Seattle to vancouver for cruise

We plan on taking a cruise out of Vancouver on HAL. We will be flying out of Houston on Southwest Air. Our problem is that Southwest doesn't go to Vancouver but does go to Seattle and we need to use Southwest as we will be using points. Can anyone offer any solution beside renting a car in Seattle.

Thanks in advance.

Fly: Alaska/Horizon, Delta and Air Canada Jazz operate the route. Small planes (DH8s, CRJs) so there is a chance, though probably minimal, or bags left behind on (rare) particularly-hot days. This would be the fastest: under and hour flight time but you have to check-in for the flight since WN does not interline bags.

 

Bus: Quick Shuttle. Some even timed/catering to cruise pax and bring you to the cruise terminal (or pick you up there). $90 RT. Takes pretty much 5 hrs.

 

Car rentals are expensive. High daily rates, with limited free miles, or less-high daily rates with no free miles, drop off charges to boot (unless you find a car that needs to be returned across the border). Only the big rentals (Hertz Budget, Avis, National/Alamo will do it, Thrifty, Dollar won't). Traffic through Seattle is no fun either.

 

If you wander down to Seattle city, regular bus (Greyhound/Bolt) or train (Amtrak 2x daily). Less convenient drop off places in Vancouver. Also 4-5 hours excluding time/cost getting into Seattle. Cheap Bolt and Amtrak tickets are tied to particular departures and have no value if you miss the trip.

 

I'd save the WN RRs for a domestic U.S. trip. CO dba UA flies at least daily to Vancouver. Others may be cheaper with a change.

Edited August 13, 2014 by cruising cockroach

We plan on taking a cruise out of Vancouver on HAL. We will be flying out of Houston on Southwest Air. Our problem is that Southwest doesn't go to Vancouver but does go to Seattle and we need to use Southwest as we will be using points. Can anyone offer any solution beside renting a car in Seattle.

Thanks in advance.

 

Are you tied to Southwest? For not a lot more money you can fly into Vancouver non-stop on United (or one stop on Alaska, American, Air Canada etc.); generally the extra cost is similar to what a bus transfer would cost; but it will save you hours in a bus transfer

 

Flying back to the United States it makes a little more sense due to the $40+ it costs in US taxes that aren't levied on domestic flights.

we need to use Southwest as we will be using points.

 

You don't.

 

Sounds like a false economy to me.

We plan on taking a cruise out of Vancouver on HAL. We will be flying out of Houston on Southwest Air. Our problem is that Southwest doesn't go to Vancouver but does go to Seattle and we need to use Southwest as we will be using points. Can anyone offer any solution beside renting a car in Seattle.

Thanks in advance.

Clearly, it costs a lot more to fly from JAX to Vancouver than Seattle.

Here are some options

 

http://www.ehow.com/how_8557297_transfer-seatac-vancouver-cruise-lines.html

 

http://quickcoach.com/

SeaTac Airport Adult $59.00 $99.00 $90.00* Senior/Military $55.00 $98.00 $85.00* Student $49.00 $85.00 $69.00* Child $20.00 $40.00

Clearly, it costs a lot more to fly from JAX to Vancouver than Seattle.

 

You might want to double check this.

You might want to double check this.

Of course, I did check, more than once, but that doesn't mean than somebody else didn't find a different price at some point.

 

I did just run the prices on Kayak for Oct 11 return on 19

JAX Seattle

$361

 

JAX Vanc

$380

 

 

That was not what I found a few months ago.

That was not what I found a few months ago.

DING DING DING

 

Prices are fluid and dynamic, and what you found on a previous search has little, if any, bearing on what today's price is for a specfic date, airline, city pair, flight and routing.

 

And what one person finds between two cities may or may not be available for the same cities on different dates/times.

I did just run the prices on Kayak for Oct 11 return on 19

JAX Seattle $361

JAX Vanc $380

 

You're correct that $380 is more than $361....but I hardly think $29 roundtrip fits your original comment of "a lot more".

 

What does cost "a lot more" is the all-in cost for travel from JAX-YVR via Seattle. You can't hitchhike from SEA-YVR and back for $29. And even with a quick transfer to an express bus, there is at least 8 hours additional ground travel time involved....I'd bet your time is worth more than $3.63/hour especially on vacation!

Edited August 15, 2014 by kenish

You're correct that $380 is more than $361....but I hardly think $29 roundtrip fits your original comment of "a lot more".

 

What does cost "a lot more" is the all-in cost for travel from JAX-YVR via Seattle. You can't hitchhike from SEA-YVR and back for $29. And even with a quick transfer to an express bus, there is at least 8 hours additional ground travel time involved....I'd bet your time is worth more than $3.63/hour especially on vacation!

When I researched for a potential Alaskan cruise, I did the same research and found a significant difference in the price. Vancouver was 50% more than Seattle. OK, I overstated but my last message admitted that it was a different time, different search. No reason to pile on.

One of the big issues sometimes overlooked is timing.

 

Seattle to Vancouver by train OR car OR bus takes between 4 and 5 hours, depending on the border delay. It's customary for us to say it's "3 hours" to Vancouver, and there have indeed been times when I've made the drive that quickly, but it's been quite awhile, and that ignores traffic between the border and the Vancouver city limit, especially if the reversible lanes in the Massey Tunnel are running against you (i.e. afternoons.)

 

For travelers coming from anywhere east of, say, Denver, the time required for the transfer, on top of the time zone change, basically rules out any same-day arrival at Seattle airport and sailing from Vancouver, i.e. you need to spend the night somewhere. Want to take the morning train from Seattle and get to Canada Place from the Vancouver train station? Fine, the train leaves at 7:40 AM, so you're going to spend the night in an expensive Seattle hotel. OR, you can drive and spend the same night in a Vancouver hotel.

 

Returning, it's much worse. Because of time zones again, the great majority of flights leaving SEA for most points east of the Rockies depart before 9 or 10 AM (east coast flights mostly depart between 6 and 8 AM.) Getting off a cruise in Vancouver and flying out of Seattle, unless you're going to California, means you're looking either at an overnight flight, or another hotel night in Seattle.

 

On the other hand, flying out of Vancouver, even if it's more expensive, can mean fewer hotel nights, and even possibly more work days, all of which can have a budget impact way greater than the savings in airfare that come with a SEA departure as opposed to YVR. It's all in the numbers, but the difference (along with car rental and fuel) can easily be erased by those timing factors.

You might want to double check this.

 

No checking needed. International taxes will make the cost higher. The only exception is a rare sale.

Edited August 15, 2014 by ducklite

Look into taking the Amtrak or Ferry from Seattle into Vancouver, both are not very expensive.

Look into taking the Amtrak or Ferry from Seattle into Vancouver, both are not very expensive.

What ferry would that be?

What ferry would that be?

 

I was wondering the same thing.

The only ferry I know of from the US to Canada on that side of North America goes from WA to VI, not to Vancouver.

 

If I needed to go between them, I'd probably take Amtrak.

 

That said, if my situation were the OP's, I'd fly into YVR to begin with.

No checking needed. International taxes will make the cost higher. The only exception is a rare sale.

 

When I checked via Matrix a few days ago, October flights (JAX>YVR rt)depending on the day of the week, the fares were virtually the same.

 

I know that you know that all fares quoted by carriers in the US must, by regulation, include all taxes and fees...so the customer can compare oranges to oranges. Carriers like Spirit hate this regulation.

Ok, maybe I am missing something (posts seem to get deleted on this site now and than) but what does flying from JAX to SEA or YVR have to do with the OP's question? The are trying to get from Houston up there NOT Jacksonville. You might as well just start adding in the cost for fly from PWM up there as well. :rolleyes:

Ok, maybe I am missing something (posts seem to get deleted on this site now and than) but what does flying from JAX to SEA or YVR have to do with the OP's question? The are trying to get from Houston up there NOT Jacksonville. You might as well just start adding in the cost for fly from PWM up there as well. :rolleyes:

 

 

It doesn't really matter in the big picture where they are flying from, simply put, they can't get to where they want to go. What they will end up spending getting to The port in Vancouver once they land at SEA, they might as well just save their miles for another trip and pay for the tickets.

In Post #5, Papa somehow introduced JAX into the thread, and it went from there.

 

And, of course, the OP never came back to post again so there was no "correction" by him.

 

Thank you for noticing and maybe it will get back to a QHO-YVR/SEA discussion. (And yes, QHO is a valid IATA code!)

It doesn't really matter in the big picture where they are flying from, simply put, they can't get to where they want to go. What they will end up spending getting to The port in Vancouver once they land at SEA, they might as well just save their miles for another trip and pay for the tickets.

 

we'll it does matter as they can get a direct flight to Vancouver from Houston. and Jacksonville has NOTHING to do with this thread.

we'll it does matter as they can get a direct flight to Vancouver from Houston. and Jacksonville has NOTHING to do with this thread.

 

 

The point is that they can't get a flight on the carrier they are trying to use--direct or four connections.

In Post #5, Papa somehow introduced JAX into the thread, and it went from there.

 

And, of course, the OP never came back to post again so there was no "correction" by him.

 

Thank you for noticing and maybe it will get back to a QHO-YVR/SEA discussion. (And yes, QHO is a valid IATA code!)

 

Except there is no airport there. Just looks like either a pipe or concrete yard. (at least according to the location provided my google.) :D and even if there was it would almost be right in the flight line for IAH. :eek:

The point is that they can't get a flight on the carrier they are trying to use--direct or four connections.

 

 

You are right...so why bring JAX into the conversation to begin with?

Except there is no airport there. Just looks like either a pipe or concrete yard. (at least according to the location provided my google.) :D and even if there was it would almost be right in the flight line for IAH. :eek:

QHO is the code that covers all airports in Houston, both Hobby and Bush (and Ellington as well if it had commercial service as it once did). There's also QDF for the Dallas/Ft Worth area, CHI for Chicago, QLA for Los Angeles, QMI for Miami/FLL/PBI, QSF for the Bay Area, NYC for New York area, WAS for Washington DC and still more, both in the USA and abroad. So rather than assume HOU or IAH, thus QHO.

 

Just a bit of whimsey for a Sunday afternoon....:)