Glaciers

Yes, $79pp. We received booking info in our cabin a couple days prior to disembarkation. Some have said you can book online or with your TA. They drop at the Seattle airport.

Nice report! I am curious about the decorated Seattle trains. The Amtrak trains haven't been operating between Vancouver and Seattle for over 2 years now but plan to start up again in September. Wonder if they are just getting an early start on advertising.

You’ll have plenty of time to catch a 10:45am departure from King St Station. Also the trains will be running again by next year so will have that option over a bus. The station is in the south end of downtown so actually only about 15 minutes from the cruise terminal. Princess offers a bus for disembarking passengers in Vancouver that goes to the Seattle Airport for $79pp. Possibly they have one northbound as well?

Another option that isn’t mentioned much but exceptional is hiking the West Glacier Trail in Juneau. Transportation is needed as the trailhead is across the lake from the Mendenhall Visitor Center. It gives some incredible views from above the glacier and if you hike up far enough, you can see the tour helicopters landing on the glacier from above. It would also be a cheap excursion as all you’d need is a cab ride there and back. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/alaska/west-glacier-trail

Kincaid Grill is excellent and very popular with locals. It doesn’t get mentioned much here due to the location which is about 5 miles from the downtown area.

Another option is parking at the long-term lot at the airport. We parked there for 2 weeks last month and took the train into downtown Vancouver for the cruise. The station was just a few blocks from Canada Place and about half of the cost of parking downtown. https://www.yvr.ca/en/passengers/shop-dine-and-services/340

Its 3 miles from Pier 91 to the closest light rail station at Westlake Center. You’d need to cab/uber between Westlake and the pier. Actually, many people walk the 3 miles on a nice day along the waterfront.

We had a rough trip out on one of the 6 passenger boats. A couple of folks got sick. One of the operators advised that they shut down their service in September due to the increased possibility of rough water.

Yes, if you can narrow down things a bit or you will get suggestions all over the board. You’re in a neat area in Belltown and there are several “neighborhood” favorites that aren’t always frequented by visitors. Shiro’s, as princeton suggested, is very popular. Bangrak Market opened a few years ago and was an immediate hit and continues to be for Thai food. Some Random Bar has consistently good food. Buckley’s in Belltown is more of a hole-in-the-wall sports bar with a good menu and food. We live in Belltown and are down there weekly. The Thai Sesame Ribs are amazing.

I had wondered if it was available. Another option you might explore is an organized tour. There are several. They pick you up at the pier including your luggage and take you on a tour of the area before dropping you at the airport. This is just one example. https://showmeseattle.com/all-tours/post-cruise-city-tour/

In the past there has been luggage storage at the cruise terminals until 3:30pm. The problem is that the terminal you’ll be arriving at is 3 miles from the downtown area and you’d have to cab back to pick up your bags before going to the airport. Really inconvenient. The Edgewater Hotel stores bags for non-guests. You could cab/uber to there and then head off for some exploring. Similar issue would be getting back to pick up your bags before heading to the airport. Your few hours of exploring would be very limited with the time you’d be spending on the baggage storage. Hopefully someone will chime in with a better solution.

I walked by Pier 66 today and that grocery/deli is no longer there. One of the closest small grocery stores is about 5 minutes away at Site 17 Grocery 2502 Western Ave. Bartells or Target are better choices and probably less expensive.

I agree with Ferry_Watcher that the Mayflower is a good hotel in a good area. Another option that will be a bit more $$ is the Inn at the Market. It's across the street from Pike Place Market and about 3 blocks from Westlake with a wonderful rooftop deck.

I don't have one of the small white trailer but this is the signage in Whittier. It was located directly outside the terminal to the right of the entrance.

I went down to the market this morning to get some fruit so stopped by Target. They have replaced the cashiered stations on the lower level with self-checkouts. The upper level has self-checkout and 4 cashiered stations that, as reallyitsmema mentioned, are staffed as needed for overflow. Both levels are at street level due to the hill. I did ask about no cashiered stations and was told they could accommodate that request although that would seem to be inconvenient.

@Shel71 Hopefully your room will face the lake. What a great area to watch the fireworks. As for your drop off location, it will be no cheaper to be dropped at the hotels and actually be a bit more inconvenient. The cruise terminal drop off location is in front of the terminal and right next to where the baggage is collected and about 200 feet from the entrance to the Edgewater. The pickup location is at the south end of the terminal between there and Anthony’s.

We did this with Seabourn in Gdansk. They called it “Shopping with the Chef”. We went to an outdoor market where he discussed the produce he was selecting and how it would be incorporated into the ship meals.

Unless things have changed recently there are cashiers on the lower/grocery level, if needed.

They're open 7 days per week and take cash.

Agree that the marketing is over-hyped and we’d never pay those prices. Felt fortunate living in Alaska that our friends would give us Copper River Sockeyes each season. There are many posts that indicate these salmon have the highest amount of omega-3 fatty acids giving them their “rich, moist and delicious flavor”. I suppose this is subjective but we did notice the difference.

Staying at the airport will save some money and you wouldn’t have any time for exploring coming in late. Another option would be to stay at the Marriott Waterfront or the Edgewater Hotel that are across the street and next door to the cruise terminal Norwegian departs from. A very easy walk to the terminal the next day. That would allow you to do some quick exploring in the morning. It’s about a 15 minute walk from that area to Pike Place Market. The flower & seafood vendors open early 6-7am and it would make for a nice stroll in the morning before embarkation. The craft vendors are open by 9am or so.

Labor shortages in Southeast Alaska may result in some vendors operating at less than 100%. https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2022/04/19/help-wanted-southeast-alaska-tourism-businesses-prepare-summer-season-with-labor-shortages/?fbclid=IwAR3dLNdIKFiulefRXP7Gv-Hq4CVtxx9jmcx4elWVwxRu_qmZhMNqm7ox_Ic