Pre-Cruise To Do's in Seattle--arriving early and leaving late--recommendations?

[moondoggie]

We are arriving at SeaTac June 3 at 10 am for a Pier 91 Alaska cruise that day. Since we have time to spare, suggested activities might be the Salmon Hatchery and/or the Underground Seattle Tour.

We will each have a suitcase and backpack.  Should we do one or other other on June 3 and the remaining one June 10 when we disembark?  Our flight leaves SeaTac at 3:42 pm.

Which one which day?

• Taxi or Uber, or is there a better way to get to one and then to or from the ship?
• Thanks!

 

[GoHawks-43-8]

35 minutes ago, moondoggie said:

We are arriving at SeaTac June 3 at 10 am for a Pier 91 Alaska cruise that day. Since we have time to spare, suggested activities might be the Salmon Hatchery and/or the Underground Seattle Tour.

With your flight arriving at 10 am and you're sailing that day, you might not have very much time on June 3rd.

If you like soccer (or have ever considered trying out an MLS match), the Portland Timbers are playing the Seattle Sounders at 1:30 on June 3.  That game is always a fun one to go to.  It's the best (in my entirely biased opinion) rivalry in MLS and worth giving a try.  Like I said above, you probably won't have time.  The match will probably end around 3:30 - 3:45

I would say try the Underground Tour because that is great.  But, Pioneer Square will probably be quite busy before the match.

Edited May 29, 2023 by GoHawks-43-8

[Gardyloo]

I don't think you really have enough time to do that much before your ship sails.   With a 10 AM arrival, assuming it's on time, followed by bag claim and transport to the cruise terminal, it's likely you won't get to Pier 91 much before noon.  Saturdays during cruise season are VERY busy at the airport and at all downtown tourist destinations - Pike Place market, underground tours, Seattle Center/Space Needle, etc.  

 

Dragging your luggage with you on some kind of tour sounds like a major PITA, and if the "salmon hatchery" tour is to the one in Issaquah, an outer suburb, I think you'd definitely run out of time.  Remember one of the stops on your cruise is going to be Ketchikan, the self-styled "salmon capital of the world."  

 

Let me suggest this:  book an Uber on your arrival and have the driver give you a little city tour on the way to the cruise terminal.  The cost will obviously be more than the $40 - $50 that the straight transfer would have cost, but even if it's twice that it will still be cheaper than some tour.   Have a look at this imaginary route - https://goo.gl/maps/qRSC873Hqmd9pX9G9 - which would give you a terrific overview of the city, useful on your return.  

 

When you get back, use the Port Valet service to have your luggage transferred to the airline from the ship.  That will give you time to explore things on foot.  You could visit the Pike Place market or do some other touristy thing and not have to worry about your bags slowing you down.  Be sure to get to the airport at least 2 hours before your flight because of the massive congestion on cruise days.  

[Meander Ingwa]

depending on when your ship departs, I would say you have little time to do much of anything on the ground.  Looks like departure times for the ships in port are all mid to late afternoon  You need to allow for at least 2 hours from landing to luggage claim and getting in to town in Saturday mid-day traffic.  With three ships departing the area is going to be busy both at airport and on the roads

 

 You will have to drive through the stadium district and core Downtown to get to the port.  A savy driver might take the Viaduct but either way, you are going to hit traffic

 

The Seattle area has some of the worse traffic in the country

[Northern Aurora]

Assuming that plane lands on time I totally agree with "Gardyloo" that if all goes well you will arrive at Pier 91 (which is the farthest from SEATAC) around noon.

 

And we have done the underground tour.  It has been a decade since we did it, but my memory is that they had no place for secure luggage storage.  And there is absolutely no way you could walk up and down those steps with a suitcase.

 

 

[moondoggie]

Well, we are scheduled to board at 1:40, which gives us about four hours to taxi there!

And given that embarkations are usually late...

Any further suggestions now?

TIA

 

[psuboater]

By the time you land, deplane, walk to baggage claim, wait for an Uber, and get downtown; you're looking around getting to Pier91 around noon. It would be one thing if you didn't have your bags, but as others have mentioned, it's going to be very very crowded, and not to mention hilly, so not too fun to do much.

 

There is a shopping plaza near Pier 91 with a Whole Foods and Total Wine- as most cruise lines you can take 2 bottles of wine a cabin, so that might be something. 
 

About 10 minutes by Uber is the neighborhood of Ballard. The Ballard Locks and park is gorgeous and interesting, but again, not sure how much you want to lug your bags around, unless you go to Pier 91, check your luggage with the porter and get another Uber. There's also great breweries around (Reuben's is my personal favorite) that might be able to get your luggage in a corner while upon have a local brew. 
 

Just keep in mind the last check in time of 3pm is a hard stop and you will be denied boarding after that final check in hour. 

Edited May 29, 2023 by psuboater

[GoHawks-43-8]

19 hours ago, moondoggie said:

We are arriving at SeaTac June 3 at 10 am for a Pier 91 Alaska cruise that day. 

 

We will each have a suitcase and backpack. 

 

Taxi or Uber, or is there a better way to get to one and then to or from the ship?

 

 

1 hour ago, moondoggie said:

Well, we are scheduled to board at 1:40, which gives us about four hours to taxi there!

And given that embarkations are usually late...

Any further suggestions now?

TIA

 

 

Time still seems pretty tight.  Assuming you're checking the suitcase, you probably won't be in a taxi until 10:45-ish, then with game day traffic it'll take 45 - 60 minutes (or more) to get through downtown to the pier.  

That being said, you know your schedule better than I do, along with your timeliness comfort level.  So, to answer your question....

Option 1. Get to pier 91, drop your bags off.  Then head to Pike Place Market and explore.  That'll take care of a bunch of time.

 

Option 2.  Go straight to the market and explore with your bags.

 

Option 3.  Explore the water front.  The Aquarium is nice.  Also SAM (Seattle Art Museum) has an outdoor sculpture garden.  (https://www.seattleartmuseum.org/visit/olympic-sculpture-park)

As far as getting there, if you're comfortable walking with your suitcase and backpack, you can take the light rail to downtown.  It will cost $3.00 each.  Exit at the University Street Station (not the University of Washington stops).  From there you can either catch a cab / Uber to the pier, drop bags and catch a ride back to downtown.  Or, you can walk around the market with your bags.

Light rail to downtown and then a cab / uber from there should save some money from catching a cab or uber from the airport.

Edited May 29, 2023 by GoHawks-43-8

[Meander Ingwa]

since OP mentioned interest in the fish hatchery if I was going to drop bags and go out, I would go north to the Ballard Locks and watch the boats in the locks, see if the fish ladder is running, enjoy the garden and grab some lunch at one of the nearby places ( north side of locks)  An Uber /Lyft can drip you on the south side of the locks.  there is sometimes a music combo playing on the grounds  Another option if you are walkers is to simply walk north on the pier and hook right around and get on the bike/walking trail that will take you south to Centennial Park/ Myrtle Edward Park.  See google map for this detail.  Weather, right now is forecast for a nice day ,  70 and partly cloudy, and the three following as you sail north are likely to be stunners