psuboater

Princess usually leaves from Pier 66, which is downtown. The cheapest way is going to be the light rail ($2.75pp). Follow signs to the Light rail, and take it to University Street Station (~40 minutes). From there, it's a 17 minute/0.8 mile walk down to the pier. Uber is another option for you, which will cost you anywhere from ~$40-$65. Follow sign to App/Ride Share on Floor 3 of the Parking Garage connected to the terminal. Depending on traffic, it might take you as long as the light rail. Taxis are also plentiful, on the same floor as Uber, which is a flat $40 from the airport to downtown. If you have a large group or a lot of luggage, highly recommend Premier Airport Shuttle, which uses Sprinter Vans to get you to the pier. I'm showing reservations in advance for 2 is $56 total for a shared ride ,or $168 for 6 passengers, which will most likely get you the whole use of the van.

Agree with Ferry Watcher - Olive Way will merge into Stewart. 3rd from Pine to Union seems to have the most issues, but I've also walked this in the middle of the day and have been fine. If you find yourself on 3rd/Pike, it's not the end of the world, you'll just see some interesting characters -just don't engage. And locals know to avoid the McDonalds on 3rd and Pine - that's been notoriously bad years before the pandemic.

I highly recommend ditching the car rental and exploring by foot. A perfect day trip is to Bainbridge Island. You can walk on the ferry from the pier downtown, and then enjoy the views of the Puget Sound (and Rainier if she's out!) and sea life on your 45 minute trip to Bainbridge. The town of Bainbridge is in walking distance of the ferry and has tasting rooms, cute shops and restaurants. If you want to go out a bit further Uber is available on the island - we went to Bainbridge Distillery's tasting room, which was right next to a brewery and wine tasting room and had a wonderful day. As others have mentioned, driving here is not enjoyable in the city cooridor, and with only two days before the trip, you can get out of the city without putting undue stress on the trip. Woodinville is also great, but a bunch of tasting rooms have closed in the past few months, so make sure the places you want to try are still there.

For Group 1 with your mom, I'd recommend taking an Uber, Taxi, or Transporation service. It's approximately a 0.25 mile walk from the terminal to the light rail station, and then once you get to Westlake station downtown, it's another 17 minute walk (assuming a 20 min/mile) -- with all of the luggage I'm not sure if it's worth the issue. Group 2 with your daughters, I wouldn't go on the light rail at 11:30pm at night (factoring time to get off the plane, get the bags, walk to the light rail, etc). I stand by Seattle being a fairly safe city with a low violent crime rate, but as a 37 year old woman myself, I wouldn't go not knowing the city, plus having the 17 minute walk once you get off the station. Westlake station is fine during the day, but to be avoided that late at night. The downtown corridor doesn't have much nightlife that late (mostly offices and hotels). Premier Airport Shuttle is also a great option to pre-book, I use them to/from the airport as well, but Uber/Lyft is reliable and plentiful here as well.

As someone who had to go into downtown for work a few times in 2020/2021, it is now a VAST improvement of what it was when we didn't have any tourists. I now go in once a week and don't feel unsafe at all. Like any large city, walk with purpose and with few distractions, and don't engage with anyone that makes you feel unsafe. I'm in my late 30s and female, and lived in Columbus, OH and Philadelphia, and can say that Seattle is the safest city I've worked in. Our issues are mainly with property crime, and very low in violent crime.

We weren't able to get into our cabins until 3:30pm, and the luggage came at 6 -- definiely the latest we've experienced.

Got off the Joy on the 24th. It didn't affect our cruise in any negative way. To me, it's more of hotel housekeeping now. We met our room attendant on day 2 or 3 because he was so busy. The 1x a day worked for us especially that we spent more time in our room than usual with the cold weather, so we didn't have to worry about a 2nd service later in the day. I think the only negative was the lack of towels. We were given 2, and if one was overly wet, there wasn't a replacement until the next day. I think if they just gave us 4 to begin with, it wouldn't have been an issue. I plan on asking for extra towel on our next cruise- problem solved.

Yes, it does.

It's so hit or miss! Usually I do CLEAR and notice that the TSA Pre line is also pretty short. I went out on a Saturday last month and had to do TSA Pre only to stay with my mom, and the line was 30 minutes. It's inconsistent from what I see as a frequent flyer, so I always tell people to err on the side of caution.

On the Joy so there's no Cabanas, but thank you for the tip!

Thank you for this! We sailed on the Joy two weeks ago and I was chatting with a Haven passenger. It blew my mind of how little one gets in Haven for what is sometimes triple the price from Club Balcony. I took your advice- booked Vibe, upgraded to the Free and Sea Plus - and feel like I wasn't missing much more than the dedicated Haven lounge. We're not big on being fussed over, so the Butler isn't an appeal. We booked a Club Balcony for our next trip in June- and the only sad thing is Vibe is already sold out 😞

I was also on this cruise and I felt we got lucky. Someone gave the heads up of the different pier on the facebook group prior to going, so we planned to carry off our luggage as soon as we could. From announcement to taxi, we were off in 20 minutes. We were surprised to hear later on that so many people had issues!

I would add that leaving DT Seattle at 5:30 for a 7:30pm flight is cutting it a bit close. The easiest way to get to the airport is the light rail, which is around 40 minutes to the airport. If you don't have CLEAR, TSAPre waits can be 35-40 minutes, and even longer with out them. Assuming boarding starts ~6:50, I'd leave no later than 4pm.

I've shared this a few times, but on our Alaska cruise last year, we had issues with customs clearing the ship. The first group off was supposed to be at 7am, and they didn't start disembarkation until 8:30. It was our home port so we weren't stressed, but there were a LOT of stressed out passengers trying to get off the ship for an early time. As others have mentioned, if you're coming back to Seattle on a weekday, you're going to run into terrible traffic on the way down to SEATAC. A Sat/Sun flight will give you a bit more grace, but there's very few easy ways to SEATAC if there's an issue with I5 (which there are many 🙂 ). I have TSA/Clear, so I haven't waited over 10 minutes to get through security. Others who have precheck and not CLEAR can be waiting up to 25-30 minutes, especially on busy times. If you don't have either, highly highly reccomend reserving your spot here: https://www.portseattle.org/SEAspotsaver It's free and specifically for those who do not have TSA Precheck. You reserve your time in line and you essentially "cut" the line during your reserved time slot. Otherwise, I've seen regular security lines back up to the parking garage and become over an hour wait. All in all, I'd say noon to be safe. I've done the nailbiting "just-got-to-the-gate-while-boarding" because of issues with Seattle traffic, and it is not the way to end your cruise.

I had a great experience with food on the Joy both in specialty dining, the Garden Cafe and the main dining rooms, so on the last day I wanted to finally get to the wings at the Local. I couldn't even eat them, we ended up going up to the Garden Cafe. They were that bad.

I'm a newer convert from Celebrity to NCL, and just booked a Club Balcony for June. Here's what I know: 1) Club Balcony is a slightly larger room and bathroom (I've heard people rave about the shower in Club Balcony, excited to try!) Small snacks are provided daily, and I believe 1 bag of laundry is included. No access to the Haven. Wifi/Restaurants/Drinks are only what you got at your Free at Sea package (or upgrades) or otherwise has to be purchased separately. 2) This is where my knowledge is limited since I've only talked to people in the Haven - but you will have access to the Haven bar, observation deck and restaurant, along with priority boarding. However, nothing else is included besides your Free at Sea package or whatever you bought. I talked to someone who spent $13k on 5 days in the Haven, but when I sent him an article, he said he'd have to wait unitl he got home to read it because he used up his Free at Sea internet minutes. It's crazy to me that the prices are so much higher and drinks/wifi/restaurants aren't included, but again, I could be wrong.

Even if they aren't officially answering as Celebrity, I absolutely guarantee you they're lurking here. I was a retail buyer for several large companies and I was constantly searching and seeking out feedback online for our products, but never responding as a member of the company as I was not authorized to do so.

Just got off the Norweigan Joy 5 day Mexican Rivera cruise and promptly cancelled our deposit on the Celebrity Summit and booked on the Joy for the same week and itinerary to Bermuda this June. We are getting their version of Concierge Class (Club Balcony), with a premium drink package, unlimited internet and 4 days of specality dining for $1500 LESS than what Celebrity was going to charge us for an aft balcony. We found the wines offered on the premium package were way superior (you are able to get a bottle of wine during your dinner - including Veuve Cliquot champagne and Duckhorn Cabernet), and food was just as good as Celebrity. The buffet dining option is important to us, and they had plenty of Made to Order items that we used to enjoy on X. So if someone from X is reading this, some of us are voting with our wallets and making changes.

Yup, that's why I have 5 "poor" bids in for Sunday's cruise on the Joy. Honestly, happy with the cabin we have and splurged on Vibe, more specialty dining, and the premium drink package, so we'll live the Haven-lite life 😄

I had a deal offered to me last year that was so good I maxed out my bid, thinking it was a sure thing. Still didn't win, assuming because they didn't have the inventory for that category the time we sailed.

The answer is -- it depends. If you live in a city where there's already a high cost of living, the cost is negliable. If you're living somewhere besides a HCL city, then it will be a sticker shock. Living in Seattle, we didn't see that much of a difference. That being said, we used Marriott points to stay at the Marriott Wailea in Maui. We also made a stop at the Costco right next to the Maui airport (pro tip - this will be the cheapest place to fill up your rental car before returning), and bought soda/wine/snacks/alcohol to enjoy in our room to keep costs down. We skipped a formal breakfast to focus on lunch and dinner. The food on Hawaii to me is worth the cost - if you are a fish/sushi lover, I had some of the best dishes of my life there. So much of hawaii's experiences is best explored on foot, and the port intensive schedule might not give you enough time.

The stir-fry station, and then the made to order grill station, along with dining out on the Sunset Bar, is a big draw for us. Pre-pandemic the grill station was truly made to order, but last year it didn't seem to be an option. Now I hear the MTO Stir Fry is gone. When my mom and I travel, we would eat 80% of our meals at the OVC. The choices and the freshness of the meals, along with the QUIET you get dining at the OVC at dinner was a big draw. Our final payment for the Summit in June is next month, but at $2500pp for a balcony for a week to Bermuda, we're seriously considering moving over to the NCL Joy for the same itinerary at half the cost. We're actually going on the Joy this weekend on the west coast and will make our choice when we return. X used to be worth the extra cost, but if they continue to devalue the experience, they're simply a more expensive entry level line.

Sailed in June 2022, as well as Pre-Covid (2018 and 2019). The biggest difference to me is the 4 (possibly 5?) Peloton Bikes offered for free (you have to make a reservation, but mid-way through the cruise, the gym was so empty they just waved me through). The room to do mat work appeared smaller to me, but otherwise, it's a nice gym with an excellent view.

As we say in the PNW, there's no bad weather, just bad clothing choices 🙂 If you're coming from mid-July to mid-September, chances are better than not you won't have any rain. In fact, we took a weekend trip to Vancouver in late July and they were going through a 90+ heat wave. Most likely you're going to have beautiful weather for the trip.

About 15 years ago, we were the first cruise ship to dock at St. Croix after years of the cruise lines pulling out of that port due to safety concerns. The island literally threw a parade for the return of the ships. Up until a few years ago, trying to find a West Coast/Mexico cruise was few and far between because of the safety concerns. As someone said, dead tourists are bad for business, and the ports do everything they can to keep business coming to them. Heck, I see a huge difference in public safety from the winter here in Seattle to cruise season. I haven't felt unsafe downtown (with the exception of some weird months of the pandemic), but I notice a huge difference in the uptick in police/security when the ships are in town.