Looking for advice...Train - Seattle to Vancouver

[darcy0214]

Hi everyone - we are Disney cruise addicts that will be taking our first Alaskan trip this summer. The steep prices of flying round trip to Vancouver have us considering flying into Seattle and taking the train to Vancouver (we love Seattle so it's not much of an arm twist...)

I'm wondering if anyone has done this and has any tips for us. Is this more hassle than it's worth? Any tips, thoughts, recommendations? We aren't avid train users so would welcome any advice at all.

 

[nancyjo1998]

We did the train this past summer as we wanted to add Seattle onto the trip. It was very easy. I do recommend buying business class tickets. You are the first off the train and through customs when you get into Vancouver, which in itself is worth it. Ask to be sat on the left side of the train the views are incredible. We had no issues with delays but I heard in my research that it can happen so I would not recommend taking the train the day the ship departs.

 

[Kangarucci]

We have taken the train from Seattle to Vancouver and found it to be relaxing and a great way to travel.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

We did this for our Alaska cruise. We flew from the east coast to Seattle on airline points. Spent a couple days exploring Seattle. The morning before the cruise we took the Casacades train to Vancouver. I also highly recommend business class for the reasons stated above.- so book early. Also to take the train the day before your cruise (7am train) in case there are any delays etc. You will have time to sort it out and not miss your cruise. It also gives you a day to explore Vancouver, which is a beautiful city. We brought our breakfast/coffee on board and we were glad we did as the food car was very busy. We shopped the Amazon Go store in Seattle the night before. I think they had just opened-so that was really cool. I had never taken anything other than the commuter rail in our city, and I loved this trip! The scenery was beautiful. The trip relaxing. I still remember a small Canadain town right over the border. They were having some sort of festival. Some of the people were waving to us as we passed by in the train. So welcoming and heartwarming! I loved it and would do it again!

 

[mevelandry]

Hi everyone - we are Disney cruise addicts that will be taking our first Alaskan trip this summer. The steep prices of flying round trip to Vancouver have us considering flying into Seattle and taking the train to Vancouver (we love Seattle so it's not much of an arm twist...)

I'm wondering if anyone has done this and has any tips for us. Is this more hassle than it's worth? Any tips, thoughts, recommendations? We aren't avid train users so would welcome any advice at all.

Side note: Fun alternative that has been on my bucket list forever... Did you know that there are 1 night cruises going from Seattle to Vancouver? I know Princess does it.

 

[ScooterScott44]

We had hoped to take the train this past spring but found that the Seattle to Vancouver only ran once in the morning and once in the evening. It didn’t work for our flight schedule so we did the one way car rental for about $60.

The round trip out flights to Seattle should be fine. So just pointing out the train schedule and related logistics could be impactful. We did a couple of days at Vancouver on the front end and the same in Seattle on the back end. Due to the actual train schedule we would have had a long day hauling bags waiting for the evening train, or we could have wasted a the time checking in and out for the one night.

 

[Quellman]

We did this about a decade ago before kids. We took a late flight from the East coast and arrived after midnight at the Airport. We slept in the airport until morning with our luggage and took the train down down and then transferred to the Amtrak train for the ride to Vancouver. Spent a few days in Vancouver before getting on the boat, which returned us to Seattle, where we spent a few days before heading home.

There isn't much hassle, just a bit time consuming, waiting at the train station, boarding the train, waiting for everyone else to board and then arriving in vancouver. The train basically does not stop for passengers once it gets across the boarder. The left side of the train is the side that is along the water but we had no issues with being on the right. We did it for the novelty and some of the views.

Amtraks website is easy enough to use and boarding isn't much of an issue. They will take your luggage. We did not have any issues with customs being a lengthy process in Canada either. There is a monorail station right across from the Vancouver Amtrak terminal to easily get you to points around down town if you don't want to take a taxi.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Haven't done it, but just wanted to mention, even though it sounds obvious, make sure you buy a ticket for Vancouver, B.C. as I've read more than once someone accidentally purchased tickets for Vancouver, WA.

The landscape is beautiful in the region and I'm sure the train ride would be awesome. I am inpatient in general and do whatever is the quickest, so I take the expensive foot vibrating airplane.

 

[braysmommy]

We had hoped to take the train this past spring but found that the Seattle to Vancouver only ran once in the morning and once in the evening. It didn’t work for our flight schedule so we did the one way car rental for about $60.

The round trip out flights to Seattle should be fine. So just pointing out the train schedule and related logistics could be impactful. We did a couple of days at Vancouver on the front end and the same in Seattle on the back end. Due to the actual train schedule we would have had a long day hauling bags waiting for the evening train, or we could have wasted a the time checking in and out for the one night.

We are on Hawaii to Vancouver cruise this May and will be renting a car Vancouver - Seattle. For the 3 of us much cheaper and a lot more flexibility.

 

[darcy0214]

Thank you everyone - extremely helpful as always!

 

[su_A_ve]

Renting from SEA-TAC with Alamo allows you to drop off right at the terminal. Going into Canada should not be much of a hassle but the return to the US can be a nightmare with an hour wait common.

You could stay the night before in Vancouver or one of the small towns before the border. The flight back, if you take a red-eye, you will have plenty of time.

 

[Auntof2]

We did this for our Alaska cruise. We flew from the east coast to Seattle on airline points. Spent a couple days exploring Seattle. The morning before the cruise we took the Casacades train to Vancouver. I also highly recommend business class for the reasons stated above.- so book early. Also to take the train the day before your cruise (7am train) in case there are any delays etc. You will have time to sort it out and not miss your cruise. It also gives you a day to explore Vancouver, which is a beautiful city. We brought our breakfast/coffee on board and we were glad we did as the food car was very busy. We shopped the Amazon Go store in Seattle the night before. I think they had just opened-so that was really cool. I had never taken anything other than the commuter rail in our city, and I loved this trip! The scenery was beautiful. The trip relaxing. I still remember a small Canadain town right over the border. They were having some sort of festival. Some of the people were waving to us as we passed by in the train. So welcoming and heartwarming! I loved it and would do it again!

Completely agree with all of this, including business class on the 7am Cascades train and checking out an Amazon Go store. We took the train the day before our cruise and spent the night (using Marriott points) at the Delta Suites hotel - it was lovely and we were able to walk to the port.

 

[JaimeInParker]

Hi everyone - we are Disney cruise addicts that will be taking our first Alaskan trip this summer. The steep prices of flying round trip to Vancouver have us considering flying into Seattle and taking the train to Vancouver (we love Seattle so it's not much of an arm twist...)

I'm wondering if anyone has done this and has any tips for us. Is this more hassle than it's worth? Any tips, thoughts, recommendations? We aren't avid train users so would welcome any advice at all.

We have done this several times and it's easy to do - plus the ride is a beautiful tour of the coast

 

[spiders]

I've never done the train. Personally, unless you intend to do something in Seattle then flying to Seattle (especially if it's the same cost as going to Vancouver) seems like a waste of time. It's just one extra thing that can go wrong.

The entire Pacific Northwest is a beautiful part of the world. So, while the train ride would probably be very scenic (the drive certainly is) - I'd rather just go to Vancouver and explore the area. You'll see just as many beautiful things and you'll already be at port.

 

[MsSimone]

We did the train this summer for an event in Vancouver, and it worked great. The ride is lovely and comfortable with great scenery.