transfers from Seattle to Vancouver

[rmmm]

I want to know if anyone has ever flown into Seattle and then used HAL transfers to get to the Pier in Vancouver? I called HAL and they told me that it was about a 3 1/2 hour bus ride from Seattle to the pier in Vancouver. I am flying in the day before and am planning on staying overnight in Seattle. Has anyone every done this? It is not possible to fly in the day of the cruise because I won't arrive in time. It seems to me that my best option is flying into Seattle the day before and then taking the HAL bus. Does anyone have any other suggestions for the trip from Seattle to Vancouver??

[6rugrats]

I would take the train; lots of detail about that in the west coast departures board.

[hunahpu]

I would take the train; lots of detail about that in the west coast departures board.

 

I second that. We took the train the other direction, from Vancouver to Seattle. The whole way it snaked past the coastal waters, and was quite beautiful. In fact, we saw the sun set on the water on our trip, which was awesome.

[sodomojo]

I second that. We took the train the other direction, from Vancouver to Seattle. The whole way it snaked past the coastal waters, and was quite beautiful. In fact, we saw the sun set on the water on our trip, which was awesome.

 

I second that too. The train that goes up to Vancouver leaves in the morning and is way better than the bus. You don't need to worry about the border crossing. Then you just take a short cab ride to the pier from the train station. The scenery is amazing, while you're enjoying your morning coffee.

[tpwolfe]

We took the Holland America bus from Seattle. It was closer to 4 hours. But it was a nice bus. The border wasn't a big deal. We stopped at the border to get out and walk around and the driver of the bus took all our information to the border police and one of them came on the bus and all we did was hold up our passports and he walked up and down the bus and asked if we were all going on a cruise and all said yes and then he said have a good time and got out. It took maybe a minute. Coming back we pulled in on the US side of border and they told us to keep going. They didn't even stop us. The reason why we took the bus we knew if used Holland America transfer and missed the ship if the bus broke down then they would get us to the ship. If something happens to the train you are out of luck. You catch the bus at the airport. We stayed at a hotel that had a free airport shuttle and rode it back to the airport to catch the bus. The bus dropped us off right at the dock and picked us up there for the return to the Seattle airport. We looked at doing the train but we decided the bus was our best option.

[wrp96]

Take the Amtrak Cascades. It has an early morning departure that arrives in Vancouver in plenty of time for an afternoon cruise departure.

[jcrandle]

This may have changed, if so, I'm sure I will be gently corrected, but the last time I investigated the train (Amtrack) I found that it MIGHT be a train or a bus, depending on the time and the expected number of passengers. The last two times we flew in to Seattle for a Vancouver departure, we had three or four cruisers in our party, and it was more convenient and less expensive to rent a car and drop it off in Vancouver. You might want to investigate this option. The only caveat is that you should allow at least one hour additional (to be safe two hours) for the border crossing, in addition to normal drive time.

[Himself]

I have taken the QUICK-SHUTTLE from Sea-Tac to Vancouver and have always enjoyed the bus ride when I have done this. I will be doing it again in June.

[wrp96]

This may have changed, if so, I'm sure I will be gently corrected, but the last time I investigated the train (Amtrack) I found that it MIGHT be a train or a bus, depending on the time and the expected number of passengers.

 

Correct, but the early morning departure, the one that arrives in time to catch a cruise, is a train, not a bus.