Getting from Seattle ro Vancouver

[Tourist1292]

28 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

When you get your seats, try for the west side of the train car (it should be the left side of the forward facing train).  This way you can look out towards the beautiful Puget Sound for a good part of your train ride.

Thanks for the tip. We are planning to go to the upper level and sit facing west which is the left side of the train. When I purchased the ticket, it has the option to pick the upper or lower deck which was not there a few weeks before that. I check the upper deck box but the ticket does not show which level I picked.

 

Update: I just figured it out. They only show coach or lower level coach. So my reservation should be upper level.

Edited March 22, 2019 by Tourist1292

[Ferry_Watcher]

7 minutes ago, Tourist1292 said:

Thanks for the tip. We are planning to go to the upper level and sit facing west which is the left side of the train. When I purchased the ticket, it has the option to pick the upper or lower deck which was not there a few weeks before that. I check the upper deck box but the ticket does not show which level I picked.

For my peace of mind, double check that the train passage you booked is  Vancouver, BC  and not Vancouver WA .  It can be very confusing.

 

Generally speaking, Amtrak uses the Talgo cars which are just one level on the Seattle/Vancouver BC route.  The Vancouver WA / Seattle route is also serviced by the LA Coast Starlight route and that would have the double levels.

Better to check now than being surprised at the train station.  Hopefully it is a software thing regarding the two deck levels (when there is just a single level), and you are booked on the correct train.

[Tourist1292]

10 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

For my peace of mind, double check that the train passage you booked is  Vancouver, BC  and not Vancouver WA .  It can be very confusing.

 

Generally speaking, Amtrak uses the Talgo cars which are just one level on the Seattle/Vancouver BC route.  The Vancouver WA / Seattle route is also serviced by the LA Coast Starlight route and that would have the double levels.

Better to check now than being surprised at the train station.  Hopefully it is a software thing regarding the two deck levels (when there is just a single level), and you are booked on the correct train.

It is the correct route. I just checked my reservation. I have been looking at that train for months and finally booked it when there was a promotion. They must have changed the cars. As I said, it did not have the upper deck option until the promotion. Nevertheless, I did see youtube video with upper deck on that route (516 Amtrak Cascade).

Edited March 22, 2019 by Tourist1292

[Ferry_Watcher]

1 minute ago, Tourist1292 said:

It is the correct route. I have been looking at that train for months and finally booked it when there was a promotion. They must have changed the cars. As I said, it did not have the upper deck option until the promotion.

Thanks for checking.  Having two cities with the same name so close to each other can be confusing.  I am so glad that your tickets are for the correct route.  I hope I didn't freak you out! 

[Tourist1292]

3 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

Thanks for checking.  Having two cities with the same name so close to each other can be confusing.  I am so glad that your tickets are for the correct route.  I hope I didn't freak you out! 

I have memorized the schedule for that train, it would be hard to make a mistake unless they have the train to the other Vancouver at the same time. 😁

[martincath]

You wouldn't be the first person to end up heading South instead of North from Seattle on the train - but chances are you just booked in one of the brief windows when the regular crappy Amtrak carriages are used (there are insufficient Talgo trainsets to do full maintenance and still run all services, so usually for a couple of weeks a year the Vancouver-Seattle route has to be swapped out).

[Tourist1292]

On 3/21/2019 at 10:14 PM, Ferry_Watcher said:

When you get your seats, try for the west side of the train car (it should be the left side of the forward facing train).  This way you can look out towards the beautiful Puget Sound for a good part of your train ride.

The train would be pretty full as the same train in the following days have sold out recently. Any tips for getting better seats? Get there early?

[Ferry_Watcher]

 

3 hours ago, Tourist1292 said:

The train would be pretty full as the same train in the following days have sold out recently. Any tips for getting better seats? Get there early?

 

I think getting there early and standing in line is about the only other thing you can do (other than buying Business Class seats).  The good thing about this train is basically passengers are either going to Bellingham WA or Vancouver BC.   Additional passengers will be getting on the train, but mostly getting off at those two locations.  Amtrak will assign folks not getting off in Vancouver to a specific car so the conductor can just open that door to disembark the train passengers.  I actually live in the town which is the first stop of this route and when we board we are just told 'take any seat in car #3' for example.  If there are no Puget Sound view window seats available in say car #3, we have been known to walk into the next car looking for one.  The big rush of passengers is in Seattle, and at the subsequent stops the train staff is more relaxed about seating.

 

This train does have a snack car and there are tables that you can sit at - there is no time limit. So sitting in the snack car could be an option as well once the train leaves Seattle.

 

When you arrive in Vancouver they will disembark by car, starting with Business Class, and people on board are really good about waiting their turn.  It does take time as the Canadian Customs & Boarder folks are checking documents.

 

When is your cruise, and how are you getting home - returning to SeaTac, or flying from Canada?

[Tourist1292]

30 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

 

 

I think getting there early and standing in line is about the only other thing you can do (other than buying Business Class seats).  The good thing about this train is basically passengers are either going to Bellingham WA or Vancouver BC.   Additional passengers will be getting on the train, but mostly getting off at those two locations.  Amtrak will assign folks not getting off in Vancouver to a specific car so the conductor can just open that door to disembark the train passengers.  I actually live in the town which is the first stop of this route and when we board we are just told 'take any seat in car #3' for example.  If there are no Puget Sound view window seats available in say car #3, we have been known to walk into the next car looking for one.  The big rush of passengers is in Seattle, and at the subsequent stops the train staff is more relaxed about seating.

 

This train does have a snack car and there are tables that you can sit at - there is no time limit. So sitting in the snack car could be an option as well once the train leaves Seattle.

 

When you arrive in Vancouver they will disembark by car, starting with Business Class, and people on board are really good about waiting their turn.  It does take time as the Canadian Customs & Boarder folks are checking documents.

 

When is your cruise, and how are you getting home - returning to SeaTac, or flying from Canada?

Thanks for the info. I guess we will try to get to the train station an hour earlier. That means we need to check out by 6:30 right after breakfast. Our cruise in May returns to Seattle and we will stay a couple days there.

[Ferry_Watcher]

25 minutes ago, Tourist1292 said:

Thanks for the info. I guess we will try to get to the train station an hour earlier. That means we need to check out by 6:30 right after breakfast. Our cruise in May returns to Seattle and we will stay a couple days there.

 

You get the best of both worlds - traveling to Vancouver, BC,  one of the most beautiful cities in North America, and an easy departure from Seattle.  Sounds wonderful.

[Tourist1292]

11 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

 

You get the best of both worlds - traveling to Vancouver, BC,  one of the most beautiful cities in North America, and an easy departure from Seattle.  Sounds wonderful.

I only wish the cruise to be a week later like next year. We will have 2 full days pre cruise and 3 days post cruise at Vancouver and Seattle, respectively. Round trip to Seattle plus the one way Amtrak to Vancouver is the cheapest and more enjoyable arrangement for the trip even that would require one more night at a hotel before the train or we will arrive Vancouver near mid night which is 3am for our time zone. Fortunately, we found a nice hotel with a suite for 5 near downtown at an amazing price that costs us only $200 after discounted gift card.

Edited March 23, 2019 by Tourist1292

[Ferry_Watcher]

31 minutes ago, Tourist1292 said:

I only wish the cruise to be a week later like next year. We will have 2 full days pre cruise and 3 days post cruise at Vancouver and Seattle, respectively. Round trip to Seattle plus the one way Amtrak to Vancouver is the cheapest and more enjoyable arrangement for the trip even that would require one more night at a hotel before the train or we will arrive Vancouver near mid night which is 3am for our time zone. Fortunately, we found a nice hotel with a suite for 5 near downtown at an amazing price that costs us only $200 after discounted gift card.

Since you are traveling in a group of 5, the Amtrak cars usually has two sets of facing seats that would accommodate 4 passengers.  Chances are that your group could be assigned to that seating configuration, with the fifth person adjacent (or maybe a 3/2 configuration).

At the end of your trip 3 days in Seattle?  Are you traveling with kids?

 

[Tourist1292]

4 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

Since you are traveling in a group of 5, the Amtrak cars usually has two sets of facing seats that would accommodate 4 passengers.  Chances are that your group could be assigned to that seating configuration, with the fifth person adjacent (or maybe a 3/2 configuration).

At the end of your trip 3 days in Seattle?  Are you traveling with kids?

 

Do the upper level coach seats have different arrangement? Kids all grown up with the youngest is in college already. Yes, we will have 3 whole days in Seattle between disembarking and redeye flight. My daughter has a friend there and will show us around as we will be there over a weekend.

[Ferry_Watcher]

2 minutes ago, Tourist1292 said:

Do the upper level coach seats have different arrangement? Kids all grown up with the youngest is in college already. Yes, we will have 3 whole days in Seattle between disembarking and redeye flight. My daughter has a friend there and will show us around as we will be there over a weekend.

Sorry, I don't know about the two level Amtrak cars, I am more familiar with the Talgo cars.  Since you are all adults there wouldn't be a need for the facing seats, except to just hang out with each other.  Glad that you will have a 'local' to show you around Seattle - it is a great place to spend time.

[martincath]

3 hours ago, Tourist1292 said:

Thanks for the info. I guess we will try to get to the train station an hour earlier. That means we need to check out by 6:30 right after breakfast. Our cruise in May returns to Seattle and we will stay a couple days there.

An hour early isn't enough to be confident of water views. That's the default time to show up for anyone checking bags (Amtrak requires you to be there at least 45mins early to check a bag), so to make sure you are definitely among the first half of the folks boarding you need to be at least a little earlier as it is first-come, first-served for seating.

 

At least you don't need to worry about folks already on the train as the morning one starts in Seattle - 75mins early should be enough to be near enough the start of the queue to always get water views even on a full train (in cruise season it's almost always full, many of them are cruisers, and thus an awful lot of bag-checkers who turn up an hour early).

 

Breakfast on the train is perfectly adequate and not expensive - oatmeal, breakfast sandwiches, decent coffee, fruit bowls. Unless you'd normally eat your brekkie very early you can get an extra half-hour's kip before heading to the station.

[Tourist1292]

1 hour ago, martincath said:

An hour early isn't enough to be confident of water views. That's the default time to show up for anyone checking bags (Amtrak requires you to be there at least 45mins early to check a bag), so to make sure you are definitely among the first half of the folks boarding you need to be at least a little earlier as it is first-come, first-served for seating.

 

At least you don't need to worry about folks already on the train as the morning one starts in Seattle - 75mins early should be enough to be near enough the start of the queue to always get water views even on a full train (in cruise season it's almost always full, many of them are cruisers, and thus an awful lot of bag-checkers who turn up an hour early).

 

Breakfast on the train is perfectly adequate and not expensive - oatmeal, breakfast sandwiches, decent coffee, fruit bowls. Unless you'd normally eat your brekkie very early you can get an extra half-hour's kip before heading to the station.

Thanks for the info. We will try to be there by 6:30am then. The hotel has pretty good breakfast included. We really want to miss it. 

[Tourist1292]

I am on the Cascade train to Vancouver right now. When I checked in the luggage this morning, the two women in front of me just found they got the tickets to Vancouver WA instead.

I got the upper cabin seats and there is one car with the panoramic upper deck, however, we could not pick the seats in that car. We are around number 20 in the line before the counter opened. Not sure if that car has been filled. Anyway, We got two rows on the sea side and one on the other side.

[Ferry_Watcher]

2 hours ago, Tourist1292 said:

I am on the Cascade train to Vancouver right now. When I checked in the luggage this morning, the two women in front of me just found they got the tickets to Vancouver WA instead.

I got the upper cabin seats and there is one car with the panoramic upper deck, however, we could not pick the seats in that car. We are around number 20 in the line before the counter opened. Not sure if that car has been filled. Anyway, We got two rows on the sea side and one on the other side.

 

Hi Tourist1292, so glad you were able to get the seats on the west side of the train.  I live in the town that was your first stop on the way to Vancouver, BC.  We are fortunate to be able to walk to that lovely shoreline that you passed by! 

 

So ironic that those two ladies in line ahead of you accidentally had purchased tickets to Vancouver WA, instead of Vancouver, BC.  I sure you understand why I had suggested double checking, as it can be confusing.

 

Thanks so much for letting us know that you are on the train.  Have a wonderful cruise, and check back in with us when you get back!