Airfare to vancouver - tips?

[unklez]

It seems that the better Alaska cruises either depart from or end in Vancouver. The air fare to/from Vancouver is huge though. I am wondering what options folks have tried to reduce that expense. For example, flying to/from Seattle, renting a car there, taking a cab, or shuttle or train or bus? What works and what doesn't?

[auntbevy]

It seems that the better Alaska cruises either depart from or end in Vancouver. The air fare to/from Vancouver is huge though. I am wondering what options folks have tried to reduce that expense. For example, flying to/from Seattle, renting a car there, taking a cab, or shuttle or train or bus? What works and what doesn't?

 

We're flying into Seattle two nights before a cruise on a Wednesday night. We'll spend Thursday enjoying Seattle and hopefully getting a jumpstart on getting used to the time difference. Friday morning we'll take Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver, the train departs at 7:40 AM (we've been told to arrive by 6:30 w/luggage) and arrives in Vancouver at 11:35 AM, cab ride straight to the dock and hopefully - straight on the ship. We've been told it's a beautiful train ride, plus it saved on the plane fare! We fly home out of Anchorage (northbound trip only) so that was expensive enough!

[Budget Queen]

You have several options for the tranfers, I've done them all except cruise contracted buses. As noted there is Amtrak, which will require an overnight in Seattle, for the train. Cab fare from Seatac is about $35, from Vancouver about $15, most cabs do take credit cards. There is also Skytrain, which I always take, MUST have no mobility limitations, and know how to pack. :)

 

One way car rentals are what I have used the most. Allow 4 hours for the drive. I have rented from Avis, Alamo, National, and Budget. There is also Hertz, I go with the cheapest. You ONLY want downtown Vancouver offices, NOT the airport. I most often stay the night before in Bellingham- with an early start, I haven't been stuck in any significant border lines at Blaine. Also gives me the option for some Vancouver touring- very worthwhile.

 

Quick Shuttle provides direct dock pick up to/from Seatac. Never have had any problems with them.

[MacThespian]

It seems that the better Alaska cruises either depart from or end in Vancouver. The air fare to/from Vancouver is huge though. I am wondering what options folks have tried to reduce that expense. For example, flying to/from Seattle, renting a car there, taking a cab, or shuttle or train or bus? What works and what doesn't?

 

Consider the expenses of getting from Seattle to Vancouver in your calculations also, as well as the extra time involved.

 

The other option is to monitor air fares closely. Air fares from the east coast to Vancouver were running between $600 and $700 per person (round trip) most of the past year, but there was a window of a couple of days when they went down to $365.00, and I was able to book then. A lot depends upon how much time you have until your cruise, and when you decide you have to make a decision.

[DizzyDallasDi]

I agree that the airfare into Vancouver is much more expensive than Seattle and I also considered flying in there. However, after I factored in the time and cost it would take to get from Seattle to Vancouver, the extra night of hotel, meal and entertainment expenses, the possibility of a long line and delay at the border (possibly causing me to be late for my ship), along with the hassle of it all....I used my frequent flyer miles and bought a round trip (first class ! :D ) ticket to Vancouver.

 

Diane

[unklez]

I agree that the airfare into Vancouver is much more expensive than Seattle and I also considered flying in there. However, after I factored in the time and cost it would take to get from Seattle to Vancouver, the extra night of hotel, meal and entertainment expenses, the possibility of a long line and delay at the border (possibly causing me to be late for my ship), along with the hassle of it all....I used my frequent flyer miles and bought a round trip (first class ! :D ) ticket to Vancouver.

 

Diane

 

Thank you all for the info. For a family of 4, the difference in airfare (Seattle RT $250 vs Vancouver RT $650) quickly multiplies. Car rental seem appealing at this time. Of course we would need to keep 3-4 hours buffer over and above the 4 hour journey time to Vancouver to cover border, traffic, rental return delays etc. We may even drive up the previous day and stay the night in Vancouver. Hotels for both sides $100 each, car $200, meals etc. adds up to about $600 which is still much better than $1600 that we would spend on flight to/from Vancouver.

[BayStateguppy]

You are in NJ so this might be an option for you.

 

Cathay Pacific Airlines has direct flights from NYC to Vancouver for cheap money. Only problem is they land in Vancouver at like 2 am. It's one of the few direct flights from the east coast to Vancouver. Check it out.

 

I researched this for weeks. I finally bit the bullet and shelled out for flights on Air Canada from Boston for our July cruise. There just isn't an easy cheap way to get to Vancouver from here and we wanted to spend as little time travelling to Vancouver as possible (I find it stressful).

 

Flying to Seattle is cheaper but it's still not Vancouver. A long bus ride or train ride from Seattle, crossing the border (can take several hours), then getting to the port just didn't appeal to me. I just want to get there.

 

Having said that, if I ever cruise Alaska again, it'll be out of Seattle.

[kenish]

An alternate airport is Bellingham, WA just over the border from YVR (about 30 miles south). The code is BLI. There are a few flights daily with several major airlines, and Allegiant has a fair number of flights. However Allegiant is a budget carrier so the usual caveats apply. Some of the SEA-YVR shuttle vans also stop in BLI.

[krogerlady]

Continental's open jaw flights into Vancouver and out of Anchorage went down this week. They are about $150 less than I paid when we maid our reservations in February. So, you really can't predict what they are going to do. I would say its cheaper now...try www.kayak.com. They give you a good idea of what its going to be, then go straight to the airline site to book, just my opinion.

[misspuss]

I second the suggestion to take Amtrak from Seattle. We live in Seattle and have taken this trip several times. The ride is beautiful (sit on the left side for water views) and is very comfortable. Then cab either to the pier or, if you want, stay overnight in Vancouver.:D

[Maxima81]

You are in NJ so this might be an option for you.

 

Cathay Pacific Airlines has direct flights from NYC to Vancouver for cheap money. Only problem is they land in Vancouver at like 2 am. It's one of the few direct flights from the east coast to Vancouver. Check it out.

 

 

I don't know when you plan to fly, but in addition to the Cathay Pacific flight mentioned above (out of JFK), there is an Air Canada direct flight (it's also a codeshare flight with United) and a Continental direct flight that operates out of Newark that I've seen as low as $390.

 

As others have suggested, if you have some time before your travel dates, just start monitoring the prices by checking every days since it does fluctuate (kayak.com brings all those flights up for easy comparison). I watched the airfare on the Air Canada flights in late May for a whole month back in Feb. and finally booked at $390 - it's gone up significantly since.

 

Good luck!

[unklez]

I don't know when you plan to fly, but in addition to the Cathay Pacific flight mentioned above (out of JFK), there is an Air Canada direct flight (it's also a codeshare flight with United) and a Continental direct flight that operates out of Newark that I've seen as low as $390.

 

As others have suggested, if you have some time before your travel dates, just start monitoring the prices by checking every days since it does fluctuate (kayak.com brings all those flights up for easy comparison). I watched the airfare on the Air Canada flights in late May for a whole month back in Feb. and finally booked at $390 - it's gone up significantly since.

 

Good luck!

 

Yeah I think @ $390 it is coming close to being worth it. I figure we will need the hotel for the outbound journey anyways to avoid missing the boat :)

[DizzyDallasDi]

Thank you all for the info. For a family of 4, the difference in airfare (Seattle RT $250 vs Vancouver RT $650) quickly multiplies. Car rental seem appealing at this time. Of course we would need to keep 3-4 hours buffer over and above the 4 hour journey time to Vancouver to cover border, traffic, rental return delays etc. We may even drive up the previous day and stay the night in Vancouver. Hotels for both sides $100 each, car $200, meals etc. adds up to about $600 which is still much better than $1600 that we would spend on flight to/from Vancouver.

 

You make a very good point about the cost factor for a family (or even a couple) compared to what I need to spend as a solo traveler. Few people, other than frequent business travelers, have enough airline miles to buy 4 round trip tickets. On AA that would be a minimum of 100,000 miles and that's only doable if the "free" seats are available for the flights you want. There are only 2 daily nonstops from DFW to YVR and the mileage coach seats were unavailable when I tried to book them. Thankfully, I had enough miles for a first class ticket.

 

I also researched taking flights where I had to change planes at least once. That does drop the price somewhat, but eats up the better part of a day in travel time.

 

Since this is my first Alaska cruise, I wanted to do the itinerary that appealed to me most and that was out of Vancouver. I paid for the cruise before I researched the airfare so I had no choice at that point.

 

I think we all become better at making travel plans with experience. Each trip I make I learn something new.

 

At any rate, I hope you and your family have the time of your life on your vacation!

 

Diane

[Gardyloo]

Looks like the Cathay flight is around $489 RT through most of the summer. AA JFK-SEA is around $305, so a difference of $185 or so per person. Driving is still probably cheaper, although the direct flight might save part of a work day for some.

[Grannycb]

We booked our flights for a cruise leaving next week less than a week ago. We are flying from BWI to Houston then to Vancouver on American. The trip home is on Air Canada to Toronto to BWI. Those flights came to less than $500 pp and were at good times. http://www.kayak.com is a wonderful source for finding good rates. Hotwire was great for finding a very nice hotel close to Canada Place (our ship leaves from there) for a reasonable amount. Tip: Plug in the postal code of a hotel you like to find something in that immediate area.

 

PS There was a flight out of Newark that was $360. We didn't want to drive four hours to get there or would have grabbed that.

[tobeytoes]

Consider the expenses of getting from Seattle to Vancouver in your calculations also, as well as the extra time involved.

 

The other option is to monitor air fares closely. Air fares from the east coast to Vancouver were running between $600 and $700 per person (round trip) most of the past year, but there was a window of a couple of days when they went down to $365.00, and I was able to book then. A lot depends upon how much time you have until your cruise, and when you decide you have to make a decision.

 

This is great advice IMHO. I booked my June 2009 Alaska cruise departing from Vancouver in August of last year with a travel agent. The TA wanted $700 for airfare. Thinking I could do better myself, I decided to decline the air booking. I kept checking with various airline websites and Expedia and found a round trip ticket from Atlanta to Vancouver for $366.28. This fare was not available until December, so you have to keep checking.