atc1344

I've just taken that same train two days ago after arriving back in Seattle from an Oceania Alaskan cruise.

Firstly we were able to check in our four suitcases at 9.45 am, which avoids having to pay storage fees.

Secondly the journey was horrendous, train was over one hour late arriving in Seattle and was delayed multiple times en route. We eventually pulled into Vancouver at 1.15am and then had to negotiate immigration. Thankfully the train was not busy so we were through in about 10 minutes.

This was my first and last time on an Amtrak train, if I ever arrive in Seattle around 9.00am again I will get an early bus to Vancouver.

I have recently been contemplating the same dilemma i.e how to get from seattle to vancouver for a flight back to the UK. The options I considered were:

1. amtrak train - only runs twice daily around 7.45am and 6pm so not considered

2. bus, Bolt bus and one other looked at but not preferred option

3. Hire car - one way rental can make it prohibitive but Budget was the cheapest at around £85 and comparable with the cost of bus or train for 2

Hire car was my choice before ultimately deciding to switch from Air Canada to BA to allow me to return from Seattle.

Has anyone done a whale watching tour in Prince Rupert that they could recommend?

It's my final port on an Oceania Alaska cruise in early July next year and the research I've done suggests it's a good choice for whale watching.

Thanks

John

Some very interesting advice here. Hope you don't mind if i ask some questions too

I've just booked a 7 day Oceania Alaska cruise for 30 June 17 which has a bit of a different itinerary than what seems usual. We are visiting Ketchikan, Sitka and Prince Rupert BC and cruising Tracy Arm and Sawyer glacier. The sole reason for booking this was to tie in with an 11 day Rockies self drive tour from Calgary to Vancouver so the timing was just right.

I've already booked the Misty Fjords floatplane with Island Wings as that seems too good to miss. Also want to do a whale watch trip and from what I've read Prince Rupert seems to be a good choice for this, but there's very little excursions that i can find. Anyone have any experience of this or can suggest an alternative for a whale watch excursion.

There was a comment above about Inside Passage cruising from Vancouver and if you depart from Seattle you go west of Vancouver Island. Is this still classed as inside passage as my itinerary shows inside passage cruising but we depart from Seattle. Apologies for my geographical ignorance, I am from Wales and have no experience of this part of N America.

Thank you for any advice you can provide

John

Was at the resort last week on a day pass and they allowed me to borrow some fins for 20 mins free of charge. The usual fee is 8 usd a day but they are happy to let you have them for a few hours for a small tip.

Has anyone booked with this operator on Curacao http://www.atvbuggytours.com

Made a reservation a few days ago but not had an acknowledgement and no response to a message sent via the contact page on their website. Reviews on tripadvisor look good.

If anyone has an email address please let me know.

Thanks

John