Seattle Post-Cruise Tour

We're getting into Seattle late the day before departure (Dawn Princess, August 19) and have a reservation at the Ramada downtown. We have a 1:25 p.m. flight on the day we return to Seattle.

We'd really like to see some of Seattle but are unsure of the best way to do it. We were planning to take a taxi from the airport to the hotel and probably from the hotel to the port, unless there's a tour that will pick us up at the hotel and drop us off at the pier.

Princess has a post-cruise Seattle excursion but it states that it is for those who have flights later than 2 p.m. The tour begins at 9:30 a.m. and ends at 11:30 a.m. at the airport. We're willing to do self-debarkation to give us more time, though I don't know what options we'd have that early in the morning.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

Is there a better place to post this question?

Thanks! :)

What time were you planning on arriving at the port when your ship departs? You might be able to do a Grayline Tour of the city beforehand: http://www.graylineofseattle.com/

You don't have to arrive at the ship as soon as they start letting people on. The lines to get onboard may be shorter if you wait until mid-afternoon.

If the post-cruise excursion ends at 11:30 at the airport, it seems like it should be enough time for you to make your flight...almost 2 hours.

Both of your suggestions make sense to me!

We don't mind getting to the ship a little later. I'll see about getting a tour that we can catch from (or near) our hotel that might also take us to the ship.

I think Plan B would be doing one the morning we disembark.

Thanks!

Longhorn, we'll be in Seattle next week for a couple of days pre-cruise. I've gotten a couple of recommendations (from the Pacific Northwest forum on these boards--lots of helpful people there) and after looking at the websites and talking to the companies by telephone, I've made arrangements for our group with a couple of companies. One is Scenic Seattle Tours, (http://www.customizedtours.net/tours.php?type=seattle )and we'll be taking their tour of the city on one afternoon and their waterfall & wineries tour the next day. They were a very easy company to work with, and when I called (our group is kinda large and I wanted to double check about that) the person who answered was extremely helpful and friendly. The other company is Shuttle Express, ( http://www.shuttleexpress.com/index.html ) we've arranged with them for transportation from our hotel to the pier and on our return, from the pier to SeaTac. Again, good website and very nice folks on the phone. Quick confirmation e-mails, too.

Obviously, I can't give you any feedback yet on how good they are in actuality since we won't see them until next week. But I'm expecting a good experience and will be back on these boards to post when we return.

Good luck, and enjoy your trip! We're planning to!

Longhorn, we'll be in Seattle next week for a couple of days pre-cruise. I've gotten a couple of recommendations (from the Pacific Northwest forum on these boards--lots of helpful people there) and after looking at the websites and talking to the companies by telephone, I've made arrangements for our group with a couple of companies. One is Scenic Seattle Tours, (http://www.customizedtours.net/tours.php?type=seattle )and we'll be taking their tour of the city on one afternoon and their waterfall & wineries tour the next day. They were a very easy company to work with, and when I called (our group is kinda large and I wanted to double check about that) the person who answered was extremely helpful and friendly. The other company is Shuttle Express, ( http://www.shuttleexpress.com/index.html ) we've arranged with them for transportation from our hotel to the pier and on our return, from the pier to SeaTac. Again, good website and very nice folks on the phone. Quick confirmation e-mails, too.

 

Obviously, I can't give you any feedback yet on how good they are in actuality since we won't see them until next week. But I'm expecting a good experience and will be back on these boards to post when we return.

 

Good luck, and enjoy your trip! We're planning to!

Thanks so much! I'll be watching for your comments!

I'm still trying to decide if we should tour the day of the cruise or the day we get back. I'm afraid I'll be too anxious both days -- anxious to get on the ship and later, anxious to make our flight! :)

Has anyone done the Grayline tour? There's one at 9:30 a.m. that will pick us up at our hotel. I think we'd have plenty of time to do that and still get to the ship in plenty of time to board.

Thanks!

I did the Grayline tour through our ship (NCL sun) It was ok Short and informative. We just drove around, saw some area sights and then went to Pike Market for an hour. Then the bus took us to the airport where we caught a free shuttle to our hotel. I think there were probably better tours available and we could have done Pike's Mkt on our own with a shuttle. You need to be at the airport 1 hour before your flight if you are checking baggage so technically if you get there at 11:30 am you are ok.

Why don't you think about renting a car at Sea-Tac when you arrive and then dropping off at cruise terminal and doing your own tour. Use mapquest or other sites for specific directions to various place you may want to go.

Would recommend seeing Seattle on Saturday before you board. You can actually drop off your luggage at the pier in the morning and come back later to go through emabarkation. I would also suggest checking out http://www.seeseattle.org/visitors/ site to determine what it is that you would like to do. August is a great time to see the Seattle area. My wife and I live about 30 miles southeast of Seattle and the weather has been gorgeous the past 2 weeks. Whatever you choose to do, have a great time!