Where to fly into for Alaska Cruise

[Tigger1]

Planning a future Alaska Cruise. What airport is best to fly into for the Alaska Cruise?

 

[FreeTime]

It depends on where you embark from. Seattle? Canada? Alaska?

 

[klendathu]

Typically Seattle or Vancouver. I prefer Vancouver, I just think it is nicer.

 

[88golf88]

Disney currently sails out of Vancouver...you can fly into Vancouver or some people fly into Seattle and either bus/train/rent a car to drive to Vancouver.

 

[Tigger1]

Was hoping to fly Southwest to use flight points, but I do not see a flight from Vancouver, .

 

[ladyofthetramp]

We flew Southwest into Seattle-on points. Up to Vancouver on the train. Had a blast!

 

[kcool]

We are flying Southwest into Bellingham Washington. They say it is 50 miles from Vancouver. We had points to pay. If I was not using points, I think Vancouver would have been way easier. The issue I have is the transportation. Waiting to see if quick coach will work for us, but have rented a car, but it is going to pricey to keep for the length of cruise to have to park at the port and travel back with (still much cheaper than paying outright for fights to Vancouver).

 

[Tenkawa]

Coming to Vancouver you have 3 options.

Best: YVR - Vancouver. Fly straight in. Rapid transit to the port (downtown), or a variety of car services. Using rapid transit you can be downtown less than 20min after getting through security/your bags. Cons: Cost is higher from the US, you need to deal with airport customs.

SEA - Seattle. Another large airport approx 3hrs drive south and a border from Vancouver. Often much cheaper, but you will need to get to Vancouver. There are 2-3 coach bus lines that do the trip (Quick Connect, FlixBus), which will take about 4-5 hours. Another option is taking the train (Amtrak), which is also reasonable on price, but you need to take the rapid transit line from the airport to the international district of Seattle to catch the train. Train also only leaves 2x day (one in the morning, one in the evening)

BLI - Bellingham. Small airport in a town 1h south of Vancouver (and a border). Southwest flies here. Downside is QuickCoach is about the only coach bus to stop here, and it is hit and miss. Other coach buses (eg: FlixBus) stop in Bellingham, but not at the airport. Amtrak also stops in Bellingham, but the station is about 20m south of the airport via car/taxi/uber.

If you want the least stress, fly direct to Vancouver. The cheapest is likely bellingham or seattle, but remember the added costs for the coach buses / trains and getting to the stations.

 

[auntlynne]

 

[Tasmen]

The train from Seattle to Vancouver is pretty awesome. They have added more trains to the route recently so there are more options than early morning and later at night than there was the last couple years.

Where you fly in really is a calculation you have to make based on how much time ahead of the cruise you want to arrive. I would recommend Seattle if you are ready to fly in 2 days before the cruise. I recommend 2 days (1 night in Seattle and 2 night in Vancouver) so that you give yourself time in case something goes wrong with one of the transportation points.

If you only want to arrive the day before, I'd recommend Vancouver unless it's price prohibitive.

 

[lilsonicfan]

One thing to consider is also when you have to depart. If you are flying into and out of YVR, you could conceivably depart the cruise ship at 8 AM, walk to and get on the Canada Line (rapid transit), and be at the airport by 8:45 AM. That's much different than having to schlep back to the Amtrak station to board a bus or train that takes another 4 hours or so to get down to SEA.

 

[Kwami]

They have added more trains to the route recently so there are more options than early morning and later at night than there was the last couple years.

Really? I looked at the train for my cruise the other day and there was precisely one train from Seattle to Vancouver. The rest were all buses.

 

[Flossbolna]

Really? I looked at the train for my cruise the other day and there was precisely one train from Seattle to Vancouver. The rest were all buses.

Yes, that’s what we saw, too. We decided to not deal with those as train times were also not very good. Very early on way, very late the other way.

Also, hotels in Seattle were crazy expensive. Simple places 300$ a night. I think the flight to Seattle must be much much less expensive, to make up for train fare and extra nights that are necessary.

 

[Tasmen]

Really? I looked at the train for my cruise the other day and there was precisely one train from Seattle to Vancouver. The rest were all buses.

I had heard recently they were adding another train and when I looked initially, it looked like that was accurate (I was seeing the train icon not the bus icon). But now when I pick an actual date I am seeing the bus icon. Go figure.

 

[Tenkawa]

The train from Seattle to Vancouver is pretty awesome. They have added more trains to the route recently so there are more options than early morning and later at night than there was the last couple years.


If you only want to arrive the day before, I'd recommend Vancouver unless it's price prohibitive.

Slightly incorrect, which could be dangerous.

During the pandemic, the Amtrak train did not run AT ALL. As of late September 2022, they started 1 train per day, and are now expanding to 2 per day (which was the pre-covid schedule).

Amtrak lists many more, but they are coach buses. Only 2 trains per day.

If you have not travelled to Seattle post-covid, be prepared for sticker shock. Hotels are way more expensive, and I found all the restaurants nearly doubled in price compared to pre-covid.


Source: I live in Vancouver, have family in Seattle, have stayed in Seattle downtown recently (at a hotel), and used to regularly ride the Amtrak multiple times per year.

 

[Kwami]

Also, hotels in Seattle were crazy expensive. Simple places 300$ a night. I think the flight to Seattle must be much much less expensive, to make up for train fare and extra nights that are necessary.

Hotels in Vancouver are also crazy expensive, though. At least you get to pay for them in fake money!

 

[BrokeMack]

Hotels in Vancouver are also crazy expensive, though. At least you get to pay for them in fake money!

I used up all of my Bonvoy Points, but it was better than paying cash (those cruise rooms at Pan Pacific did look really nice though).

 

[Tenkawa]

I used up all of my Bonvoy Points, but it was better than paying cash (those cruise rooms at Pan Pacific did look really nice though).

Tell me about it.

The larger suite rooms there actually have a telescope so you can look at things in the harbour. I shudder to think of the cost. (When I was a kid I spend a couple hours in the Coral Suite. That thing is multi-thousands per night. I think my father knew a CEO who had it during a conference if I remember right, and they had a meeting.)

 

[trivan]

We flew in to Vancouver, the fewer moving parts to get to the desired point eg. the cruise ship the better in my opinion. We arrived 2 days early from NJ as a buffer. For the amount the cruise cost, it would suck to miss it or have to stress missing it due to some travel issues. We arrived w/a minor delay, but did some sight seeing and eating around the city and had a great time.

 

[o&smom]

We are flying Southwest into Bellingham Washington. They say it is 50 miles from Vancouver. We had points to pay. If I was not using points, I think Vancouver would have been way easier. The issue I have is the transportation. Waiting to see if quick coach will work for us, but have rented a car, but it is going to pricey to keep for the length of cruise to have to park at the port and travel back with (still much cheaper than paying outright for fights to Vancouver).

Have you looked into the possibility of a one way rental? Even if car rental is more expensive, the total may be less without paying for parking.