psuboater

For one way fares, it is $2.75 for adults and the bus driver accepts exact fares only. You are able to purchase bus passes in advance on mobile. Info can be found here:Transit GO Ticket - King County https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/metro/fares-and-payment/ways-to-pay/transit-go-ticket

Hi all, I live about 2 hours from Seattle so I was looking into hotels for the Taylor Swift concert that weekend (she's playing Saturday the 22nd and Sunday the 23rd). If you have not gotten your hotel yet, do so NOW. Hiltons in the area are about sold out, with the exception of a $3k room at the Motif. Marriotts have a bit more availbility but nights are running ~$600+ a night. The airport hotels are still somewhat decently priced (although higher than normal). Bellevue is offering hotel prices ~$450 a night, which is about 12 miles from both piers. It can take anywhere from 20-60 minutes depending on traffic. Bellevue is a nice area that has a mall and good dining options. I looked at the pier schedule and it looks to be packed at both piers, so something to keep in mind when you're exploring the city. Get as many tickets to attractions that you want to see as possible, and if you want to see anything in Pike Place besides crowds, I would go when it very first opens. Hope this helps someone!

We had friends who went the week prior and enjoyed high 70s/low 80s. We enjoyed none of that 😂

Also, when using your card anywhere it'll ask if you'd like to pay in CAN or USD. Always choose the local currency, your bank will have the better exchange rate.

We did one end of Feburary. It was nice but it was COLD. It actually snowed on the way from Enesenada back to LA. It is not typical but something to keep in mind.

Agreed, and we've also been on Celebrity 5 times. Back in the late 00s-mid 10s? It was a noticeable difference (I remember the sushi station had so many different options of fresh fish!). Now- it's NCL/RCCL level. To get true premium, I think you have to look to the luxury brands these days.

Bermuda doesn't play around. On cruise boards on Reddit, so many people ask if they can bring marijuana on the ship. Because it's a multi day stop most itineraries, Bermuda officials can and do bring drug dogs on board and will prosecute. Do many people bring it on and not get caught? Sure. But why take that chance?

Points are still considered spend even if it isn't cash 🙂 My example is more that we had a regular balcony the last time on the Joy and minimum spend to bid on Haven was a lot higher than starting from a Club Balcony on Joy this time.

It's going to be highly variable. It's going to depend on ship, itinerary, time of year, and what level/how much you spent originally. Everyone's offer is different.

So we were RCCL (Diamond) and Celebrity fans. My mom and I would take the Summit every year from NY to Bermuda. We don't need the water slides or go karts, so we were really pleased with them. Their food was great and their entertainment staff had exactly what we needed. We went again in 2019, and we noticed to see the drop off. Entertainment was slashed, food was OK, but we felt like the babies on the trip and the energy felt lacking like the year before. For 2020 we were going to try RCCL for Bermuda but we know how that turned out. However for 2022, we went back on the Summit. We were bored. Entertainment was almost non existent and we felt ourselves going to bed early because there was nothing to do. Even so, we loved Bermuda and loved the ship itself so we booked for 2023. If you head over to the X boards, they gutted dinner service at their buffet. For most that's not a big deal, but we spent almost every dinner on the aft deck part of the buffet to enjoy the sunset. I live on the West Coast and found a last minute deal on the Joy this past Feburary. We figured we could use it as a test run before our final Summit payment was due. Within 2 days of boarding the Joy, we cancelled the Summit and are heading to Bermuda next month back on the Joy. We were impressed with the food (specialty and main dining), the entertainment staff, and we felt the drink package was more extensive (we loved the wines of FAS+). We still prefer small ship cruising, but we had a great time with NCL. We've been cruising since 2005 and all cruise lines have had cuts, being on all 3 lines I mentioned since COVID restarts. You just have to figure out what's important to you and go from there. I hope this helps!

Its about 45 minutes each way from SeaTAC to downtown, so you're looking at 2 hours of your day just on the light rail. Otherwise, it's perfectly fine safety wise for the hours that you're looking at. There's been a huge increase of fare enforcement staff who keeps things orderly and clean.

This 90 weekend is an anomaly for us in May, it's going back to 60s-70s after this weekend. However, these heat waves are coming more frequently and earlier it seems.

There are overhangs outside of the terminal to keep you dry, however, that's about all the amentities you'll get. The port is very industrial and there's not much around it and what is kind of a pain to get to once you're in the port. The good news is that our summers have been very very dry. If you come between July-September, last year we went over 90 days without rain. And Seattle rain isn't a downpour or a bad storm, especially in the summer, if anything it will be a mist. I see you're coming in June- we do have a bit of a rep of "Junecember" (locals here say summer starts July 5th) but as the climate gets drier every year you might luck out. I would go the early route. We went on quantum last year and even getting there early there was a long line. This was still during Covid restrictions and checks so we checked in 3 hours after our time after waiting in line. This isn't always the norm but they have had some "new season hiccups" from what I've been reading. Those who got there very early had a way better experience.

Regarding safety- I work downtown. Friday in August you'll be perfectly fine. The hill back to the Westin isn't terrible at all as well.

My friend and I did a winery tour with Lawrence Tours - Michael is the sole owner, and you can book through him directly to save a couple of $ instead of through Trip Advisor. We got a wealth of knowledge about Vancouver, the surrounding area (he took us to Fort Langley - where they film a bunch of Hallmark Christmas movies if that's your thing!) and wine making in general. He does more than just wine tours. I highly recommend him. We stayed at the Marriott Pinnacle. Location was great. Rooms are a bit outdated, but the lobby and restaurant was modern and had great food and cocktails.

Something to note for American friends- the steak will taste slightly different than what you're used to at home. We went to Gotham last summer and had a great experience, but our waiter explained the taste will be different than US Beef due to the feed they give their cows. It was still a phenomenal meal and great steak, but there was a noticeable difference. My husband's pandemic hobby was buying a steak oven and therefore we had a lot of steak the past few years. 🙂 Just wanted to give others a heads up in case your waiter doesn't! And if you do get to Gotham- the creme brûlée was the best I have ever had from all my travels.

Agreed, we just did a girls trip there and went to Gastown both nights while it was dark. We didn't feel unsafe at all and we stayed out until 10-11pm. I feel much safer in Vancouver than I do Seattle, and I don't feel that unsafe in Seattle to begin with.

We loved Go Ask Luigi, in East Gastown, which is a tiny Italian bistro that has locally made pasta. Reservations highly recommended but they do leave spots for the walk ins. For drinks and light bites, the 515 lounge and The Diamond had fantastic craft cocktails and really captured the vibe of the city. Miku is a splurge contemporary sushi place right on the water near Canada place. Highly recccomend their pressed sushi rolls, which they're known for. Miko is a tiny sushi restraurant on Robson that felt like we were in Japan. Next to is Ramen Danbo, which is a Japan import and always seems to have a line outside. The line is worth it, it was the favorite thing we ate all weekend!

Yes, I was on the Quantum last year and while we made it back to Seattle early, we were not cleared to depart off the ship until 8:30. There were a lot of panicked people who were going to miss their flight. There's two roads to the airport- I5 and 99. If one of those has an issue, your 30 minute trip to the airport will easily be over an hour. SEA is hit or miss. I've seen it empty and I've seen lines down to the parking garage. Cruise season the airport is always packed. 11:30 would be my earliest gamble having TSA Precheck and CLEAR.

I've stayed at The Douglas, which was wonderful. It shares a building with the JW Marriott and a casino. Kind of feels like a cruise before a cruise 🙂 Most recently I stayed at the Marriott Pinnacle Downtown. While the rooms were a bit outdated, the lobby and restaurant were modern and great. The rooms were clean and comfortable and the location is in walking distance to where you need to go.

Ramen Danbo in Capitol Hill makes gluten free and vegetarian ramen- in fact, your whole bowl is customizable. I had it in their spot in Vancouver- it's phenomenal!

I always request "shared ride" which is significantly lower. Most of the time I get a private shuttle, but if you do have to share, especially if you're going downtown, it's going to be maybe one stop before you. 🙂

They do do contactless (or Apple Pay). If you've been to Europe, everything is paid for via the handheld terminals. For contactless/Apple Pay it never asked me for my pin.

Ramen Danbo - worth the wait (there is almost always a wait), I am not a huge Ramen fan in the sense where I crave it and I now crave that Ramen Go Ask Luigi - small handmade pasta in East Gastown - reservations highly recommended but they leave spots open for walk ins Miku - Right by Pacific Place - pricey, but the Pressed Sushi rolls are fantastic Miko - A small, local sushi joint that feels like you're in Japn Yasma - delicious Lebonese food that's right by Stanley Park.

The light rail is very easy, but given your mobility issues, an Uber or cab will be your best bet. It will run you around $30-40 and take about 25 minutes in normal traffic. The international district is safe, some restaurants and stores have been boarded up since the pandemic and haven't recovered, so parts look "gritty" but I walk through there when it's dark in the evening in the winter to my train home and haven't had any issues. If you like dumplings and noodles, Dough Zone is my favorite place down there. It's Seattle's local answer to the famous dumpling house Din Tai Fung- just as delicious and literally half the cost. Right next door is Hoods Famous Cheesecake- the Ube cheesecake is definitely worth trying. If you like sushi, Murashi's International District is literally every time where I pick up sushi on my way to the train when I'm heading home. Their sushi is delicious! Uwajimaya Seattle is an awesome Asian grocery store that's a lot of fun to browse in as well.