Travel Ideas From Vancouver to Florida

[Grego]

We are ending up in Vancouver following our upcoming Panama Canal full transit from Fort Lauderdale, which is about an hour and a half from where we live. Looking at the flights from Vancouver to West Palm Beach shows most flights leave late in the day and arrive the next day in Florida after one or two stops.

 

Has anyone making this return to Florida after disembarking in Vancouver done any creative ways to get back without having to do the "red-eye"? We are not unaccustomed to overnight travel having done the flights to Europe a few times, but we would rather like to find a way to leave earlier in the day and arrive home the same day.

 

We tried to even see a train option to provide a nice scenic way to return and weren't successful yet in finding a site that we could use without bothering a TA.

 

Any suggestions would be great. If none, it will be airport naps during our return.

[FlorenceItaly]

Any interest in Seattle post cruise? You could travel from Vancouver to Seattle, and fly home from Seattle.

[Cruise Junky]

Stay the night in Vancouver and fly the next day. Should be a few options to get you home same day.

[postman999]

Vancouver to Montreal to FLL (then rental or cab) should be lots of flights

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Essiesmom]

The train would be a wonderful trip, but much longer and more expensive than flying. I'm not sure where you are looking for schedules, but I went straight to the Amtrak site

 

https://www.amtrak.com/home and plugged in the cities and date (assuming you are on Island Princess arriving May 10) and came up with these options:

https://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak

 

You would not be able to make the Cascades train to Seattle so would have to take the (dedicated Amtrak) thruway bus and catch the Empire Builder in Seattle.

 

 

If you are serious about considering this, we have a forum dedicated to fans of train travel here:

 

http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/

 

You can ask questions on the guest forum and members will help you make a decision. EM

[skynight]

Without really knowing your dates, a quick look and I found lots of morning flights from Vancouver to West Palm Beach. There are probably even more if you include Ft. Lauderdale as an airport option. You probably will have to stay overnight.

 

Have you looked at flying out of Seattle? I think Princess may have a shuttle from the pier to Seattle Airport, where you can get a cab to an overnight hotel.

 

Have you looked at Princess EZ Air? You can elect a next morning departure.

 

Rail would be a long trip, a vacation in itself. I don't really know, but probably rail across Canada to Montreal. Then south to NYC. Then a train to FL.

[xlxo]

We are ending up in Vancouver following our upcoming Panama Canal full transit from Fort Lauderdale, which is about an hour and a half from where we live. Looking at the flights from Vancouver to West Palm Beach shows most flights leave late in the day and arrive the next day in Florida after one or two stops.

 

Has anyone making this return to Florida after disembarking in Vancouver done any creative ways to get back without having to do the "red-eye"? We are not unaccustomed to overnight travel having done the flights to Europe a few times, but we would rather like to find a way to leave earlier in the day and arrive home the same day.

 

We tried to even see a train option to provide a nice scenic way to return and weren't successful yet in finding a site that we could use without bothering a TA.

 

Any suggestions would be great.

For starters.... why such a rush to leave your bonus port of Vancouver. There's lots to do for cruisers post-cruise for a few days to a week. Check out Grouse, Capilano, Stanley Park, Storybrooke.... There's also the food to explore too!

 

There's an early morning and a late afternoon daily train to Seattle. Otherwise, Quick Shuttle takes you to Seattle's airport with 6 to 7 daily one way trip.

 

[YOUTUBE]ZLL6du--lQA[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]vIvtsz1b60Q[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]EvH_ROLyUZQ[/YOUTUBE]

[LHT28]

stay over

just a quick search with random date in June

UA has a 6:45 am flight to FLL with a connection in ORD

 

AA has a 7:40 with a connection in DFW

You will be home the same day

Try

matrix.itasoftware.com

 

play with different airports

SEA to FLL or MIA

Edited November 18, 2016 by LHT28

[Flatbush Flyer]

We are ending up in Vancouver following our upcoming Panama Canal full transit from Fort Lauderdale, which is about an hour and a half from where we live. Looking at the flights from Vancouver to West Palm Beach shows most flights leave late in the day and arrive the next day in Florida after one or two stops.

 

 

 

Has anyone making this return to Florida after disembarking in Vancouver done any creative ways to get back without having to do the "red-eye"? We are not unaccustomed to overnight travel having done the flights to Europe a few times, but we would rather like to find a way to leave earlier in the day and arrive home the same day.

 

 

 

We tried to even see a train option to provide a nice scenic way to return and weren't successful yet in finding a site that we could use without bothering a TA.

 

 

 

Any suggestions would be great. If none, it will be airport naps during our return.

 

 

In all honesty, if you decided to spend a couple or three days in Vancouver, you might not want to return to West Palm Beach :-)

[Shorex]

Alaska Airlines has a one stop itinerary leaving YVR at 6:00 am, getting to Seattle at 6:49 am (yes, it's that short), then from SEA nonstop to FLL leaving at 8:40 am and arriving at 5:18 pm. That's probably the shortest total travel time flights you'll find that start and end in daylight. This itinerary would require one overnight in Vancouver, as would any combination that avoids the red eyes.

[Roz]

What about taking Southwest from Seattle to FLL?

 

Roz

[Langley Cruisers]

In all honesty, if you decided to spend a couple or three days in Vancouver, you might not want to return to West Palm Beach :-)

 

BOOM! :D There ya go.

[Murray&Vivian]

We have done the Vancouver - Fort Lauderdale flight.

 

The best options have been mentioned.

 

1. Alaska Airlines - Vancouver to Seattle to FLL

 

2. Alaska / Southwest - Vancouver to Seattle on Alaska. Southwest to FLL with a stop in St. Louis.

 

The Southwest option will be less expensive and with the extra stop arrives about one hour later than going all the way on Alaska Airlines.

 

There is a Quick Shuttle bus to Sea Tac Airport from several stops in Vancouver - check their website.

 

Lots to see in Vancouver - hopefully the weather is good !! ;)

 

Spend one night anyway - no need to rush back to West Palm Beach.

[Grego]

Wow. Lots of great replies and solutions. Thanks to all that have helped out so far. The voyage is booked for April 2018......yeah, I know, nothing like being anal and planning too far in advance.

 

Since we are way to far out to even check things out and we will probably use Princess to figure out a possible transfer and EZAir flight anyway, it is good to see the options you have given us.

 

Agreed, spending a day or two extra in Vancouver would be great. We stayed a couple of days there before our Alaska voyage and really loved the city. Maybe spending a day or two in Seattle might be a good option as well.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Wow. Lots of great replies and solutions. Thanks to all that have helped out so far. The voyage is booked for April 2018......yeah, I know, nothing like being anal and planning too far in advance.

 

 

 

Since we are way to far out to even check things out and we will probably use Princess to figure out a possible transfer and EZAir flight anyway, it is good to see the options you have given us.

 

 

 

Agreed, spending a day or two extra in Vancouver would be great. We stayed a couple of days there before our Alaska voyage and really loved the city. Maybe spending a day or two in Seattle might be a good option as well.

 

 

Seattle = Boston with sunset on the correct side of the water. Great place to visit. Only problem is that folks there rust rather than tan! (Actually not as much precipitation as some folks would have you believe).

[CaptFantastic]

You might also want to try looking at Canadian airlines, either Air Canada or WestJet.

Not sure about prices from Vancouver but they might have more options with less, or maybe no layovers.

Prices might be better out of Seattle though.

 

Chris

[xlxo]

Agreed, spending a day or two extra in Vancouver would be great. We stayed a couple of days there before our Alaska voyage and really loved the city. Maybe spending a day or two in Seattle might be a good option as well.

Where did you go in Vancouver on your previous trip? For your return trip.... Whistler? Victoria? Sea 2 Sky attractions?

 

In addition to the bus and train... you can also Orca whale watch your way to Seattle with your luggage to Victoria w/ luggage.

[Dogstar]

YVR is home for us. Same-day departure/arrival YVR-FLL flights are generally early morning flights. Very few direct flights. Numerous connection-flight options via YYZ, YUL, SEA, ORD, LAX, etc.

 

We have done the drive/bus/train options YVR-SEA for reasonable SEA-FLL airfare pricing in the past. Recently, YVR airport flights, such as our upcoming YVR-FLL//MCO-YVR flights ($400 CDN pp; $286 USD pp) were substantially cheaper than equivalent SEA airport flight options.

 

If you can & are interested, I suggest spending the day/night in Vancouver, or up through Squamish & Whistler. Fly home the next day, thus avoiding a red-eye or less-desirable connection flight routing.

 

And FWIW, we tried Amtrak SFO-SEA post-cruise once. Hated it. Not sure I'd recommend YVR/SEA-Florida via train. Not for us, anyway.

 

Cheers. Dogstar.

Edited November 19, 2016 by Dogstar

[mamasylvia]

Another option is to check the websites of your preferred airlines and see what times are available for individual segments. I was trying to fly on Spirit and kept getting a 3-segment flight red-eye SEA-DEN with one plane change at LAX. When I looked at the system map and saw that Las Vegas was a major hub, I tried for Seattle-Las Vegas and Las Vegas-Denver segments separately and came up with a much easier 2-segment 1-change plan. (Then I found nonstops on Alaska Air so we booked with them, lol.)

[NMLady]

Any interest in Seattle post cruise? You could travel from Vancouver to Seattle, and fly home from Seattle.

 

That would be my recommendation as well. There is scenic train/bus transfer from Vancouver to Seattle, spend a night or two then fly home.

 

Or, since others have found flights from Vancouver, spend at least one night in Vancouver then fly home.

Edited November 20, 2016 by NMLady

[FlyerTalker]

Try looking at ITA matrix for some ideas of routings and timing.

 

One thing to remember is that yoiu have both a three hour time difference AND a good amount of travel time which will eat up most of the day. Consequently, most eastbound flights that are going a significant distance will be departing before 2pm, with a lull until the evening red-eyes. Why? Because folks don't want to be arriving at their destination at 2am. Also, most of the connecting flights will have already been dispatched before a, say 5pm flight, gets in to the hub. Adding in all of the numbers, it's about a 12 hour minimum difference between your departure and arrival times - 9+ hours of travel time plus time change. So you end up with morning or red-eye for departure.

 

Since you don't give any other specifics, such as dates, specific recommendations won't be forthcoming.

[Essiesmom]

Try looking at ITA matrix for some ideas of routings and timing.

 

One thing to remember is that yoiu have both a three hour time difference AND a good amount of travel time which will eat up most of the day. Consequently, most eastbound flights that are going a significant distance will be departing before 2pm, with a lull until the evening red-eyes. Why? Because folks don't want to be arriving at their destination at 2am. Also, most of the connecting flights will have already been dispatched before a, say 5pm flight, gets in to the hub. Adding in all of the numbers, it's about a 12 hour minimum difference between your departure and arrival times - 9+ hours of travel time plus time change. So you end up with morning or red-eye for departure.

 

Since you don't give any other specifics, such as dates, specific recommendations won't be forthcoming.

 

The OP seems to be a Princess cruiser, so that limits it to Island Princess, arriving Van 10 May, or Coral, arriving 6 May. EM

[FlyerTalker]

The OP seems to be a Princess cruiser, so that limits it to Island Princess, arriving Van 10 May, or Coral, arriving 6 May. EM

Yep...once a Princess cruiser, always a Princess cruiser. ;)

 

If they can't be bothered to give specific information in a question, well....is it my job to research Princess cruise schedules?

 

Plus, rather than a direct question, it's "has anybody....".

 

GIGO

[wilmingtech]

We've driven from Florida to PNW in an RV. I'm assuming that's not what you are looking to do though :)

 

I'd spend a few days in Vancouver. That never gets boring. An absolutely beautiful city full of adventure.

 

A train from Vancouver to Seattle is a great way to see the coast. Its an amazing ride. Quick and not as expensive as you would think.

 

Then a night or two in Seattle..

 

And if you really want to venture out, a rental car and a drive to Portland with a swing through Mt. St. Helen's. Plenty to do in Portland as well. Then you can southwest it to FLL. The money you save on SWA from PDX vs. a flight out of Vancouver might help with a few dollars toward the travel.

 

If you hung around me long enough I'd try to talk ya into driving all the way down to LAX on route 101. Its a great drive. Once in a lifetime!

 

-Sean

Edited November 22, 2016 by wilmingtech

[navybankerteacher]

Another possibility would be to fly south to a west coast city you might want to visit: San Francisco, Los Angeles, or San Diego, spend a day or so there, then catch a morning flight to FLL, which would get you home by 6:00 PM or so.