Amtrak Cascades

[hello]

zephyr17, that information is great! (I have just copied some of your Jan. 2010/July 2010 VAC information from the AU forums.) We will be taking a cab from the pier ... so I think we might just day-check our bags at the pier --- wander/SkyTrain around for a while --- then take a cab to the station with our luggage around 230PM. (I know, I know --- but I am always verrrrrrrrrrry early!)

[zephyr17]

zephyr17, that information is great! (I have just copied some of your Jan. 2010/July 2010 VAC information from the AU forums.) We will be taking a cab from the pier ... so I think we might just day-check our bags at the pier --- wander/SkyTrain around for a while --- then take a cab to the station with our luggage around 230PM. (I know, I know --- but I am always verrrrrrrrrrry early!)

2:30 is overkill. 4:00 is pretty reasonable, unless the pier luggage check closes early. The Skytrain station (Main Street/Science World) is only about 100 yards from the station, and there is an elevator on the west end of the station (across Main Street) so you can handle bags without dragging them up and down stairs.

 

Another possiblity is to buy a TransLink DayPass for $9 each, take the SkyTrain from Waterfront (near Canada Place pier) to Amtrak, leave the bags with Via, then do what you want until about 4:00, since you have unlimited rides on the SkyTrain, Canada Line, Seabus and buses with the DayPass.

[hello]

...another great suggestion! We had taken a cab to Granville Market last year, from our hotel ... I see that we could just walk from the train station to the ferry dock, and take a ferry/boat back and forth to Granville ... another way to spend our day!

[Putterdude]

While Zephyr17 tends to be our expert on the Amtrak Cascades, I will just reiterate that on a Saturday, in mid-September, with the cruise season drawing to a close, we were at the Pacific Central Station a full hour before departure and DW and I could not be seated together in Business Class ... so be aware.

[zephyr17]

While Zephyr17 tends to be our expert on the Amtrak Cascades, I will just reiterate that on a Saturday, in mid-September, with the cruise season drawing to a close, we were at the Pacific Central Station a full hour before departure and DW and I could not be seated together in Business Class ... so be aware.

 

You are right, Putterdude. I meant my 5pm in response to pizzalady as the very latest time possible you'd want to arrive at Pacific Central Station, period, not to get a good choice of seats. I meant to emphasize that you do have be there well before train time for the Cascades in Vancouver. Personally I arrive no later than 4:45 pm even in mid-winter, like February, when cruise ships aren't a factor, and I am traveling alone, so I don't really care much about seating assignment.

 

I do stand by my 4pm recommendation to hello, though. 4pm should be early enough to be at or near the front of the line.

[hello]

Would it save time if we turned in our e-ticket for real tickets early in the day (when we day-check our bags) --- or do we need to do everything at one time?

 

There will be 3 of us ... so we will be back to the station early ... and take turns waiting for the seat assignment line to open. I'm hoping that all 3 of us do not need to stand in line before the assignments start!

[zephyr17]

You can pick up your tickets in the morning, and that is probably a good idea. If you are dropping off bags for day check, you would be doing that at the Via ticket counter and that is where you'd get your Amtrak tickets issued anyway (Via does Amtrak's ticketing in Vancouver). It is one thing less to do at check in time.

 

One other thing is that if you want to, you can pick up your Amtrak tickets issued any time at any staffed Amtrak station, or an Amtrak QuikTrak machine, anywhere. Of course, there are many places that don't have staffed stations close by.

 

One person can hold a place in line, but all three of you have to be present at the check-in desk, so when Amtrak starts the check-in and you get near the front of the line, the other 2 people should come up. The reason is the same line continues on to US Immigration.

[hello]

Thank you, zephyr17, sounds like a plan. We will be ready to jump up and join the "line-waiter" as soon someone "official" appears.

 

Unfortunately we do not have an Amtrak station near by. We will be flying into LAX, but only to take Super Shuttle directly to San Pedro. Last year we were able to take the FlyAway bus from LAX to Union Station ... what an easy way to get there!

 

Putterdude ... our Pacific Coast cruise will be at the beginning of the season --- as of "now" we are the only ship scheduled in port ... fingers crossed!

[zephyr17]

It isn't worth it to go out of your way to get Amtrak tickets beforehand if it isn't easy. Picking them up at the Via counter in the Vancouver station works just fine.

[Putterdude]

The $3/bag that you would spend checking your luggage is less than half of what you would pay to check them at Canada Place. The Port of Vancouver's cruise ship schedule and berthing assignments won't be available until about February 2012 but here is a link that you can check back with in the new year and then you will have a clear idea as to the number of ships that will be in port that day....there is often a weekend in May when there are 4 or 5 ships repositioning in Vancouver and it is chaotic .

 

http://www.portmetrovancouver.com/en/about/cruiseandtourism/cruiselineschedules.aspx

[hello]

We'll pick up our tickets when we day-check on bags --- one less line to worry about later in the day.

 

I was "temporarily" able to check which ships would be in port that day -- by checking to see which cruises sailed from Vancouver that day -- my fingers are still crossed!!

[Putterdude]

I am not sure how you did that....but the more power to you.:) The big weekend generally occurs about mid-may and I would guess next year it will be May 19/20.

[hello]

I know it isn't completely accurate ... I checked vacationtogo.com ... on their "find a bargain" I entered "May 2012" for both "from/to month, and "Vancouver" as the departure port --- so far they only have the Pearl listed for the 6th, and there may be some cruise lines that they do not list -- but until the Port of Vancouver issues their 2012 listing it gives an "idea" of what to anticipate .... (hopefully an accurate idea).

[Putterdude]

I would guess...and it's only that....that you will be just fine for May 6th, in most years the pressure point is about 10 days after that.:)

[hello]

Sounds great!

[rlkubi]

Would it be better to purchase the tickets for the Cascades online early to get business class? This would be Seattle to Vancouver.

[zephyr17]

Would it be better to purchase the tickets for the Cascades online early to get business class? This would be Seattle to Vancouver.

Purchasing tickets as soon as your plans are firmed up is best for a number of reasons, to get the best price, to ensure a business class seat if desired, even to get a seat at all, as these trains are very popular. They almost always sell out during the cruise season. If you just show up at the Seattle station without a paid reservation, you are most likely not going to be riding on the train.

 

Note that purchasing the tickets and picking them up are two different things, and, in case plans change, it is actually advantageous NOT to pick them up until shortly before the trip, or even the day of departure. You can't lose them if you don't have them, and they are 100% refundable, if you change your mind, until they are physically ticketed. Once you have the tickets issued, if you want a cash refund, there is a 10% fee for a cash refund, although you can apply 100% of the value for a voucher for future Amtrak travel.

[rlkubi]

Thank you so much!

[Wavesprite]

We took the Amtrak Cascades from Seattle to Vancouver about three weeks ago and LOVED it!! Would highly recommend it. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask! I have some pics of the station and of the train also, if you are interested.

 

Just returning the favors as I used these boards for all my info pre-trip! :)

 

I would LOVE to see your pictures!!! wavesprite at aol dot com.

 

THANKS!!!!

[rlkubi]

I would love to see the pics too!

[cruisewiththekids]

How much does the train fare vary? Just now starting to look, and I'm wondering what the range might be for coach and business class and what a good fare is considered to be.

[zephyr17]

Coach fares range from $38 to $64 one way from Seattle to Vancouver. You can get a 10% discount on the rail fare for AAA. Business class is an additional $19 over the coach fare and is not subject to the AAA discount. Since they run Business Class and coach out of a separate inventories, very occasionally they are more sold out in business class, so the underlying fare will be in a higher "bucket" than coach and then Business Class will be more expensive than just the extra $19.

 

Best plan, as always, is to purchase your reservation as soon as your plans firm up.

[Putterdude]

Our fare for the two of us both in May and Sept as seniors in business class ran just slightly over $90 each trip. We had booked the trips about 60 days out.

[pizzalady1]

This is a perfect example of buying your tickets as early as possible. We purchased our tickets in Sept 2011 for a Cascades trip Vancouver to Seattle and the cost with a 15% senior discount was $32.30 plus $19 for business class for a total of $51.30 per person.