Alaska cruise a little help

[slotaddict]

Can someone tell me how far it is from Vancouver to the pier. I am trying to decide whether to leave from Seattle or Vancouver. Thanks for any help.

[Nancyquilts]

Do you mean from the airport?

[slotaddict]

Yes, I am sorry. We are trying to decide where to leave from, my husband thinks that it is a very long ride from the airport to the pier.

[Fblack]

Airport to the pier is 25 minutes +/- in Vancouver by their bus. A taxi is faster. If you want to save time and trouble, leave from Seattle. Their airport is much easier for US citizens to navigate than Vancouver. Vancouver is so busy, there are long lines everywhere.

[slotaddict]

Thank you so much for your help. We are booking an Alaska cruise for our 25th anniversary.

[jaxon41]

Haven't been in Seattle's airport in a few years so I don't really remember it, but found no problem in Vancouver's when we sailed out of Vancouver (RCL) last September. A little confused by the question so this thought might not apply, but we were told if you are booking Alaska, it is much better to sail out of Vancouver because otherwise you lose a day. Vancouver is also a neat town to visit a day pre-cruise, but Seattle is also an interesting city to visit. RCL, and I am sure the sister line X, have a very easy process for customs on your return if you chose to use it (it could cost a little more). They bus you to a special area of the airport and you just whisk right through -- there is a line, but it moves very fast.

[slotaddict]

The original reason for my question was I found a cruise out of Vancouver that suited my needs (I wanted to go on a cruise that included the Icy Straits), those cruises leave from Vancouver. My husband thought that it was a long bus ride from the airport to the pier, which I have since found out is 25 minutes, not long from my perspective. So I believe we will choose the trip out of Vancouver since the itinerary is what I want.

Thank you everyone for your help. Roe

[mahdnc]

slotaddict,

 

have fun on your trip. We sailed out of Vancouver aboard Galaxy. We spent a couple of days in Vancouver and really enjoyed the city. If you are looking for transport from the YVR to pier, you may want to look into getting a limo as the rates are very reasonable. We used a stretch limo to take us from our hotel in downtown Vancouver to the airport (for 4 people) and it was just as economical as taking a taxi.

[Mysteryreader]

We cruised to AK on Summit in 2004. In 2005 I had a convention in Vancouver so we flew into Vancouver twice. It is not possible to fly non-stop from Philadelphia to Vancouver. X flew us PHL to Toronto to Vancouver. AA route was PHL to Dallas/Ft Worth to Vancouver.

 

The comment about Vancouver's airport refers to customs. We went through customs so fast at Toronto dh didn't know it was happening! The lines for customs in Vancouver were so long we spent more than 90 min standing in line. And then the customs agent told us this was actually a slow day--fewer pax than usual!

 

If you have a choice, I recommend flying into Canada through another airport so that you're on a domestic flight into Vancouver. Vancouver's a great city with lots to do ... once you leave the airport.

 

M/R

[slotaddict]

Everyone is so helpful, I truly appreciate the advice. This is quite different from hopping on a ship in Phil, or Bayonne, or Miami. All the experience on these boards is very helpful.