Amtrak Seattle to Vancouver

[lhh]

Has anyone taken the morning train that goes from Seattle to Vancouver? My husband and I are going on the Radiance May 29th and have booked the train that morning from Seattle. What time should we be at the station when the schedule says 7:45? What do we do about luggage? Is there a baggage car or do we take it on ourselves? We are from Oklahoma and have had no passenger trains there for about 20 years so we thought it would be fun to take the train instead of the bus.

LHH
NCL Windward Alaska 1996
Explorer of the Seas 11/2002
Radiance of the Seas 11/2003
Radiance of the Seas 5/29/2004

[lhh]

One more question. Is there a dining car or any food on the morning train? If so, what kind of food do they have and how expensive?

LHH
NCL Windward Alaska 1996
Explorer of the Seas 11/2002
Radiance of the Seas 11/2003
Radiance of the Seas 5/29/2004

[BCHappyGal]

Sorry have not taken Amtrak to Vancouver however I do believe that there is a dining car on the train. Keep thinking that this would be a good outing with my Grandkids but not done it yet.

for your information when you arrive at the station in Vancouver you are a very short cab ride to the dock - only about 5 - 10 minutes depending on traffic. Lots of cabs outside the station for hire.

[thefer]

Hi

I might be able to answer your questions. I just got back from my Alaska cruise a week ago today.

I took amtrak from Portland to Seattle then a bus from there to Vancouver. I looked into the train from Seattle to Vancouver and decided against it because I would have to spend a night in Seattle to take the train or spend a night in Vancouver. I opt for Vancouver.

On to your questions. Amtrak assigns seats about 45 mins to an hr before it leaves. If you train leaves at 7:45 AM, I would get to the Amtrak station around 6 am so that you can have enough time to check in your luggage to Vancouver. I am fairly sure you can check in your luggage. I would call amtrak to be sure. If you don't allow enough time, they won't check it in. Because you are going to Vancouver, make sure everything is labeled. If not, it might create some problems.

They do have a Bistro, where you can grab some breakfast. I think they have muffins, cinnamon rolls, coffee etc. They may have hot breakfast as well. I ate breakfast going to Seattle and dinner coming back. It wasn't that expensive. I think a cinnamon roll and pop was like $3.00. Pizza, pop and cookie was around $5.50. They are pretty reasonable.

Have fun.

Jennifer

[the hawaii gang]

Rode the "Amtrak Cascades" last year from SEA to YVR. Great trip..a cafe and dining car are available on the route...if youre up for splurging..book a business class seat...more leg room, large seats, and lot more comfortable. The route was very scenic and a whole lot nicer than via motorcoach or car. The station in Vancouver is about a $7.00 cab ride, and it arrives just in time for embarkation. You'll love the train ride

[ngraystark]

We too have taken Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver - a little cheaper and easier getting in and out of Seattle than Vancouver! We loved the trip, in fact it was one of the memorable parts of the vacation. At the time, my kids were 8 and 13 and this was their first train experience. We went business class - would definitely recommend - a little more room. We got to the station about an hour ahead of time, just as the airport, they checked our luggage. We had breakfast in the dining car which was good. Then we enjoyed a movie and the countryside. Saw several seals along the coastal areas. We were in Vancouver before you knew it. Getting off the train was not a problem, we picked up our baggage, and then proceeded through customs. All this took about 15-20 minutes (pre 9/11, when we went though). We are again traveling by train this year for our second Alaska cruise and part of the planning included definitely booking Amtrak to travel between Seattle and Vancouver!! For the return trip we have decided to take a limosine as the train did not leave until later in the evening and we were spending a lot of pre-cruise time in Vancouver and wanted to get back to Seattle so we could spend several post-cruise days there. Would definitely recommend!!

[Jeano222]

Several in our group in September are taking the train up to Vancouver for 23.00 one way and taking Quickcoach back for 41.00 one way. The reason we chose Quickcoach for the return is that their bus will be at the cruise terminal and has 3 different return times that morning, they just didn't want to wait and take the train back to Seattle that leaves at 6:00PM

[Kelly61]

Can you give me a link for Amtrak? Would like to take from Seattle to Vancouver.

[Urban trekker]

Here's the link for Amtrak:[url="http://www.amtrak.com"]Amtrak web site[/url]

it's a great ride - and as others have said easy access to Canada Place

Cheers

Dennis

Sun Princess to Alaska May 2000
Norwegian Sun Panama Canal 4/11/04
Norwegian Sun - Pacific Coastal 4/27/04

[Jeano222]

Here is another link that has more detail

[url="http://www.amtrakcascades.com"]www.amtrakcascades.com[/url]

[karenbf]

LHH- If you are still checking this thread...

Come back and see us on the Roll Call for our ship! We have enough for our M&M now and would love to hear from you.

Fascination 11/01
Inspiration 6/02
Conquest 1/03
Holiday 7/03
Radiance 5/04