transportation options from Seattle to Vancouver BC

A Princess representative just called me to cancel our one day booking from Seattle to Vancouver B.C. for 9/24/17. I booked it after I booked our 6 day wine country coastal out of Vancouver for 9/25/17. I thought instead of flying to Vancouver from Denver, we could fly to Seattle, sail overnight to Vancouver on the repositioning and stay on the Emerald.

She told me it was against federal maritime regulations, even if we disembark the Emerald for the morning and then embark to start the 6 day.

My question is : have any of you ever taken the Amtrak Cascade train from Seattle to Vancouver? Is it enjoyable, and worth the four hour trip, or is it just easier to fly into Vancouver to embark? Do any of you know if there is a day cruise/ferry that goes non-stop from Seattle to Vancouver?

Cathy

A Princess representative just called me to cancel our one day booking from Seattle to Vancouver B.C. for 9/24/17. I booked it after I booked our 6 day wine country coastal out of Vancouver for 9/25/17. I thought instead of flying to Vancouver from Denver, we could fly to Seattle, sail overnight to Vancouver on the repositioning and stay on the Emerald.

She told me it was against federal maritime regulations, even if we disembark the Emerald for the morning and then embark to start the 6 day.

My question is : have any of you ever taken the Amtrak Cascade train from Seattle to Vancouver? Is it enjoyable, and worth the four hour trip, or is it just easier to fly into Vancouver to embark? Do any of you know if there is a day cruise/ferry that goes non-stop from Seattle to Vancouver?

 

Cathy

You can also rent a car one way from Seattle to Vancouver; this would allow you - if you want - to take a more scenic route than the train or the buses, and you could adjust the timing to your own wishes.

There are no ferries between Seattle and Vancouver; you'd have to do a long "triangle" route - Seattle to Victoria to Vancouver - which would be expensive and quite time-consuming.

Weird timing - I literally just posted on your roll call that you wouldn't be able to combine those cruises just a couple of hours before you posted this!

As GL said - so frankly unless you can find flights into SEA that are $100+ less per person, it's silly not to just fly to YVR. Whether you take train or bus it's going to cost at least four hours of your time and $20-50pp to actually travel between the two cities.

A Princess representative just called me to cancel our one day booking from Seattle to Vancouver B.C. for 9/24/17....

At the very least, you were told more than a year in advance. I say that's pretty good. Now you can make your plans instead of scrambling.

Having said that, umm... well... the one day repo between the two cities on Princess was a real letdown for us when we did it a few years ago. The staff seemed disinterested, there were not the usual multiple choices for meals, and generally it just seemed like quite a depressing cruise. We got on board really late due to delays inside the terminal, and then we were pretty much gearing up to disembark the next day already. It was far from relaxing (for us, anyway - I know some people love the one day repo). I feel confident your 6 night cruise will be more representative of what a Princess cruise should be. ;)

Alternatively, have you ever spent time in Vancouver? It's a beautiful and vibrant city, perfect for a couple of days pre-cruise. :) I think you should check it out, and remember the exchange is in your favor - hotels that seem expensive may not be that bad when converted to USD.

.

At the very least, you were told more than a year in advance. I say that's pretty good. Now you can make your plans instead of scrambling.

 

Having said that, umm... well... the one day repo between the two cities on Princess was a real letdown for us when we did it a few years ago. The staff seemed disinterested, there were not the usual multiple choices for meals, and generally it just seemed like quite a depressing cruise. We got on board really late due to delays inside the terminal, and then we were pretty much gearing up to disembark the next day already. It was far from relaxing (for us, anyway - I know some people love the one day repo). I feel confident your 6 night cruise will be more representative of what a Princess cruise should be. ;)

 

Alternatively, have you ever spent time in Vancouver? It's a beautiful and vibrant city, perfect for a couple of days pre-cruise. :) I think you should check it out, and remember the exchange is in your favor - hotels that seem expensive may not be that bad when converted to USD.

.

Thank you for your responses! I am going to fly straight into Vancouver the day before the cruise, do a bit of sightseeing and spend the night at a hotel there... I was just surprised as I had no knowledge of that maritime restriction.

Thank you