Starting to Plan for Vancouver - Alaska - Seattle cruise May 24

[Jcol5786]

Hello,

We recently booked a cruise on Ovation of the Seas for an Alaska cruise. This cruise leaves from Vancouver and returns to Seattle. As we start planning for this cruise there are lots of questions. We plan on flying into Vancouver a couple of days before the cruise and use the time to explore. I have already learned about the SkyTrain which seems like a good way to get from the airport to downtown. We can't purchase our air tickets yet but we will be flying from Toronto to Vancouver. We will be deciding whether to stay at an airport hotel or downtown based on our  flight arrival times. One question I do have is about the end of the cruise arrival in Seattle. We want to fly home from Vancouver so we will need to get from the cruise pier in Seattle back to Vancouver. We will probably spend a day after the cruise returns to get back to Vancouver. From what I have been reading is it correct that RCI uses Pier 19 when docking in Seattle and this is where I should start looking for transport back to Vancouver? If it is any recommendations about getting from Pier 19 back to Vancouver downtown would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[CruiserBruce]

Its Pier 91, not 19.

 

If you look around the board, there are several options. Fly SEA to Vancouver. There is a bus service. There is a train service. You could rent a car. As your cruise starts in Vancouver, and ends in Seattle, RCI might offer a bus transfer.

[Jcol5786]

12 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Its Pier 91, not 19.

 

If you look around the board, there are several options. Fly SEA to Vancouver. There is a bus service. There is a train service. You could rent a car. As your cruise starts in Vancouver, and ends in Seattle, RCI might offer a bus transfer.

Thanks for the correction. Looks like there are several options for getting back to Vancouver. I hadn't thought about the possiblity of an RCI bus transfer. I'll follow up on that one. Thanks for you reply.

[Lois R]

1 hour ago, Jcol5786 said:

Thanks for the correction. Looks like there are several options for getting back to Vancouver. I hadn't thought about the possiblity of an RCI bus transfer. I'll follow up on that one. Thanks for you reply.

I did this route multiple times and used a company called "Quick Shuttle" to get from Vancouver to Seattle. Here is a link to their website:

https://quickcoach.com/

[memoak]

The train is very scenic but only currently runs once or twice a day 

[Ferry_Watcher]

Guessing that this cruise is in 2024.  Since you are traveling back home to Ontario, I would look into a one way flight Seattle  to Vancouver, and then pick up the 2nd half of your round trip flight home.

 

I just returned from a Vancouver - Alaska - Seattle cruise on the Solstice yesterday.

If you find your self in Skagway, I highly recommend Chilkoot White Pass Summit Rail & Bus Excursion.    https://chilkootcharters.com/

[mlh0500]

3 hours ago, Jcol5786 said:

Thanks for the correction. Looks like there are several options for getting back to Vancouver. I hadn't thought about the possiblity of an RCI bus transfer. I'll follow up on that one. Thanks for you reply.

I have read several reviews on the Amtrak route...  many say it is one of the most beautful train rides they've been on. We'll find out in few weeks !

[Ferry_Watcher]

22 minutes ago, mlh0500 said:

I have read several reviews on the Amtrak route...  many say it is one of the most beautful train rides they've been on. We'll find out in few weeks !

 

Do arrive at the station early and ask for a seat on the west side of the train (where the view is).

It is a beautiful and relaxing ride.

[Jcol5786]

1 hour ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

Guessing that this cruise is in 2024.  Since you are traveling back home to Ontario, I would look into a one way flight Seattle  to Vancouver, and then pick up the 2nd half of your round trip flight home.

 

I just returned from a Vancouver - Alaska - Seattle cruise on the Solstice yesterday.

If you find your self in Skagway, I highly recommend Chilkoot White Pass Summit Rail & Bus Excursion.    https://chilkootcharters.com/

I thought about doing that but the flight from Seattle to Vancouver is almost as much as the fare from Vancouver to Toronto so I thought it would be nice to take a nice scenic ride back on either a train or bus if they are easy to get to after getting off the cruise.

 

Thanks for the tip about the excursion in Skagway. We'll check it out.

 

[Ferry_Watcher]

5 minutes ago, Jcol5786 said:

I thought about doing that but the flight from Seattle to Vancouver is almost as much as the fare from Vancouver to Toronto so I thought it would be nice to take a nice scenic ride back on either a train or bus if they are easy to get to after getting off the cruise.

 

I would keep watching the flight fares.  The downside of taking Amtrak back to Vancouver is that you arrive too late to safely make the morning train, and will have to wait until late afternoon for the next train.

If you decide to use Amtrak, consider traveling Business Class, especially if you can book during a sale promotion.  Taking this late train also probably means that you will have to spend the night in Vancouver and flying home the next day.

[taznremmy]

9 hours ago, Lois R said:

I did this route multiple times and used a company called "Quick Shuttle" to get from Vancouver to Seattle. Here is a link to their website:

https://quickcoach.com/

Lois, Did you ever use this for for a 'same day' transfer from SEA to YVR?  Wanting to move from the Ovation to the Radiance. TIA

Pat

[Lois R]

20 minutes ago, taznremmy said:

Lois, Did you ever use this for for a 'same day' transfer from SEA to YVR?  Wanting to move from the Ovation to the Radiance. TIA

Pat

Hi, well, I used them post cruise when I needed to get from Vancouver to to Seattle same day. I had a late night flight back to the East Coast so I had plenty of time. 

[martincath]

Honestly @Jcol5786 I'd wait until you can see flight prices for your dates before firming up plans. Despite the extra fees to cross the border, it might actually be cheaper to fly from SEA back home! Obviously you can do some Vancouver touring before the cruise, so unless you WANT to ride the train back afterward or were driving cross-country and leaving your car there's no need to return unless it saves money or time... even if you have to transfer on an SEA flight you will find multiple options with less than 3 hours layover, compared to a minimum 5 hours for bus or train between check-in and travel time.

 

My wife's work HQ is in Toronto, she's back there at least a couple of times a year for meetings, and flights from PDX are usually less than YVR - basically due to the massively increased competition in the US compared to Canadian airline markets. PDX is significantly smaller than SEA so even better deals can be found from SEA (we also have friends in Toronto, Boston, and Gainesville FL that we visit so we have done a lot of airport-shopping between YVR, SEA and PDX over the years... depending on a bunch of random factors we've flown all combos of routes as the best balance of time and dollars spent!)

 

With you being almost midway between YYZ and YUL you'll have even more potential options - so until the flight schedules are out I wouldn't bother expending any thought on the possible options until you can get some tangible times and prices!

[Jcol5786]

 

30 minutes ago, martincath said:

Honestly @Jcol5786 I'd wait until you can see flight prices for your dates before firming up plans. Despite the extra fees to cross the border, it might actually be cheaper to fly from SEA back home! Obviously you can do some Vancouver touring before the cruise, so unless you WANT to ride the train back afterward or were driving cross-country and leaving your car there's no need to return unless it saves money or time... even if you have to transfer on an SEA flight you will find multiple options with less than 3 hours layover, compared to a minimum 5 hours for bus or train between check-in and travel time.

 

 

Your absolutely correct that until the flight prices for next May are posted it makes no sense to do much planning at this point. As for flight out of Seattle I did a quick check and they all seemed to go to Vancouver and than on to Tornoto. When looking at flights out as far as we can which is March 2024 Flair or Porter have great prices and direct flights  TO to VAN; I've flown on both. Since neither of those airlines operate out of Seattle we would need to pick AC or WJ for the first leg or just do AC or WJ all the way back to Toronto. Doing that doubles the prices that would have with Flair or Porter thus my inclination to get back to Vancouver after the cruise. I'd much rather spend the extra money on a nice trip back, and evening out in downtown Vancouver and then an early flight back the next day. But again all this is just speculation till the prices for May 2024 become available.

Edited May 16, 2023 by Jcol5786
Unfinished sentence.

[martincath]

1 hour ago, Jcol5786 said:

...Flair or Porter have great prices and direct flights  TO to VAN;

Be VERY careful using Flair - even if you fly with tiny free bags only and avoid upcharges, and they do have some flights actually to YVR now, Abbotsford (with zero public transit options to Vancouver) is their main 'Vancouver' base and should anything go wrong your delays might be numbered in days not hours (very small chartered fleets, some of which have already been seized due to failure to make payments). A buddy came to visit from Toronto before Flair started using YVR, and had to schlep to Hamilton to start his flights; transfer in Kelowna (their original HQ); was delayed there two days due to a plane breakdown, and because he had now arrived on a weekday I couldn't go pick him up so it took three hours on taxis, local transit, and an airport shuttle to actually get in to Vancouver after all that! If it had been the homeward leg he'd have been in serious trouble for missing two days of work... absolutely not worth saving the couple of hundred bucks difference in ticket prices compared to a full-service airline!

 

Porter though we loved when we lived in T.O. - was super excited about the new plane design and original plan to extend Billy Bishop runway to avoid YYZ. Even with that falling through, still plan to try them next time we fly back east to see friends as the new plane layout looks a delight by modern aircraft standards - BUT the pricing is still in the 'throw money away every trip to entice people to become customers' stage.

 

Historically, Porter never really tried to undercut AC/WJ on pricing, they focused on a better quality experience at a fair price from the incredibly-convenient downtown airport location. Rolling up 15mins ahead of takeoff, check-in and security taking like five minutes total, free booze for everyone if you were early enough to actually have to wait in the terminal; best legroom on any Q400 in the skies due to the runway length requiring a reduced max takeoff weight and thus fewer rows of seats; it was like being back in the golden age of aviation!

 

Next year once we hit 'Canadian Summer' though I seriously doubt prices will be as keen as they are now... so if you do get the chance to lock in a dirt-cheap flight as soon as they become available, sure, jump on it for the outbound leg to get here, then do the math on your homebound post-cruise flights. I don't recall ever saving money by booking Returns as a package with Porter - so you could jump on the outbound flight a week earlier than by waiting to book both legs.

 

With a hotel night on the table the train becomes absolutely viable for travel SEA-VAN, and is definitely the most chillaxed way to cross the border!

Edited May 16, 2023 by martincath