Southbound Alaska cruise - coming home from Vancouver

[Eyeonhevn]

We are watching the flights for our summer 2024 Southbound Alaska cruise and the cost for the flights is really high. I'm wondering if there is a cheaper way to get home after disembarking in Vancouver? Is there a way to cross to Seattle - and then fly home? Anyone have alternative options or should we just book flight from Vancouver to home?

[Mike6453]

we live in NYC, we did the SB to vancouver last summer and got a pretty good deal flying Jet blue direct from vancuver. We stayed the weekend in vancouver after the cruise and took a red eye home sat night. i do recommend vancouver its a beautiful city. you can drive to seattle but depending on where you are going it may or may not be cheaper.

also just a recommendation, flying to anchorage is not cheap do not wait to book.

[KJones]

There are both bus and train options from Vancouver to Seattle, or rent a car. If you do decide to fly out of Seattle the day of disembarkation, I would recommend flights in the evening in case of any delays in your journey south.

[Ryan79]

I’ve done the train between Seattle and Vancouver. It’s very scenic and almost like an excursion of the Pacific Northwest. 

[Pattycruise]

3 hours ago, Ryan79 said:

I’ve done the train between Seattle and Vancouver. It’s very scenic and almost like an excursion of the Pacific Northwest. 

I’ve been eyeballing doing this but there appears to be only two trains. One is early morning (too early in relation to disembarking) and the other is late evening, which means hitting darkness halfway through the journey.   The rest of the “trains” are actually buses.

how far was the train station from the port? 

[twangster]

Last summer when the train service wasn't running yet I did the bus from the Vancouver train station to Seattle.  It was okay, nothing to ooh or aww about, with the required visit to CBP at the border which was uneventful and a means to stretch my legs.  It ended at a bus depot in Seattle that was an easy walk to a light rail station.  In my case I headed further downtown to a hotel before my next cruise leaving the next day from Seattle but the same light rail went to the Seattle airport in the other direction.  

[AlmondFarmer]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

Last summer when the train service wasn't running yet I did the bus from the Vancouver train station to Seattle.

How long did the transition at border from sled dog propulsion to internal combustion engine take?

[WAAAYTOOO]

8 hours ago, Pattycruise said:

The rest of the “trains” are actually buses.

Say whaaaat ?

[USCG Teacher]

5 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Say whaaaat ?

Silly as this sounds, @Pattycruise is right. Amtrak offers 6 times daily service from Vancouver to Seattle, but only the 6:35 AM and 5:45 PM departures are actually the Cascades train, the other four departures are Amtrak's "Thruway bus" service which is both slightly more expensive and less comfortable than the train.