Seattle or Vancouver airport, which is best option?

[World Gallery]

What are the pros and cons of flying into Seattle vs Vancouver for a July cruise?  If we fly into Seattle, it is non-stop from New Orleans but what are the options for getting to Vancouver?  If flying into Seattle is more of a hassle than having a connecting flight to Vancouver (probably through Denver but Google flights states this connectin is often delayed by 30 plus min) then we will deal with connection. Our top priority is the most pleasant option with the least amount of hassle, not price. We love to travel but very much dislike the process of getting to our destination.  Also, where would we clear US customs on the return flight? Thank you

[martincath]

Since you clarified that to you, 'best' means 'least hassle' in this context, the answer is unequivocal - YVR. Flying to SEA means further choices and risks with other transportation modes, more time even compared to a fairly crappy connecting flight, with only a cost saving potential to recommend it (unless you are a train fanatic, who really wants to ride the Cascades route).

 

While it's been a long time pre-Pandemic since we flew Van to New Orleans, you might consider looking at less-direct routings if nobody flies nonstop - while more time in the air than an almost-straight-line through Denver you might find some more convenient options, e.g. in July Canadian airlines add nonstops to Orlando due to summer 'Theme Park With Kids' traffic demands - flying 'the wrong way' on the first leg could then put you on a minimal-risk flight that's long enough to get a decent nap during; since SEA gets a lot more non-stop US routes than YVR, you may find that flying to YVR via SEA gives you the highest number of 1-stop flight options and also the greatest 'what if we miss the connection, how long will it take to find us seats on another plane?' potential due to the sheer volume of flights daily. Don't fly in same day you cruise though, whatever the heck you do!

 

Going home, almost all US-bound flights out of YVR will Preclear there, so connections are basically the same as domestic travel - there are a handful of very late flights that don't Preclear as CBP only work until 8:30pm, so a redeye at say 11pm you would have to deal with customs at first US airport. Marginal flight times, 9:30ish pm, you can check by looking at which Gate they use - anything in the E-gates is Precleared.

[julig22]

Following but for different reasons - I live in Oregon, so options are different.  My cruise starts in Seward, ends in Vancouver.  I can drive to Seattle, fly to Anchorage for the cruise, then Vancouver to Seattle post cruise.  Or fly both ways from Oregon, which usually means a layover in Seattle. Or drive to Vancouver, so no flight home.

At the moment, Seattle is looking to be the easiest option, mostly from a time perspective.

[martincath]

34 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Following but for different reasons - I live in Oregon, so options are different.  My cruise starts in Seward, ends in Vancouver.  I can drive to Seattle, fly to Anchorage for the cruise, then Vancouver to Seattle post cruise.  Or fly both ways from Oregon, which usually means a layover in Seattle. Or drive to Vancouver, so no flight home.

At the moment, Seattle is looking to be the easiest option, mostly from a time perspective.

No PDX-ANC non-stops that work for your cruise timing? Not as big a hub as SEA of course, but there's at least one daily Alaska Air flight, two Thu-Mon throughout the summer, and we enjoy Alaska out of PDX about as much as one can enjoy modern air travel!

 

The full Cascades route started running again about a month ago, so taking the morning train from Vancouver all the way to Eugene is possible again (although too early to disembark a cruise same day, so a night in Vancouver would be needed to use the train next day).

[julig22]

52 minutes ago, martincath said:

No PDX-ANC non-stops that work for your cruise timing? Not as big a hub as SEA of course, but there's at least one daily Alaska Air flight, two Thu-Mon throughout the summer, and we enjoy Alaska out of PDX about as much as one can enjoy modern air travel!

 

The full Cascades route started running again about a month ago, so taking the morning train from Vancouver all the way to Eugene is possible again (although too early to disembark a cruise same day, so a night in Vancouver would be needed to use the train next day).

I usually fly out of Eugene, PDX isn't my favorite airport but hadn't checked that option.  Might be doable if they have non-stops.

[Northern Aurora]

We have flown non-stop Anchorage to Portland in the past on Alaska Airlines.  Has Alaska discontinued that flight? 

Edited April 16, 2023 by Northern Aurora
Typo

[em-sk]

On 4/15/2023 at 4:14 PM, julig22 said:

I usually fly out of Eugene, PDX isn't my favorite airport but hadn't checked that option.  Might be doable if they have non-stops.

 

Air Canada and Alaska have non-stops between PDX and Vancouver.

[scottbee]

On 4/15/2023 at 9:30 AM, World Gallery said:

What are the pros and cons of flying into Seattle vs Vancouver for a July cruise?  If we fly into Seattle, it is non-stop from New Orleans but what are the options for getting to Vancouver?  If flying into Seattle is more of a hassle than having a connecting flight to Vancouver (probably through Denver but Google flights states this connectin is often delayed by 30 plus min) then we will deal with connection. Our top priority is the most pleasant option with the least amount of hassle, not price. We love to travel but very much dislike the process of getting to our destination.  Also, where would we clear US customs on the return flight? Thank you

 

The biggest con of flying into SEA and taking the bus is the time.  The coach ride is scheduled at a 5-6hr journey, depending on time of day, and the various stops along the way it makes.  SEA is South of Seattle, which means you have to drive through metro Seattle, which has bad bad traffic.   quickcoach.com have their summer schedules posted now.

 

As for flying from Vancouver to MSY and where you clear US formalities, the answer is "It depends".  If you're flying from YVR to a US destination *directly* (say YVR-DEN-MSY) you'd likely pre-clear in Vancouver prior to boarding.  However, late-night flights out of Vancouver this wouldn't apply.  If you're connecting via another Canadian city (say Vancouver-Toronto-New Orleans), you'd clear in Toronto, prior to the US bound flight.

 

 

 

[dawnvip]

There are tons of short flights between SEA, SFO, LAX and YVR. Depending on the day and your preferred schedule, you can get a direct flight to any of the large US western airports and an easy connecting flght to YVR.