psuboater

When we get closer to Seattle cruise season it makes me excited to see the questions roll back in! 🙂

When out of town employees come into the office, they stay at the Kimpton Vintage. Rooms are on the small side, but a very nice boutique hotel in a good location with lots to walk to.

There is an ongoing thread right below this one to discuss hotels: Princess leaves from Pier 91.

Correct - Cantrail is contracted through Amtrak. We were able to purchase the bus services directly from Amtrak's website.

From Pier 91 (if you're going directly to the Pier), the University of Washington Station is 21 minutes by car and the Seattle Bus Station is 17 minutes, but depending when you come in, UW might be faster because it avoids downtown traffic. From Vancouver, Burrard station is closest to most downtown hotels. If you're staying near the airport, check out Amtrak for their bus service. They have pickup in Richmond, BC, which is a lot closer to the airport. They'll take you to King Street Station in downtown Seattle, which is about a 20 minute taxi/uber from the pier.

On the low end, can be cloudy and drizzly in the low 50s, on the high end sunny in the low 70s. In the PNW we joke summer seems to start on July 5th, but in the past few years summer has been coming earlier and staying later.

Enjoy! When my husband and I went in July it was during the heatwave so we didn't walk as much as my friend and I did on this trip. Also, the Red Accordion was a funky bar converted from an old home with vintage furniture that was also worth a check out!

Just came back from a girls trip last weekend to Vancouver - here are some highlights: 1) We stayed at the Marriott Pinnacle Downtown. It was a great location and the lobby and restaurant were beautiful. The rooms were a bit outdated, but it was clean and comfortable. Last summer my husband and I stayed at the Douglas, which was more upscale and more of a resort type experience, but further from most sites you wish to see. 2) We took a wine tour via Lawrence Tours - it was a lot of fun with our tour guide Michael and we learned a lot about the region and BC wines (we don't have a trade agreement on wines with Canada to protect our wine sales, which is why you never hear about them here) - some of them were as good or better than ones I tasted in Sonoma. 3) Eating! A couple of favorite places: Ramen Danbo. There's always a line outside but it's worth it. I'm not even a ramen fan but my friend loves ramen. It was absolutely worth the wait and it was one of the best things I've eaten. Go Ask Luigi is a hidden gem in East Gastown that has fantastic homemade pasta. Miku has innovated pressed sushi that's very close to the cruise terminal. For a more traditional sushi experience, going to Miko Sushi felt like going to Japan. Granville Island is worth checking out as well - the farmers market will have you wishing you could take all the produce home with you and there's a lot of cute shops as well. Lawrence tours also offers a Granville Island food tour. 4) Drinking! If you love craft cocktails, the 515 bar and the Diamond Lounge had unique cocktails in cozy settings. 5) Exploring - Vancouver is quite walkable through all of their neighborhoods. You could spend a whole day walking the 6 mile loop around Stanley Park, taking in the views of the city. Gastown has a lot of cute shops (be sure to check out Made for locally made souvenirs, hidden among the touristy red plaid and moose touristy shops). It's a very safe city, although there are a few streets to avoid due to large homeless encampments. Any of the places I pointed out you can easily walk to avoid them if you see some "grittier" streets.

My favorite sushi places are Momji in Capitol Hill (uber from the Marriott) and Murashi's in the International District (also uberable). Also, just came back from Vancouver and Ramen Danbo was one of the best things I've ever eaten and they have a location in Capitol Hill as well if you're looking for other Japanese cuisine 🙂

For sushi fans, some non-secretive favorites are Momji in Capitol Hill (fancier) and Murashi's (casual) in the International District 🙂

Another option would to take two ubers - one to border, where you'll be able to clear customs by foot, then have an uber pick you up on the US side. It looks like it'd be between $65-70 CAN ($48-50) to the border, then another $60-65 to Bellingham Airport.

Your easiest way would be to take the Amtrak Cascades from Vancouver to Bellingham, then grab a 5 minute Uber to BLI airport. I don't believe you can use Uber to cross the border.

I've stayed at the Hampton Inn SeaTac as well as the Four Points SeaTac and both have been clean and pleasant. I live on one of our islands that need a ferry to get to, so if my flight gets in too late to get the last ferry, I stay at one of these hotels.

As I posted on Monday's thread... Word of warning- it was Seattle's spring break last weekend, so a busy time for the airport but not nearly the cruise crowds. People were lined up to the parking garage for security, taking over 75 minutes to get through. It's honestly hit or miss. If you don't have precheck, I wouldn't schedule a flight before 12:30. If you have precheck, 11:30 is the absolute earliest. If you have precheck and CLEAR you could flirt a little earlier but I wouldn't. My ship last year didn't clear customs until after 8am, making for some very stressed passengers. If you don't have precheck, highly recommend SEA Space Saver - https://www.portseattle.org/SEAspotsaver

They do offer One Ways -- I had one booked for last weekend (However, my friend's flight from Chicago was cancelled so we missed the morning clipper, thus canceling the Victoria leg of our trip and taking the bus to Vancouver, so Canada transporation is VERY fresh in my mind 🙂 ) (edited) and while it's as fresh as last night, here's 3 good views of why the train is the best way to go!

The easiest way would be to take the Amtrak Cascades - there is currently one morning train and one evening train. It takes approximately 4 hours, picks up at King Street Station in DT Seattle and will drop you off at Pacific Central Terminal. If you arrive too late for the morning train and don't want to wait until the evening, you can take a bus from King Street Station to Pacific Central Terminal. It takes between 4-5 hours, depending on traffic and customs. Both the bus and the train can easily be booked via Amtrak.com - I just took the bus up this Saturday and returned to Seattle last night via train.

Word of warning- it was Seattle's spring break last weekend, so a busy time for the airport but not nearly the cruise crowds. People were lined up to the parking garage for security, taking over 75 minutes to get through. It's honestly hit or miss. If you don't have precheck, I wouldn't schedule a flight before 12:30. If you have precheck, 11:30 is the absolute earliest. If you have precheck and CLEAR you could flirt a little earlier but I wouldn't. My ship last year didn't clear customs until after 8am, making for some very stressed passengers.

Currently on the train from Vancouver for a weekend girls trip. We didn't touch a single piece of Canadian currency the entire time. In fact, I barely used my card as every store accepted Apple Pay. We did a private wine tour and at the end we were going to go to the ATM for his tip, but he said we had US dollars he was happy for that given the exchange rate. I don't think there was one shop or bar that didn't take cards.

I've stayed at the Four Points by Sheraton and the Hampton Inn by SeaTac, and both offer shuttles that are free and a quick drive from the airport. The Hilton Conference center also looks like it has a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel. I'd take the shuttle that late at night, it's hard to navigate from the airport to the hotel on foot. If you want to go downtown, the rooms aren't going to be cheaper than what you can find at the airport. If you're asking if it's safe to take a taxi/uber to the hotel that they're staying at downtown to stay with them, then yes, it's safe to take a direct mode of transportation from the airport to downtown.

It was effective as of 6/1/22, so you might have gotten lucky! I've been denied getting to the airport 4 hours before, and with SEA being extremely busy during cruise season I don't see that changing.

Connections are exempt from the 3 hour rule, but for your first airport, it's 3 hours prior to depature for both Centurion and Sky Clubs - that change happened last summer.

The new Centurion is gorgeous at SEA! It's in the food court between C and B gates. If you're facing the window, it will be on the left hand side next to Evergreens salad place. It's on the 2nd floor. Note that all lounges will only let you in 3 hours prior to your departure now.

On the Summit last year they had the hotel pedals -- so cages for sneakers on one side, Delta clips on the other. Your Peloton at home uses SPD clips. I used my sneakers with the cages.

The answer is going to vary WILDLY -- it depends on your ship, the week you leave, how full the ship is, and how much you paid for your original cabin. So if someone booked a Suite, their Haven bid offer is going to have a starting minimum bid that's a lot lower than someone who booked a balcony class. I have tried Upgrade Advantage, or the same program on X and RC multiple times, and I've bid the minimum and the maximum on cabins and haven't been lucky yet. Others bid the minimum on a half full ship and are pleasantly surprised with a Haven or Grand Suite NCL and the cruise lines keeps this process purposely opaque, so the only strategy is: 1) Book the cabin you want at the price you can afford 2) If bidding, bid a number that you feel comfortable with if you win (if you win, you're automatically charged, and cannot change) 3) Make sure you're not bidding more than what it would be to do a price change, because if you can afford the bid, you can afford the price change with a Haven guarantee 4) Leave a small ship under your pillow for the upgrade fairy and hope for the best 🙂

What's your budget? That will help us point you in the right direction. Very few, if any, have free shuttles to Pier 91. An Uber/Lyft or having the hotel calling you a cab is the best bet. Favorite budget airport hotel- Four Points Sheraton SeaTac Favorite mid tier downtown- Hilton Garden Inn, South Lake Union Favorite splurge- Lotte Hotel Seattle