Seattle Q&A/FAQ (Part 2)

[mom02]

I've tried searching this forum for hotel and transportation information, but still have a couple of questions I'm hoping someone can shed some light on.

 

We are flying in the night before our cruise with our 2 young children and are trying to find a hotel for 1 night. After exploring several hotels in both locations, most hotels near the airport offer free shuttles to the hotel while the hotels in downtown we will have to pay. In your opinion, is it better to stay at a hotel near the airport or downtown?

 

My next question is about shuttles and car seats. Bus-type shuttles have no seat belts and do not require car seats. Are the shuttles from the hotels the kind that do not require car seats? I'm also looking at the shuttles that will take us to the pier. Are those also the kind that do not require car seats?

 

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

[gfolchick]

It just came to my attention that we will be arriving in Seattle during Seafair weekend and Fleet Week. We currently do not have hotel yet, have been debating airport area vs. downtown. We arrive in early afternoon on Friday. Should we avoid downtown and just stay out by airport? Any other helpful suggestions?

[Gardyloo]

It just came to my attention that we will be arriving in Seattle during Seafair weekend and Fleet Week. We currently do not have hotel yet, have been debating airport area vs. downtown. We arrive in early afternoon on Friday. Should we avoid downtown and just stay out by airport? Any other helpful suggestions?

Seafair is much more a "locals" thing than something that brings a lot of people into town (not that there won't be a lot anyway.) Don't change your plans for it, except to be prepared for the Blue Angels roaring over the city.

[mapleleaves]

It just came to my attention that we will be arriving in Seattle during Seafair weekend and Fleet Week. We currently do not have hotel yet, have been debating airport area vs. downtown. We arrive in early afternoon on Friday. Should we avoid downtown and just stay out by airport? Any other helpful suggestions?

 

Does your cruise leave the following morning? If you aren't planning to sightsee you might as well look for a room near the airport. But considering the time of your visit, availability might determine where you stay.

Which pier ?

[gfolchick]

Does your cruise leave the following morning? If you aren't planning to sightsee you might as well look for a room near the airport. But considering the time of your visit, availability might determine where you stay.

Which pier ?

 

Princess/91

[mapleleaves]

Princess/91

 

If you're staying for more than 1 night, you can take the lightrail from the airport to downtown for only $3 to do your sightseeing. 40 minute ride.

 

If you stay by the airport, use the Seattle Express hotel list so you can use their shuttle to the pier for $15pp.

http://www.seattleexpress.com/2901.html

 

(I asked which pier because pier 66 is right downtown, so you could drop you luggage at the ship and sightsee for a few hours before boarding. Pier 91 is a few miles north of town so not as easy ... a $20 cab ride.

 

The Seattle forum of trip advisor has a section for cruisers under Top Questions that might be helpful to you: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g60878-c50949/Seattle:Washington:Cruises.From.Seattle.html

[Pierlesscruisers]

[/url]

 

$20 is probably the rate from downtown to Pier 91. If you're talking about a cab from a hotel in the area of the airport, the cab fare from Pier 91 to SeaTac is in the $45-50 range, so I would guesstimate that from a cab in the opposite direction would be the same.

 

Tom

[cuterlmt]

So we're flying into Seattle the day before our cruise out of Vancouver. Looking for a reasonable hotel near the Amtrak station since it looks like we need to get there early to take the train to Vancouver for our cruise the next day. Looking for reasonable, under $150 if possible. Happy to do priceline or groupon or whatever. We'll have a little time to sight see, and have a nice dinner.

We are ok with doing a shuttle from airport to the hotel, ala Super Shuttle or quick shuttle or whatever. Do not want to do mass transit as we'll have lots of luggage for our two week trip. Taxi is ok too - I've read conflicting things about flat rate versus not depending on where your hotel is.

 

Thanks for all the information in the thread. I have been reading for days since we have scheduled our cruise!

[Gardyloo]

So we're flying into Seattle the day before our cruise out of Vancouver. Looking for a reasonable hotel near the Amtrak station since it looks like we need to get there early to take the train to Vancouver for our cruise the next day. Looking for reasonable, under $150 if possible. Happy to do priceline or groupon or whatever. We'll have a little time to sight see, and have a nice dinner.

We are ok with doing a shuttle from airport to the hotel, ala Super Shuttle or quick shuttle or whatever. Do not want to do mass transit as we'll have lots of luggage for our two week trip. Taxi is ok too - I've read conflicting things about flat rate versus not depending on where your hotel is.

 

Thanks for all the information in the thread. I have been reading for days since we have scheduled our cruise!

During cruise season you're not going to find a downtown hotel in that price range unless you get very lucky with Priceline or go the AirB&B route etc. Any of the downtown hotels will be within a $10 range (taxi) of the station; you should also expect to pay $50 or so for a cab or limo from the airport to one of those hotels.

 

You don't say when your flight arrives, but frankly I'd suggest you look at three alternatives:

 

1. Fly into YVR instead of SEA. Usually the cost differential doesn't favor flying into Seattle then going to Vancouver on the ground.

 

2. Quick Coach straight from Seatac airport to Vancouver - http://www.quickcoach.com/ . This will save time and money and will make the next day much more relaxing.

 

3. Rent a car at Seatac, use it to visit a few Seattle attractions (if there's time) then drive toward the border. You could spend the night in, e.g., Bellingham (with a very nice "old town" area, Fairhaven) and make it to Vancouver the next day with plenty of time to drop the car and get to the ship. For two people, a one-way car is usually price-competitive with other alternatives (when you add taxi fares etc.) and the hotel savings outside of Seattle will go a long way to erasing the additional cost. Plus, if you have the time, there are several alternate driving routes that offer terrific scenery and interesting little towns that you can't see from the train or buses.

[cuterlmt]

Thanks for the information.

We'd like to fly into Seattle because the layovers are horrible to get into Vancouver, and the added cost to go to Vancouver is outrageous - it doubles the cost of our flights. We've never been to Seattle (or Vancouver for that matter), and we want to take the train from Seattle to Vancouver. My hubby is a train fanatic. So I really don't want to do the quick coach.

We don't want to rent a car. I'd rather walk or take public transportation to look around.

I'll keep looking at priceline and groupon, etc.

Is the Amtrak station downtown?

Is there a super shuttle type transportation from airport to hotels that would be less expensive than cabbing it?

[Gardyloo]

Thanks for the information.

We'd like to fly into Seattle because the layovers are horrible to get into Vancouver, and the added cost to go to Vancouver is outrageous - it doubles the cost of our flights. We've never been to Seattle (or Vancouver for that matter), and we want to take the train from Seattle to Vancouver. My hubby is a train fanatic. So I really don't want to do the quick coach.

We don't want to rent a car. I'd rather walk or take public transportation to look around.

I'll keep looking at priceline and groupon, etc.

Is the Amtrak station downtown?

Is there a super shuttle type transportation from airport to hotels that would be less expensive than cabbing it?

The Amtrak station is at the south end of the downtown area. The hotel "zone" starts around 1/2 mile north of the station and continues through the downtown core (around a mile) and up to the Seattle Center area (Space Needle, etc.) which is another mile, thus around 2 miles from the station.

 

Look here for various transport options from the airport to downtown - http://www.portseattle.org/sea-tac/parking-and-transportation/ground-transportation/pages/default.aspx

[martincath]

OK - so taking the train is definitely something you want to do. Still, downtown or even Seattle Center hotels will be pricey in cruise season. Staying at the airport makes for big savings, and LINK is traffic-independent and there's a station basically next door to Amtrak. $6 for two of you to downtown is a very, very attractive price if you can handle your luggage easily.

 

Alternative - depending what time your flight is, could you safely make the evening train instead (6:50pm departure)? While the morning Amtrak is about as low-risk a same-day arrival can be, it's still not a zero risk - a train last year was delayed enough folks missed the ship. Unlike Seattle, we do have a good, cheap downtown hotel option up here - the YWCA run a hotel that's well-located, safe, clean, and uses set prices for each season so no jacking up rates just because it's a holiday/3 ship cruise day. Even in peak season, a private double en suite room is CAD160/~US120 and they are showing availability Aug 27th (from other posts I believe you're cruising Aug 28th out of Vancouver).

 

Evening train has the potential of a spectacular sunset - traveling up on 27th will have sunset a little after 8pm, just about your scheduled stop at Stanwood. Some very pretty islands offshore around there. On the downside, you'll be in darkness from maybe 8:45pm onward so no views at all - and since this train comes up from Portland, it's more likely to be delayed than the morning train which starts in Seattle.

[cuterlmt]

Thanks for the responses.

I thought about the evening train so that we can be in Vancouver the night before. Will it be safe to get from the Amtrak station to the YWCA? and is there a dining option close and safe? actually we might just eat on the train.

You're right about our timing - we were going to explore Vancouver when we get back from our cruises, but we may have a little bit of time to do that if we have the morning before the cruise.

So much great information here! I am taking notes! Thank you all.

[martincath]

Thanks for the responses.

I thought about the evening train so that we can be in Vancouver the night before. Will it be safe to get from the Amtrak station to the YWCA? and is there a dining option close and safe? actually we might just eat on the train.

You're right about our timing - we were going to explore Vancouver when we get back from our cruises, but we may have a little bit of time to do that if we have the morning before the cruise.

So much great information here! I am taking notes! Thank you all.

You'd probably be safer wandering around Vancouver all night drunk with wads of cash falling out of your pockets than walking around your own block twice at home. Slight exaggeration perhaps, but crimes against persons up here are much rarer than south of the border.

 

I used to rent a couple of blocks from the Y, and we now live similar distance from the station - while there are some very dubious 'hotels' in the 'hood which suffer from a lot of patron-on-patron issues, even if you walked the whole mile on foot you'd be more likely to get hit by a schmuck riding a bike on the wrong lane of the Seawall than mugged. The Y itself is possible the safest hotel in the city - some rooms are used as initial housing for battered spouses/kids, so they have far more competent security than most hotels.

 

Lots and lots of restos within a couple of blocks of the YWCA, although even if your tummies are on EST dinner at close to midnight local time seems unlikely to work well. The bistro car on the Cascades is quite passable, and not too overpriced - I'd be inclined to pick up some snacks in Seattle and buy a couple of hot dishes on the train. Ivar's Clam Chowder and a bottle of Pyramid IPA is my fave combo, about $12.

 

A cab to the Y will run about CAD$8 and even if the train is late, cabs will be lining up outside the station for your business. From hotel to pier is the same - except traffic on cruise mornings will likely see the fare climb to more like $12, it gets really slow as you approach Canada Place as there are very few possible routes. If you can wheel your suitcases a mile, walking to the pier (about 0.9 miles) is very feasible from the Y.

[cuterlmt]

Great info. Thank you so much. Thankfully I have several months to obsess about it. lol.