't have issues.

[casofilia]

Take care when you travel by bus from Seattle to Vancouver.  All it needs for for a passenger to be picked up by customs and you could be waiting an hour.

Been there done that when a passenger on our bus was carrying weed!!  It could be even worse if you are in a line of buses.

 

Personally i would travel a day earlier and take the train, lovely trip.

[Particle_Penguin]

8 hours ago, LeeW said:

The problem with getting you to the next port is that if you are on a one-way Vancouver-Whittier cruise they cannot legally allow you to board in Ketchikan because it is a PVSA violation.  Typically if the transfer is delayed they hold the ship (and we have seen this happen - bridge collapse caused a ton of people to be late to the ship).

 

We normally fly into Seattle, rent a car and drop it off in Vancouver, followed by a hotel stay the night before the cruise.  Lots of people come in the day of the cruise and don't have issues.

Hadn't thought about that.  I'd rather they wait for me than miss 2 days anyway!   

[Particle_Penguin]

7 hours ago, casofilia said:

Take care when you travel by bus from Seattle to Vancouver.  All it needs for for a passenger to be picked up by customs and you could be waiting an hour.

Been there done that when a passenger on our bus was carrying weed!!  It could be even worse if you are in a line of buses.

 

Personally i would travel a day earlier and take the train, lovely trip.

Yeah, that was the kind of stuff I was thinking about.  I would have left earlier, but I'm squeezing this into one week off of work so I'm catching a flight after work on Friday that doesn't get in until midnight.  

[martincath]

The cruiseline bus transfers are the best bus options - while they can't guarantee that the ship will wait, the fact you are a bus full of cruisers means that paying a bit more to stay docked a while longer is almost certainly cheaper than the cost of a flight to Ketchikan/Juneau etc. plus a hotel plus PVSA fine for each passenger! So it's only when the timing is such that passing the Narrows at slack tide means the ship MUST have a final deadline to pull out or won't be allowed to travel through them by the BC coast pilot that the ship would leave before your bus arrived... at which point NCL would either eat all the costs above, or tell you that the cruise is cancelled for you and refund you (since it is indeed their responsibility to get you to the ship if you booked their transfer, barring war breaking out between Canada and the US or similar 'neener-neener, act of God, you get nothing from us!' exemption).

 

Also, zero stops on cruise transfers except right before the border for a 'comfort break' in Bellingham (as there are no public loos while waiting to be processed by CBSA) so they are the fastest bus route. Plus, you *may* end up on a Sealed Bus that technically does not enter Canada at all (moving you from the US to the US-controlled area of Canada Place without any stops in Canada and avoiding the whole port preclearance shenanigans too!) - but there are no guarantees, it's a very hit or miss process even when it is feasible to do it that way as it involves both CBP and CBSA signing off on it as well as the cruise line.

[cruiseintoheaven]

13 hours ago, casofilia said:

Take care when you travel by bus from Seattle to Vancouver.  All it needs for for a passenger to be picked up by customs and you could be waiting an hour.

Been there done that when a passenger on our bus was carrying weed!!  It could be even worse if you are in a line of buses.

 

Personally i would travel a day earlier and take the train, lovely trip.

That would be my thought as well.  One of our favorite cruises involved 3 nights in Seattle, then the train ride to Vancouver (can’t recall the cost but don’t think it was much more than the transfer and certainly the scenery was better!). We then hopped on the 1 night cruise back down to Seattle (blatant and unapologetic strategy to get cruise credits), and then continued on for the 7 day RT Alaskan Cruise.  Great time.  

[JimmyVWine]

14 hours ago, LeeW said:

We normally fly into Seattle, rent a car and drop it off in Vancouver, followed by a hotel stay the night before the cruise.

Exactly our approach.  We travel (mostly) as a family of 3.  The cost of 3 Princess Transfers is typically more than the cost of a rental car.  Plus, we always arrive in or around departure ports at least one day in advance so we are going to be staying overnight before the cruise irrespective how we get to the port city.  So the cost of the hotel is a constant and doesn't add to our overall total.

[halfapair]

On 6/2/2019 at 11:38 AM, ohnonotmeagain said:

Do you mind me asking the cost of the transfer as we are planning an Alaska trip and deciding on what airport to travel too. 

If at all possible, I think it would be better to fly into Vancouver, BC. The trip from Seattle to Vancouver is not pleasant - even if someone else is driving.

[cmerun]

On 6/5/2019 at 11:21 PM, LeeW said:

The problem with getting you to the next port is that if you are on a one-way Vancouver-Whittier cruise they cannot legally allow you to board in Ketchikan because it is a PVSA violation.  Typically if the transfer is delayed they hold the ship (and we have seen this happen - bridge collapse caused a ton of people to be late to the ship).

 

We normally fly into Seattle, rent a car and drop it off in Vancouver, followed by a hotel stay the night before the cruise.  Lots of people come in the day of the cruise and don't have issues.

Can you recommend a hotel in Vancouver?

[LeeW]

On 6/6/2019 at 6:33 PM, halfapair said:

If at all possible, I think it would be better to fly into Vancouver, BC. The trip from Seattle to Vancouver is not pleasant - even if someone else is driving.

 

Agree that expressway is a bit boring, but we usually save at least $200 driving from Seattle.  Really depends on how good a deal you can get on a car (we pay around $50/day with no dropoff charge heading north on corporate discount).

 

Best route:  Drive to Port Angeles and take Black Ball Ferry to Victoria.  Stay a few days.  Drive to Swartz Bay and take BC Ferry to Tsawwassen passing lots of little islands.  Drive to Vancouver and turn in Avis rental car in basement of Fairmont on Hornby.  Stay a night or two in a nearby hotel and walk to cruise port.

 

Second best:  Drive to Everett area and take ferry over to Whidbey Island.  Drive north over Deception Pass and get back on mainland at Burlington.  Longer but more scenic than driving on expressway.  Then drive to Vancouver.  We have had one hour-long delay at the border, but there are several crossings so you can choose the one with less delay.

Edited June 14, 2019 by LeeW
correction