First Time Alaskan Cruise :) A couple of questions.

[bclinton]

Hi all - this will be our first cruise. We booked the Norwegian Cruise Line Pearl in June. It starts in Seattle and ends there. I have a couple of questions for those that have done one. My wife may not have a passport in time - there is one stop in Canada along the way. I have read some that say yes she needs it and others that say no she doesn't. What should we expect?

 

Also, the cruise leave at 4 pm on a Sunday - we are flying into Seattle on Saturday. What do you suggest we do - get a hotel near the ships or get one somewhere else? It would be good to get a hotel with free shuttles to and from the airport/ship. I have never been to Seattle and have no clue.

 

We booked a mini suite on the starboard side - there will be 3 adults in the the room. Sound ok?

[Kamloops50]

Hi all - this will be our first cruise. We booked the Norwegian Cruise Line Pearl in June. It starts in Seattle and ends there. I have a couple of questions for those that have done one. My wife may not have a passport in time - there is one stop in Canada along the way. I have read some that say yes she needs it and others that say no she doesn't. What should we expect?

 

Also, the cruise leave at 4 pm on a Sunday - we are flying into Seattle on Saturday. What do you suggest we do - get a hotel near the ships or get one somewhere else? It would be good to get a hotel with free shuttles to and from the airport/ship. I have never been to Seattle and have no clue.

 

We booked a mini suite on the starboard side - there will be 3 adults in the the room. Sound ok?

 

Passport is recommended but not required for Victoria except if miss the ship or have to fly to the US .

 

The only hotels with airport shuttles are near the airport . I would book a hotel in downtown and get a taxi to the cruise port in the morning.

[Fishbait17]

Also, if you plan to take an excursion in Skagway either on the White Pass Railway all the way into the Yukon or by driving the same route (IMO one of the most spectacular sights and best thing to do in Skagway) you WILL need a valid passport, as you cross the Canadian border.

 

I agree, why not stay downtown and enjoy some of the city while you're there!

 

Robin

[tel2]

Hokey I know, but we went to the chihully museum Saturday afternoon, and then had dinner at the top of the needle. Expensive but memorable day. On Sunday am, we got up really early and spent a couple hrs at pike place market. Very cool. Had breakfast, Watched the fish throwers, bought a hand painted scarf and some gorgeous fresh flowers to bring on ship, which they let you do. We were on the ship by noon. We stayed at the marriot waterfront which is directly across street for pier and pike place market. About 200 a night. Can find cheaper but this was sooo convenient. Just walked across the street to the pier.

[roger001]

I've found that getting a passport is pretty quick, usually not more than about 3 weeks. She should have plenty of time to do so. I do recommend passports to avoid the Canadian issues.

 

Reference Seattle, the harbor area is great for visiting, especially the Market. You also have the space needle (kinda expensive though) and the monorail available for fun/sightseeing. As someone mentioned, hotel shuttles from the airport are only available at hotels near the airport, which is some distance from downtown. If you get a hotel downtown, you can schedule one of the shuttle services that operate from the airport. Downtown hotels are expensive, but very convenient, everything walking distance. We stayed at the Mediterranean Inn, not exactly downtown, but we liked just fine, and was a bit cheaper than many others. It's walking distance to the space needle but you would either have to take the monorail from there or the city bus by the hotel to get downtown. We had the hotel arrange a shuttle service to take us to the ship. You can google their web site. Actually, Seattle is so good for sightseeing and visiting, if you can get in an extra day, it would be nice.

 

Mini suite on the Pearl is just fine. Sometimes there is noise from above on the pool deck, but not much at all on the Alaska cruises. The photobucket link has some pics of a mini on the Pearl from a couple of years ago.

 

You've picked an excellent first cruise. That was our first one. Be warned....it's very addictive. Hope you love it as much as we do.

 

http://s241.photobucket.com/user/roganderson60/library/Pearl%20Mini%20Suite?sort=2&page=1

[mpk218]

We are partial to the waterfront Marriott . Walk to everything .

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/maps/travel/seawf-seattle-marriott-waterfront/

 

For more information check out the ports of call board.

and your Roll call board.. ;)

[triptolemus]

The posters above are spot on regarding the passport and the hotel situation location - go downtown. There is crap-all near the airport. You'll find lots of hotel recommendations from folks here - most in the Seattle downtown are nice, but pricey. My personal choice is the Sheraton on Pike and 6th. Fair rate, nice hotel, great location.

 

Be sure to read and understand the travel documentation requirements for any folks not traveling with a passport.

[lbt43]

Hi all - this will be our first cruise. We booked the Norwegian Cruise Line Pearl in June. It starts in Seattle and ends there. I have a couple of questions for those that have done one. My wife may not have a passport in time - there is one stop in Canada along the way. I have read some that say yes she needs it and others that say no she doesn't. What should we expect?

 

Also, the cruise leave at 4 pm on a Sunday - we are flying into Seattle on Saturday. What do you suggest we do - get a hotel near the ships or get one somewhere else? It would be good to get a hotel with free shuttles to and from the airport/ship. I have never been to Seattle and have no clue.

 

We booked a mini suite on the starboard side - there will be 3 adults in the the room. Sound ok?

 

I used to live in Seattle. I promise you the monorail is not for "sightseeing" If you want to hang around the downtown area you can go to the Pikes Place Market, the waterfront is alright for eating and also the space needle for great views of the city and mount Rainer. You can also catch a Mariners game. In that amount of time, that is about all you can do.

[VanessaM]

Like another poster said, if you plan on doing the White Pass Rail in Skagway (which I highly recommend, esp if you do the one that goes to Emerald Lake!), you need a passport.

 

You have plenty of time to get it.

[jimsig]

I've found that getting a passport is pretty quick, usually not more than about 3 weeks. She should have plenty of time to do so. I do recommend passports to avoid the Canadian issues.

 

Granted mine was a renewal but I got mine yesterday and it only took 21 days to get it. The State Department site is saying 3-4 weeks. http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english.html

 

Even barring an irregular issue (US citizen born out of the country etc and need to get a birth cert or something) you still have 4+ months to get it straightened out. Should be plenty of time.

 

Have a blast

Edited February 13, 2014 by jimsig