Transportation from Seattle to Vancover BC

[dollfan]

We live in Seattle and are taking a Celebrity cruise this August from Vancover. Does anyone know the best way to get from Seattle to the pier? Bus? Train? dive ourselves?

[40yearcruiser]

We are flying into Seattle on June 1 and will take the Amtrak the next morning to Vancouver. Will let you know how it goes! The train leaves Seattle at 7:40 a.m. and arrives in Vancouver at 11:35 a.m. My son has taken that train before and says it is a very scenic ride (he's the one who suggested we fly to Seattle instead of Vancouver and take the train). Just one more month before we leave!!!

[Budget Queen]

You have several options. The cruiseline will have contracted buses, independent bus with Quick Shuttle, one way rental cars- Avis, Alamo, Budget, Hertz, National., and Amtrak.

 

With a one way car rental, I most always stay in Bellingham the day before cruising, then easy to miss the bogged down border delays with a 9-10am start and time for a little sightseeing of Vancouver. You want a Seatac pick up and DOWNTOWN Vancouver drop off.

 

With Amtrak, budget in $35+ for a cab from Seatac and either Skytrain or another cab to ports. The seats in regular coach are certainly fine, although you will see posts who only recommend business class due to them first getting off the train (no big deal to me), and being allowed in the dining car first- again, consider if that is really a benefit to you?? Get there early and available for first in line at the seat assignment booth, request the water side.

 

Sorry, I later saw you live in Seattle, information is for general info. :)

[fsdj1097]

We live in Seattle and are taking a Celebrity cruise this August from Vancover. Does anyone know the best way to get from Seattle to the pier? Bus? Train? dive ourselves?

 

 

We took the AMTrak from Seattle to Vancouver in 2005 and enjoyed every minute of the ride.

 

Make sure you are at the station plenty early as they stop loading luggage around 7:15.

 

We enjoyed business class since the cost was only $6.00 difference. You'll have to be the judge for yourself.

 

It is a very scenic route along Puget Sound with many bald eagle sightings.

[BCHappyGal]

Since you live in Seattle why not drive yourself the port of vancouver offers long term parking for the duration of your cruise at a reasonable cost.

[Gawga Girl]

We have received notice that there will be no Business class seats available for our trip to Vancouver. We booked our tickets Oct. 12, 2006 and paid for Business class. We will have regular coach seats but according to the Amtrak agent that we talked to last month, there will be no Business class on our trip. If you have a ticket already, you may want to call the toll free number and check it out. Someone else on CC has also posted this info, and they were denied a ticket and will be riding the bus. This concerned me and that is why I called Amtrak. They will refund the difference in price of the two tickets in Seattle.

[jacksan1]

For maintenance purposes, Amtrak is substituting their regular rolling stock that is used on the "Cascades" service with another set of rolling stock that does not have the business class. This "equipment substitution" will occur between April 10 and June 10. Please see this for details:

 

http://www.amtrakcascades.com/TrackWork.aspx

[smurf1635]

How far is the peir from the train station in Vancouver? Is a taxi needed? Any idea of the cost?

 

Also, does anyone know how close the Bellingham airport is to the Amtrak station? We have one hour from landing till the train would leave, would that give us plenty of time?

[Budget Queen]

How far is the peir from the train station in Vancouver? Is a taxi needed? Any idea of the cost?

 

Also, does anyone know how close the Bellingham airport is to the Amtrak station? We have one hour from landing till the train would leave, would that give us plenty of time?

 

 

It's probably a $10-12ca cab ride to Canada Place, there is also Skytrain, if you pack light for $2.25ca.

 

The Bellingham depot and airport are about 10 miles apart and 15-20 min. ride. Sorry, you do not have "plenty of time". I would definately have alternative plans in place if you miss the train.

[sailor moon]

Jacksan1

 

Thanks for the heads up as we are booked and paid for the "business class on June 9th. Bummer! Now I have to call and get the refund difference :(

[smurf1635]

Thank you, Budget Queen. After further reading on the board, I realized that there would not be enough time to take the train. I wish I had known about it before, I would have booked my flight for a few days before the cruise, instead of after. A great deal on airfare, caused me to book and then do my research. On the bright side, I'll be in the know for next time.

[cruzy-sue]

Jacksan1

 

Thanks for the heads up as we are booked and paid for the "business class on June 9th. Bummer! Now I have to call and get the refund difference :(

 

 

Why in the world would you cancel it?? I heard the seats are way more comfortable for a 4 hour trip and it's not that much more for business class. Besides, it is great to get on and off first - make your own decision. Business class gets a good rap from most people on these boards

[jacksan1]

Why in the world would you cancel it?? I heard the seats are way more comfortable for a 4 hour trip and it's not that much more for business class. Besides, it is great to get on and off first - make your own decision. Business class gets a good rap from most people on these boards

 

It's only because there is no business class for that day (see my post above). Amtrak is putting the regular equipment in for maintenance, and substituting it with the Superliner trainset which does not have the business class.

 

By the way, this "substitute" Superliner set is quite nice, not shabby at all.

[Budget Queen]

Why in the world would you cancel it?? I heard the seats are way more comfortable for a 4 hour trip and it's not that much more for business class. Besides, it is great to get on and off first - make your own decision. Business class gets a good rap from most people on these boards

 

Because It is not available. And sorry, the seats are not "way" more comfortable. The coach seats are just fine, if you don't want to spend the extra money.

[sailor moon]

We have Business class reservations 6/9/07 but there is a chance that the trains will not be back in time to run business class (Amtrak said to call back a week before the date of our cruise June 9th) . I have made backup reservations in the reserved coach section so that I know I will be guaranteed a seat on the train whether it is in business class or reserved coach. If not for this board, I would not have known there was even an issue with Amtrak and the trains running that weekend. The Amtrak agent said that their computer does not automatically transfer a business class ticket to a reserved coach ticket so we would have been out of luck had we shown up and the coach seats were gone. Thank goodness for the people who post to this board!!!

[40yearcruiser]

It's only because there is no business class for that day (see my post above). Amtrak is putting the regular equipment in for maintenance, and substituting it with the Superliner trainset which does not have the business class.

 

By the way, this "substitute" Superliner set is quite nice, not shabby at all.

What are the Superliner coaches like? Do they have good visibility? Since there is no business class on this train, how are seats assigned? This is our first trip with Amtrak so any information from previous travelers would be very helpful.

[Budget Queen]

What are the Superliner coaches like? Do they have good visibility? Since there is no business class on this train, how are seats assigned? This is our first trip with Amtrak so any information from previous travelers would be very helpful.

 

Superliner are the long distance cars, and very nice. They run from Chicago and west. They don't get under the bridges on the east coast. :) I've ridden in them several times, including San Diego- Seattle, and several other East/West routes.

 

 

Seats are assigned in the station, you line up at the booth and request waterside seats.

[jacksan1]

As BQ has stated, the Superliner trainset is very nice. They are double-decker, so you will get a very good view (most seats are upper). I am not sure whether they will attach the lounge car in this substitution, but if they do, you will have a fantastic view from the wide windows and semi-glass ceiling. I've crisscrossed the country on the Superliner (e.g., Empire Builder, Coast Starlight, California Zehphyr), and found them comfortable even on a 35-hour trip.

[zoozoo]

Wow, this might be a better trip on the Superliner than we were anticipating on the original Amtrak! Looking forward to it so much.

[40yearcruiser]

Thanks for the info. It sounds like this will be a great trip. Glad we chose this option for getting to our cruise.

[wasup254]

Do you need a passport to get on the train in seattle to go to Vancouver?

Thanks

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I keep reading posts about the train between Seattle and Vancouver, but when I go to Amtrak's Web site it indicates it's a "Thruway bus" for that route. If anyone can clarify this for me, I'd appreciate it. We'll be traveling from Vancouver, BC to Portland, Oregon after our cruise and I thought it would a more relaxing end to the vacation if we took the train instead of driving, but we definitely don't want a bus.

 

Thank you!

Jayne

 

:)

[LeftcoastBC]

Do you need a passport to get on the train in seattle to go to Vancouver?

Thanks

 

Not yet.. but you need Birth cetificate and other ID

 

I keep reading posts about the train between Seattle and Vancouver, but when I go to Amtrak's Web site it indicates it's a "Thruway bus" for that route. If anyone can clarify this for me, I'd appreciate it. We'll be traveling from Vancouver, BC to Portland, Oregon after our cruise and I thought it would a more relaxing end to the vacation if we took the train instead of driving, but we definitely don't want a bus.

 

Thank you!

Jayne

 

:)

 

There are at present only Two Trains a day. North at 7:40 AM and South around 6 PM (I think thats about right)

 

A deal has been struck between Amtrak and Province of BC to add another train. Not sure what the time frame is on that. They run buses at other times throughout the day.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

 

There are at present only Two Trains a day. North at 7:40 AM and South around 6 PM (I think thats about right)

 

Thanks! I'll go back to their Web site and look for that south route. Appreciate the help!

 

Jayne

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I went back to Amtrak's Web site and no matter what I put in, the only option is a "motorcoach" from Vancouver to Seattle. I will, of course, call Amtrak about it, but I'm wondering how all of you are getting trains????

 

Thanks!

Jayne

 

:)