Vancouver To Seattle

[mikensuenfl]

Our Ship Docks In Vancouver After Cruise.. We Want To Go To Seattle For A Day Or Two Post Cruise And Fly Home From Seattle.. How Is The Best Way To Travel From Vancouver To Seattle After We Dock...train,car,bus.. How Long Travel Time Thanks Mike

[GORDONCHICK]

The Amtrak train leaves in the evenings (6pm-ish I think), so many opt for shuttles or renting a car.

[ggprincess2004]

You don't mention your cruise line, but Princess has transfers from Vancouver to Seattle, and they actually represent a pretty good value. We used their transfer last month, and it was very smooth. Our luggage was pre-loaded on the bus, our hand luggage was loaded as we boarded the bus, the bus was not full, and (I hate busses) was actually comfortable.

The trip is 3 1/2 to 4 hours, depending upon how long it takes to cross the border. Our crossing was smooth. Everyone on the bus was well-behaved and properly documented.

At Sea-Tac airport, there is a separate area where the baggage is offloaded. There were plenty of Smart Carts, or whatever they are called out there, available. Even with our extreme baggage maximum, it was quite manageable. You could easily get to the car rental area and grab a car for your stay in Seattle.

I am sure there are other options - this particular Princess transfer - and we don't use Princess transfers very often - was IMHO very worth it and made things very simple for us.

[Budget Queen]

There are cruise contracted buses as mentioned, also Quick Shuttle. One way rental cars are an excellent option and allow plenty of freedom. I have rented from Alamo, National, Avis and Budget. There is also Hertz. I book based on price. Allow 4 hours for the drive. No way to predict border time.

[mikensuenfl]

Hi, .. We Will Be On The Radiance.. Doing Our Own Independent Pre Cruise Tour And Own Air Fare.. Reason We Are Going To Seattle Is We Want To Visit 2 Couples That We Met On The Jewel Last Year .. Thanks, Mike

[sharp_cruiser]

If you do a cruise ship transfer from the dock in Vancouver directly to Seattle, how do you deal w/ Canadian customs? I am assuming when you mention border crossing, the issue is getting from Canada back into the US, so you are going through US customs. Is that correct?

 

Sounds like a "US Direct" sort of service, but instead of taking you directly to the airport (to take you directly by air to US) it will take you directly to the US via road.

 

Any other experience this?

[Bunco49cruiser]

We cruised on Serenade of the Seas roundtrip out of Vancouver June 2. We flew into Seattle for some sightseeing and then rented a car and drove into Vancouver. We hit the border around 9 am on Saturday morning and were in Canada in 10 minutes. We booked a bus trip when returning. We were picked up promptly at 8:00 am from the cruise terminal and were at the border about 8:45 am. Buses are put in a separate area and we waited 2 hours to be cleared. There were several buses ahead of us of foreigners, all of whom had to depart their bus and go individually through customs. Bus traffic is first come first serve so it is no one's fault, but a very long tedious wait. I recommend renting the car in Vancouver and driving back to Seattle. People return their Canadian cars at the airport and rent another to drive while in the US to save $$. The one way from Canada cost about $125, about the same as two bus tickets. Good Luck!

[kruisecat]

We just got back from our cruise and we took Amtrak from Vancouver to Seattle and it was just wonderful!! What a relaxing way to end our trip. As has been previously posted it leaves Vancouver at 6pm (sharp!) and arrives around 10pm. We had a wonderful time and without a doubt it beats a bus or a car anytime!

 

Just my 2 cents!

[mikensuenfl]

Thanks For Your Replys.. If I Take Train At 6:00 Pm Will Have To Kill A Lot Of Time When We Get Off Ship In Am.. Car Might Be The Way To Go... Mike

[dam1050]

Border wait times can vary greatly, especially in peak periods. Going through US customs from Douglas crossing (Peace Arch) this past weekend (which was the July 1 long weekend here) there was up to a four (4) hour wait to get through US customs at times. This is a very busy crossing. Be sure to leave yourself lots of travel time.

 

Dave

[jbm205]

Border wait times can vary greatly, especially in peak periods. Going through US customs from Douglas crossing (Peace Arch) this past weekend (which was the July 1 long weekend here) there was up to a four (4) hour wait to get through US customs at times. This is a very busy crossing. Be sure to leave yourself lots of travel time.

 

Dave

 

We sat in that line for over 3 1/2 hours last Saturday. However, I wish that I would have tuned in to the radio station that they were broadcasting from the duty free store that stated you could drive down the "nexus lane" if you were going to the store. I think that would have saved us at least an hour!

[kruisecat]

Thanks For Your Replys.. If I Take Train At 6:00 Pm Will Have To Kill A Lot Of Time When We Get Off Ship In Am.. Car Might Be The Way To Go... Mike

 

 

Mike, we took the time to sightsee in Vancouver. We did the hop on / hop off bus and went all over the city and Stanley Park. We finished at 4pm, collected our luggage and headed to the train station by 4:30. We were on the train at 5pm and sat very comfortably on the train until 6pm. If you don't have to get there right away and have time to see Vancouver, I highly recommend it. Just another thought.

[4bythebeach]

We rented from Avis, they picked us up at the port and returned the car to Seatac. It was very easy and convenient, we spent 3 days in Seattle-Fri thru Sun night and Costco has a coupon that will get you a free day on the rental which made up for the one way rental.

It took us about 4 hours to get to our hotel in Seattle, border crossing delayed us a bit, but it wasn't too bad!

Have a great trip!

[cajun-crazy]

"Mike, we took the time to sightsee in Vancouver. We did the hop on / hop off bus and went all over the city and Stanley Park. We finished at 4pm, collected our luggage and headed to the train station by 4:30. We were on the train at 5pm and sat very comfortably on the train until 6pm. If you don't have to get there right away and have time to see Vancouver, I highly recommend it. Just another thought."

 

Where do you store your luggage? Also, where would you catch the trolley from the Pier (whichever pier RCCL uses)? And would you take a cab after you collect your luggage to the train station?

 

thanks

[mikensuenfl]

Thanks Folks For Your Input.question. What Do We Do With All Of Our Luggage If We Have To Kill 7 Or 8 Hours Before The Train At 6pm.. What Is Hop On Hop Off Bus .mike

[Norcal Cruiser]

Luggage don't know.Hop on and hop off bus is through Grey Line.If you want to see Vancouver this is the way to go.You can get on and off all day for a minimal cost.(Think it was $25.00 pp)We did this in April and explored Stanley Park,Granville Island ,Chinatown,Gastown and got dropped back off at Canada Place.Bus drivers gave a running tour the whole time.Very worth the price.Enjoy your trip.:) Kathy

[Budget Queen]

Canada Place has baggage storage.

[mikensuenfl]

thanks foar all your replys... well, our plans might change.. after we get off the ship in vancover we might stay 1 or two nights in vancouver.. what or where is canada place?/ hop on hop off bus sounds like an option.. also might rent a car and return it before the flight home to tampa. after 1 or two night stay. question.. any suggestions on a hotel at reasonable rates that is near the airport.. mike

[Budget Queen]

thanks foar all your replys... well, our plans might change.. after we get off the ship in vancover we might stay 1 or two nights in vancouver.. what or where is canada place?/ hop on hop off bus sounds like an option.. also might rent a car and return it before the flight home to tampa. after 1 or two night stay. question.. any suggestions on a hotel at reasonable rates that is near the airport.. mike

 

Canada Place is where most of the ships dock. IF you want downtown activities, the airport isn't the place to stay. Parking is scarce. Determine what you wish to see and do.

[lrskier]

Mike, we rented from Hertz after a southbound Radiance cruise.. RCCL does not use Canada PLace but Ballyntine(sp) pier. Cab lines there can be really bad. get off the ship ASAP if you use a cab. If you rent a car, everyone but Hertz runs a shuttle which is very nice to have. Hertz, pays you for cab fare, ,it is just the wait for a cab. Rental fee to use was $111 one way. Border on Friday was l.5 hrs, we drove str8 south upon disembarkation. Stopped at duty free and used nexus a bit, but was lost gettin back in line. lots of people drove down nexus and then went in further down the line. Left lane was much faster, it split into 2 lanes at border, right lane got the pull ins from nexus. at noon, as we arrived at border, they opened the left side of the gate and added 4 more lanes. oh were we dismayed. but i bet the line behind us was bad. the drive to SeaTac wasnt bad to turn in the Expensive Canadian one way rental and get a cheap weekend rental also using entertainment book coupon foro $25 off. FRiday-Monday was $58. We drove to Portland to wine country and mtns. Traffic after 3 pm is terrible. south of Seattle we moved 20 miles in 1.25 hours.. bumper to bumper in 5 lanes. comiing back to Seattle Sunday the same thing happened goin in and we got over to the East on another highway/freeway, off I-5 and had smooth runnin to bridges back to downtown seattle. Stayed at Renaissance, very nice, top of hill and not near waterfront.

Quick Shuttle leaves around 10:30, cost around 120 for 2 if you go that route. Amtrack sound really good, but you have the wait and then get to your Sea destination from station.

I would return to Sea but hope not to deal with driving in and around that city. Mt Rainer, St Helens, Hood all were above the clouds on takeoff Monday morning. we took off westerly and had Rainer out the port and sthelens/hook out right, beautiful site like denali.

 

McCormick and Schmidt(sp) has late happy hour in bar with value food items by the way, Portand was fun and better selection, but Sea was fine too. Have a great time.. if i can answer any question please feel free to inquire.. LRSkier

[mikensuenfl]

Thanks, You Are All Such A Big Help.. It Looks Like We Are Not Going To Seattle After Docking In Vancouver.. Friends Might Meet Us In Vancouver.. Plan To Stay One Or Two Nights In Vancouver Then Fly Home.. Happy 4th Everyone Mike

[sonomaphil]

How bad is the border crossing on a Sunday morning? We're going to come into Vancouver on a Saturday and we're going to get a rental car on Sunday morning to head to Seattle.

[cruisernh]

seeing that some of you have experience and going through the border may be bad. What time would be the safest time to get a flight out of Seattle?

 

This would be docking in Vancouver (Spirit) taking cruise lines bus to Seatlle airport.

Thanks

[DebDenC]

We are renting a car in Vancouver and driving to Seattle for our red-eye flight at midnight after our cruise ship docks. Will Hertz in Vancouver have directions to the alternative border crossings, or at least a great map for us? And next question, are there any good places to eat near SeaTac? Or should we plan to eat dinner somewhere else before heading to the airport?

Debbie