Cruising In Seattle - Help needed to choose bus stops from Vancouver to Seattle

[TorontoNewbieCruiser]

Hello, we are looking to cruise on the Carnival Spirit on July 18-25, 2023 (Tue to Tue).  We have already done this route pre-pandemic (on NCL Joy) and used Quick Shuttle from Vancouver to Seattle.  I checked the Quick Shuttle website and it seems they don't have any schedules on Tuesday.  Looking at Flix Bus or Greyhound but I can't figure out which bus stops to select for the Origin and Destination.  Carnival Spirit uses Pier 91.  We are coming from Toronto and arriving in Vancouver the night before sailing so we are looking to take the bus early morning of July 18.  There are 5 of us so a flight from YYZ to SEA would cost a lot of $.  Help please.  Thanks!

[psuboater]

From Pier 91 (if you're going directly to the Pier), the University of Washington Station is 21 minutes by car and the Seattle Bus Station is 17 minutes, but depending when you come in, UW might be faster because it avoids downtown traffic. From Vancouver, Burrard station is closest to most downtown hotels.

 

If you're staying near the airport, check out Amtrak for their bus service. They have pickup in Richmond, BC, which is a lot closer to the airport. They'll take you to King Street Station in downtown Seattle, which is about a 20 minute taxi/uber from the pier. 

[Ferry_Watcher]

I see that the Amtrak station in Seattle is also an option.  That might be an easier place to call for a taxi or Uber to Pier 91.  Since you will have 5 passengers plus luggage, you will either need an Uber XL, or a van taxi.  Do try to not over pack!

[GTJ]

It is unfortunate that Quick Coach Lines has not fully restored its services, because that company alone is the only transportation company that offers service between River Rock Casino Resort, near Vancouver International Airport, and Pier 91 in Seattle.

 

In the absence of Quick Coach Lines, the best alternative might be Cantrail Coach Lines. Its coaches pick up passengers at the Sandman Signature Hotel, 10251 St. Edwards, in Richmond, near the Vancouver International Airport (courtesy shuttle from airport every 30 minutes at :15 and :45). In Seattle, buses deliver passengers to the King Street (Amtrak) station. Departures from the Sandman hotel daily at 5:50 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 12:00 noon, and 4:30 p.m.; travel time is about 3 hours 30 minutes. Schedules subject to change.

 

Note that both Greyhound Lines and FlixBus are under common management and are in the process of being integrated. Greyhound Lines operates its own buses, while FlixBus sells its tickets for transportation provided by a separate company, MTR Western (FlixBus, itself, does not operate any bus service). Both services, however, depart Vancouver from the city centre, so the first step would be going from the airport northward on the SkyTrain Canada line, in the opposite direction from Seattle. Both services pick up passengers at the Pacific Central (Via Rail) station (where Cantrail Coach Lines also picks up passengers), adjacent to the Main Street-Science World SkyTrain station, while MTR Western additionally picks up passengers along the sidewalk near the Burrard SkyTrain station. Going to the Pacific Central station offers the greatest variety of options and facilities, and would ordinarily be the best option. Greyhound Lines does not offer convenient schedules. It departs the Pacific Central station daily at 1:30 a.m. and 8:35 a.m. MTR Western departs the Pacific Central station daily at 7:50 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., and also daily except Wednesdays at 9:50 a.m., and also daily except Wednesdays and Thursdays at 3:20 p.m. Travel time is about 3 hours 30 minutes to 4 hours. Schedules subject to change. In Seattle, Greyhound Lines buses deliver passengers to the Greyhound station. MTR Western buses deliver passengers to a sidewalk in the Chinatown-International District, with some, but not all, buses also dropping off passengers prior on a sidewalk at the University of Washington. The university campus is slightly closer to Pier 91, and would likely offer a somewhat quicker overall travel time, assuming that a taxi or TNC service can be arranged.

 

An earlier post mentions Amtrak's "bus service." Amtrak does not operate any buses. Amtrak will sell tickets for the bus service operated by Cantrail Coach Lines.

[psuboater]

7 minutes ago, GTJ said:

 

 

An earlier post mentions Amtrak's "bus service." Amtrak does not operate any buses. Amtrak will sell tickets for the bus service operated by Cantrail Coach Lines.

Correct - Cantrail is contracted through Amtrak. We were able to purchase the bus services directly from Amtrak's website. 

[martincath]

I'd be looking for a one-way car rental myself with 5 people - back in TheBeforeTimes it was usually the cheapest way to move 5 people, unless you got lucky with Bolt-for-a-buck tickets (since Bolt folded, assets bought up by Flix/MTR, but their pricing is now much higher than it used to be on Bolt).

 

With rental fleets still stocking up on new cars, prices are a lot more variable these days - but even if it ended up costing a little more per person than Flix/Greyhound, the flexibility of route and timing make it preferable IMO (plus no need to schlep bags out of a bus at the border, worry about one passenger getting extra questioning delaying everyone, stops you don't want to make etc.) and wherever the Seatle area drop point is for the rental agency you can drop all bags and most people right at the pier first then maybe even use a local bus to get the driver to the pier for just a few bucks....

[TorontoNewbieCruiser]

Thank you very much for all your replies!  Much appreciated!

[GTJ]

1 hour ago, martincath said:

[S]ince Bolt folded, assets bought up by Flix/MTR, but their pricing is now much higher than it used to be on Bolt.

BoltBus was not a separate company, as much as it portrayed itself as being. It was simply an operating division of Greyhound Lines, designed to entice persons who would never dare set foot in a Greyhound terminal or bus. On the east coast it operated as a joint venture with Peter Pan Bus Lines. The assets of BoltBus remained with Greyhound Lines. Subsequently, Greyhound Lines was acquired by what is now Flix SE, the latter also owning FlixBus North America, a broker for motor carriers of passengers that sells, inter alia, tickets for MTR Western. Yes, a bit convoluted, no doubt.

 

1 hour ago, martincath said:

With rental fleets still stocking up on new cars, prices are a lot more variable these days - but even if it ended up costing a little more per person than Flix/Greyhound, the flexibility of route and timing make it preferable IMO (plus no need to schlep bags out of a bus at the border, worry about one passenger getting extra questioning delaying everyone, stops you don't want to make etc.) and wherever the Seattle area drop point is for the rental agency you can drop all bags and most people right at the pier first then maybe even use a local bus to get the driver to the pier for just a few bucks....

There's pros and cons for both. My wife easily gets carsick, and I can get a bit nauseous, too. There's also a discomfort in riding so low and close to the pavement in a car, vis-à-vis the usual elevated deck upon which we travel on a standard motorcoach. A car is less spacious, and there's little ability to move around on a large motorcoach. All else being equal, we're much more comfortable traveling by motorcoach than by car. On the other hand, border crossing procedures do differ, and a hired car has the convenience of going exactly to where one is destined (a self-drive car is somewhat less convenient, having to be driven to a particular base station, be it a rental agency or otherwise). Bottom line is that there's not always a universal "best" means for travel, perhaps a disappointment to those who post on these boards asking for that "best" means.

[martincath]

5 hours ago, GTJ said:

BoltBus was not a separate company...

I bow to your superior pedantry ;-)

5 hours ago, GTJ said:

... All else being equal, we're much more comfortable traveling by motorcoach than by car.

Interesting - I have never met anyone who finds coach travel comfier than a car before; I can appreciate your point about different viewing angles of passing scenery although all my experience is from the opposite side of that situation, in that I know many people who find riding a bus makes them feel nauseated, but in a car they are fine. Any chance you grew up somewhere densely urban like Manhattan, lots of transit as a kid but no regular family car rides?

5 hours ago, GTJ said:

... Bottom line is that there's not always a universal "best" means for travel, perhaps a disappointment to those who post on these boards asking for that "best" means.

Couldn't agree more - I wish that CC would add the word 'best' to its list of verbotenaughtywords that show up as asterisks: if there were a universal best there would only need to be one bank, one supermarket chain, one brand of car, one kind of phone, one cruiseline etc. etc., and sites like this would not need to exist ;-)

[GTJ]

13 hours ago, martincath said:

I have never met anyone who finds coach travel comfier than a car before; I can appreciate your point about different viewing angles of passing scenery although all my experience is from the opposite side of that situation, in that I know many people who find riding a bus makes them feel nauseated, but in a car they are fine. Any chance you grew up somewhere densely urban like Manhattan, lots of transit as a kid but no regular family car rides?

It is that wonderful aspect of being individuals that we're all different from one another! My preference is different than yours, and vice versa . . . and that is good. You might find it interesting that I was raised in suburbs, chauffeured by automobile, but never particularly liked it . . . I much preferred the bus when the option was available. If you want to check out something that has been given substantial praise for being the most comfortable seat for travel, take a look at The Jet, http://www.thejet.coach, a motorcoach service between New York and Washington, D.C., and the review given to it by Greener Grass, https://youtu.be/Oh1ULPYMQhI.

 

13 hours ago, martincath said:

I wish that CC would add the word 'best' to its list of verbotenaughtywords that show up as asterisks: if there were a universal best there would only need to be one bank, one supermarket chain, one brand of car, one kind of phone, one cruiseline etc. etc., and sites like this would not need to exist ;-)

I try to look for bases upon which a poster would judge options, and respond accordingly. But too often there is a request for "best" without more. In those cases I might prompt for decisional bases, or I might explain the options with which I have familiarity (including my own experiences), but I really hesitate to claim something as universally "best."