Alaskan cruise flight question

[FiremedicMike151]

I’m sailing from Seattle and returning to Vancouver.  The best option (price and timeline) for flights for me is to fly back out of BLI airport in Washington.

 

Is it even possible to get a cab/Uber that crosses into America for Canada (we both have passports)

 

thanks!

[cw2go]

I believe you'll get better answers if you post this on the Alaska or Vancouver board. 

[lovecruzin]

Pre covid we did, we rented a car from YVR to BLI. Don't know if one way rentals are still available.

 

[jwlane]

Did you try a mock Uber booking?  It offers a price.  That said, I'd probably go the rental route.  Actually, I'd probably pony up and use YVR.

[psuboater]

Your easiest way would be to take the Amtrak Cascades from Vancouver to Bellingham, then grab a 5 minute Uber to BLI airport. I don't believe you can use Uber to cross the border.

[gregma60]

6 minutes ago, psuboater said:

Your easiest way would be to take the Amtrak Cascades from Vancouver to Bellingham, then grab a 5 minute Uber to BLI airport. I don't believe you can use Uber to cross the border.

I agree with this.  The train station is only about a mile and a half from the Vancouver cruise terminal, about an $8 taxi ride.  Would save quite a bit of money as well.  Not sure how far the Amtrak station in bellingham is from the airport however, shoudn't be too far.

 

-gregma

[jwlane]

12 minutes ago, psuboater said:

 take the Amtrak Cascades from Vancouver to Bellingham, 

Sounds good, except there are only 2 departures---6:35am and 5:45pm.

[gregma60]

I often use rome2rio to figure out trips.  There are only a few options they show:

 

Vancouver Cruise Ship Terminal to Bellingham - 4 ways to travel via , and train (rome2rio.com)

 

-gregma

Edited April 7, 2023 by gregma60

[Ferry_Watcher]

Your taxi or Uber driver would also have to have their passport or an Enhanced Driver's License for the trip across the US border.  Also, taxi/uber drivers may not have any interest in driving you across the border, as they will have to wait in a line (which can take hours) to return to Canada.

[psuboater]

Another option would to take two ubers - one to border, where you'll be able to clear customs by foot, then have an uber pick you up on the US side. It looks like it'd be between $65-70 CAN ($48-50) to the border, then another $60-65 to Bellingham Airport.

[martincath]

Quickshuttle stops at BLI - except IIRC Mon/Tues. Definitely the easiest!

[jeromep]

I don't know who you are cruising with, but Princess' EZAir has generally excellent flight prices for international flights, including from the U.S. to Canada and back again.  A few years ago we had a cruise that was RT Vancouver and we used EZAir to fly my in-laws into Vancouver from Louisville, KY.  The round trip flights were ridiculously inexpensive.

[CruiserBruce]

15 hours ago, psuboater said:

Another option would to take two ubers - one to border, where you'll be able to clear customs by foot, then have an uber pick you up on the US side. It looks like it'd be between $65-70 CAN ($48-50) to the border, then another $60-65 to Bellingham Airport.

At this point I would be doing the math very thoroughly...how much am I saving by this complicated effort? Money, time and effort saved by not flying home from Vancouver?

[FiremedicMike151]

4 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

At this point I would be doing the math very thoroughly...how much am I saving by this complicated effort? Money, time and effort saved by not flying home from Vancouver?

Just to be clear for everyone saying "is it worth it".

 

The flights from vancouver to my home during this weekend take-off at 10:30 PM, involve a 9+ hour overnight layover in an airport, then arrive the next day at my home airport between 2-3pm.

 

That is absolutely atrocious.

 

[Ferry_Watcher]

I imagine that you looked into flying from Vancouver to Seattle, then a separate domestic flight home after that.  It might be more money, but it could save you time.

[CruiserBruce]

3 hours ago, FiremedicMike151 said:

Just to be clear for everyone saying "is it worth it".

 

The flights from vancouver to my home during this weekend take-off at 10:30 PM, involve a 9+ hour overnight layover in an airport, then arrive the next day at my home airport between 2-3pm.

 

That is absolutely atrocious.

 

Curious where you are flying to?

[nw gardener]

To answer your original question,  Uber and Lyft drivers won't cross the border,  psuboater is correct on having to clear customs on foot and getting another driver to Bellingham. AND  if you are coming through the border on a US or Canadian holiday weekend,  be prepared to possibly add hours to cross. Yesterday early afternoon  it was over a 3.5 hour SB wait at both the truck crossing and Peace Arch. Early in the morning and non  holiday , chances are better on shorter lines (before 0900). If you have Nexus or Global entry,  you have the best chance of a relatively quick SB crossing. 

 

[FiremedicMike151]

22 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

I imagine that you looked into flying from Vancouver to Seattle, then a separate domestic flight home after that.  It might be more money, but it could save you time.

Holy crap, this actually worked and is convenient time wise and cheaper than any other option I've found!

 

Thanks!
 

[Ferry_Watcher]

7 minutes ago, FiremedicMike151 said:

Holy crap, this actually worked and is convenient time wise and cheaper than any other option I've found!

 

Thanks!
 

 

Yay!  Happy that it worked out for you!