Seattle - have 1 day to spend post-cruise

[Dams]

We will be back on a Friday AM from a Celebrity Alaska cruise in July. Our flight home is at 1 pm next day (Saturday). So we have about 24 hours to spend in Seattle. This is our first cruise and our first visit to Seattle.

 

Advice appreciated on how best to use our time, esp

--on where to stay in Seattle (location, names of hotels etc). Hotels with free breakfast are good, as it will save us time on Sat AM

-- transport from pier 66 to hotel and hotel to Sea-Tac next day (we have 5 people in our group- 2 adults, one senior and 2 children. Will have 4 or 5 bags and 4 or 5 carryons to lug around).

-- places to see in Seattle in 1 day. We expect to complete whatever we can see on Friday even if it is late and get up leisurely on Saturday, have breakfast and go to airport.

[Casagordita]

I'm a local, so I don't really know specific hotels. But based on your schedule, I would recommend staying in town (downtown, Pioneer Square, or Lake Union areas), rather than down by the airport. You'll waste a lot less time going back and forth from ship to hotel, then back into town to sightsee, then back to your hotel for the night (minimum 30-40 minutes each way). You can get a lot of suggestions for hotels people have liked from other threads on this board. You'll be a little more hurried Saturday morning, but I think it'll be worth it.

 

Again, I'm not a lot of help with local transportation--cabs and town cars and the like. It sounds like the light rail to the airport may not be such a good option for you, with an elderly person and kids and lots of bags. I'm sure other folks who've used them can recommend town car services--they seem popular.

 

The major sights that most people want to see include Pike Place Market, and the Space Needle. Some people enjoy the waterfront--there are a lot of touristy shops and restaurants down there, and the Seattle Aquarium (not world-class, but not bad). There's a big new ferris wheel opening there, too, in a couple of weeks. And it's a reasonable walk from there to the Olympic Sculpture Park.

 

Besides the Space Needle, there's a lot more to see at Seattle Center. The Chihuly Graden of Glass is getting great reviews from visitors. The Experience Music Project can be fun if you're a fan of rock music, or science fiction. The Pacific Science Center is a good interactive museum, mainly aimed at kids, but they're also doing the King Tut exhibit this year.

 

There are lots of tours, both on land and water, and at least one (Ride the Ducks) that does both. Argosy does a lot of boat tours, including one out to Blake Island for the Tillicum Village salmon bake/Indian cultural presentation.

 

That should give you a few ideas to choose from!

[1025cruise]

Just a word of warning, you may end up crashing as soon as you hit the hotel, with all thoughts of sight seeing out the window.

It happened to us last week. We got off of the Star Princess, picked up a rental car, headed to our airport hotel to drop off luggage (plus I had to return a tux), and instead of heading back to town, we just crashed.

[mapleleaves]

Do you want 2 rooms or a 2 room suite?

Look at the STICKY above to see what prices people are getting on Priceline. Otherwise Seattle has all the major chains. The Seattle Center area and Lake Union tend to less expensive. There are suites and free bfast at Silver Cloud Lake "Union (and a free shuttle to take you to popular spots like the Market, Seattle Center) and at Residence Inn Lake Union, and Hampton Inn by Seattle Center. I'm sure there are others.

 

For a group of 5 a towncar service is probably the most affordable option. How old are the kids?

[Dams]

Thanks for all the replies.

 

Casagordita, thanks for your suggestions. We plan to see space needle (not the restaurant - I should add that we are all mostly vegetarians and did not see any thing on the menu that interested us), chihuly glass place, olympic sculpture garden and duck ride or Argosy tour, assuming we have time. May be the Ferris wheel too, again if we have time.

Are there big lines at spaceneedle or other places on a Friday? Average wait times?

I hear a lot about Pike market. It looks like a giant Farmers market with collections of craft stores and food places (sea food). Does it have any thing for tourists like us (vegetarians, cannot buy anything due to baggage limits on flight etc)?

 

1025cruise - I was expecting all of us to sleep well on the last night on cruise and wake up refreshed. May be it is not how it goes. The cumulative excitement and physical strain of the previous 6-7 days on cruise takes it's toll. We will see how it goes and try our best to use up our time in Seattle well.

 

mapleleaves - I think towncar is our best option from pier and from hotel to seatac. BTW, what exactly is a towncar? Is it a Ford Towncar or any generic large sedan/small limo type car. Do we have to make a reservation or just flag them down on the street.

I looked on Priceline (sticky) and also biddingfortravel but not many posts on current bids. Our kids are older (11 & 16), so we need either a suite with 2 beds and a sofa or 2 rooms. At first glance, it looks like it costs about $400 to $500 for 2 rooms for one night in the downtown area/seattle center/union lake. I will see if I can find a more affordable place,

[Gardyloo]

If you suck it up and book into the Marriott Waterfront, you can save the time, hassle and cost of a cab from the pier to the hotel, and just roll your bags across the street from Pier 66. The hotel may cost more, but might not be so bad when you add in the cost of a couple of cabs to take your party to a hotel. The Marriott has easy access to the Pike Market, and there's a free waterfront bus that will take you to Pioneer Square and the International District, where you can change to the downtown free bus zone.

 

The same goes for the Edgewater Hotel, located on the same side of the street as the cruise terminal, but a couple of blocks north.

[Casagordita]

Thanks for all the replies.

 

Casagordita, thanks for your suggestions. We plan to see space needle (not the restaurant - I should add that we are all mostly vegetarians and did not see any thing on the menu that interested us), chihuly glass place, olympic sculpture garden and duck ride or Argosy tour, assuming we have time. May be the Ferris wheel too, again if we have time.

Are there big lines at spaceneedle or other places on a Friday? Average wait times?

 

The lines can be long this time of year. That's one advantage to eating at the restaurant--you get to bypass the lines. But I totally understand your objections--it's too expensive to go there if you're not at least moderately interested in the menu! You might want to call them and see what the evening wait times are like--I imagine it might drop off later in the day.

 

 

I hear a lot about Pike market. It looks like a giant Farmers market with collections of craft stores and food places (sea food). Does it have any thing for tourists like us (vegetarians, cannot buy anything due to baggage limits on flight etc)?

 

Pike Place Market has all of the above, and then some. There are all sorts of nooks and crannies with odd little shops and amazing specialty stores--collectibles, magic tricks, clothing, toys, kitchen gadgets, books, records, imports from every corner of the world...I have lived in Seattle for 19 years and I'm still discovering things I never knew were there! Not all the food is fresh and perishable--there's plenty you could tuck into a suitcase or ship home--but a lot of people just enjoy looking at all the gorgeous goodies. And vegetarians are not a rare breed in these parts--you'd probably find plenty to eat that suits your tastes. There's a lot of history in the Market, and you can get a real feel for Seattle's past there.

 

But after all that...I'll admit, the first time I went there on my first visit to Seattle, my reaction was okay, that was nice, but what's all the fuss about? I needed time to explore and get to know the place and come to appreciate all the things you can find there. And then also, I've become a MUCH better cook than I was when I moved here--which has been both a cause and effect of getting to know the Market better! Of course, a lot of visitors love the Market at first sight, as much as I love it now--but you're the only ones who can decide if it's likely enough that you'll be one of them. Since it will be madly crowded by the time you get there, if you have a low tolerance for crowds, you may not want to go unless it really grabs you.

[Dan G]

first may I suggest you look at tripadvisor.com seattle forum. On top right there is a whole list of top questiions you will find very useful. its in an easier format that CC. One day itnerary without a car is right up your alley. From seatac I'd use the towncar provider from the Port of Seattle. just call ground transportation and tell them you need a car for 5 people and its a flat rate into downtown. They will come to the door closest to you in baggage claim. Since 66 is right downtown you could take 2 cabs to Seatac for $32 each. The cruise would charge you $25 pp which is a total rip.