Alaska Cruise flying home from Seattle

Our original flight home from Seattle just got cancelled. I'm trying to figure out a new option. For those familiar with travel from Vancouver to Seattle. Is it realistic to think we could get off the ship and make a 3:25pm flight in Seattle? We would be driving in a rental car. It will be Memorial Day and I'm also not sure if that will have an effect on travel times crossing the border. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!
Book a room at the Seattle Airport Marriott for the night you get off your cruise. Then take an early morning flight.
 
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Book a room at the Seattle Airport Marriott for the night you get off your cruise. Then take an early morning flight.
While that is good advice, it wouldn't work for us because my husband has to be at work bright and early that morning. We found a direct flight out of Vancouver that will work for us and get us home in time. Got our testing appointments all set. Now fingers crossed everyone stays healthy.
 
Our original flight home from Seattle just got cancelled. I'm trying to figure out a new option. For those familiar with travel from Vancouver to Seattle. Is it realistic to think we could get off the ship and make a 3:25pm flight in Seattle? We would be driving in a rental car. It will be Memorial Day and I'm also not sure if that will have an effect on travel times crossing the border. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!
Have drove in from Vancouver British Columbia to Seattle Washington weekly for over 24 months at one time.

The normal driving time between these two destinations is 2 1/2 hours with stops three.
There’s only three places that are major bottlenecks. Getting out of Vancouver and having to go underneath the river. Usually a delay of 15/20 minutes but depending on time of day can be a lot more. Second major bottleneck is the border itself 1130 news reports traffic and border crossing information I believe every 7 to 10 minutes. The truck crossing is usually a bit quicker. But again depending on time of day the border can take under a half an hour to a couple of hours.
The border crossing is the big gamble and everything.

Then as you approach Seattle you start to approach a suburb Everett and that’s when traffic could start to congest. Again depending on time of day there is a ultra quick bypass that is open different directions depending on time of day. So they go through Seattle would be about a half an hour with no traffic and a hour or so with traffic.

We are taking an Alaskan cruise in the fall, but I have a nexus card so that takes away the border whatsoever, we are planning to hit Seattle 1 to 1:30 pm based on leaving Vancouver at 10 am latest.
 

I think I may just cancel the flights we had planned and rental car and book new flights direct to Vancouver. We will have to go out from an airport further from home and it will be more expensive but the timing would be better.
We discussed flying in and out of Seattle, but we are a group of 8 and would have a lot of people and luggage. By the time we factor in a rental, it evens out the Vancouver airfare price differential. So, we are flying in and out of Vancouver. Direct flights are limited, so we have to make our 1:00 work. Trying to decide between early morning proctored test when we get into port, DCL testing across the street, or testing at the airport.

Or you can take proctored tests the day before -- using test kits you've ordered and brought from home and the ship's wifi. The test needs to be done no more than 1 day before the flight.
I don't think we can do a proctored test the day before because it is a sea day and I don't trust DCL WIFI. I really wish DCL would offer them on board, even for a fee.
 
We discussed flying in and out of Seattle, but we are a group of 8 and would have a lot of people and luggage. By the time we factor in a rental, it evens out the Vancouver airfare price differential. So, we are flying in and out of Vancouver. Direct flights are limited, so we have to make our 1:00 work. Trying to decide between early morning proctored test when we get into port, DCL testing across the street, or testing at the airport.


I don't think we can do a proctored test the day before because it is a sea day and I don't trust DCL WIFI. I really wish DCL would offer them on board, even for a fee.
I was deciding between doing a proctored test that morning and doing the DCL tests. In the end I picked the DCL test across the street. The online test I was looking at was emed. They come in 6pks for $150 and there are 5 of us. But they recommend you have at least two tests for each person along in case something goes wrong. So it would have been $300. We aren't bringing a laptop or anything so I was worried about getting a reliable signal early in the morning and how long it would take to do all 5 tests via just our phones, probably having to do them one at a time. The DCL testing had 8:30am appts available and cost $390. To me the extra $90 was worth it to not have to think about the logistics of doing the tests on our own. If it was just the two of us traveling I probably would have done the emed tests. Also I'm still hoping the US will drop that requirement any day now and I'll be able to cancel those testing appointments 🤣
 
I was deciding between doing a proctored test that morning and doing the DCL tests. In the end I picked the DCL test across the street. The online test I was looking at was emed. They come in 6pks for $150 and there are 5 of us. But they recommend you have at least two tests for each person along in case something goes wrong. So it would have been $300. We aren't bringing a laptop or anything so I was worried about getting a reliable signal early in the morning and how long it would take to do all 5 tests via just our phones, probably having to do them one at a time. The DCL testing had 8:30am appts available and cost $390. To me the extra $90 was worth it to not have to think about the logistics of doing the tests on our own. If it was just the two of us traveling I probably would have done the emed tests. Also I'm still hoping the US will drop that requirement any day now and I'll be able to cancel those testing appointments 🤣
When were you able to book the DCL appointments? I am thinking about doing that, too, if I can get confirmation that we can head to the airport while we wait for results. That will give us more time to get paperwork checked out, through customs, etc.
 
15 days before departure. Through Safe Passage when you login there to upload your vaccine info it also gives you the option to book post cruise testing. It’s $78.35 for the rapid antigen test, more for a PCR.
 
15 days before departure. Through Safe Passage when you login there to upload your vaccine info it also gives you the option to book post cruise testing. It’s $78.35 for the rapid antigen test, more for a PCR.
We shouldn't have to get it for our 4 year old because DCL will be testing her the day before debarkation, right? And not for our 1 year old, because the US does not require for 2 and under. Does that match everyone else's understanding?
 
We shouldn't have to get it for our 4 year old because DCL will be testing her the day before debarkation, right? And not for our 1 year old, because the US does not require for 2 and under. Does that match everyone else's understanding?
You are right about that requirement for the one year old. I think you may need to call DCL about the test for the 4 year old. When we were on the Magic this winter before ages 5-12 were vaccinated they came to the room to test our kids on the day before debarkation but I don't think there was any kind of lab report generated. It was two officers who gave them the tests and came back 15 mins later to look at the result and check them off a list. Not sure if you can get a lab report you could use to fly home, would be worth checking with them.
 
You are right about that requirement for the one year old. I think you may need to call DCL about the test for the 4 year old. When we were on the Magic this winter before ages 5-12 were vaccinated they came to the room to test our kids on the day before debarkation but I don't think there was any kind of lab report generated. It was two officers who gave them the tests and came back 15 mins later to look at the result and check them off a list. Not sure if you can get a lab report you could use to fly home, would be worth checking with them.
I emailed them, thank you! At least our cruise isn’t for 7 weeks so there is time for a response.
 

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