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Looking for Info on where to stay in Seattle


Moondoggy51
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My wife and I would like to take a cruise to Alaska leaving out of Seattle.  Assuming that the various cruise ships leave out of the same port in Seattle, can anyone point me toward a hotel that (1) would be is close to the port (2) offers a free shuttle from the hotel to the port (3) is a nice, clean,  hotel good for vacationers and (4) a hotel you can easily reach from the airport as we would be flying in and we won't be renting a car.  Also can anyone suggest whether one should plan on staying over night when the cruise is over prior to going back to the airport?  At this point we don't have any plans to spend any time in Seattle other than getting ready for the cruise and/or getting rested up for our return flight home.  Any help will be appreciated.

 

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12 minutes ago, Moondoggy51 said:

My wife and I would like to take a cruise to Alaska leaving out of Seattle.  Assuming that the various cruise ships leave out of the same port in Seattle, can anyone point me toward a hotel that (1) would be is close to the port (2) offers a free shuttle from the hotel to the port (3) is a nice, clean,  hotel good for vacationers and (4) a hotel you can easily reach from the airport as we would be flying in and we won't be renting a car.  Also can anyone suggest whether one should plan on staying over night when the cruise is over prior to going back to the airport?  At this point we don't have any plans to spend any time in Seattle other than getting ready for the cruise and/or getting rested up for our return flight home.  Any help will be appreciated.

 

 

Seattle hotels are expensive, especially in the summer months. 

1) You should be prepared to spend $$$ for a downtown location.  Seattle has two cruise ship terminals Pier 66 NCL, and Pier 91 HAL, PCL, RCI, Celebrity and Carnival

2)As for hotels that offer a shuttle to the port, they are virtually non-existent.  Plan on using a 'shared ride' service like Uber/Lyft  or taxi to arrive at the port.  

3)Hotels tend to be well maintained, but you do get what you pay for

4) Only hotels located near the airport offer shuttle service from the airport to the hotel. 

5)As for your debarkation day, the ship usually start allowing passengers off by 7 - 7:15 am for those passengers who are willing to carry off their own bags.  If you have a flight home leaving after 11:00 am (11:30 ideally) it shouldn't be a problem to arrive in time for your flight home.

 

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Taxis, Uber and towncars are plentiful, and not all that expensive. We stayed in the downtown last June, and our taxi to Pier 91 (the "outside of downtown" Pier) was $13 before tip. 

 

Take a look around the board. MANY recommendations for hotels and locations. We stayed in the Hilton, which was within walking distance of all the downtown features. We took a STILA towncar from the airport...very fast and efficient.

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Decent hotel option at 1/2 the going rates downtown with shuttle options:

 

Hotel Nexus (a Best Western Hotel) at 2140 N Northgate Way, Seattle WA 98133. Recently remodeled. 

 

Will arrange private car from airport to hotel or from hotel to pier - car is $55 total for 4 people, $75 for 5+ because need SUV. 

 

Hotel has complimentary shuttle to the downtown and other sightseeing locations that departs the hotel 4 times a day. Complimentary full breakfast (incl. eggs, hashbrowns, bacon, etc).

 

You can join the Best Western rewards program online from the hotel website to get even more discounted fee. Rate for regular room with 1 or 2 queens is $155.65.  A suite with 2 queens, sofa bed and full kitchenette is $189.65.  No extra tourist tax like the other downtown hotels.

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1 hour ago, 01bobbieann said:

Decent hotel option at 1/2 the going rates downtown with shuttle options:

 

Hotel Nexus (a Best Western Hotel) at 2140 N Northgate Way, Seattle WA 98133. Recently remodeled. 

 

Will arrange private car from airport to hotel or from hotel to pier - car is $55 total for 4 people, $75 for 5+ because need SUV. 

 

Hotel has complimentary shuttle to the downtown and other sightseeing locations that departs the hotel 4 times a day. Complimentary full breakfast (incl. eggs, hashbrowns, bacon, etc).

 

You can join the Best Western rewards program online from the hotel website to get even more discounted fee. Rate for regular room with 1 or 2 queens is $155.65.  A suite with 2 queens, sofa bed and full kitchenette is $189.65.  No extra tourist tax like the other downtown hotels.

Have you actually stayed there?

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SEA has a light rail that will take you into the city but the only stop with hotels nearby is Westlake. There are several nice hotels in that area including the Westin, Sheraton, Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Mayflower, Paramount. 

 

As mentioned, there are two piers for cruise ships. If leaving from pier 91 (essentially not NCL) then it doesn't matter where you stay because you will be taking some kind of cab-like ground transportation to get there. If you are leaving from pier 66 than the Marriott Waterfront and the Edgewater are within a block. 

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Like others have said, Seattle doesn't have all those things in the locations you want. We opted to stay at the Four Points Sheraton because it was a good price. Plus, it was close to the things we really wanted to see. Then to get downtown, we just took the monorail. While we didn't use the hotel shuttle, they had one. The hotel was nice, clean, no problems. And we used Already There town car service to get to our hotel and back to the airport post-cruise.

 

 

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My assumption based on reading your post is that your not into seeing any of the sights in Seattle but just want a nice hotel prior to your cruise.  So, stay away from Seattle Hotels.  They are very pricey during cruise season.  Start at about 250 and go up from there.  We use Embassy Suites in Tukwilla.  Should be under 200 for the night and they have a free made to order Bfast.  Its a 10-20 min free shuttle ride from SeaTac.  Not out of your way as the Hotel is rather close to I 5 to go north into Seattle.  They are East of I 5 instead of West like SeaTac.  This way you will only have one Uber/Lyft ride to the port.  Keep in mind Seattle traffic is terrible but if your ship leaves Saturday or Sunday morning there should be very little traffic going that way.  

 

If your set on staying downtown, we have stayed at the Grand Hyatt several times and would again.  

 

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We wanted something different, so we booked Mediterranean Inn.  It was a little over 200, however they charged us $15 per person over 2 people, and I found this to be true (with different amounts) with almost any hotel.  Honestly, Why do they make a room for 4 people with there are  two queen beds in the room  and charge you extra when  4 people will be in the room. I guess for the extra washing and towels.   LOL

 

Question:  I called Carnival and asked what is the earliest we can get on the boat, he told us they start to embark at 1.  I thought that was strange considering they leave at 4.  Does anyone know?

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On 2/29/2020 at 8:06 AM, Diggerof4 said:

We wanted something different, so we booked Mediterranean Inn.  It was a little over 200, however they charged us $15 per person over 2 people, and I found this to be true (with different amounts) with almost any hotel.  Honestly, Why do they make a room for 4 people with there are  two queen beds in the room  and charge you extra when  4 people will be in the room. I guess for the extra washing and towels.   LOL

 

Question:  I called Carnival and asked what is the earliest we can get on the boat, he told us they start to embark at 1.  I thought that was strange considering they leave at 4.  Does anyone know?

 

So have you stayed here yet?  We also have this hotel booked, mainly for location in May.  We also noticed the extra pp charge, lol. We have it booked for 3 nites pre-cruise for 3 of us, and then another daughter is arriving for the last 2 nites.  I will be curious to see how they charge us, lol.  I agree with 4 beds should equal 4 people concept though.  

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38 minutes ago, 13cheermom said:

 

So have you stayed here yet?  We also have this hotel booked, mainly for location in May.  We also noticed the extra pp charge, lol. We have it booked for 3 nites pre-cruise for 3 of us, and then another daughter is arriving for the last 2 nites.  I will be curious to see how they charge us, lol.  I agree with 4 beds should equal 4 people concept though.  

No, we haven't. 1st time.  They have complementary bicycles, and I had asked about getting to port. He said we can rent a towncar for $5 PP.  Sounds to good to be true, but hey, we will find out when we get there.  We didn't care about the breakfast. Really don't want hotel breakfast when there are so many new experiences within walking distant. We will also be early for our Cruise leaves June 2.   If you are doing any tours of Seattle, suggest to book now.  We are doing the Pikes Market and waited, now we have to settle on a different time.  It's all good though.  With this hotel I was looking at a long day of walking and if the weather is good, sitting on the roof top with a beverage.   

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17 minutes ago, Diggerof4 said:

No, we haven't. 1st time.  They have complementary bicycles, and I had asked about getting to port. He said we can rent a towncar for $5 PP.  Sounds to good to be true, but hey, we will find out when we get there.  We didn't care about the breakfast. Really don't want hotel breakfast when there are so many new experiences within walking distant. We will also be early for our Cruise leaves June 2.   If you are doing any tours of Seattle, suggest to book now.  We are doing the Pikes Market and waited, now we have to settle on a different time.  It's all good though.  With this hotel I was looking at a long day of walking and if the weather is good, sitting on the roof top with a beverage.   

Thanks for the update.  We went ahead and purchased City Pass for our 3 days, as want to head down to Pikes just to walk around and eat.  Will have to check into the town car option, just thought we would call uber or Lyft.  There is a Starbucks right beside it also as well as a lot of places to eat around the area.  The rooftop area was a plus for us as well, I like your idea of picking up our own beverages and going up there for a great view of the city!  Can't wait, hoping things settle down some before then with this health situation.  Just saw the update of the room renovations they were doing, look a lot nicer now.  

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Oh, I think you’ll enjoy the Mediterranean Inn.  It’s in a well remodeled older building located on Lower Queen Anne.  There are two grocery stores nearby, Safeway and Metropolitan Market (the nicer one). You are near the Seattle Center, but this is also the commercial hub for a neighborhood, so lots of neat restaurants and bars.   The monorail only makes two stops, Westlake Center (downtown) and Seattle Center.  

 

Take an Uber, Lyft, or cab up to Kerry Park.  It is on the south slope of Queen Anne hill and affords a beautiful view of the city, and many of the pictures you’ve seen of Seattle (think Frasier) are taken from this vantage point.  I think you made a good choice, and if your ship departs from pier 91, you’ll be closer to the dock for your ride.  

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On 3/1/2020 at 12:32 PM, Diggerof4 said:

  It's all good though.  With this hotel I was looking at a long day of walking and if the weather is good, sitting on the roof top with a beverage.   

This was part of my thoughts too when I booked our family at the Mediterranean for our August cruise. Please come back after your stay and let us know how it went!

Angela

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On 2/29/2020 at 5:06 AM, Diggerof4 said:

We wanted something different, so we booked Mediterranean Inn.  It was a little over 200, however they charged us $15 per person over 2 people, and I found this to be true (with different amounts) with almost any hotel.  Honestly, Why do they make a room for 4 people with there are  two queen beds in the room  and charge you extra when  4 people will be in the room. I guess for the extra washing and towels.   LOL

 

Question:  I called Carnival and asked what is the earliest we can get on the boat, he told us they start to embark at 1.  I thought that was strange considering they leave at 4.  Does anyone know?

Carnival is strict on their arrival times.  I am assuming you are embarking out of Pier 91 in Seattle, so I can speak to what happens there.  You will receive an arrival time which is printed on your boarding document.  If you arrive at Pier 91 at the stated time, you will be directed to the "On-Time" line where you will be Checked-in/Scanned in by staff using hand-held mBark devices.  If you arrive earlier or later than your assigned check-in time, you will be directed to the Early/Late line which could take a little bit longer, as the passengers in the On-Time line get priority.  (Folks who are Priority or Faster to the Fun have their own separate lines).

So where it really matters is your boarding designation, which (at least last season) is printed on your Boarding Pass.  Each boarding group is called up separately, so even if you arrive at 10:30 and get checked in by 11 am, Prioirty /FTTF folks may start boarding the ship at noon, you may wait an hour or so until your boarding group is called.  Passengers who arrive early afternoon usually walk directly on board because at that point it is 'open' boarding.

Do make sure you register online early, and as your cruise gets closer do the online check-in (at least a week before).  It will make your embarkation easy and faster.

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23 hours ago, eyecantwait said:

This was part of my thoughts too when I booked our family at the Mediterranean for our August cruise. Please come back after your stay and let us know how it went!

Angela

I sure will!  And possible all the hotel secrets. 😄

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God willing and the Cornavirus don't rise, I got an early embankment time.  I am still looking for FTTF.  That would be nice for once.  Personally, the last 30 days have been rough, and it would be like a little luxury if we could get it.  I really need some pampering.  So, 3 weeks ago, hubby hospitalized with a PE is both lungs and blood clot in legs. Doctors are still scratching their heads because he doesn't meet any of the criteria to get blood clots. He is still undergoing test.  Then this Tuesday, we had a small house fire ($45K in damages-yes we have insurance, doesn't cover all cost thou.), and we are now cleaning, throwing stuff out. Then my hubby's job they cut back the hours. Bright side, he has time to help with cleaning.  My job, lay off scares are going on, and if I take time off now, I will lose my time off on this vacation.   Would I still take this vacation, you betcha! IT's already paid.  Now, I am NOT looking for sympathy, just wanted to show what a month I had.  So, as you can see FTTF is my sunshine right now LOL.  It most certainly will all work out.   In Minnesota we ALWAYS say,  "It could have been worse. " 🙂

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 2/29/2020 at 5:06 AM, Diggerof4 said:

We wanted something different, so we booked Mediterranean Inn.  It was a little over 200, however they charged us $15 per person over 2 people, and I found this to be true (with different amounts) with almost any hotel.  Honestly, Why do they make a room for 4 people with there are  two queen beds in the room  and charge you extra when  4 people will be in the room. I guess for the extra washing and towels.   LOL

 

Question:  I called Carnival and asked what is the earliest we can get on the boat, he told us they start to embark at 1.  I thought that was strange considering they leave at 4.  Does anyone know?

 

Carnival usually starts boarding between 11 and 11:30 but it depends on a couple of things, the main one of which is when the ship goes to "zero count" which is when the last debarking passenger actually leaves the ship.  Another factor is whether the ship is considered to be contagious with something.  This last condition is a rare situation and I wouldn't worry about that.

 

Tom

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