psuboater

After baggage claim, head up on the esclator to the sky bridge. There are signs that will lead you to cruise transfers.

I remember I just found out I loved Sushi in 2009, and then being on the Equinox in 2010 with the afternoon tuna nigiri in the buffet....I was in Heaven!

It will also help to know where you're flying from. When we were in Alaska in May, I was on the top deck with flip flops and a sweatshirt, since I live in the Pacific Northwest. I saw others from Florida who were in full on winter jackets with fur. It just depends on your tolerance to colder and damp!

Yes, Celebrity is no longer a premium cruise line for the majority of their passengers (non suite), they're simply Royal Caribbean with a different color scheme. They're no longer worth the premium up charge because they have and are continuing to chip away at the special touches that differentiated themselves from their mainstream brand. We jumped from X to NCL for our annual Bermuda trip and no regrets. It's a mainstream cruise line but their base fare relflects as such and we pay for the extras we want.

Hi! Your corgo is adorable!

Seattle has a high rate of property crime, but not violent crime. I've had a package or two stolen from my front door, but that's about it. A good trip when visiting a large city, however, is to make sure you have nothing visible in your car that would tempt someone from doing a smash and grab. Granted, this has happened to us once, where my husband's wallet fell out onto the drivers seat...but this happened in a suburban gym parking lot in a very safe part of town...New Jersey. So if you're driving in a rental or your own, put everything away. That includes the odd coins that might be in your cup tray, or a phone charger (signalling that it might be worth smashing your window for your phone). I've lived in Columbus, OH and Philadelphia before moving here, so my view of "comfortable" and "safe" is a lot different than someone who has never lived in a big city. For me, Seattle is a very safe city. There are many blocks of both of my previous cities where I would neverever visit, where as in Seattle, I tell many to avoid 3rd Ave, but way different than "what ever you do, don't visit 3rd ave". I worked in the Belltown neighborhood, and yes, I reccomend being aware of your surroundings, working on your best 'I know what I'm doing face' and other such medium-to-big city sized recommendations. Bad things do happen, unfortunately, but they're happening everywhere, and you just need to be vigilant. I understand, however, the nervousness people feel. During the pandemic where I didn't need to go in often, the local news definitely made me skittish the first few times returning to the office. It took time for me to ignore the noise and just walk with confidence.

They absolutely would -- however, it's the luggage lines that would give me concern. If you can squeeze everything into a carry on, that would be the move. The last time I flew out of SEA was in June for my own cruise to Bermuda, and even with priority luggage line access on Delta I still waited 45 minutes to check my bags. 10:30am is too early for Port Valet, so you're at the mercy of the Alaska agents. Alaska is getting a lot of criticism this summer switching over to a more automated system for checking bags, it's creating longer lines and more confusion. One would hope that's resolved by next year, but do with that information as you will.

This happened to me in 2019 and I'm a local! Our Uber got stuck behind a major accident on the way to the train station, so we were panicking to make our train. We run into the station to find out that yes, we could make it, but also it was to Vancouver, WA. The Canadian Vancouver train was sold out and had been for months. We had to get an uber back home and drive to Vancouver. Lesson learned -- if Amtrak doesn't ask you for your passport information when booking, it's the wrong Vancouver 🙂

Just a word of warning (and hoping that you're in the 24 hours of booking since you can cancel/change without penalty) - 4th of July week was the busiest air travel week SEA saw this year and lines stretched into the parking lot. You might be able to avoid the cusp of it since it's that Monday...but that would be too close in my opinion.

I've taken this route and have loved it. Are you trying to take the train same day as when you're leaving however? I'd leave at least an overnight from taking the train to boarding the cruise. They're usually reliable and on time, but that route is prone to mudslides in the fall/spring. Otherwise, it's a relaxing way to get between the two cities, with a lot of the route right on the water.

For upscale (and if price is no issue!) Highly recommend the Lotte. It's downtown but about a 10-15 minute walk to Pike Place, but it's one of the top hotels we've stayed at. The Olympic Fairmount is classic old school Seattle. I've never stayed there but have done work happy hours at their bar and it's lovely. We just stayed at the Astra in South Lake Union a few weeks back and it's more of a modern upscale luxury. We have coworkers that stay at the Monaco- it's very nice but rooms tend to be a bit smaller. The Westin is in a great location and clean, but a bit dated.

I did this for a work event right before the pandemic, as we had co workers fly in from around the world for that week. As a local, I really enjoyed it! I thought it was well worth the experience. If you have mobility issues, please keep in mind the stairs are narrow and some of the older sites do not have elevator access. Otherwise I would definitely recommend.

There's a lot of fast "grab and go" options to tide you over, but it's largely dependent where you land. Alaska utilizes N, C, and D gates, so it's hard to plan. As others have said, if you have bags that you're waiting to pick up, you don't want to leave them straggling at the carousel. I have SkyClub access and if I'm waiting for bags I'll track my bags via the app and use the SkyClub for the bathroom, a coffee and a light snack if I have time. The Centurion lounge and the Lounge at SEA does not have arrival privileges, unfortunately. As others have said, if you can be held over by a snack, getting out of the airport and to your hotel is the best option.

My friend and I found ourselves with an extra day in Vancouver and we did a day tour to the wineries with Lawrence Tours. Michael is the owner and is a Vancouver native who knows all about Vancouver and the areas surrounding it. We went to 3 wineries, stopped in the town where a lot of Hallmark movies are filmed, had a picnic lunch provided, and learned so much about BC and BC wine! Highly recommend.

May 1st was Amazon's RTO, that made a huge difference. Right now between sold out cruises, Taylor Swift last weekend, All Star Week right before that- it has been a PACKED July! The monorail is not really used by many locals. The last time I took it was pre pandemic and it only had a few people on it since it was a weekday before cruise season. Pioneer Square has been cleaned up of encampments since then. There are less stores, yes, but new businesses are starting to pop up. As someone who has been here since 2017, we've made leaps and bounds since the ghost downtown of 2020.

While this may have been true in 2021-2022, workers are back (as is the traffic!!). Amazon went back a few months ago, my employer starts 3x a week tomorrow. I have been going in a few times a month since last year for work. While I am not Asian, I am a petite female. I walk from King Street Station to the downtown core for my commute. I have never felt unsafe, even during the winter where the sunsets at 4pm. If you are used to traveling/cities, then the same rules apply here. Keep aware of your surroundings, walk with purpose, don't flash anything valuable, etc. I've lived in Philadelphia and Columbus OH and I've felt the safest walking around here.

Sailing on her in June 24. Just got notification we got bumped from our original Club Balcony Suite to down the hall as our original cabin is being recategorized.

Our airport is now too small for the capacity it needs. The state tried to float another local airport to be built south of SEA but it was rejected because no one wanted it in their backyard. Thus, the never ending construction in SEA 🙂 I've stayed at the Hampton Inn and it was clean and convenient and close if they're still doing schedules. Alternatively, you can take the Wallypark garage shuttle and walk across the street to a Doubletree or a La Quinta. This is also a good reminder for anyone reading who asks "can I make an early flight?" This summer we have some of the highest passenger traffic ever. Construction is bad, and traffic is bad. Please reconsider- nothing worse than ruining a weeks worth of relaxation with missing your flight home! Flights are flying full, and Seattle doesn't have any other airports to help with the capacity (like going on an LGA flight if your JFK flight is cancelled). As a local, I'm not planning any flights until the end of September. Take that as you will 🙂

Doing a quick Uber fare estimate-- Airport to Olive 8 - $65-75 USD with tip, depending on time of day Olive 8 to Pier 91 - $25-35 USD with tip, depending on time of day Pier 91 to Airport -- $75-95 USD with tip, depending on time of day

Stayed at the Marriott Pinnacle in April and found it wasn't too far from most things we wanted. As long as you're comfortable walking a few blocks, it's a nice place to stay. We thought the bar was fantastic!

There's a Target on 2nd and Union, about a 14 minute walk from your hotel that would have what you're looking for.

Is disembarkation on a weekday or weekend? Weekday you'll run into city traffic as you have to go south to the airport. Do you have priority to check your bags with your airline? Do you have TSA Pre or CLEAR (or ideally both)? Can it be done? Sure. Is it worth the stress? Probably not. SEA has had record passengers this summer and that's not expected to ease up next summer. Lines for bags or security have pushed into the garage on some days.

https://www.uber.com/global/en/price-estimate/ This is a great tool - fares will change based on demand, but this will give you a fairly accurate price range by time and distance.

There was hot food there and maybe 3-4 people when we went up there on the last port day 🙂

Just got off the Joy on Sunday- some tips: 1) Plan on rooms not being ready until 3-3:30pm- they start with Deck 15 rooms first and then make their way down, so just plan accordingly. We hung out on the ocean front on Deck 8. In fact, we never saw Deck 8 get crowded at all - all week. Most people don't find it. 2) Reserving a speciality dining time for the first night was a huge win for us- as everyone is crushing the main dining rooms and still figuring out where to go. Having a reservation made night one way less stressful. 3) If it fits in your budget- Vibe is well worth the cost. If it's sold out or not in your budget- there are loungers right outside vibe on Deck 19 that provide quiet. That space didn't get crowded until the last day when people discovered it- a lot of chairs are behind the laser tag sign. 4) Gym- don't bother to go on the first day at sea. Everyone and their mother who has never worked out a day in their life will be there. I worked on on port days and then the last day after 3pm- gym was practically my own.