Disembark Vancouver and flight out of Seattle same day

[darin2]

I am looking at disembarking on Carnival Spirit Sept 10th @ 8am and getting a transfer to Seattle Airport for an afternoon flight. It shows as a 3 hour bus transfer. They have a 2:25pm flight but I don't know if that's enough time to get from the boat to the airport. Does anyone have a recommendation or suggestion. My only other option is to fly out at 9:55pm that night or wait until the next day.

 

I appreciate any advice.

[gazingm42]

I don't think you make the 2:55PM. I would got for the 9:55pm. Getting

off the ship and out of vancouver is a long process. One reason I do the

nothrbound out of there.

[thinfool]

Traffic tieups can play havoc with your schedule too. One member of our group sat for 4 hours in traffic (on the shuttle bus)on the interstate due to a wreck.

 

Alternatives: Amtrak, fly out of Vancouver or Bellingham, WA (it is just south of the border thus a shorter shuttle ride), select a later flight as suggested.

[wrp96]

Go with the 9:55 flight. Remember that going from Vancouver to Seattle you will have to go through a border crossing. This can be quick but more likely there will be backups. Even if Spirit gets in at 8am you won't be disembarking the ship at that time.

[hubble]

I am looking at disembarking on Carnival Spirit Sept 10th @ 8am and getting a transfer to Seattle Airport for an afternoon flight. It shows as a 3 hour bus transfer. They have a 2:25pm flight but I don't know if that's enough time to get from the boat to the airport. Does anyone have a recommendation or suggestion. My only other option is to fly out at 9:55pm that night or wait until the next day.

 

I appreciate any advice.

 

Last year we did this on Princess with a 2pm flight out of Seattle. We used the cruise line transfers and it goes much faster over the border. While independent shuttles had to park and their passengers needed to go inside for customs our bus did not, a border patrol agent came on board and looked at everyones passports then we were on our way. My understanding was that the cruise line seals the luggage hold before it pulls out of the pier and that it is handled much like the US Direct. We were one of the first groups off the ship in the morning and left the pier around 9am. We arrived at SEA around 12:45pm. We did check in for our flight and print out boarding passes on-line in the internet cafe the day before, which made us feel better if we were short on time. I must say we hit a lot of Seattle construction traffic and I was getting worried about getting there in time, but we arrived right around the 3 to 3.5 hours that Princess advertised, and they even took a 15 minute break along the way. They run these buses just about every day during cruise season and they seem to really have their act together.

 

If you book your transfers through Carnival and they have the same program I believe you probably could make your flight if they say that your departure time is acceptable. Princess asks for your flight information and it if does not work, they will not sell you the transfer. I am doing this again in May and have a 3pm flight this year. It was a very easy (and cheap) way of booking the flight/transfer home versus flying home from Vancouver. Princess charges $45 per person, which seems very comparable to what independent companies charge. I would never use an independent shuttle company knowing how easy it was going directly through the cruise line.

 

If you are uncomfortable with this, another recommendation that we did a couple years ago was take the Amtrak train from Vancouver to Seattle which departed around 6pm. It gave us the whole day to explore Vancouver and we did the hop-on/off trolley to see the sights. You can either leave your luggage checked at the pier and pick it up later, or bring it to the train station in the morning. We arrived in Seattle around 10pm, then took a taxi to an airport hotel and flew home in the morning. This was very enjoyable and I would also highly recommend this option.

 

Good luck!

[Putterdude]

It will be very very tight. You will be lucky to be off the ship and in a shuttle by 8:00 probably more like 8:15 to 8:30 because you will need to get your bags and clear Canadian Customs in the cruise terminal. The drive time to Seattle is 3 hrs if all goes well but traffic and construction can throw a wrench into that and I-5 through Seattle has lots of both. Summer waits at the border can be 2 to 3 hrs but on a shuttle they use a dedicated lane so it will be a bit shorter. Personally I’d take a latter flight or do it the next day.

[cruisingalaska]

I'll be disembarking the Princess Sapphire and will be using the

Princess Vancouver to SEATAC motorcoach transfer which costs $45.00 USD.

 

I called Princess (1-800-Princess) and they said don't book any flights

out of SEATAC before 3:00pm. Just to be safe I booked a 6:00pm

flight home from SEATAC. Do you think it is still too close?

 

I plan on walking off the ship with my own bags : one 24" roll on and a

normal sized day pack (I usually use for my 12" notebook computer).

I'm telling Princess I have to catch a 4:30pm flight (but really it'll be a 6pm flight)

 

I don't know when the shuttle leaves, but I'm assuming by 9:30am.

 

What do you think? I guess worst case is my Trip Insurance (missed

connection) would kick in. But I'd rather just get home.

 

Last flight to my home is 6:30pm from SEATAC, but I want to book

this new 6:00pm flight.

 

What do you think?

[denmanja]

I posted on another thread about our situation - the flights I've had reserved since January on American have changed from 1:30 pm to 8:45 am. Now we're either taking an 11pm redeye or getting a hotel in Vancouver. Nothing against the city of Vancouver, I just prefer to get all the traveling over with after the end of a cruise.

 

So... now I need more information about Seattle. There is a 4pm Delta flight, that is actually cheaper than our original flight, even given the Quick Shuttle prices. Is it possible to make this happen??

 

Jennifer

[SeattleCruiselover]

If you all plan for a 5+ hour bus ride from YVR to SEA-Tac and then end up with anything less you will be pleasantly surprised and in great shape. Summer weekend lines at the border can be REDRUM (murder), as can traffic in both downtown YVR and all through the Seattle Metro area beginning something north of Lynnwood, all the way down to the airport.

 

There are ongoing construction projects both on the freeways, in the right of way areas for light rail, and at the airport itself. Additionally, SEA-Tac TSA has a bad reputation (though it IS improving, to be honest) for humungous delays in screening.

 

Flying out of YVR is quite a bit more expensive than SEA. Bellingham has air taxi service to a good many places, and might be an alternative for some.

[darin2]

I decided to fly out of Seattle the following day. I didn't want to chance a 2:30 flight, and also didn't feel like sitting in an airport waiting on a 10pm flight. I have Marrioit points for the hotel, so it's not really that much more of a cost. Thanks for the suggestions.

[Putterdude]

I decided to fly out of Seattle the following day. I didn't want to chance a 2:30 flight, and also didn't feel like sitting in an airport waiting on a 10pm flight. I have Marrioit points for the hotel, so it's not really that much more of a cost. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

A very good decision to be sure!

[Budget Queen]

Out of Seattle from Vancouver, I would NOT book anything before 4pm- bottom line.

[cruisernh]

We have a 10:30 pm flight booked a room for the day through priceline so no hanging out at the airport all day.

[hubble]

I'll be disembarking the Princess Sapphire and will be using the

Princess Vancouver to SEATAC motorcoach transfer which costs $45.00 USD.

 

I called Princess (1-800-Princess) and they said don't book any flights

out of SEATAC before 3:00pm. Just to be safe I booked a 6:00pm

flight home from SEATAC. Do you think it is still too close?

 

I plan on walking off the ship with my own bags : one 24" roll on and a

normal sized day pack (I usually use for my 12" notebook computer).

I'm telling Princess I have to catch a 4:30pm flight (but really it'll be a 6pm flight)

 

I don't know when the shuttle leaves, but I'm assuming by 9:30am.

 

What do you think? I guess worst case is my Trip Insurance (missed

connection) would kick in. But I'd rather just get home.

 

Last flight to my home is 6:30pm from SEATAC, but I want to book

this new 6:00pm flight.

 

What do you think?

 

My experience last year doing this on the Sapphire was that they had 4 buses of passengers going to SEA. All those passengers were the first off the ship in the morning, which was great. No long lines in customs. You did not have to claim or find your luggage when you got off the ship since it was directly put on the buses and locked up in the cargo holds for customs/immigration purposes. This went so smoothly, just walked through showed your passport and got straight on the assigned bus number which was around 8am. The buses were not split up by departure flight time. All pulled out about within minutes of each other. We were ready to pull out by 8:30am... but two passengers were MIA (probably up eating at the buffet, thinking they had a late flight so no rush). Our driver waited until 9am then left without them so that none of the other passengers that showed up on time would miss their flights. It was a quiet morning ride through Vancouver, no traffic but lots of stoplights. Long lines at the border, but buses have separate lanes than cars do crossing. This took about forty five minutes to an hour for us to get through the line. Once we got our turn, it only took minutes for them to come on board and walk down the aisle checking passports, then we were on our way. No problems until downtown Seattle road construction, which looked much worse than it actually took to make it through. The bus then pulled into the airport making stops at all the terminals. We arrived about 12:45pm at our terminal, checked our bags for our Southwest flight. Was surprised that there was no security line to wait through. Had some lunch and flew home. I was stressed about the time of our 2pm flight (which last year was the earliest flight time Princess recommended), but we made it just as promised. I had two other co-workers who were on other sailings last year with HAL and Princess and both did the ship transfers through SEA with no problems what-so-ever. This year I'm on a 3:30pm flight, and I won't worry or stress about it at all. I was so impressed with how Princess handled this whole procedure. By the way, the MIA passengers we waited a half hour for to get on the bus, had to find their own way down to SEA (where their luggage was waiting for them). Trust me, no one on our bus felt sorry for them either after we sat and waited for them worrying that some of us would miss our flights. So, when you get your departure time to get OFF the ship it is REAL. Don't lolly-gag around or you may get left behind!

[travelbuds]

Hi,

I asked RCI today about its shuttle from Vancouver to Seattle. Was told it cost $65pp for the 3-3.5 hour ride. Was told not to book a flight prior to 2PM and should do fine. Have a flight at 2:40PM so hoping things go smoothly. Was told first bus leaves one hour after we disembark and they go by flight times. Looks like RCI is charging more than some for this service. Curious about experiences that others have had using this service from RCI.

Thank you.

[Putterdude]

It is tighter than I would care for. It is not likely that the first bus will get away much before 8:30/9:00 am, the dirve to Seatac is closer to 3.5 hrs and you could be held up at the border for up to 2 hrs; likley closer to 30 mins but that takes you to 1:00 pm. One hic up at the border or a traffic accident on I-5 and you are hooped. If you can get a flight latter in the afternoon that would be my choice.

[Gardyloo]

I'd do the math. You can fly one way for around $140 - $170 per person, so upwards of $100 pp more than coach transfer, say $200 for 2.

 

Versus, a hotel for a night in Vancouver or Seattle, plus cabs to/from hotels to/from airport, an extra day of food and possibly a day off work back home... bottom line, it can be a close thing.