HAL's Vancouver to Seattle transfer question

[Boatdrill]

Apologies in advance for this question, which I'm  sure has been answered somewhere. I searched other threads but couldn't find it. 

Does anyone know the approximate departure time of HAL's bus transfer from the Vancouver cruise ship terminal to SEATAC ? 

And is the trip about 4 1/2 hours ?    Thanks.

 

[cruisingrob21]

In my past experience, they leave when they are full - there are several in the Vancouver cruise terminal that will be waiting near the luggage collection area.  Yes, the trip is commonly that long - sometimes a bit shorter if the border wait isn't long - sometimes a bit longer if it is or there is traffic.

 

Maybe look on the Princess boards as more people have probably discussed it there as well.

[TransOceanCruiser]

3 hours ago, Boatdrill said:

Apologies in advance for this question, which I'm  sure has been answered somewhere. I searched other threads but couldn't find it. 

Does anyone know the approximate departure time of HAL's bus transfer from the Vancouver cruise ship terminal to SEATAC ? 

And is the trip about 4 1/2 hours ?    Thanks.

 

We were on the Zuiderdam sailing that returned on May 25th.  The bus departed just before 9am and reached the border at 10am.  We were a sealed bus, meaning no one was allowed off the bus in Canada, so the driver just had to pass our passports through the window.  No one had to leave the bus with their luggage.  In just under 20 minutes that officer came back after running the passports through the system and we were off.  There was a stop at the first rest area in Washington and we were in traffic due to an accident just north of Seattle.  We arrived at SEATAC just before 1pm. Use this as a guide as there were only 710 passengers on our sailing and just 17 passengers on the transfer to SEATAC.  I hope this helps.

 

[cruisingrob21]

An important point to add here:  If you are taking the transfer on a week day, you may get a taste of the Seattle area's day time traffic which can be pretty bad.  You are less likely to experience this on a weekend.

 

Also, I've been on a transfer where we all had to get off at the border for 1 on 1 inspections.  There is no way to know what you will get.

 

On the other hand, due to some of the screening delays at YVR, it can end up being a wash since there have been 1 or 2 hour long lineups lately, and then you still have to clear US customs at the airport in YVR.  Hopefully someone can update that and let us know if the lineups at YVR are still that bad these days.