Train from Seattle to Vancouver

[MissySprng]

Has anybody taken the train from Seattle to Vancouver, BC? We are sailing out if Vancouver and was interested in taking the train up the morning of the cruise instead of the day prior to avoid the extra cost of a hotel. The train arrives a little before noon then we have to get to the pier from the train station. Will we have enough time or should we just get there the day before?

 

[dahuffy]

Very interested in the answer to this

 

[bumbershoot]

If everything goes perfectly, it will be fine. However, this is Amtrak. Amtrak doesn't own the rails, freight does. Amtrak cannot control mudslides. Amtrak is KNOWN for their lateness (though honestly the Seattle/Vancouver line isn't *as* bad as the others).


On our last should-have-been-train trip coming home from Vancouver, we got to the station only to find out there had been a mudslide on the tracks two days before, and they have a set protocol for how long the tracks are closed after such a happening. Instead of taking the nice fast train where you clear customs at the station, we got to get on a bus, which stopped at rest areas and stopped at the border so we could all get out and file through customs. It took much longer than the train trip would have, and had no snacks or food or water.

Getting to your station and finding out that there has been a slide is one thing. But what if you were on the train when it happened? How long might that delay things, to get you guys off the train and onto a bus and continue on your way? How late might that make you?


Since the rails are owned by freight, freight takes priority. We have been delayed by freight trains doing their normal business. We also got to wait, fully stopped, for an hour once because a freight train had broken down in front of us.


This has never happened to us, but what if the Amtrak train broke down? What would happen then?


It's just too risky to screech into town the day of sailing, especially with an estimated noon arrival. I adore train travel, but we aren't in Europe or Asia (or even in Canada with their rail system). When we took our honeymoon cruise out of Vancouver, we went up the day before. It's just too risky to get in on THE day.


Vancouver is a GORGEOUS city. The people there are incredible, the views while walking around downtown are incredible. Look up to the mountains. Enjoy a crepe at one of the many Cafe Crepes. Have a TimBit at Tim Horton's. Have a weird hot dog (or veggie dog) at one of the JapaDog stands (if you're a Psych fan this will be a most excellent experience for you if you remember an early-on episode where JapaDog magically appeared in "Santa Barbara" on the show). ENJOY Vancouver. Get in the day before, stay the night.

We have stayed at fancy places like the Westin Grand and Bayshore. We've stayed at the Holiday Inn with the funky really deep swimming pool/hole off the lobby. We've stayed at Century Plaza which was mid-priced. We've also stayed (hubby was on work trips) at the Sutton and Sutton's Grande Residence (which is like a condo version of the Sutton, and CAN be reasonable if you hit it at the right time...otherwise it's far too expensive).

There are all sorts of hotels up there at all sorts of price points, and relaxing the day before in such a gorgeous city (with a great cab system, by the way) is SO much nicer than hoping there are no landslides or freight problems on your sailing day.

 

[TENNDVC]

We did the train ride from Seattle to Vancouver and it was wonderful. We did reserved seating and were in a special car for the ride. Views along the water and relaxing with coffee and snacks to Vancouver. Once we arrived in Vancouver was a quick trip thru customs and hoped on the rail to ride to our hotel. We arrived in Vancouver a couple of days before our sailing so we did have the luxury of being able to change plans if needed. We took the express bus back from Vancouver to Seatac so we were able to try both transit options. Let me know if you have any other questions and I will try to post.

 

[HeyyCali]

How long is the ride by train? I plan on traveling with two small train loving boys. The train could be a dream or a nightmare depending on how long they are expected to sit in a seat! At some point they will want to do this:

 

[MousseauMob]

Have a weird hot dog (or veggie dog) at one of the JapaDog stands (if you're a Psych fan this will be a most excellent experience for you if you remember an early-on episode where JapaDog magically appeared in "Santa Barbara" on the show).

We all over this! HUGE Psych fans - Please let us know any other show references we can hit while we visit!

 

[Politzania]

We took Amtrak from Portland OR (were visiting friends) to Vancouver in late Aug 2011 the day before our cruise started. We took the later train, which didn't arrive til after 11pm. We then had a rather exciting cab ride across town to the Pan Pacific (the hotel at the cruise terminal), checked in & basically fell asleep.

In retrospect, I would do the train again, but take the earlier schedule & maybe even arrive a day or two sooner in Vancouver to spend some time in what looked like a lovely city!

 

[OrcaPotter]

My family and I were seriously considering going through Seattle and taking the train into Vancouver. However, because my parents are older and it's a lot of traveling, we opted to eat the difference and fly direct into Vancouver. We're going up 2 days in advance, so we'll have a full day to explore Vancouver before the cruise. I'll definitely have to check out the places bumbershoot suggested! I love Psych!

 

[shoes99]

We took Amtrak from Portland OR (were visiting friends) to Vancouver in late Aug 2011 the day before our cruise started. We took the later train, which didn't arrive til after 11pm. We then had a rather exciting cab ride across town to the Pan Pacific (the hotel at the cruise terminal), checked in & basically fell asleep.

In retrospect, I would do the train again, but take the earlier schedule & maybe even arrive a day or two sooner in Vancouver to spend some time in what looked like a lovely city!

We are visiting family in Portland, Or prior to our May 2013 cruise out of Vancouver. DH is 68 and has a bad back so would not travel well in the 8 hours it takes to get to Vancouver from Portland via train , so we added the PDX to Vancouver as a leg to our outbound journey from NJ on United Airlines. The fare was $158 extra per person for the pdxto vancouver portion each way and we booked an airport hotel thru LMT. At this age we pay for convenience.
Michele

 

[bumbershoot]

We all over this! HUGE Psych fans - Please let us know any other show references we can hit while we visit!

That's the main one I can think of, but I know there are websites out there that talk about shooting sites. Oh wait, there's Stanley Park and the Aquarium inside Stanley Park, of course. Lots of stuff filmed in the park especially. The aquarium is *expensive* but if you have a full day to spend, VERY worth it IMO.

The one fun thing (and this is assuming you don't have a mudslide ruining the *train* plans) is going by White Rock's waterfront. If you look out the windows, you'll notice that it's the waterfront you see from Harry Spencer's house. There's no stop in White Rock, and if you end up on a bus you will not be going through it at all, but if you are on the train it's kind of neat.

My fave thing to do while watching Psych is to giggle about how *rainy* it always seems to be in "Santa Barbara". They do almost all the filming up in BC, so it's only to be expected, but they are just so set in having it in southern CA that it's hilarious. And there's the big magnolia tree outside the police station that, in wide shots, is always at the exact same leve of blooming, no matter what it looks like up close.



More thoughts: The lovely thing about the train (and just assume I've thrown in my anti-mudslide caveat) is that you can get up and walk around. You aren't confined to your seat at all. You don't even have to wait until you're at altitude like in a plane, you can just walk around. So if you have restless kids or a bad back, you can move. (though the bad back might not be fun with the swaying of the train from side to side, and always be careful while moving around!)


I'm really shocked it's taking 8 hours to get from PDX to Vancouver! There must be a significant stop, probably in Seattle, to cause that, or they've lowered the speeds. DH took the train from Seattle to Portland for our wedding (I had driven down two days earlier) and it didn't take anything like 5 hours. And it takes about 3 to get up to Vancouver from Seattle, so I'm a little mystified!


I love the train and I love Vancouver, but I don't want anyone to have rose colored glasses about the experience. Problems can arise, and you don't want those problems to cause you miss your cruise.

 

[MissySprng]

Thanks everyone, this is great info. I personally would love to go up a few days ahead of time and explore, its the hubby that is hesitant to spend any more money on our vacation. Such a party pooper, lol.

 

[shoes99]

Amtrak Cascades Train #516
Departs Portland Sun May 26 2:50PM
Arrives Vancouver sunMay 26 10:50PM
$220 for 2 adults, or $187 for 2 seniors
travel time 8 hours
If you take half train and half bus it cuts down the travel time quite a bit, but a bus is not good for DH, so flying is better for us.
We are coming from Portland, Or..

 

[phinz]

For Battlestar Galactica fans, BSG was shot largely in Vancouver too.

http://pat.suwalski.net/film/bsg-locations/

 

[crashbb]

Getting to your station and finding out that there has been a slide is one thing. But what if you were on the train when it happened? How long might that delay things, to get you guys off the train and onto a bus and continue on your way? How late might that make you?

Almost two hours.

At least, that is how long I was delayed when a mudslide covered the track during my trip from Vancouver to Seattle (luckily not when any trains were on the track). We stop and were bussed to Seattle. Those continuing (the train when onto Portland) got back on a train in Seattle.

 

[Kirbo]

For Battlestar Galactica fans, BSG was shot largely in Vancouver too.

http://pat.suwalski.net/film/bsg-locations/

One of my favorite shows of all time!

We're hoping to take the train the night before when we cruise next year.

 

[llachance]

supposed to take the train. Freight interfered, we were put on a bus instead. We were going down a day early so it wasn't bad, other then having to get off the bus, at the border, claim our luggage, go through customs then get back on the bus. We took a taxi from the "train" station when we got there to the port and it didn't take very long.

 

[TENNDVC]

If I remember right I want to say it was around 2 hours. The nice thing about the train is you can walk to the snack car and get food. Good spacing between the seats so they could move around. Also it stopped two or three times to let other people get onboard. Quick stops but those could also be times to stand in the aisle and stretch.

Have fun !!

 

[etoe]

We did the train ride from Seattle to Vancouver and it was wonderful. We did reserved seating and were in a special car for the ride. Views along the water and relaxing with coffee and snacks to Vancouver. Once we arrived in Vancouver was a quick trip thru customs and hoped on the rail to ride to our hotel. We arrived in Vancouver a couple of days before our sailing so we did have the luxury of being able to change plans if needed. We took the express bus back from Vancouver to Seatac so we were able to try both transit options. Let me know if you have any other questions and I will try to post.

What Express bus did you take back to Sea-Tac from Vancouver? I can't seem to find that option anywhere.

 

[etoe]

What Express bus did you take back to Sea-Tac from Vancouver? I can't seem to find that option anywhere.

Never mind I found it. It helps if I google the correct thing.

One other question, does the ship dock at Canada Place or the other pier whose name is escaping my mind right now?

 

[CruznLexi]

I am doing the train and will stay at a hotel near seatac the night before. Taxi to d/t is $40. You need to be there. 45 min prior to your train. I play to be picked up before 6 am. I have not heard of many delays in the summer. The train starts in Seattle. So less chance of it being late . It gets to Vancouver around noon . We at staying at the Pan and will take a taxi I have estimated $15 with tip. On the return we will take quick shuttle for. $50 from right outside the ship. I am seeing my best friend in Seattle for. 1 night. The price for Amtrak business class is $50 coach is $29 and they offer a discount off of the 29 if you have AAA.