Please advise on airline and airport for Alaskan Cruise in June 2020

[Dizney73]

Yesterday we booked our family on the Disney Wonder Alaska cruise for June 29! We are a family of 4 and my husband has no problem driving. We would use Newark airport and could fly directly to Vancouver with Air Canada. Pros... Convenience of arriving in port city! Cons...My husband and I have been to Vancouver twice in past years and Air Canada doesn't seem to have glowing reviews.
We are also considering flying direct to Seattle with Alaska Air! We would fly in a day early. Pros: We love National Parks and there are 3 in the area of Seattle! Cons: Getting to Vancouver! Do we rent a car and drive? Do we take the train? or the bus? I also saw there is a ferry but it doesn't go directly to Vancouver.
What is your recommendation?
What are your experiences with either airline?
What are your experiences driving, using the train or taking the bus to Vancouver?
Thanks in advance for your help! Hoping to book airfare this week!

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

Nonstop on Cathay Pacific out of JFK to Vancouver! Our flights were only $350 round-trip. Luggage is included.

 

[Dizney73]

Nonstop on Cathay Pacific out of JFK to Vancouver! Our flights were only $350 round-trip. Luggage is included.

Thanks! I'm going to check them out!

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

Thanks! I'm going to check them out!

I’m not sure if/how the Hong Kong unrest is impacting Cathay flights, so you may want to consider that, too.

 

[MillauFr]

I would chose Cathay Pacific. They are going to be far superior to either Air Canada or Alaska.

 

[Dizney73]

I’m not sure if/how the Hong Kong unrest is impacting Cathay flights, so you may want to consider that, too.

I went to there site and it has alerts about Hong Kong and their system maintenance is down for many online functions. I can't even check on any flights right now.

 

[allashore]

we flew United direct from Newark to Vancouver this past summer
United only had one direct flight to & from Vancouver from Newark

from NYC area there are not many choices for direct flights

 

[Marc D]

AC is not a bad airline and there’s no reason to avoid it, unless the flight is operated by the low-cost branch called Rouge. They constantly win consumer awards. They do tend to be pricier than other airlines when flying to/from the U.S., but at the convenience of direct flights.

However, if there’s a Cathay Pacific flight that works, I would chose that flight.

 

[Dizney73]

Thank you all! I'm staying away from Cathay right now as the site is down for maintenance and it flies from JFK which is a MUCH longer and hectic drive to from PA.
I decided to book two 1 ways... Air Canada NonStop to Vancouver 2 days before the cruise to allow us to take the kids around Vancouver. Then after the cruise ... we are going to take the train (because I just really want to take the train for the experience like we did in Alaska years ago) to Seattle and then spend a few nights in Seattle (I want to go to Rainier) before flying home on United nonstop.

Thanks again for all of your super quick responses!!!

 

[bumbershoot]

Then after the cruise ... we are going to take the train (because I just really want to take the train for the experience like we did in Alaska years ago) to Seattle and then spend a few nights in Seattle (I want to go to Rainier) before flying home on United nonstop.

Whew.
Your initial idea of flying one day early and wanting to hit a NP freaked me out lol. Rainier is a very solid drive (as are the Olympics) and you would run out of time.

Watch the Amtrak site. If there is a landslide anywhere near the tracks they close the tracks to Amtrak trains for 3 full days, and you’ll get a charter bus instead.

Also remember there are only two trains each way per day. All the other things you can book are buses. Make sure you book the train.

 

[Dizney73]

Whew.
Your initial idea of flying one day early and wanting to hit a NP freaked me out lol. Rainier is a very solid drive (as are the Olympics) and you would run out of time.

Watch the Amtrak site. If there is a landslide anywhere near the tracks they close the tracks to Amtrak trains for 3 full days, and you’ll get a charter bus instead.

Also remember there are only two trains each way per day. All the other things you can book are buses. Make sure you book the train.

Yeah... thanks! I need a reality check sometimes! We are big NP people and try to get as many as we can when we travel! Once in Hawaii, we rode a motorcycle through stinging cold rain just to get a stamp at a national historical park.
Would you chose the bus to be on the safe side? or should we rent a car to drive ourselves?

 

[Dizney73]

How about Quick Shuttle? I saw someone else used them. Is this a better option over Amtrak busses?

 

[ashley0139]

Air Canada is perfectly fine. I've flown several times with them in the last couple months.

AC is not a bad airline and there’s no reason to avoid it, unless the flight is operated by the low-cost branch called Rouge. They constantly win consumer awards. They do tend to be pricier than other airlines when flying to/from the U.S., but at the convenience of direct flights.

However, if there’s a Cathay Pacific flight that works, I would chose that flight.

What's your experience with Air Canada Rouge? I have a connecting flight with them later this week. Air Canada to Toronto and then a Rouge connecting flight.

 

[Marc D]

What's your experience with Air Canada Rouge? I have a connecting flight with them later this week. Air Canada to Toronto and then a Rouge connecting flight.

No entertainment system, the most uncomfortable and tight seats (in economy) we’ve ever flown in, on par with Corsair to Paris (that was a looonnnggg flight). It is a low-cost branch and it shows in the amenities. The service is still very good. It’s our main option to fly down to MCO so we now use their business class, which is not so bad.

 

[ashley0139]

No entertainment system, the most uncomfortable and tight seats (in economy) we’ve ever flown in, on par with Corsair to Paris (that was a looonnnggg flight). It is a low-cost branch and it shows in the amenities. The service is still very good. It’s our main option to fly down to MCO so we now use their business class, which is not so bad.

Okay, thanks. About what I would expect for a low cost carrier. It's not too long a flight so I should be okay.

 

[auntlynne]

We did Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver the morning of a cruise. i wasn’t as concerned about track problems on this segment, but I suppose something in California or Oregon could affect it. I wouldn’t hesitate to use the train. The Vancouver station is about a five minute taxi ride from Canada Place.

That said, the train would run you about $240, including kids at 1/2 price (1 kid per adult, 2A, 2K) and doesn’t leave until 545 pm, arriving downtown Seattle at 10:10 pm.

 

[Dizney73]

We did Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver the morning of a cruise. i wasn’t as concerned about track problems on this segment, but I suppose something in California or Oregon could affect it. I wouldn’t hesitate to use the train. The Vancouver station is about a five minute taxi ride from Canada Place.

That said, the train would run you about $240, including kids at 1/2 price (1 kid per adult, 2A, 2K) and doesn’t leave until 545 pm, arriving downtown Seattle at 10:10 pm.

Thanks! That's the train I was looking at. I am a bit concerned about it arriving at 10:10 pm and having to get to a hotel. Or I suppose we could stay the night in Vancouver so we have a place to store our luggage all day and take the super early train the next morning??? Do you have any Seattle hotel recommendations?

 

[MillauFr]

The vast majority of track closures occur during the wet winter months. You should be fine using the train in the Summer

 

[auntlynne]

First, the Seattle Mariners play at home, very close to the Amtrak station, from July 3-12.
There’s also the possibility of the Sounders playing at the same time.

Seattle Hotels - My favorite is the Arctic Club, less than a mile from the King St station. We have also stayed at Hilton Garden Inn in Renton and Hampton Inn in Federal Way (south of SeaTac; on your way to Mt Rainier). I also enjoyed Cedarbrook Lodge near SeaTac. They will pickup/drop off at the airport, Tukwila train station and the Light Link rail.

“Having” to stay in Vancouver just to catch a train, after being there before the cruise - and knowing you want to see NPs in Washington - would make me feel like I was just burning up time. And the summer hotel rates in Vancouver are very pricey. The Hampton Inn on Robson is C$500 per night (w/o AAA or other discount) pre-cruise.

I’ve stayed at the YWCA (co-ed for lodging), summer pricing, and the Pan Pacific, shoulder season, in Vancouver.

Washington first, up to Vancouver on Saturday? You know how your family does with travel. We usually are ready to go home when we get off the boat. Straight to the airport while we are relaxed after a week at sea.

[Caveat - my niece and I followed a week cruise southbound from Anchorage to Vancouver by taking a bus + ferry to Victoria BC. Did a late afternoon visit to Butchart Gardens, overnight at the Fairmont Empress. Hovercraft to Seattle. Chihuly museum, monorail, Space Needle, overnight at Arctic Club. Lightlink rail to SeaTac and Southwest to Nashville and 2 hr drive home. It was the final two hours that were long.]

 

[ladyofthetramp]

We flew into Seattle on points with South West from Boston. We spent 2 days exploring there. If there is baseball going on as another poster mentioned, it is a lot of fun to go to a game. The national parks are not close, so you would have to plan for that. We took Amtrak business class (train) the morning before our day of depature to Vancouver. I really enjoyed the train. We had a delay of about one hour getting into the station in Vancouver due to another train needing to leave before we could pull in. Leaving Vancouver we spent the day exploring the city, spent the night at the Fairmont at the airport and flew Air Canada non stop back to Boston in the morning. We did this to avoid all the red eye flights on the day of debarkation. I too read all the reviews on Air Canada, but with a non stop I was a bit less worried. We found them to be just fine. Cabin crew was wonderful. Good luck with your planning. You will love Alaska!