Seattle Questions

[the cruise is on]

My husband and I plan to be in Seattle for 2 nights before we leave for Anchorage and the start of our cruise/tour. We will get to Alaska mid-day on May 27, and be there all day on May 28th. The 27th is our 34th wedding anniversary, and, therefore, I'm looking for a nice restaurant with good food where we can celebrate. He loves seafood, and I am more of a beef and chicken girl!

 

We will be staying at the Edgewater.

 

I would welcome all recommendations for good restaurants that are appropriate for celebrating an anniversary. Also, if you can suggest any "must sees" for our time there, that would be great. We plan to go to Pikes Mkt. but the rest of our day is open to ideas!

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

[ladysheri]

the cruise is on...

What a great city in which to spend your anniversary! OK, I am a little prejudiced. I have lived here over 20 years and married a native so I am here to stay!

 

Some great Anniversary Dining options (with remarks):

Palisades Supposed to be VERY nice and quite good. I have not personally eaten there. (Not in the downtown area)

Chez Shea Non-tourist restaurant in a building overlooking Pike Market with a view of the Sound. INCREDIBLE food and atmosphere. Here's their website: http://www.chezshea.com/ You would probably need reservations.

Ruth Chris's Steak House Great Steak and located downtown.

Metropolitan Grill The restaurant of choice for many in Seattle. Again I have never eaten there, but only because it can be difficult to get in. A good concierge would get you there, though.

Anthony's Homeport On the water in Seattle and close to the Edgewater. A great choice to satisfy the seafood/chicken/beef variety! Probably your best choice to get good seafood nearby.

Daniel's Broiler On Lake Washington or on the 21st floor of a high rise in Bellevue (other side of the Lake from Seattle). Great sunset views.

Space Needle Food is expensive, but better than average. I have eaten there many times and they do great Salmon. And nothing, absolutely nothing in Seattle beats the view.

Spirit of Washington Dinner Train Food is a little below the level of the locations listed above, (still quite good) but an incredible dinner experience and you get a winery tour as well. Leaves from Renton, Southeast of Seattle. http://www.spiritofwashingtondinnertrain.com/

 

Hope this helps. Enjoy your cruise!

[frchteaze]

I have to second the Dinner Train. I did it last summer celebrating a birthday and it was fantastic. I had chicken and my partner had the salmon. We were both very happy with the meal, but it doesn't compare to a really fancy restaurant if that's the experience you're looking for. It had great views and a very detailed tour of the winery. Not enough time to taste wines and shop, but overall I give it 2 thumbs up. :D

 

I also ate at McCormick and Schmicks downtown. Not quite as foo foo as some of the previously recommended restaurants, but fancy for sure and very good food. (I know it's a chain restaurant, but this one seemed a step above the other M&S's I've eaten at.)

[c-cruise]

I will second Palisades. My wife and I have gone there several times for our anniversary. Great food, relaxed atmosphere and beautiful views of the sound and the city.

 

Other places I would suggest are Canlis and El Guacho. El Gaucho is in Belltown and would be easy to get to from the Edgewater.

[wa.mama]

Canlis, Metropolitan Grill, Cafe Campagne (walking distance from Edgewater)

[the cruise is on]

Thanks so much for the great recommendations! Please keep them coming. I didn't ask this, but are reservations required for the restaurants you have suggested.

[ladysheri]

Since your anniversary is on a Saturday, I would recommend reservations at any of the locations mentioned in this thread.

[imacruizer]

We spent three days in Seattle prior to our cruise last summer. It was delightful and we thoroughly enjoyed it. You are in a great location at the Edgewater.

 

We ate at several nice restaurants, but our favorite was The Metropolitan Grill. We had an excellent meal there. The concierge at our hotel made our reservation.

 

We really enjoyed our Underground Tour in Pioneer Square and the ferry trip to Bainbridge Island. Even if you do not have time to spend on Bainbridge Island, just ride the ferry over and back. The ride gives you wonderful views of Seattle and it is very inexpensive.

[ImpulsivePuppy]

on Lake Union is also a very good bet. It is a traditional Northwest place.

 

As far as what to do here, like most mjor cities there is a duck tour. These are tours of the city on amphibious vehicles. It is fun and the guides are very good. Besides, when the thing goes in the water it can be a mini-cruise! You can also do a Salmon Bake at Tillicum Village on Blake Island in Puget Sound. This is incredible. Depending on your level of adventure I would recommend also a seaplane tour of the Puget Sound area. There are a couple of outfits that fly off Lake Union. Head about a half hour outside of Seattle (up I-90) to Snoqualmie Falls. This is a beautiful waterfall, higher than Niagara Falls in the foothills of the Cascades. Of course Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Ranier are easy day trips. Also check out the underground tour which takes you under the city and back in time to learn about how Seattle was settled and what life was like during the goldrush. You can find this in Pioneer Square and the concierge at your hotel could probably also make arrangements. If you find yourself in Pioneer Square you are a short walk to Safeco Field if the Mariners are in town. Also, not quite as well known is Seattle's Chinatown which we call the 'International District' or the 'ID.' There are some great restaurants there. Seattle Center of course is home to the Space Needle which is a rip-off in my opinion. But the EMP (Experience Music Project) is one of the best Rock and Roll museums in the world. The building is designed by Gearey so you will not miss it.

 

I hope you have fun in Seattle, home of the real Superbowl Champions. ;) :p And happy anniversary. :)

[the cruise is on]

Thanks so much for the great information! This will be our first trip to Seattle, and as you can tell, we do not have much time. So, I hate to waste a minute.

 

If others have suggestions, I am all ears!

[captncruise]

Seattle is a teriffic! (especially when dry)

 

I strongly recommend visiting the fantastic Museum of Flight which is about 15 minutes from downtown. Even if planes are your hot button, the displays and diversity are worth the time.

 

I am taking 12 couples there on the Celebrity Summit leaving LA on May 7th. If any one else wants to join us we have room on our chartered transportation. (no charge)

 

It is listed as an shore excursion but I recommend private transportation and seeing both the Great Hall and the Fighter exhibit. Plan on at least 3 hours.

 

Capt'n & Commodore

www.captncruise.com

[ImpulsivePuppy]

i'll have to second the cap'n re the museum of flight, it is fantastic and has an old air force 1 and a concord. good stuff there.

[CaribbeanBound]

My "must see" list includes...

 

Boeing Tour

We took the 2:00 pm reserved Boeing Tour hosted by Grey Line Bus Tour ($140 total). Awesome tour. Grey Line’s main station for tours is at the Sheraton.

 

Underground Tour

Upon our return, our bus driver let us out in Pioneer Square where we experienced the Underground Tour (about $28 total). It too was fun. The kids thought it dragged a bit, but we all learned a lot. We returned to the hotel via the bus tunnel. Bus service is fast, and free, in downtown Seattle between 6am and 7pm!

 

Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park Museum.

It’ll give you a great preview into the Alaskan Gold Rush before you get there, and it’s free. We then walked to Ivar’s Pier 54 for an early clam chowder lunch and checked out shops along the pier. We visited Pike’s Market. We really enjoyed watching fresh fish being tossed around, and my son checked out the original Starbucks location.

 

Woodland Zoo

An outstanding all-around zoo.

 

Things you can easily skip: Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma (a few nice exhibits in an otherwise aging zoo undergoing construction), the Space Needle (rediculously expensive ride and restaurant).

 

Here is our complete Alaska and Seattle review: http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/alaska.html