Getting from Vancouver to Seattle for 2:30 flight?

[cutetrill]

We are taking a princess southbound cruise from Whittier to Vancouver May 2013. The cheapest flights for us to get back to Boston are out of Seattle. However the flight home would leave at 2:30pm. Is this enough time to take any sort of transportation from the Vancouver pier to the seattle airport? Amtrak, quickcoach? Something else?

[geoherb]

There is the Quick Shuttle that leaves Canada Place at 9 a.m. and gets to the airport at 1:20 p.m. I wouldn't risk it.

 

Is there a way to delay your flight until the next day and spend the night in Seattle?

[Seminolevet]

Same day as disembarkation? I think that's cutting it a bit close. I agree with the suggestion to take a later flight, or even overnight in Seattle depending on if you want to sightsee any on the back end of the trip.

 

Happy planning!

[cutetrill]

Sigh, I thought so. I'm gonna keep stalking the airline prices and see if they go down for the later flights out of Seattle. I have plenty of time. :)

[mapleleaves]

If the flight leaves at 2:30pm, you should be at the airport by 1pm. The drive from Vancouver to Seattle is 2 1/2 - 3 hrs but the border crossing can add 15 minutes - 90 minutes. The wait depends on time of day, the day of the week, and US or Canada holiday traffic.

I think a rental car would be the best option since it gives you more control over your departure time. If you were leaving the car lot by 8:30am at the latest I think you'd be fine. Your other options are Amtrak Cascades bus or train service, Quick Coach, Bolt Bus (a new vendor to the area). You'd have to check the schedules to see if any of them will get you there on time. (add another 20 minutes to get from downtown Seattle to SeaTac)

Another consideration is .... you're looking at 10 months out. The airline can change their schedule between now and next May. What if they move that flight to an earlier time, like noon? Where would that leave you?

[dread_pirate]

Relax. JetBlue (which probably has the best airfare from Seattle to Logan) doesn't even have its May 2013 schedule out yet!

 

You're trying to book a flight way too early.

[girlguide]

Have you checked flights from Bellingham? Still have to get across the border but closer than Seattle.

[luvlake]

We just went through this but with a twist.

 

First my plans were all set. Princess transfer from Vancouver to Seattle on a bus for $49.00 a piece (enjoy the scenery), then from Seattle to Oklahoma flight at 4:05 pm. This plan was made several months ahead of time. Well United did not like that plan and changed the plane time to 3:05 pm. Princess will not transfer to Seattle if you plane leaves before 4:00 pm.

 

Well needless to say I was upset. It turns out we had to take a flight with United from Vancouver to Seattle for $200.00 a piece to assure ourselves we would make our 3:05 pm. This did end up being our cheapest way as anyone knows changing fees are ridiculous and it did turn out we made it home fine just a little upset that the extra $300.00 could have been better spent.

 

Also remember that between customs and security you are talking about quite a bit of time when leaving out of Vancouver.

[scottbee]

We are taking a princess southbound cruise from Whittier to Vancouver May 2013. The cheapest flights for us to get back to Boston are out of Seattle. However the flight home would leave at 2:30pm. Is this enough time to take any sort of transportation from the Vancouver pier to the seattle airport? Amtrak, quickcoach? Something else?

 

I would budget 4 hours from pier to SEA airport. That's cutting it way too close. Of course there are lots of flights YVR-SEA you could add on

[MSMcDuffy]

We did this trek 3 days ago - took the Princess transfer and arrived to SEATAC around 2:15pm. Granted, it was a Sat and a holiday weekend (Canada Day on Sun), and traffic was bad, but we were told by Princess to not take a flight before 4pm and that seemed about right. The SEA transfer groups started disembarking at 9:25am.

 

The only thing that would probably get you there quicker is to walk off the ship at 7:30am and take some sort of private transfer (which would probably cost an arm & a leg and defeat the purpose of flying out of Seattle).

[msvacation]

Definitely try to get a later flight out of Seattle. Our upcoming trip will have a transfer from the pier in Vancouver to SeaTac by Quick Coach. They say to allow 4.5 hours and pick up at the pier is 9 a.m. If all goes well, (and we all know how that goes) that puts you at the airport at 1:30. Although we will be spending more time at the airport, it is worth knowing we will not be rushed or miss our flight home.

[mtclimbermom]

I live in the Seattle area and have been to Vancouver many times. I think you are really pushing it with your times. The border crossing is usually very quick, but I have had to wait a couple of hours a it before as well. If I had a flight to catch, I would not count on it being quick just in case. The Seattle airport is south of Seattle. Driving through Seattle traffic can add a lot of extra time, depending on the day and time. I would not risk it. You might want to consider a redeye flight. Alaska Airline has a redeye flight in that goes out in the evenings, nonstop to Boston. Done that flight a couple of times before. Enjoy your trip!

[scottbee]

I live in the Seattle area and have been to Vancouver many times. I think you are really pushing it with your times. The border crossing is usually very quick, but I have had to wait a couple of hours a it before as well. If I had a flight to catch, I would not count on it being quick just in case. The Seattle airport is south of Seattle. Driving through Seattle traffic can add a lot of extra time, depending on the day and time. I would not risk it. You might want to consider a redeye flight. Alaska Airline has a redeye flight in that goes out in the evenings, nonstop to Boston. Done that flight a couple of times before. Enjoy your trip!

 

Long winded solution, but probably the cheapest

 

1. Get an Alaska Airlines credit card
   
2. Use it a bit
   
3. Get the $99 companion certificate
   
4. Book a return ticket BOS-SEA-YVR on Alaska, paying $99 for the 2nd ticket
   

While the 1st ticket might be $600 return (or more), the 2nd one will only be $99

[april47]

I am booked for the Westin Bayshore in Vancouver after my cruise. I already have the QuickShuttle booked to take me back to Seattle for my 2:15 flight. The bus picks up at 4:15 AM at my hotel. There were 2 times listed and was afraid of the later one. Boy is that early! Are you sure there was only one time?

 

 

Edit: Sorry I just note that you were not staying at a hotel. I hope it works out for you.

[arizonaperson]

We are taking a princess southbound cruise from Whittier to Vancouver May 2013. The cheapest flights for us to get back to Boston are out of Seattle. However the flight home would leave at 2:30pm. Is this enough time to take any sort of transportation from the Vancouver pier to the seattle airport? Amtrak, quickcoach? Something else?

 

I can only tell you my latest experience. We used a Princess transfer(which was fine) from Canada Place to SEA. We left on a Saturday(lots of traffic near the USA border-mostly Canadians(license plates).

Check with your cruise line as they will have what time you can safely make it to catch your flight. We were told don't book a flight from SEA until 4pm or later.

We left Canada Place at 7:30am approximately and arrived about 11:20am to SEA. Our only hiccup was that out of 3 people traveling with me only 1 of our bags was on the same bus with us, so therefore we could not check in for our flight and be on our way through security. We had to wait until every bus came in and check to see if our other 4 bags were on it. The last bus arrived with the rest of our luggage(2:30pm).

We had plenty of time on our side, so good thing we had a later flight.

[calita]

We too took Quick Shuttle from Canada Place to SEA. Our bus left at 8:30 am and we did not get to the airport until 1:45. That would not give you enough time to get your luggage, check it in, go through security and board.

Luckily for us we had prepaid our luggage and got whisked through right away. By the skin of our teeth we made our 2:30 flight. The gate agent said we've been calling you. Which meant she was about to give away our seats.... I'd go with what everyone else has said. Take the later flight....

[dread_pirate]

Just an update on this topic for any newbies reading -

 

We took the Princess transfer from Vancouver to Seattle on Monday, 8/20. We expected less traffic than the weekends, but it was by no means traffic free. We had about a 20 minute delay at the border, since they had new customs officers. It took 4 of them to clear us through customs, even on a sealed coach!

 

Unfortunately, there was an elderly couple and a young family with 2 kids who had 2 PM flights (even though Princess clearly warned us not to book before 4 PM). We arrived at SeaTac at about 1:05, helped these families off the bus and made our way into the airport. While the lines weren't ridiculously long at the various airlines, there was a bit of delay at security.

 

I have no idea if these folks made their flight, but there's no way I would end a trip with that kind of stress!

[powelweb]

We just ended our Whittier to Vancouver sailing on Island Princess on 8/15, and chose to take the evening Amtrak train to Seattle at 5:45, arriving at 10:10 that evening.

 

We booked at the Westin Seattle for that Wednesday night (late arrival of course) and again for Thursday night, with our departure flights back to Boston set for Friday at noon.

 

This allowed us to tour Vancouver on Wednesday and Seattle on Thursday, and make it to the airport on Friday without the dreaded early morning pick-up.

 

I realize the costs outweighed the savings of flying from seattle, but since we got to extend our vacation and experience 2 cities we had never been to, we thought this was money well spent for us.

 

YMMV, but good luck with your planning and have a great cruise no matter what you decide.

[Putterdude]

The OP may just make a 2:30 flight but it is much to early for my likely. I believe that Princess does not recommend anything much before 4 or 4:30. The issue is that should there be a hold up at the border, an accident or construction on I-5 or just heavy traffic thru Seattle .... you are hooped.

[sailingsusie]

I would also check out Bellingham(BLI) and YVR flights to Seatac, or BLI connecting flights to Boston But, to be on the safe side I would spend the night in Vancouver or Seattle after your cruise . Peace of mind goes along way. :)

[scottbee]

We took the Princess transfer from Vancouver to Seattle on Monday, 8/20. We expected less traffic than the weekends, but it was by no means traffic free. We had about a 20 minute delay at the border, since they had new customs officers. It took 4 of them to clear us through customs, even on a sealed coach!

 

From the point of view of Customs/Immigration, this isn't a sealed coach. Anyone could have got on in Vancouver.

[cruising cockroach]

In general cheap flights from BLI where AS has the monopoly for most markets are only cheap for the 0530 departure. A lot of the times, fares are similar to or even more than flights to/from YVR.

[sailingsusie]

What about Alligent air from Bellingham ( www.alligentair.com)

they are flying to more and more cities. But...I still think I would spead the nite somewhere. Van or Seattle.

[cruising cockroach]

What about Alligent air from Bellingham ( www.alligentair.com)

they are flying to more and more cities. But...I still think I would spead the nite somewhere. Van or Seattle.

 

Maybe for going home but not to start a cruise. They don't have the backup of, say, AS so if a plane goes tech,you may be stuck for a while. Not a high risk but a risk nonetheless.

[yogibear]

Looking into taking a Repo cruise LA to Vancouver on the Celebrity Century in May 2014. Just planning ahead.

Does Celebrity run Shuttle Buses from the Pier in Vancouver to Sea-Tac?

We will be looking into using our timeshare points for the airfare part of the cruise and need to have the airport in the USA to use them.....Karen

 

PS: How does one go about taking Amtrak from Vancouver to Seattle??