Princess bus transfer from Seattle to Vancouver question

[LadyLeo84]

Our cruise/tour starts in Seattle and Princess is giving us a bus/transfer to Vancouver where we will board the ship. We are all to meet at SeaTac airport by 10:00 am and then board the bus at 11:00 am and then ride to Vancouver from there. Princess says that it will take 4 to 4-1/2 hours to get there due to the travel time and going through customs. My questions are - Has anyone out there taken this transfer before? Does it really take this long to get there? Does Princess actually wait until 11:00 am to leave SeaTac or do they fill buses as people show up and then leave when a bus is full? I'm having issues with getting on the ship just before sailaway. My husband says "well, the ship will not leave without us", but that is not my concern. I feel like I've missed half of the day's enjoyment of being on the ship by getting there so late. We always like to get in line early and be one of the first few to board so that we can explore the ship and have a nice leisurely lunch. We've also considered "quick shuttle", Amtrak and taking a flight, but are just not sure which way to go.

[kestrel]

Though it did not take 4 1/2 hours, it was indeed a very long ride. There was a short bathroom break on the way. There were several buses transporting passengers from Seattle to Vancouver. Though I couldn't quite remember, I don't believe all buses left at the same time. So each bus must have left after it's filled. We were among the last passengers to arrive. It was very close to sailaway.

[cacruiserjen]

We did Amtrak from Vancouver to Seattle as with our large group (8 adults and 3 kids) it was the best price and was fun for the kids. Something they hadn't done before and didn't take too long. Would recommend it to anyone!!!

[DrivesLikeMario]

Personally, I'd do it any other way possible. Nothing is worse than being trapped on a slow-moving bus and being completely out of control as to when you leave.

[LadyLeo84]

Thanks to all of you for your responses! I really appreciate the help a lot.

[Hulagirl]

Since I live in the area I can tell you it does take around 4 hours to get from SeaTac to the ship in Vancouver. The border crossing at Blaine is not quick and you can pretty much plan on this amount of time.

 

Unless you fly to Vancouver you will be spending a good portion of the day getting there from the airport in Seattle. I don't think Quick Shuttle will get you there any quicker nor will the train. I just takes time. The train ride up is pretty and in that respect better than the bus. It does leave pretty early in the morning, so that may work to your advantage and get into Vancouver around noon.

 

Good luck with your decision. But I will say Princess is not out of line with their quote on the time for the bus ride. I really think the border is the most time consuming at times. They have been talking on our news here in Seattle that this summer there could be long delays going both directions.

 

Have a good cruise and enjoy your time in our area.

[catmand]

I am in the same boat, sorry, bus. I looked at all the possibilities and weighing an earlier boarding with a little economy, the Princess transportation was the decision.

I, like you, have always boarded the sip early. I know what you mean by a "lost" day. In looking at the alternatives I found flying into Vancouver MUCH more money (and I am solo on this one). The Super Shuttle actually lists their time as longer, although you can leave earlier. I think 4 hours on the bus is bad, 5 1/2, no way.

I wish I could do otherwise but for peace of mind and really, ease, I'm going with the Princess Shuttle. Good luck whatever you do, have a great cruise.

Chuck

[cruiseryyc]

You could fly to Seattle the day prior your cruise, take the bus/train up to Vancouver and then spend the night there. That would give you the morning to see Vancouver and you'd be at the ship early like you want to.

[ambic]

Doing the same thing this August, and have a few questions...How did you get from the port to the train station?, The train station to the hotel in Seattle?, How does customs work? We also have a big group, 14 (6 kids, 8 adults), How much did it cost? Thanks for your help.

[ceilidh1]

You will need to double check this with Princess but, I think that if you are on their transfer from Seattle, you clear Canadian customs/immigration at the border and then don't need to do it again at the port for US immigration. However, if you do Quick Shuttle or Amtrak, you will do the Canadian immigration to enter Canada and then have to repeat the process at the port for US immigration to get on the ship. This will take up more of your time if it is the case. Again, double check on this as I could be wrong....

[wrp96]

You will need to double check this with Princess but, I think that if you are on their transfer from Seattle, you clear Canadian customs/immigration at the border and then don't need to do it again at the port for US immigration.

 

They will still have to go through US immigration at the pier.

[W5KAP]

Our cruise/tour starts in Seattle and Princess is giving us a bus/transfer to Vancouver where we will board the ship. We are all to meet at SeaTac airport by 10:00 am and then board the bus at 11:00 am and then ride to Vancouver from there. Princess says that it will take 4 to 4-1/2 hours to get there due to the travel time and going through customs. My questions are - Has anyone out there taken this transfer before? Does it really take this long to get there? Does Princess actually wait until 11:00 am to leave SeaTac or do they fill buses as people show up and then leave when a bus is full? I'm having issues with getting on the ship just before sailaway. My husband says "well, the ship will not leave without us", but that is not my concern. I feel like I've missed half of the day's enjoyment of being on the ship by getting there so late. We always like to get in line early and be one of the first few to board so that we can explore the ship and have a nice leisurely lunch. We've also considered "quick shuttle", Amtrak and taking a flight, but are just not sure which way to go.

 

Just make sure you get there, OK?? ;)

 

Kenn

[LadyLeo84]

Just make sure you get there, OK?? ;)

 

Kenn

 

Hi Kenn;

 

Oh yeah, we'll be there. You can count on that!!!

 

Trudy

[LadyLeo84]

Thanks to everyone for all of your responses! We've decided not to take the Princess transfer as the bus would get to Vancouver too late for my peace of mind. If we take the "quick shuttle" or Amtrak, we would get there earlier, but we would also have to board very early in the morning and it would still take 4 to 4-1/2 hours to get there. So . . . we have decided to take a flight to Vancouver which costs only a little more than taking the "quick shuttle".

 

Thanks!!

 

Trudy

[cruiseryyc]

Thanks to everyone for all of your responses! We've decided not to take the Princess transfer as the bus would get to Vancouver too late for my peace of mind. If we take the "quick shuttle" or Amtrak, we would get there earlier, but we would also have to board very early in the morning and it would still take 4 to 4-1/2 hours to get there. So . . . we have decided to take a flight to Vancouver which costs only a little more than taking the "quick shuttle".

 

Thanks!!

 

Trudy

 

 

Excellent decision!!

[cacruiserjen]

We took two taxis each time. It wasn't too high. Can't remember exactly. You can go online and search for average taxi costs in each area.

 

Jen

 

Doing the same thing this August, and have a few questions...How did you get from the port to the train station?, The train station to the hotel in Seattle?, How does customs work? We also have a big group, 14 (6 kids, 8 adults), How much did it cost? Thanks for your help.

[cacruiserjen]

Oops! Customs - we went thru customs at the train station same as for an airline/cruise ship. Scanned our luggage, looked at our docs and we went on our way. No big deal.

 

We took two taxis each time. It wasn't too high. Can't remember exactly. You can go online and search for average taxi costs in each area.

 

Jen

[didisea]

Customs in Vancouver - If arriving to Vancouver on the train, you have to go through Canadian customs at the train station. When you get to the pier in Vancouver, if you are going on a one day cruise, they do the US customs on the pier in Vancouver, before you even board the ship.

 

To get to the pier from the train station, there is a skylink station near the train station, and I believe it lets you off close to the pier.

 

Getting a taxi can be a pain at the train station, we waited over 30mins for one in line at the train station, so if you do the train, quickly be first off the train.

 

Another option is to rent a car one way. Pick it up at the Seattle airport and drive one way to Vancouver. The drop off for Avis is 757 Horby St (which is right next to the Hotel Vancouver). The Avis folks will shuttle you to the pier from there.

 

Do remember that crossing the border at Blaine can sometimes take in excess of 45 mins.

There are other border crossing locations at Lynden which can be shorter.

Also the traffic driving into Vancouver in the afternoon can be brutal as well.

[nancyjw]

Someone mentioned the bus would make a potty stop. Isn't there a bathroom on the bus? I thought all commercial buses had restrooms on them.