Alaska from Seattle

[lovetotraveltx]

We are on the Encore, round trip Seattle. We are arriving 3 days before. Looking for a reasonably priced hotel with points or dollars in a good sightseeing location, and/or close to the port. Would prefer to be in Bonvoy, (Marriott's chain of hotels), if possible. Thank you!

[bookbabe]

Seattle Marriott Waterfront is right across the street from the port.  When I booked in the fall, it was very reasonable.  Now, much less so, but maybe you’ll luck out with your dates.

[tallnthensome]

Try the Alaska forum and west coast departures forum for hotel questions. 

[mrsturkelton]

42 minutes ago, bookbabe said:

Seattle Marriott Waterfront is right across the street from the port.  When I booked in the fall, it was very reasonable.  Now, much less so, but maybe you’ll luck out with your dates.

 

This is where we are staying in June.  The prices have certainly went up since we booked but for convenience you have to pay.  I'm not sure how convenient it is for seeing the city though.  It's not really near much other than Pike's Place Market.  You might need an uber/lyft/taxi to see other areas.  The hotel does not have a shuttle.

[jemz1949]

Stayed at the Westin a couple of times pre-cruise with the latest being 3 years ago using Marriott points.  Convenient location to Space Needle and Pike Place Market but not really walkable to the port.  Also close to the new, large Amazon headquarters office facility that Amazon just shut down due to crime in the city.    Have also stayed at the Sheraton which I believe is not as convenient as the Westin.  Glad that we went when we did as the city of Seattle is not what is used to be.  

 

 

[Traveller20074]

1 hour ago, lovetotraveltx said:

We are on the Encore, round trip Seattle. We are arriving 3 days before. Looking for a reasonably priced hotel with points or dollars in a good sightseeing location, and/or close to the port. Would prefer to be in Bonvoy, (Marriott's chain of hotels), if possible. Thank you!

if you have 3 days in Seattle, you have to see Mt Rainier, but that's no even close.  The Olympic Penninsula is a must.  If you have to stay close, the Space Needle is better than the wheel.  the wheel is over quickly, but you can stay up the Needle as long as you want.  They remade it, and the floor (part of it anyway) is clear. and you can see down.  🙂  

[ChiefMateJRK]

2 hours ago, jemz1949 said:

Stayed at the Westin a couple of times pre-cruise with the latest being 3 years ago using Marriott points.  Convenient location to Space Needle and Pike Place Market but not really walkable to the port.  Also close to the new, large Amazon headquarters office facility that Amazon just shut down due to crime in the city.    Have also stayed at the Sheraton which I believe is not as convenient as the Westin.  Glad that we went when we did as the city of Seattle is not what is used to be.  

 

 

Yep. I’ve seen all of Seattle that I need too. Now it is just a place to sail from. 

[deliver42]

We stayed at the Hilton Airport and Convention Center. Steps from the airport, and shuttled to the port with Seattle Express.

[jetact]

We have stayed at the waterfront Marriot and its a pretty decent hotel. We just live down the road in Oregon so we try and get up to Seattle a couple times a year for a weekend. Pikes market is a good space to spend some time,  hopefully more shops are open now that the state is opening up. The Space needle is pretty cool as well as the underground tours. Snoqualmie Falls tour with Leavenworth or Mt Rainer day tour fills a day. A ferry ride to Victoria BC or any place they go are fun. Museum of Pop culture if you like  music and it is next to the Space needle. If you are super board maybe the rubber chicken museum. 

[c-cruise]

Seattle has become a dive (and I live here). I would probably just stay out by the airport and rent a car for your 3 days. Consider looking for sights outside of the city to go to. Somebody mentioned Mt. Rainier NP which is a great option for a day trip especially on a weekday. Museum of Flight is also definately worth a visit and keeps you out of downtown. If you head north you could also kill a day at the locks and zoo. If you do decide to go into town you could catch the light rail by the airport so you don't have to drive and then hop on the monorail to Seattle Center (Space Needle, MoPOP, Chihuly garden, etc). Morning of cruise you could return rental to airport and then taxi or whatever to port (about 30 min).

[ChiefMateJRK]

7 minutes ago, c-cruise said:

Seattle has become a dive (and I live here). I would probably just stay out by the airport and rent a car for your 3 days.

I fly in the day before and Uber to my Hotel.  I then Uber to the ship and Uber from ship to airport upon return.  I see and experience all of Seattle that I want to.  I did once take a city bus from the North side down to the Museum of Flight.  Nice museum.  "Interesting" bus ride.  And this was years ago.

[scooter6139]

9 hours ago, bookbabe said:

Seattle Marriott Waterfront is right across the street from the port.  When I booked in the fall, it was very reasonable.  Now, much less so, but maybe you’ll luck out with your dates.

 

This is probably the closest and best bet for where NCL has their cruise terminal.  This is also where they did all the COVID testing before boarding.  We did the first Encore back post COVID to Alaska in August of last year.  Hopefully they fixed the new terminals in Ketchikan and Icy Straight Point, as they were a big let down last year for us.

[ChiefMateJRK]

18 minutes ago, scooter6139 said:

Hopefully they fixed the new terminals in Ketchikan and Icy Straight Point, as they were a big let down last year for us.

We had zero problems either place in October.

[davencl]

We stay at the Edgewater.  It's on the water adjacent to the pier.  We get a room where it almost feels like you can touch the ship.  Not necessarily inexpensive..

Edited March 18, 2022 by davencl

[NikiPinkston]

We were on the Encore last August, as well, and stayed at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront the Friday before our cruise.  For us, the cost was so worth it when we could just walk across the street Saturday morning & board the ship. We're planning another Alaska cruise this summer & will definitely stay there again, even though the rate has gone up, as it's a very nice hotel and so convenient.  There's also a pretty good seafood restaurant right across the street.  Before a previous cruise pre-covid, we had stayed in Seattle a couple of days & purchased tickets for the HO-HO bus, which is supposed to start back up this year. It had a good itinerary for us, stopping at the Space Needle, Pike Place Market, the Underground City and a couple of the museums.

[Sand and Seas]

Both the Marriott Waterfront and the Edgewater sound great for pre-cruise.   

Has anyone stayed at both and can compare for us?

[dramatech]

If a location right next to the cruise area is not a super huge concern to you then I'd highly recommend the Residence Inn Marriott Lake Union. I have stayed there 4 times now and loved it. The rooms were clean and they offer the 2 bedrooms if you need them. The prices were also reasonable. The breakfast selection is good. It's a bit longer of a trip via Uber but the hotel is worth it. I'm actually staying there on my pre-cruise before going on the Encore. If you are also renting a car the parking garage is below the hotel so very secure. Another reason I'd highly recommend staying here is because it gets you a little further from downtown Seattle which has high crime right now and its not a safe place to be.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

On 3/18/2022 at 6:35 AM, lovetotraveltx said:

We are on the Encore, round trip Seattle. We are arriving 3 days before. Looking for a reasonably priced hotel with points or dollars in a good sightseeing location, and/or close to the port. Would prefer to be in Bonvoy, (Marriott's chain of hotels), if possible. Thank you!

 

Westlake Center is a good area, that gives you the Sheraton Grande, Westin, W and Residence Inn.

 

I'd also look at the Courtyard and Residence Inn on Lake Union. They are nice hotels, walkable to a streetcar station which can take you to shops, dining and sights and the Lake Union waterfront is a great setting.

[Gardyloo]

On 3/18/2022 at 6:35 AM, lovetotraveltx said:

We are on the Encore, round trip Seattle. We are arriving 3 days before. Looking for a reasonably priced hotel with points or dollars in a good sightseeing location, and/or close to the port. Would prefer to be in Bonvoy, (Marriott's chain of hotels), if possible. Thank you!

You've asked the same question on several different threads both here and on Tripadvisor.  Are you looking for more answers than you've already received?

[lovetotraveltx]

On 3/19/2022 at 11:58 AM, Gardyloo said:

You've asked the same question on several different threads both here and on Tripadvisor.  Are you looking for more answers than you've already received?

Sorry, I have trouble making up my mind and always second guess my decision. I did book the Sheraton Grand Seattle for 3 nights yesterday.

[Ferry_Watcher]

@lovetotraveltx, your choice of the Sheraton Grand is a great DT Seattle location.  Easy walk to Pike Place Market and Westlake Center (Monorail,  and Light Rail a block away from Westlake).

[Tracey/Thom]

We were just there 2 weeks ago and stayed at the Belltown Inn on 3rd Ave and Bell. Short walk to Westlake rail station, Pike Place Market and Space Needle. Very reasonably priced, very clean, great staff. The homeless in Seattle seem to be all over the place, but nobody hassled us, just not nice. I would stay at Belltown again as it's also near to restaurants we liked. La Parisienne for breakfast, Marrakesh Morrocan for dinner as well as other choices on 2nd Avenue.

[dgoz]

On 3/18/2022 at 5:58 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

I fly in the day before and Uber to my Hotel.  I then Uber to the ship and Uber from ship to airport upon return.  I see and experience all of Seattle that I want to.  I did once take a city bus from the North side down to the Museum of Flight.  Nice museum.  "Interesting" bus ride.  And this was years ago.

Do you have to make reservations to use uber or can you just do it when you land?

[KeepCalmBearOn]

1 hour ago, dgoz said:

Do you have to make reservations to use uber or can you just do it when you land?

 

You can arrange Uber once you have collected your luggage.

[Ferry_Watcher]

3 hours ago, dgoz said:

Do you have to make reservations to use uber or can you just do it when you land?

 

The Uber/Lyft lot is about a 10 minute walk from the terminal building at Pier 91.  There is also a shuttle van (12-14 person capacity) that can drop you off.  A lot of folks will walk as it can be faster.