Alaska 2016-transportation questions

[Bill B.]

I didn't see it listed here but you do get the peace of mind that you won't be left behind if Disney makes the arrangements. Plus your transfers from the airport are included in the price. Our tickets ended up being $1,600 from central Ohio to Vancouver. I tried the Seattle route and the best I could come up with was a $100 savings by the time I got transfers plus the hotel. Plus no guarantee that I wouldn't be left behind if I didn't make the port for some reason or another.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

When we flew in 2013 to Vancouver I did two one way's as it was cheaper that way and more importantly the flight times worked better that way so keep this in mind when searching. We took United going to Vancouver, then American flying home, also back to the East Coast. As I remember it was around $680 p/p roundtrip and we flew in 2 days early.

I also considered the Seattle option but it was not cheaper for us and it was certainly not easier. I think everyones situation is different and timing, airlines, amount of people, etc. play into this. Just look at all the options and go from there.

We are returning to Alaska in 8/2016 so I'll be looking at our options again later this year and I'm hoping to find something reasonable. It seems to me, the biggest challenge was finding a flight that left Vancouver to head back to the East coast around 12 noon, instead of very early on debarkation morning or really late. If this happens again we might have to stay another day in Vancouver after we disembark.

Heather

 

[Kimberly1]

We are going on one of the Alaska cruises in August and found it to be what seemed like a lot cheaper to fly in/out of Seattle instead of Vancouver. From that decision though, we have ended up deciding to sightsee in Seattle...pretty sure we are now way more $$ than if we'd have just booked those Vancouver tickets.

I'm actually glad we are going this route though as we are going to have a chance to see Seattle, a first for us, and ride the Amtrak, another first for us.

But we went from saving about $300 per person (there's 6 of us so it was about an $1800 difference)...

to 2 nights, 2 rooms in Seattle
All the tickets and city transportation to sightsee
Amtrak to Seattle
Bus back to Seattle after cruise.....

I refuse to add it up, even approximately, but pretty sure it's going to be more than $1800. LOL

 

[Mrs Green]

True, but aren't the Alaska cruises going for $25k for a family of 4 next year?

Uhhhhh not in my world.

We are going on one of the Alaska cruises in August and found it to be what seemed like a lot cheaper to fly in/out of Seattle instead of Vancouver. From that decision though, we have ended up deciding to sightsee in Seattle...pretty sure we are now way more $$ than if we'd have just booked those Vancouver tickets.

I'm actually glad we are going this route though as we are going to have a chance to see Seattle, a first for us, and ride the Amtrak, another first for us.

But we went from saving about $300 per person (there's 6 of us so it was about an $1800 difference)...

to 2 nights, 2 rooms in Seattle
All the tickets and city transportation to sightsee
Amtrak to Seattle
Bus back to Seattle after cruise.....

I refuse to add it up, even approximately, but pretty sure it's going to be more than $1800. LOL

We are doing something similar. I am excited about our vacation plans but I know this type of plan is not everyone's cup of tea.

 

[havoc315]

We are going on one of the Alaska cruises in August and found it to be what seemed like a lot cheaper to fly in/out of Seattle instead of Vancouver. From that decision though, we have ended up deciding to sightsee in Seattle...pretty sure we are now way more $$ than if we'd have just booked those Vancouver tickets.

I'm actually glad we are going this route though as we are going to have a chance to see Seattle, a first for us, and ride the Amtrak, another first for us.

But we went from saving about $300 per person (there's 6 of us so it was about an $1800 difference)...

to 2 nights, 2 rooms in Seattle
All the tickets and city transportation to sightsee
Amtrak to Seattle
Bus back to Seattle after cruise.....

I refuse to add it up, even approximately, but pretty sure it's going to be more than $1800. LOL

lol... But you are getting an extended vacation. You are getting a Seattle vacation AND a Disney cruise. So that's well worth the price!

To me, it would have to be a HUGE savings, to fly to Seattle, only to have a long train/car/bus transfer to Vancouver. My time and convenience are worth money. If I am going to save $50 per person, but need to deal with 5 extra hours of hassle... well, my time is worth more than minimum wage. But very different if you are actually incorporating it into the trip. Well worth it, if you are making it part of the vacation.

 

[MouseMomx2]

I misread your initial post and now see that the $1400 is for two. That really isn't a bad deal. The only hesitation I would have is that you fly in the day of the cruise. I always like coming in the day before.

It would still be cheaper to fly into Seattle, but if you would prefer to fly into Vancouver this isn't a bad price.

 

[dmunsil]

I didn't see it listed here but you do get the peace of mind that you won't be left behind if Disney makes the arrangements.

Believe me, if your flight is delayed enough, you will be left behind. If you made the flight arrangements through Disney, I would expect them to pay for a flight to the next port and a hotel, but I'm not sure they even guarantee that.

The ship has a fair amount of leeway as to when it has to leave (as we found out last summer when it left Vancouver four hours late because a truckload of supplies got delayed) and if a planeload of guests is delayed, they might wait. At some point, though, they have to go.

 

[KristiMc]

We are on the 6/8/15 cruises (yay - we leave in 2 weeks!). We are flying non-stop on Alaska Air Detroit-Seattle for $354/RT. We are doing 2 one-way rentals through Alamo. Our rental to Vancouver is $154 and back to Seattle is $69. Even with the rental costs it was still cheaper than flying into Vancouver and this way we get to see Seattle also.

 

[coloradocutie]

We flew into YVR and did not rent a car. We just took the sky train to the waterfront area to stay at a hotel prior to the cruise. It was super easy and inexpensive. We did it with a 1 and 4 year old and they loved the train and as a mom I felt safe with them on the rail system (whereas with some cities it could feel a bit uneasy…). Have a wonderful cruise!!!

 

[noahdove]

We will fly out of Rochester, NY to Toronto and onto Vancouver.
Our tickets were $584pp if I remember correctly. Non stop both coming and
going. We are flying in the day before the cruise as I didn't want to
have problems by going to Seattle.. Good luck with whatever you decide.