My friend and I took the amtrak cascades train from everett to vancouver bc in december to come back home after a quick vacation. This would be my first time taking the Amtrak train. Actually, this would be my first time ever riding on any type of train besides the subway/skytrain. My friend took care of the booking for the both of us. We got 2 coach class seats in the morning. The Amtrak staff at Everett station were pretty nice and informative when i asked them general questions about my travels. I showed them my passport, gave them my ticket, and we got a declaration form to fill out. There were no queue times to check in because there were only a few passengers at the station (less than 10) The train came right on time as scheduled. The conductor helped bring our suitcase up the stairs of the train and helped us find our seats. All the passengers embarking on the train took less than 4-5 minutes. The train was fully booked and all the windows seats were already taken so my friend and I sat on different seats closest to the middle aisle. The coach seats had ample leg room to put your bag and do things like eating and using your laptop. I didn't feel cramped at all! Looking outside as the train was moving along the coastline near the border was a treat. walking in the train was tricky because the whole train coach kept bouncing a bit each as it traveled. Washrooms were clean and had ample room for usage. There were 2 unisex bathrooms with a bright light on the wall to indicate it's being used which it can be seen from far away. The train was 20-25 minutes behind schedule because of freight trains and marine traffic having the right of way, stopping our train from going further. The train conductor was apologetic and kept the passengers updated. On the other hand, at the end of the journey, Canadian customs was really fast and took maybe 3-5 minutes to go through. The Canadian customs procedures were really streamlined and quick. There were basically no wait times for going through customs. The disembarking was done train car by train car. It was done starting by business class, then coach class. Luckily I was in the first coach car near the front. Overall, the train ride was very smooth in terms of the entire Journey from start to finish! I recommend Amtrak train for the nice coastal views and making it a very smooth experience in terms of travelling across the US-Canadian border. There may be some delays though if you're not lucky. 4 stars. read more

The ticket taker in Vancouver, BC was very helpful and carried my 48 pound suitcase onto the train for me. And the desk clerk at the Bellingham Amtrak went above and beyond. read more

Leave the driving to Amtrak. This is the best way to travel to BC. Comfortable Coach seats, clean train and station, and helpful people The only negative people were the US border guards who were rude to each person, shouting orders and commands. Odd. It was not like that 6 years ago when I took the train. Maybe they are just having a bad work day! Enjoy! read more

For our 30th anniversary we booked the Cascade Line from Seattle to Vancouver British Columbia. We boarded the train 60 minutes late and arrived at our destination 3.5 hours late. Food service in the cafe car was closed for the first 1.5 hours because they had to set it up prior to service beginning. The conductor and assistant conductor were not professional in the messaging and once the conductor hollered so loudly at the assistant conductor that it was unbelievable. read more

My recent experience with Amtrak from Portland to Vancouver B.C. was nothing short of a disastrous ordeal that left me thoroughly disillusioned with their services. The train was egregiously late, making a mockery of any semblance of scheduling or reliability. To add insult to injury, the temperature control on board was akin to a malfunctioning sauna, fluctuating wildly between Arctic chill and Sahara heat with no rhyme or reason. As if that wasn't enough, the supposed Wi-Fi was a sad joke, offering reception that would make dial-up internet from the 90s look state-of-the-art. And don't even get me started on the seating--overpriced and about as worn as park benches after a century of neglect. I could have flown across the whole Continent faster and cheaper. Amtrak, you've managed to combine the worst aspects of transportation into one agonizing package. If you're looking to recreate the experience of being stranded in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, I can think of no better way than to book a ticket with Amtrak. The turkey sandwich was great though. read more

Traveling on the Cascade from Seattle, WA TO Vancouver, Canada Old, Unkept train cars Desperately in need of an upgrade. Bathrooms are clean Station at King Street in Seattle is nice View is beautiful but if you live and travel along the coast in California, it's basically the same scenery. We live 5 minutes from the beach and my daughter attends UCSB so the scenery on this trip was really nothing special... my family ended up falling asleep read more

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I usually take the Cascades from Vancouver to Seattle, since it's a lot more comfortable than taking the bus Sure, the times aren't the greatest, and it's a tad longer..but it's worth it..especially in business class Business class isn't that much more than expensive than coach, so go ahead and splurge a little. I think it's $15-20 extra one way. This gives you a more private cabin, more comfortable seats, and $5 off the bistro Speaking of the bistro, it's great with domestic and imported beers..plus a selection of hot food and snacks So, go ahead, book a ticket..grab a beer..and chill.. read more

The station is a bit out of the way, but its not hard to get to. The station itself did not have wifi and I wasn't really down with that. I took AMTRAK from Bellingham to Seattle. It was a 3 hour trip with no complications, The view was fantastic because I took it right as the sun was going down so I really enjoyed that. What I didn't like were the people staying in my cabin, but whats there to do about that! (Children were talking really loud and running around like it was a gym....) But I would take it again and it was only $24! read more

Took the Cascades from Vancouver BC to Seattle and back many times and I have got mixed reviews, but review will be based on most recent trip In general, the scenery along the route is beautiful and lots of great views no matter which side of the train you sit on. Wifi is available onboard once the train hits white rock on the way to Seattle so you don't have to worry about your data disconnecting and not being able to use the internet, or stream videos off youtube. Power outlets are available at your seat so you can keep your electronics charged while you are onboard. However, I do recommend bringing a power bar (power strip) along if you have more than one electronic device or if you will have a group of people with you since there is only 1 outlet at each seat. I mean 1 at each seat and NOT 1 PER PASSENGER, so bringing a power bar is strongly recommended even if you only have one electronic device since the other passengers sitting in the same row of seats may also need the outlet since each row sits either 2 or 4 passengers. Large selection of food and drinks including alcoholic beverages is available for purchase at the dining car (accepts both Canadian and US currency) and you can even sit in the lounge car to enjoy your meal or even play a game. You can even take the food back to your seat and enjoy it there. Seats are assigned based on a first come first served basics as they are assigned to you before you board the train, but you are allowed to request for certain seats (ex: window seats) You are allowed to move around the train and sit in other seats as long as they remain available but if the seats get assigned to another passenger you will be requested to move back to your assigned seat. On my most recent trip, since I had a group of 10 people with me and the train had a lot of available seats we were assigned seats but we basically had the entire train car to ourselves and was able to sit anywhere in that train car without being requested to be moved back to our assigned seat (WHICH WAS NICE) Border crossing on the way to Seattle is quite simple since you already went through US customs in Vancouver prior to boarding the train. At the border crossing basically the officers will enter the train to check passports and collect customs forms. This general takes 5-10 minutes to complete. During this time everyone is to stay in their assigned seats and washrooms and dining car is closed. Border crossing is basically skipped on the way to Vancouver BC and instead you just go through the customs back at the station as you exit the station. General speaking I love their service and will always keep using it when heading down to the US since it is much better than driving. read more

So we love traveling and have found that taking the train between cities is the best option, rather than renting a car and dealing with traffic. Plus it's relaxing and not too expensive. Anyhow this review is for 2 trips (basically round trip). From Seattle to Bellingham: we tried buying tickets through the Amtrak app and it kept giving us an error that our card was not working. So we waited to get to a computer and bought our tickets there. When we got to the train station the conductor told us our tickets weren't valid- they had been refunded. In fact the app had been charging our card over and over and refunding the last transaction. When we got to the ticket counter they found the current most recently paid for ticket and printed hem out just in time... we almost missed the train, despite arriving 20 min early. The ride was beautiful. Seats are roomy, only thing is there were no foot Rests. Bellingham to Seattle: we almost missed our train! That was our fault, we forgot a phone in the room and had to run back which put us about 10 min behind schedule. We got the the train with 2 min to spare and jumped on. The train left a minute later so we got lucky!! The ride was great the only thing I have to complain about is the dining car. On the way here we got a breakfast bagel which was actually great for being microwaved. Of course t got really chewy about half way through as most things do that are microwaved, but it was still yummy. So on our way back we ordered the same thing. "Can I get a breakfast bagel and a coffee" "Sure" The man tosses something in the microwave (I'm not paying attention) and a minute later he hands me a burrito. "I ordered the bagel" "No you ordered a burrito" "No I ordered a bagel" "The burrito is better, more flavor" Seriously??? This guy was arguing with me. Why didn't he just say "I'm sorry, I misheard you" and then make me what I ordered. I kept the burrito, then gave it to my boyfriend to eat and asked him to go order me a bagel- He's such a good sport, he went an got me my bagel. read more

Positive: The scenery on the track south from Bellingham is breathtaking. The Amtrak buses are just fine, and run a bit faster than the train. The kiosk ticketing system works fine. I get 10% off with my AAA card. I always feel safe. Negative: The train is always, always late. Don't let them tell you that it's a border problem, because it's late when it's northbound too. Often 45 minutes to an hour late. There is zero parking at the King Street station in Seattle for your friends to pick you up. read more

Supposed to ride the train from Bellingham to Portland. Train depart time 8:30am, get to the station at 8am only to find out that there is a uncontained fire and train cancelled. They were curt and bordering on rude, had absolutely no solutions for travelers other than the advice to try and ride share?!? Seriously!! Then at 8:53am (over 20 minutes after departure time) finally got the text alert that the train was cancelled! So my advice is - if you actually need to get somewhere don't plan to go by train! read more

Went to My Vernon Amtrak this morning, arrived at 8:45 for the 9:30 train. Tried to buy tickets, was told to use the courtesy phone, courtesy phone operator said the train was booked full. 10 people waiting to board the train. Drove a LONG way for absolutely nothing. Typical Amtrak. Even though the train wasn't actually full, the customer service agent couldn't do anything about it, because she doesn't work for Amtrak. There never was a more f'd up system than that of Amtrak. Thanks for nothing, and NEVER again. read more

I regularly take the train from Bellingham to Edmonds which is supposed to leave at 7:37pm. However, since the start of the year, the train has always been ridiculously late, which is a huge inconvenience. If you're taking a trip with Amtrak, be prepared to be late. read more

If you're taking Amtrak you're probably not in a hurry. But, they're never on time. You have a good chance of being 20 minutes to one hour late, depending on the day. However, it's a good way to get work done if you don't need a fast internet connection and the price is affordable. read more

First time on the Cascades Train from Bellingham to Vancouver. Still sitting at the station as the attendant tells me events out of our control are preventing departure. We are waiting for the buses coming down fron Vancouver and up from Seattle! Over 2 hours of delay and counting. I have a lot of time on my hands. I am spending it researching Amtrak On-Time rate. My findings, you are much more like to be delayed than leaving on time. Primary reason....freight trains own the tracks and they get priority. Ahh...surprise, surprise. Big business privileges itself over the 100's of thousands who use the trains. Another example of the market place working so well. Never had this problem in England, France or Italy. read more