Seattle to Vancouver Cruise Bus

[Lynda90]

Has anyone ever taken the cruise bus from Seattle to Vancouver and/or back. I am thinking of doing a b2b Vancouver/Whittier/Vancouver in Sept. 06. I plan on driving from Portland to Seattle, spending the night in Seattle and leaving the morning of the cruise for Vancouver. Anyone have any experience with the cruise bus; where do you catch it, how much is it, etc.

 

Thank you!

[OTRlady]

Don't know if you meant the same bus, but when we went to Alaska in 2003, there was a bus that you could catch at the Seattle airport, and it would drop you at one of several places in Vancouver. We flew in a few days ahead of schedule and were dropped near our hotel, but I would imagine if you came earlier in the day, you could be dropped at the cruise terminal. I think it was called QuickBus or something like that.

 

When we returned from our cruise (we did B2B to avoid the open jaw flight), we got right off the ship, onto a bus, and were at the airport in Seattle in fairly quick order.

 

Cost was reasonable (about $75pp, I think). I ordered tix via the 'net a few weeks before we went.

 

The worst part about this trip was the border crossing. Depending on traffic, there may be a lot of buses lined up for inspection; you can end up wasting a lot of time here. On the northbound trip, we waited about 20 minutes behind two other buses--not too bad. Next, all passengers were asked to debark and take their luggage from the bus (the drivers had it unloaded to the curb) into the Customs building, where we waited in a line similar to cruise check-in. After dragging all your luggage around various ribbons and zigzags, you get to the front of the line, where you put your luggage through the x-ray machines. You then go through the metal detector and collect your luggage on the other side. Then you wait for the next available Customs agent, who will question you briefly. Then you drag all your luggage back outside and the driver puts it all back in the under-bus storage compartment. Finally, you reboard the bus and wait to be cleared for departure.

 

ALL your luggage must be scanned, carryons, checked bags, purses, everything. You are not permitted to leave anything on the bus.

 

If there are handicapped persons on the bus, they can be individually wanded and questioned by a Customs agent who will come to the bus. However, someone from their party must take their luggage through the metal detector. There are no porters or carts, so if you have a bunch of your own luggage, this can be rather draining.

 

At some point in the future, which doesn't seem to be pinpointed for sure yet, passports will be required for these land crossings to Canada. This should shorten the line a little, since the delays for agents are usually about someone's missing documentation.

 

One observation: It always seems to be easier to get into Canada than to get back into the USA, even if you are a US citizen. More questions; more anal interpretations of answers. I've noticed this at a number of border crossings, including the one from the Yukon into Alaska on the way from Carcross to Skagway.

 

Bearing all this in mind, you might decide it is easier to fly directly into Vancouver and deal with Customs at the airport, which is better equipped for crowds than the I-5 border crossing.

[Lynda90]

Theresa, thanks for all the great info. Sounds like a major pain. I thought maybe Princess had something. Was trying to eliminate airfare for this trip but it may not be worth it.

[cruznliz]

Princess does have buses from Seatac. I would call Princess and discuss. It shouldn't be too big a problem to just drive to the airport and get on a Princess bus. I've thought of it myself as my brother lives about 15 minutes from the airport. There are also buses through Amtrak. $75 sounds a little high. Amtrak might be cheaper. We are taking a coastal from Los Angeles to Vancouver next May and have already purchased our one way air tickets back from Seattle to Los Angeles. I will be researching this as well because we will stay w/ my brother for 2 nights. Try: http://www.amtrak.com Amtrak is $37.50 pp. Don't know where it leaves from though.

[roohound]

I used the Princess bus from Seattle to Vancouver last May. I'd do it again..it was no problem. Border crossing went fairly quickly altho we were told that's not always the case.

 

We picked it up at the SeaTac airport..I don't remember the price but Princess can tell you :)

[Nitemare]

We flew into Seattle 3 days early in 2002, and took Princess's bus to the pier on the day of the cruise. We tried to arrange to pickup the bus at one of the hotels, but couldn't get in touch with anyone at Princess during those 3 days to be CERTAIN they'd do that, so we (and 4 other folks we met doing the same thing) took a van/cab with all our luggage to the airport where we got on the Princess bus. Had terrible traffic getting out of the city, got thru customs in a jiffy (Customs guy got on, counted heads, got off), and off to the pier.

 

Coming home we had a late flight so we did a one way rental from Hertz (cheapest by far at that time). There was a huge accident north of the border, luckily we had maps and had found a radio station that gave us good advice, so we detoured around it. Took about an hour to go the final half mile at the border, as they were checking folks going into the US much more carefully, then had time to sitesee before going to the airport.

[Lynda90]

Thank you all for such great info. That's what I love about these boards; everyone so helpful. I will call Princess and see what I can find out.

 

Thanks, again!

[cruisinpaige]

Hey Roohound, are you still going on the Liberty Transatlantic? Haven't seen you on the board in a while. If so Let us know. CruisinPaige

[FranYAlice]

I took the bus when I sailed HAL -- flights into Seattle were just cheaper than into Vancouver. The ride was about 4 hours, I think. We stopped once for a brief rest break. The border crossing was a necessary inconvenience. The bus driver went in, we went in, we left, got on the bus and moved on. The 2nd time, I dont' think we even got off the bus. I'd do it again - lovely scenery - or a nap !

[beautifulbc2]

lydnabaker

if u are driving to Seattle from portland, why wouldn't u just drive to Vancouver and park in seattle? I would think that taking a bus would be inconvenient if u have your own car. just an idea? The drive north is 2 1/2 - 3 hours depending on time of day.

[kimba_99]

We took the Princess coach from Vancouver to Seattle in 2003 after our Sun P cruise and at that time I think it cost us $78pp... booked on board and IMO quite expensive. The border crossing was exactly like OTRlady explained and they took us directly to the airport, no stops at hotels on the way but we got lucky as our driver was finishing up for the day and dropped us back in the city at our hotel after going to the airport. Trying to find which bus to get on after we disembarked was a nightmare and they wouldn't leave until the bus was full!

 

On the trip back to Vancouver we took Quickshuttle and that cost us about $32pp, you can book online at quickshuttle.com. We booked it the day we arrived in Seattle for two days later. They pick up at certain hotels at set times so we just met the bus at the closest stop to us. It took about the same time to get back to Vancouver as the Princess bus did going to Seattle (they both had a rest stop apart from at the border.) We had no problems with Quickshuttle and I would definately go with them again, although I have read some people say they wouldn't.

 

Hope this helps,

Kim

[princess12]

We have also used Quick Shuttle in the past and are using them again in January for our cruise. Air is certainly much cheaper from Seattle than from Vancouver (almost half!) that is why we are taking this route. The Entertainment book has 2 for 1 coupons for this vendor so you can save a considerable amount of money for a RT fare. It is a pain to get down and take your luggage & ID to customs but it's not too too bad, at least we are able to relax and take a nap before and after our cruise. I suggest checking out their website at www.quickshuttle.com for fares and schedules. I know that a lot of locals use them to get to Sea-Tac and back.

 

Hope this helps.

[Stanley]

We are leaving for Anchorage for the south bound Whittier to Vancouver. We want to visit some friends that ive about 2 hours outside of Seattle. We tried to rent a car to drive from Vancouver and drop it off a couple days later at the Seattle airport. The cost was going to be $600 for 3 days which inlcuded a $200 Canadian drop off fee, no unlimited miles. I tried all sorts of rental companies.

 

Then we were going to take the Amtrak bus which was very inexpensive BUT we would have had to wait until about 5 PM to get the bus that would allow us to take our luggage. The earlier buses allowed carry-onns only.

 

We've never used ship transfers but I called my TA and asked him to look into the cost and the times. We will leave the ship aboaut 10-10:30 for the 3 1/2 hour journey. I guess this includes the routine of crossing over the border. When we get to the Seattle airport we will have a rental for aaobut $50 including taxes and unlimited miles. Sounds good to me. I hope it all goes smoothly. I'm sure it will.

 

The cost is $45/pp one way and I think it was $75/pp/rt

[Crowsnesters]

We will be taking AMTRACK from Portland Sept. 16 (2 weeks and counting!!); train from Portland to Seattle and AMTRACK "thruway bus" to Vancouver BC., for the Panama Canal Cruise on the Coral. I did it 4 years ago coming back from ALaska (HAL's Volendam) and it worked very well. This time we will have to take a taxi from the train station (the bus comes in to the front of the train station) to the hotel. You need to do it the day before the cruise. It is cheaper than the plane and parts of the train trip are very, very scenic. When I called AMTRAK our luggage fit their definition of carry-on, much different difinition than the airlines.:)

[OTRlady]

Thanks, Kimba99. QuickShuttle was the bus we used--not a ship transfer. The $78 was for round-trip tickets.

 

Amtrak was $44pp one way, and we'd rather have done that, but the times didn't work out for our flights. Even so, there is the same thing with Customs on Amtrak.

 

It matters when you book. We were originally thinking to rent a car one-way, and one company had the cars available for a good price, but by the time we got the opinions of everyone in our travel group, that special was no longer available. The regular rates for a one-way drop-off in Vancouver are really very high. We even considered doing a round-trip car rental, and just parking the rental at the pier in Vancouver, but since we were on B2B cruises, 14 days of parking was pretty high in itself. For us, the bus turned out to be cheaper and less hassle. I know it sounded like a hassle, but it really wasn't any worse than the other options available. We would use QuickShuttle again in the future.

 

BTW, someone posted that they don't leave the cruise terminal until the bus is full. That is true. They're not supposed to leave until the bus is full. However, we were actually scheduled for an 11:30am bus out of Vancouver (we expected disembarkation to be as crazy as in Florida!), but we were off the ship by 9:15am. The 10:00am bus was waiting there, empty, and he didn't have many scheduled passengers, so he invited us to get on the earlier bus. He handled the paperwork of changing our reservation so the 11:30 driver wouldn't be looking for us. We took off at about 10:15am with a half-full bus. The drivers spent an hour trolling the terminal for possible passengers--even those without reservations. At some point, they have to go, even if they're not full--although I don't think they can leave before their appointed time, whether or not anyone else is coming.

 

All things considered, it can be tricky to get smoothly to Vancouver without flying directly in, but I still think it was easier and less expensive than an open jaw flight plan. And it CERTAINLY was easier than a San Juan departure we made in 2000. Just pick a plan and go with it; it will work out fine.

[iancal]

I would try for a cheap Portland-YVR fare., or just keep driving a go to Vancouver. It is a very easy drive. I am told it is common for Princess to fly people (when you book Princess air) to Seatle and then bus them to Vancouver. I think this is a terrible way to treat customers. They must make a good deal more money doing this. A very good reason NOT to book Princess air when taking an Alaska cruise departing from Vancouver. Vancouver is one of the nicest airports that I have been in-especially the international section. Done in ceramic and hardwood floors, with waterfalls and a spectacular jade carving.

[Lynda90]

Thanks everyone for your great advise and information. The more I read, the more I'm thinking that maybe flying directly to Vancouver and back would be the best way to go. I know it will be more expensive, but considering what the price of gas may be by the time I leave, the flight is looking better all the time. that being said, what is the best way to get to the pier from the airport?

 

Thanks again.