S2B2B from Seattle (Anthem) to Vancouver (Radiance)

[WAAAYTOOO]

First of all - a confession.  I have largely ignored the Alaska blogs previously, b/c I didn't have anything booked to AK....but now, that has changed...and I need some help (please). 

HELP !

We are doing a late season AK cruise on Anthem (Seattle-Seattle), after which we will move directly (same day) to a pair of Radiance cruises (Vancouver - San Diego; San Diego - FLL via the Panama Canal).  I tried getting on the final Radiance cruise of the season but that hasn't worked out, so the Anthem is the next best choice.

I need some suggestions on:

1.  How best to get from Seattle to Vancouver

2.  Recommendations on somewhere to stay in Seattle, prior to the first cruise.

I also need excursion recommendations but those aren't quite as important (right now) as are the logistics details of getting to the ships.

Thanks !

 

[smokeybandit]

Rent a car, take the bus (there's I think one company that does that route) or take Amtrak. All have their own good/bad, especially if you're doing it same day.

[DDaley]

If I remember anything from the impressive @twangster blogs that swayed me to book Alaska, he took the train easily between these two cities to board a cruise after flying to Seattle. 

Definitely recommend a wildlife or whale watching tour, the amount of whales we saw was insane. We saw tons of whales in both ISP and Sitka! In Juneau I looooved seeing (what’s left of) the Mendenhall Glacier but don’t recommend a kayak tour to see it, haha. My hands were blistered for days! 

Are you planning anything for San Francisco? I always recommend a tour of the ROCK! Amazing views from there looking back at the city and the Golden Gate, plus touring Alcatraz is interesting, too. Make sure to buy these tickets early, they always sell out if you wait till the week-of. 

 

[Zacharius]

If you really do need to make it in one day, I would rent a car. Find an Enterprise or somewhere that will allow you to do a downtown-to-downtown rental (pickup in downtown Seattle, drop in downtown Vancouver), this is your best bet. 

Hotel wise in Seattle, I'm usually a Hilton regular but recently a client put me up in the Hyatt at Olive 8 and it was absolutely lovely. 

[WAAAYTOOO]

39 minutes ago, Zacharius said:

If you really do need to make it in one day, I would rent a car. Find an Enterprise or somewhere that will allow you to do a downtown-to-downtown rental (pickup in downtown Seattle, drop in downtown Vancouver), this is your best bet. 

Hotel wise in Seattle, I'm usually a Hilton regular but recently a client put me up in the Hyatt at Olive 8 and it was absolutely lovely. 

Thank you.  I am leaning towards the car rental option.  As much fun as a train ride sounds, I think the logistics of it would be burdensome. I would love to find a car rental that has shuttles to/from both cruise terminals.  Anyone have an idea of which agency(ies) that might be ?

I will check out the Hyatt Olive 8.

[smokeybandit]

Getting from Vancouver airport downtown is pretty easy with that train, so if there's no viable car rental return downtown, you could just return to the airport.

[bobroo]

Calling @Vancity Cruiser to the Guest Services desk for customer assistance!

[Jill]

I have nothing to add to the logistics but chiming in to say this is an awesome trip! 

[Sweety]

Thank you for sharing this. I am loving that Panama Canal Cruise.

[Ampurp85]

Congrats on this cool cruise setup. As usual you continue to live the dream when it comes to cruising.......and probably life in general because you can cruise like you do 

I would say if you were doing Sitka and planning to do any tour, do the best of Sitka so you can see the fat bears. That tour hits three prime spots and has a good value imho. 

[KristiZ]

On 11/22/2024 at 9:47 AM, WAAAYTOOO said:

2.  Recommendations on somewhere to stay in Seattle, prior to the first cruise.

Depends on how prior, really. There are a couple of OK hotels near the airport that are easy to get to after a long day of flying. Then you can take the light rail into downtown and a quick cab/rideshare to the terminal. There's an airport Marriott and Hilton that are walkable, and Cedarbrook Lodge just a bit further away that's lovely.

If you have more days, or just like to be as close to the terminal as possible the day before your cruise, there are some great downtown hotels. Embassy Suites is right next to the light rail station (King Street) downtown. The Edgewater is a fun hotel right on the waterfront.

[Cactus527]

The two times that I have driven from Seattle to Vancouver, it took us 3 hours, an hour of which was sitting in line at the border. I would be much more likely to take the train in the future because I want to avoid that headache/ frustration. 

In San Diego, I highly recommend a tour of the USS Midway. It's almost directly beside the cruise port, and definitely worth it! All the people giving the tours are Navy veterans.

[Surrounded by water.]

Got off the Quantum in Seattle May 6, 2024 and took the train up to Vancouver as the wife was getting on the Brilliance or the Radiance I can’t remember which the same day.
The train station was less than 15 minutes taxi ride away from the port. I think it’s the King Street station but please check.

Self checked out and had ample time before the train departed. Sit on the left-hand side of the train as that’s the water side as you go up it’s really quite a lovely trip. The food service is nothing to speak of. If we did it again we would bring our own.

When you’re in Vancouver, you exit the train station and it’s a very short walk to the “ skytrain” it’s the rapid transit system in Vancouver, which is extremely efficient. If you have a credit card with the chip in it, you can just tap at the gate to enter the system and tap out as you leave the station. Otherwise, you can buy a ticket from the vending machines. No problem taking suitcases unless you’re trying to handle multitude of bags. We travel with two carry-on, a backpack, and a personal item and never have any issue on the sky trains.

You want to get on the sky train that takes you to the “waterfront station”. The Cruise ship terminal is easily accessible on sidewalks from the waterfront station in about five minutes. The Port is at Canada Place. 
 

We are locals and if we had to make the same trip again, we would absolutely use the train.

 

[SeaSunnedTraveler]

59 minutes ago, Surrounded by water. said:

Got off the Quantum in Seattle May 6, 2024 and took the train up to Vancouver as the wife was getting on the Brilliance or the Radiance I can’t remember which the same day.
The train station was less than 15 minutes taxi ride away from the port. I think it’s the King Street station but please check.

Self checked out and had ample time before the train departed. Sit on the left-hand side of the train as that’s the water side as you go up it’s really quite a lovely trip. The food service is nothing to speak of. If we did it again we would bring our own.

When you’re in Vancouver, you exit the train station and it’s a very short walk to the “ skytrain” it’s the rapid transit system in Vancouver, which is extremely efficient. If you have a credit card with the chip in it, you can just tap at the gate to enter the system and tap out as you leave the station. Otherwise, you can buy a ticket from the vending machines. No problem taking suitcases unless you’re trying to handle multitude of bags. We travel with two carry-on, a backpack, and a personal item and never have any issue on the sky trains.

You want to get on the sky train that takes you to the “waterfront station”. The Cruise ship terminal is easily accessible on sidewalks from the waterfront station in about five minutes. The Port is at Canada Place. 
 

We are locals and if we had to make the same trip again, we would absolutely use the train.

 

Yes, what he said!

 

[SeaSunnedTraveler]

I can think of 2 drawbacks to taking a car.  A one-way rental with a drop in another country. What day of the week would you be crossing the US/Canada border? Some days will take longer to cross.  How much time will you have between leaving the Anthem and the time you have to check in for the Radiance?  You KNOW the car is going to take 30 minutes on each end.  What if a tsunami makes you run late? 

I'd fly. Air Canada between SEA and YVR is like WN between DAL and HOU!! Like men, there will be another one around soon! (Oh, hush dear.)

It is an hour and 3 mins. It is more expensive up front, probably, $145 OW. But figure in the time, border crossing, drop off fees on the car etc.  And you know, what if something really bizarre happens. Like, what if you hit a MOOSE?  Or a GRIZZLY BEAR? 

So, anyway, I'd probably fly. And ask if they had a senior discount. 

 

 

 

[SeaSunnedTraveler]

On 11/22/2024 at 11:31 PM, Sweety said:

Thank you for sharing this. I am loving that Panama Canal Cruise.

There is something about Locks.  And Bagels and cream cheese. 

[twangster]

I was just in Seattle 2 weeks ago to board Amtrak's Empire Builder train to Chicago.  

I flew into SeaTac and took the light rail into the city.  I stayed at a hotel right beside the Amtrak train station.  With the risk of offending anyone from Seattle the homelessness was pretty evident and impactful downtown.  Pick your hotel carefully to minimize going out at night, or even during the day.  Seattle downtown hotels are not inexpensive but if you find one with food and bar services that can help.

From my hotel near the train station I have some interesting video of some unfortunate individuals who either have mental health issues or were on a bad drug trip and were all over the sidewalks 9am on a weekday morning making for a scene from a zombie movie.  Some were on the light rail too.  When the ticket checkers came by they tried to wake them by banging a flashlight on the seat (they are not allowed to touch them) but they didn't wake up so they gave up and left them as is.  The extent of the homelessness was pretty staggering to me.  

There aren't really hotels very close to the cruise terminal so you are in for a taxi or Uber ride.  Given that the actual hotel location doesn't matter as much as finding one with good amenities.  

I normally advocate spending a night in between a Seattle/Vancouver S2S.  If the ship arrives late returning to port combined with the long drive/bus/train ride with a border crossing thrown in, it can make a same day S2S pretty stressful.  If that just isn't an option so be it, just don't doddle, get off as early as possible and get moving.  

[Ampurp85]

9 hours ago, twangster said:

I was just in Seattle 2 weeks ago to board Amtrak's Empire Builder train to Chicago.  

I flew into SeaTac and took the light rail into the city.  I stayed at a hotel right beside the Amtrak train station.  With the risk of offending anyone from Seattle the homelessness was pretty evident and impactful downtown.  Pick your hotel carefully to minimize going out at night, or even during the day.  Seattle downtown hotels are not inexpensive but if you find one with food and bar services that can help.

From my hotel near the train station I have some interesting video of some unfortunate individuals who either have mental health issues or were on a bad drug trip and were all over the sidewalks 9am on a weekday morning making for a scene from a zombie movie.  Some were on the light rail too.  When the ticket checkers came by they tried to wake them by banging a flashlight on the seat (they are not allowed to touch them) but they didn't wake up so they gave up and left them as is.  The extent of the homelessness was pretty staggering to me.  

There aren't really hotels very close to the cruise terminal so you are in for a taxi or Uber ride.  Given that the actual hotel location doesn't matter as much as finding one with good amenities.  

I normally advocate spending a night in between a Seattle/Vancouver S2S.  If the ship arrives late returning to port combined with the long drive/bus/train ride with a border crossing thrown in, it can make a same day S2S pretty stressful.  If that just isn't an option so be it, just don't doddle, get off as early as possible and get moving.  

I noted this too when we spent a day in Seatle post Alaskan cruise. I have never seen that sheer amount of homeless folks and they are everywhere, doing weird things. 

[Zacharius]

16 hours ago, SeaSunnedTraveler said:

A one-way rental with a drop in another country.

I've done it many times. It's not an issue, nobody blinks an eye. They usually ask me at the border where I picked up the car and where I am dropping it, sometimes ask for the papers to prove it, but otherwise don't care. 

On 11/22/2024 at 3:12 PM, WAAAYTOOO said:

Thank you.  I am leaning towards the car rental option.  As much fun as a train ride sounds, I think the logistics of it would be burdensome. I would love to find a car rental that has shuttles to/from both cruise terminals.  Anyone have an idea of which agency(ies) that might be ?

Hertz is like two blocks from the cruise port in Vancouver. Not sure where the cruise port is in Seattle, but I am sure there's one close by or at least close enough to Uber (i.e. downtown). Avis is also maybe 6-7 blocks from Vancouver cruise port. 

[Matt]

When I tried to rent a car in Seattle and drop it in Vancouver, I recall it being either impossible or insanely expensive. Granted, this was 2021 and a lot of covid rules.

We ended up actually renting the car in Seattle, driving to Vancouver, paying to park in Vancouver, and then driving it back to Seattle because it was less expensive.

[Zacharius]

22 minutes ago, Matt said:

When I tried to rent a car in Seattle and drop it in Vancouver, I recall it being either impossible or insanely expensive. Granted, this was 2021 and a lot of covid rules.

We ended up actually renting the car in Seattle, driving to Vancouver, paying to park in Vancouver, and then driving it back to Seattle because it was less expensive.

It's really hit or miss. Like I said, I've done it many times and sometimes it's affordable, sometimes it's not. Sometimes it's shockingly high, sometimes shockingly low. Last year, we did a one week rental, downtown SEA to downtown VAN, for like $250. For a week. Other times I've been quoted at $1,000 and said thanks but no thanks. I think a lot of it also depends on where they see demand...if they (well, the algorithm) feel like they need more cars in Vancouver, they (well, the algorithm) may cut you a deal. 

 

One other thing to consider, that most people don't, is that rental car and hotel prices change just like plane tickets. I always recommend booking fares that can be cancelled or amended, and check back often, because it's entirely possible to book at car at, say, $400 and then it drops later to $250. Most people just focus on plane tickets as something that changes in price...but hotels and cars do too. 

[Pooch]

On 11/22/2024 at 10:47 AM, WAAAYTOOO said:

First of all - a confession.  I have largely ignored the Alaska blogs previously, b/c I didn't have anything booked to AK....but now, that has changed...and I need some help (please). 

HELP !

We are doing a late season AK cruise on Anthem (Seattle-Seattle), after which we will move directly (same day) to a pair of Radiance cruises (Vancouver - San Diego; San Diego - FLL via the Panama Canal).  I tried getting on the final Radiance cruise of the season but that hasn't worked out, so the Anthem is the next best choice.

I need some suggestions on:

1.  How best to get from Seattle to Vancouver

2.  Recommendations on somewhere to stay in Seattle, prior to the first cruise.

I also need excursion recommendations but those aren't quite as important (right now) as are the logistics details of getting to the ships.

Thanks !

 

OMG, can you adopt me??!!!!

[Vancity Cruiser]

Transfering on the same day if I didn't have a vehicle available I would try to catch a flight from Seatac to YVR and take the skytrain from YVR to port. Its a 3 hour drive from Seattle to port of Vancouver with no border delays. The most direct route border crossing often sees wait times of 90-120 minutes. Train or bus would be a nicer option if you had a day in between but I would fly.

[Jax]

I don’t think a one way car rental option is an option as you can’t rent a vehicle in one country and drop it in another.  Following a MVA in the US we had to drop the car rental at the closest US city to the border and arranged for a friend to pick us up.  I just tried a mock booking from Seattle to Vancouver on Enterprise and got a similar response.  

[LTR]

3 hours ago, Vancity Cruiser said:

Transfering on the same day if I didn't have a vehicle available I would try to catch a flight from Seatac to YVR and take the skytrain from YVR to port. Its a 3 hour drive from Seattle to port of Vancouver with no border delays. The most direct route border crossing often sees wait times of 90-120 minutes. Train or bus would be a nicer option if you had a day in between but I would fly.

What! Who flies to Seattle! It's only a couple hours drive and border delays aren't THAT bad Monday-Friday (I did see Peace Arch on the US election day was slammed lol). But ya @Vancity Cruiser is right, flying isn't that expensive and it is quick. Taking the Amtrak I think is a great idea, and you get into Pacific Central station which is just a few minutes Uber into downtown. 

 

[LTR]

On 11/25/2024 at 7:01 AM, Matt said:

When I tried to rent a car in Seattle and drop it in Vancouver, I recall it being either impossible or insanely expensive. Granted, this was 2021 and a lot of covid rules.

We ended up actually renting the car in Seattle, driving to Vancouver, paying to park in Vancouver, and then driving it back to Seattle because it was less expensive.

That is why you rent a U-Haul when going across border! EZ and lots of room for luggage.  

[twangster]

Just adding if Amtrak is under consideration just know that Amtrak is synonymous with delays.

I've done a number of their long distance routes and I plan a hotel stay in between Amtrak long distance connections because doing anything other will likely lead to disappointment.

Don't get me wrong.  I love Amtrak and traveling by rail in general, but in North America there are many and frequent delays because freight has priority despite federal law to the contrary.  Don't get me started, it just is.

The Amtrak trip between Seattle and Vancouver is well worth considering but I'm not sure I'd ever try it for a same day S2S unless it's the only option and you can live with the outcome when it's 8 hours or more late. 

[bobroo]

Well @WAAAYTOOO, you've brought us an interesting problem that we all should be paying attention to because there are lots of learning points. 

I'm not afraid to bring up an unspeakable option that I'm sure will receive a lot of downvotes but... bail on the Anthem/Seattle cruise. One could make a very strong best-option case for doing so. 

 

[Vancity Cruiser]

15 hours ago, LTR said:

What! Who flies to Seattle! It's only a couple hours drive and border delays aren't THAT bad Monday-Friday

I had to fly to Seattle to go on an Ovation cruise in Sept of 2021 because the land border was still closed but you could fly across. Quick 27 minute flight.

[Vancity Cruiser]

Another option for @WAAAYTOOO is if your Seattle cruise stops in Victoria on the last day/evening see if you can bail from the cruise there and take a Harbour Air flight over to Vancouver (or the ferry). The distance between Seattle and Vancouver is not great but the border poses a wild card for a same day transfer. Harbour Air also flies from Lake Union in Seattle to Vancouver Harbour (right beside cruise port) for a scenic excursion/transfer.

[WAAAYTOOO]

59 minutes ago, Vancity Cruiser said:

Another option for @WAAAYTOOO is if your Seattle cruise stops in Victoria on the last day/evening see if you can bail from the cruise there and take a Harbour Air flight over to Vancouver (or the ferry). The distance between Seattle and Vancouver is not great but the border poses a wild card for a same day transfer. Harbour Air also flies from Lake Union in Seattle to Vancouver Harbour (right beside cruise port) for a scenic excursion/transfer.

THANK YOU !  What an innovative idea.  I'm going to look into this one, big time !!!

Any idea how difficult it is to disembark early ?  I've never thought about doing this !!

[Vancity Cruiser]

1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Any idea how difficult it is to disembark early ?  I've never thought about doing this !!

I've never done it either but I know people have done it so it is possible.

[WAAAYTOOO]

 

6 minutes ago, Vancity Cruiser said:

I've never done it either but I know people have done it so it is possible.

I've been advised that the ferry can be an "issue".  Any thoughts ?

[Pattycruise]

7 hours ago, bobroo said:

Well @WAAAYTOOO, you've brought us an interesting problem that we all should be paying attention to because there are lots of learning points. 

I'm not afraid to bring up an unspeakable option that I'm sure will receive a lot of downvotes but... bail on the Anthem/Seattle cruise. One could make a very strong best-option case for doing so. 

 

I was thinking that as well,  I guess it becomes a case of “which cruise would I prefer if I could only pick one” (aside from the Panama Canal).  I’d definitely have s as plan b in case I couldn’t get to Vancouver in time. 
This would be too much stress for me.  

 

[Vancity Cruiser]

2 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

 

I've been advised that the ferry can be an "issue".  Any thoughts ?

Reservations can be made for the ferry at no extra cost. It is usually quite punctual with schedule unless very windy which is unusual. 

[Surrounded by water.]

We have left the ship in recent years in Victoria. Very simple process. We told guest services a day or two before we ported in Victoria and they asked us to leave the ship at a certain time. You have to self assist your luggage. There is a custom agent there who waved us through should point out that we are Canadians. Not sure if that made any difference. A lot of the locals that live on Vancouver Island were leaving the ship in Victoria. 
 

At one time there was a bus that you could catch from downtown Victoria that drove onto the ferry and then to downtown Vancouver. I’m not sure if it’s still runs, but it was a very simple way of travelling between two cities.

The idea of taking the float plane from downtown Victoria to downtown Vancouver is a good idea. I’m guessing it’s about a 30 minute 35 minute flight when you land in Vancouver you’re a five minute walk to the ship very easy and wide sidewalks. It’s really stunning to fly over the Gulf Islands. The islands that are between Vancouver Island and the mainland. The image is Prevost Island just out the harbour from the island that we live on.

 

 

 

[BrianB]

My one and only Alaska cruise was in 2017.
We stayed at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront…practically across the street from pier 66. On cruise day, we just walked with our roller bags to the pier.

**view from hotel window…

 

[FOB]

22 hours ago, Vancity Cruiser said:

Another option for @WAAAYTOOO is if your Seattle cruise stops in Victoria on the last day/evening see if you can bail from the cruise there and take a Harbour Air flight over to Vancouver (or the ferry). The distance between Seattle and Vancouver is not great but the border poses a wild card for a same day transfer. Harbour Air also flies from Lake Union in Seattle to Vancouver Harbour (right beside cruise port) for a scenic excursion/transfer.

Will there not be difficulty because of the Jones act if, as a US citizen, you try to get off a cruise in Canada and then travel on another cruise to America ?

not sure of the ins and outs that wonderful piece of legislation (hadn't even heard o it until it was mentioned in a B2B meeting) but I do know that it stopped US citizens from being able to sail Seattle, Vancouver, Hawaii, Sydney (B2B2B) in October this year as they needed a 24 hr stay in Canada to not have an issue in Hawaii. If you get off and do 24 hours after Victoria you might be OK - but I think this might be worth a call to RC to ask them what is feasible or check it out with your travel agent

[WAAAYTOOO]

25 minutes ago, FOB said:

I think this might be worth a call to RC to ask them what is feasible or check it out with your travel agent

Wonder who I would call to get this information.  I am loathe to believe 99% of anything I hear from RCI CSR's...their track record for reliable information is abysmal....and I certainly canNOT wait until we board Anthem to ask...so I will have to rely on whatever I'm told now.

We've almost made our final decision - flying from SEA to YVR...but we haven't pulled any triggers, yet.  It turns out (thank you @twangster) that the train schedule did not work out for us at all....so that option is DED, plus the train (and bus) options just take waaaytooo long (5+ hours) since we have to board Radiance the same day we disembark Anthem.

We did make our airline reservations from West Palm Beach to SEA...cost us a whopping $5.60 (first Class, too !!) each since we used airline miles.  We do have to stop/change in CLT which sucks but it was less than half the airline miles compared to a nonstop from MIA....and I hate the MIA airport anyway.  PBI is much closer and MUCH nicer.  Also, the schedule with the stopover was waaay better than any of the nonstop Miami flights.  So Charlotte, here we come !!

I still like to idea of getting off in Victoria even though I will have to deal with a ferry transit and get a hotel for the night.  At least I will have 24+ hours to get it all done vs only a few hours if we have to transit from SEA.

Thanks to EVERYone for all the help.  This has been a fun project.  If I did it again I would find a schedule that at least gave me ONE night between cruises but we will make this work !

[Pattycruise]

15 hours ago, FOB said:

Will there not be difficulty because of the Jones act if, as a US citizen, you try to get off a cruise in Canada and then travel on another cruise to America ?

not sure of the ins and outs that wonderful piece of legislation (hadn't even heard o it until it was mentioned in a B2B meeting) but I do know that it stopped US citizens from being able to sail Seattle, Vancouver, Hawaii, Sydney (B2B2B) in October this year as they needed a 24 hr stay in Canada to not have an issue in Hawaii. If you get off and do 24 hours after Victoria you might be OK - but I think this might be worth a call to RC to ask them what is feasible or check it out with your travel agent

I believe it’s a non issue because it’s a ship change, but it’s potential an issue because it’s not a distant foreign port.  I do think @twangster would have an answer.