Flights into Vancouver

[wgeo]

Trying to decide if we can do an Alaskan cruise, but we're getting scared away by the airfare. We normally fly Southwest, but after looking at it, I really don't want to fly into Seattle and then try to get back and forth to Vancouver, just seems like a pain.

We would fly out of Florida - Tampa or Orlando -does anyone have any recommendations for airlines to use or avoid? Any idea how far out I should be looking to book airfare? And if you have any idea - is $400 round trip normal for the route?

Thanks! I'm googling too - but just figured there had to be others here who have direct experience.

 

[Micca]

I really don't want to fly into Seattle and then try to get back and forth to Vancouver, just seems like a pain.

We flew into Seattle, took a train to Vancouver and flew home from Vancouver. It was quite a bit cheaper to fly one-way from Vancouver and the train ride from Seattle was very pleasant. Might be worth looking into?

 

[ludari]

I have flown in to Vancouver three or four times to catch cruises but never from Florida. Nevertheless I would recommend Alaska Airlines if it's one of your options. They have a good reputation and reliable on-time record.

 

[cruiser21]

400.00 rt seem about normal to fly across the country.That sounds like pretty good fare for an international flight. I flew into Seattle earlier this month and drove to Vancouver Its 160 easy, and very scenic miles. The standard car cost me 45.00. I dropped it off at the port the next day. If I had to do it over again I would have spent a night in Seattle instead of flying and driving on the same day. I flew home out of Vancouver. As far as airlines go I would choose the one with the best route and best fare.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

We are going on the Wonder in Alaska next year and flying from the east coast. We will fly to Seattle and then take the train to Vancouver. Looking to fly direct back from Vancouver vs. going back to Seattle to east coast. We usually fly Southwest as well. We be shopping for tickets when the next Southwest window opens for our trip out and then the return trip shortly after. I have also heard that Alaska Airlines is very good.

 

[wgeo]

Thanks for the fast replies everyone. This is why I post here! I had not even thought about doing one ways - and going into Seattle and out of Vancouver, thanks I'll look around some more with that in mind.

As for the train from Seattle - it seemed kind of expensive when I priced it for the 4 of us, maybe I wasn't looking at the right train. Haven't checked car rentals - but 45.00 seems pretty good.

 

[MUN]

Have you been to Seattle before? If not, perhaps you should consider coupling the cruise with some time in Seattle either before or after your cruise. That way you can fly SW into and out of Seattle. Also, $500 RT from Florida to Vancouver seems like an OK rate to me.

MUN

 

[Micca]

As for the train from Seattle - it seemed kind of expensive when I priced it for the 4 of us

That's a good point, I wasn't even thinking about the cost of the train ride. I was more focused on looking for ways to cut airfare costs, and there were only two of us traveling.

 

[wgeo]

Have you been to Seattle before? If not, perhaps you should consider coupling the cruise with some time in Seattle either before or after your cruise. That way you can fly SW into and out of Seattle. Also, $500 RT from Florida to Vancouver seems like an OK rate to me.

MUN

No, it'd be great to explore the area more -but the best we can do with vacation time is fly in on Friday (and since it's from the east coast that means arriving overnight) and the cruise leaves from Vancouver on Monday. So we could at least try to do Seattle with jet lag on Saturday and then see Vancouver on Sunday. It's pretty hard to get back to Seattle after the cruise without it taking an entire extra day, since the flights leave too early on the Monday after the cruise for us to get from the Port to the airport, we'd end up having an extra hotel night at the end, and also another day off of work etc.

 

[Msmit002]

As for Vancouver... Keep in mind that 'high season' is 5/15-9/15 which is precisely when most cruise ships are cruising out of Vancouver. My experience with traveling to and from Vancouver from the Baltimore/Washington area for work is that flights, hotels, everything is more expensive during that time. Even my per diem rate for Vancouver is 33% higher during this time period each year. In fact, my next trip to Vancouver is in Mid October and my roundtrip flight costs, with airline taxes and fees (but not baggage fees) $497.26. That same flight usually costs me nearly $600 during the summer months.

Vancouver is a beautiful city with lots to do. You can't go wrong spending a few days there. Same can be said for Seattle. Enjoy your vacation!

 

[MUN]

No, it'd be great to explore the area more -but the best we can do with vacation time is fly in on Friday (and since it's from the east coast that means arriving overnight) and the cruise leaves from Vancouver on Monday. So we could at least try to do Seattle with jet lag on Saturday and then see Vancouver on Sunday. It's pretty hard to get back to Seattle after the cruise without it taking an entire extra day, since the flights leave too early on the Monday after the cruise for us to get from the Port to the airport, we'd end up having an extra hotel night at the end, and also another day off of work etc.

If you have limited time, I would fly into and out of Vancouver. Vancouver is a beautiful city and well worth exploring. I don't disagree with you that getting back and forth between Seattle and Vancouver is a pain. We did it, but we also spent 2 nights in Seattle after the cruise, as well as 2 nights in Vancouver before the cruise, but we had a bit more flexibility with time.

 

[ironz]

Alaska flies in/out of MCO, right? I'd take them to Vancouver.
If you have/get the Alaska Airlines Visa card, you can get one companion fare for $99 plus taxes and fees.

We loved our 2 days in Vancouver prior to our DCL Alaska cruise. And didn't want to spend all the extra time getting from Seattle to Vancouver.

 

[cruiser21]

Thanks for the fast replies everyone. This is why I post here! I had not even thought about doing one ways - and going into Seattle and out of Vancouver, thanks I'll look around some more with that in mind.

As for the train from Seattle - it seemed kind of expensive when I priced it for the 4 of us, maybe I wasn't looking at the right train. Haven't checked car rentals - but 45.00 seems pretty good.

Car rentals will be high far out. They keep dropping as it gets closer.

 

[jrabbit]

Welcome to my life - but in reverse - I fly from the NW to Florida. Loose a day each way

With all of the collusion between the airlines, if you can find a flight that meets your times for under $500 you will pretty lucky. Any flight that doesn't get you out of bed around 3am and has reasonable connections will cost you more than 500 (usually)

 

[ladyofthetramp]

We will spend a couple of days in Seattle- as my son says "we are seeing Boeing or I'm not going" plus some other sights LOL. The flights out of Vancouver are first thing or red eyes on the day we dock. Can't do first thing and not crazy about a red eye, so either we will spend another night in Vancouver and tour or if the plane tickets are just to much, find our way back to Seattle. Thankfully not too pressed for time.

 

[karatstravels]

We will spend a couple of days in Seattle- as my son says "we are seeing Boeing or I'm not going" plus some other sights LOL. The flights out of Vancouver are first thing or red eyes on the day we dock. Can't do first thing and not crazy about a red eye, so either we will spend another night in Vancouver and tour or if the plane tickets are just to much, find our way back to Seattle. Thankfully not too pressed for time.

We live in Vancouver and travel to Orlando / Florida at least once a year - we always fly out of Seattle. We just have so many more flight choices and the drive is easy, plus we don't have to worry about customs at the airport. If you can find a flight that works well (time wise) I would pick Vancouver - but those are slim. Hope you enjoy your time in our beautiful neck of the woods.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

We live in Vancouver and travel to Orlando / Florida at least once a year - we always fly out of Seattle. We just have so many more flight choices and the drive is easy, plus we don't have to worry about customs at the airport. If you can find a flight that works well (time wise) I would pick Vancouver - but those are slim. Hope you enjoy your time in our beautiful neck of the woods.

Thank you we are so looking forward to visiting your beautiful city!

 

[Kesohio63]

We thought about doing the Seattle to Vancouver trip for our Alaska cruise this year (we were on the 9/4-9/11, last cruise of the season), but it seemed too complicated and would have required DH to take too many days off work, so we flew into and out of Vancouver. It cost $600+ round trip on United, from Columbus, OH, no direct flights of course. Hotels in Vancouver were expensive, too, but we arrived 2 days early and left the day after disembarking, so we had essentially 2 1/2 days to sightsee. The weather was beautiful, and Vancouver is a lovely city and very walkable. I also recommend the hop on hop off bus tour that we did after getting off the ship; the ticket booth is right outside the port. The luggage company at the port transferred our luggage to our hotel for $40 CAD; that was well worth the cost for convenience!

 

[Shanti]

Trying to decide if we can do an Alaskan cruise, but we're getting scared away by the airfare. We normally fly Southwest, but after looking at it, I really don't want to fly into Seattle and then try to get back and forth to Vancouver, just seems like a pain.

We would fly out of Florida - Tampa or Orlando -does anyone have any recommendations for airlines to use or avoid? Any idea how far out I should be looking to book airfare? And if you have any idea - is $400 round trip normal for the route?

Thanks! I'm googling too - but just figured there had to be others here who have direct experience.

We got very affordable flights from our city (Austin) to Vancouver via WestJet (which is sort of like Canada's version of SWA) for this coming June. About $300 round trip per person. Have you checked their rates?

 

[bumbershoot]

We would fly out of Florida - Tampa or Orlando -does anyone have any recommendations for airlines to use or avoid? Any idea how far out I should be looking to book airfare? And if you have any idea - is $400 round trip normal for the route?

If you are finding $200 each way per person from Florida to Vancouver, take it. That's pretty good! And if it's on southwest or alaska, both let you get credit on your account, with no fee charged, if the price goes down.