Seattle Q&A/FAQ

[marsda]

I used Priceline to book a hotel room for the night before our Alaska cruise on Princess in June. I *thought* I picked areas close to the terminal but I guess I didn't and of course I can't change it now. The hotel is:

Holiday Inn Seatac Airport17338 International Boulevard

 

Any suggestions on the best way to get from the hotel to the cruise terminal?

I've used Already There Town Car service on 2 different trips. They are not that much more than a cab or shuttle. Your service is personalized and the car is very comfortable. They are prompt and very nice. Also, have you called the hotel directly and asked if they make arrangements for a transfer for you? I did that at the Holiday Inn Express on Aurora, and it was so nice leaving the arrangements in their hands (I checked on the price first, of course).

Good luck, and let us know what you decide.

Marsha

[soonerjo]

My family (mom, dad and kids 13 & 11) will be arriving early Thursday afternoon, June 11th for a cruise on Rhapsody on Friday. I am trying to find a hotel that will be convenient to the things that we have decided we want to see. The kids want to go to the Experience Music Project and to Pikes Market. I would like to go to the Space Needle...but it is not a priority. Any suggestions? We don't mind walking at all...within reason.

[dustyroad]

I used Priceline to book a hotel room for the night before our Alaska cruise on Princess in June. I *thought* I picked areas close to the terminal but I guess I didn't and of course I can't change it now. The hotel is:

Holiday Inn Seatac Airport17338 International Boulevard

 

Any suggestions on the best way to get from the hotel to the cruise terminal?

 

i accidentaly did the same thing with priceling and am at the airport. i get in early in the am the day before the cruise so i am going to dump my bags at the hotel and catch the bus to downtown and wander around for awhile at pikes market and get something to eat. then go back to the hotel. i know i will have a great time. i will worry about getting to the ship on cruise day by riding the bus or taking a taxi as it gets closer.

[SeattleCruiselover]

I've used Already There Town Car service on 2 different trips. They are not that much more than a cab or shuttle. Your service is personalized and the car is very comfortable. They are prompt and very nice. Also, have you called the hotel directly and asked if they make arrangements for a transfer for you? I did that at the Holiday Inn Express on Aurora, and it was so nice leaving the arrangements in their hands (I checked on the price first, of course).

Good luck, and let us know what you decide.

Marsha

 

I ABSOLUTELY recommend Already There Towncar, their customer service and timeliness are excellent. And their prices are competitive and often better than taxi.

[wrp96]

Hey Karen! Glad to see you haven't floated away.

[sammamishcruiser]

Shirley and Les

Yes, you can buy wine in a grocery store or a drug store - Walgreens or a Rite Aid are good examples. You CAN NOT however buy the hard stuff, that must be bought in a state run store

 

If you are looking for a nice hotel close to the Celebrity dock, I would go with the Edgewater Inn, its the very next pier, easy walk to the ship! Lots to do near there. You could walk up the the Pike Place Market or a little further to catch a bus on third or forth Ave. I believe either one will take you North to the Seattle Center (Space Needle). Catch a bus going South and it will take you down to Pioneer Square area and or the SoDo area ( where the Stadiums are) or just walking on the waterfront is also fun.

Check out http://www.spaceneedle.com there is a web cam, that shows all of Seattle. We live to the East across Lake Washington.

 

On another note, my DH and I are booked on the Panama Canal cruise that you are considering, mainly because it leaves from Seattle and then we have just one-way air fare. Yah! I do hope that you'll join us.

 

Happy cruising

Melody:)

[mohavemommy]

I ABSOLUTELY recommend Already There Towncar, their customer service and timeliness are excellent. And their prices are competitive and often better than taxi.

 

That sounds good to me! Thanks again for all your great help!

[flamomo]

I have been trying to read thru this lengthy thread to find out a couple of things, but at 80+ pages, it would be really cumbersome.

I am booked on the Star Princess for a r/t Inside Passage cruise on September 13th. I have never been to Seattle before, so feel rather uncertain about how to plan. Apparently there is a significant distance between the airport and the pier.

 

Since I have to fly from FL and the cruise is scheduled to depart at 4 PM, I am thinking it would be best to fly in a day early. Apparently, Princess does not offer a hotel/transfer package in Seattle. I really don't want to pay "an arm and a leg" for one night in a hotel, and I don't plan to sightsee in Seattle.

 

What I have seen in a quick perusal of the first few pages leads me to think it might be best to stay at a hotel at the airport, where the rates may be better, and to purchase a transfer package to the pier from Princess.

 

Please let me know if you think this is a reasonable plan. And if so, any hotel recommendations? If not, what do you think would be a better plan?

 

Thanks for your help.

[Gardyloo]

Staying at the airport is fine, and yes, hotel prices around the airport are typically lower than downtown. One note is that restaurant selection near the airport is very poor - typical strip commercial landscape with hotel restaurants and Denny's - type places.

 

That said, Sept. 13 is toward the end of the peak vacation (and cruise) season in Seattle, so there might be some decent deals in downtown hotels around that time. Probably you could shop a little online (Expedia etc.) comparing downtown to airport lodgings just to see.

 

As for the transfer, I'd weigh the cruise line's transfer cost to the cost of a taxi from the hotel (airport or downtown) to the terminal (Pier 91, the new terminal north of downtown.) My guess is that by next September you'll be looking at cab fare in the $40 range from the airport to downtown hotels, $50 range from the airport to the pier, maybe $20 from downtown to the pier. So, if you go from airport to downtown hotel, then to the pier the next day, it would be ~$60 in cab fare, i.e. $10 more than by going straight from the airport.

 

So add $10 to the hotel savings you'd get by staying at the airport, and there you go.

[flamomo]

Gardyloo, Thank you SO much for the reply.

 

Since it's not till September, I have plenty of time to look at hotel rates and locations. At least now I feel like I have a place to start.

 

Not having been to Seattle before makes it difficult, as I have no sense of distances between airport - cruise terminal - hotels, etc., and I don't have any experience with rates for hotels and transportation there.

 

I'm a little concerned about flying in the day of embarkation, since I will have to come diagonally all the way across the country. I think I would feel safer arriving a day before, and feel it would be worth the cost of a hotel room.

[wrp96]

If at all possible you do NOT want to fly in day of embarkation. The longer the distance, even if you can grab a non-stop, the more likelihood of delays and problems, and if you have to make connections...

[Gardyloo]

One thing to note is that currently there's a light rail link under construction from the airport to downtown. The first phase is scheduled to open in "summer 2009" and will go from downtown to a station around 2 miles from the airport, from which (free?) shuttle buses will be laid on to transport pax to/from the airport terminal. "By the end of the year" they say, the actual airport station will be completed, allowing direct train access from the airport to downtown.

 

Many around here view these promises from the transit authority (Sound Transit) with a tablespoon of salt, but there could be benefits for cruise pax before the end of this cruise season. How Sound Transit will make provisions for luggage etc. remains to be seen, but since the airport is the current terminus one would hope that there will be racks, provision for carts up to the station, etc., just as in other cosmopolitan world cities (restrains laughter.)

 

http://www.soundtransit.org/x1171.xml

[Hogladyrider]

I have been trying to read thru this lengthy thread to find out a couple of things, but at 80+ pages, it would be really cumbersome.

I am booked on the Star Princess for a r/t Inside Passage cruise on September 13th. I have never been to Seattle before, so feel rather uncertain about how to plan. Apparently there is a significant distance between the airport and the pier.

 

Since I have to fly from FL and the cruise is scheduled to depart at 4 PM, I am thinking it would be best to fly in a day early. Apparently, Princess does not offer a hotel/transfer package in Seattle. I really don't want to pay "an arm and a leg" for one night in a hotel, and I don't plan to sightsee in Seattle.

 

What I have seen in a quick perusal of the first few pages leads me to think it might be best to stay at a hotel at the airport, where the rates may be better, and to purchase a transfer package to the pier from Princess.

 

Please let me know if you think this is a reasonable plan. And if so, any hotel recommendations? If not, what do you think would be a better plan?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Ditto on your thoughts! I am flying in from Florida as well, except our cruise is in May. We also will not be site seeing in Seattle just want to chill before the cruise.

 

I booked Sleep Inn at the airport with two queen beds for $85 plus taxes. I felt this was very reasonable.

 

Our original plan was we booked Carnival transfers from SEA to Vancouver via bus so this option worked great for us.

 

We have red eyes booked when we return to SEA on the 13th of May.

 

Good luck.

[Hogladyrider]

We arrive in Seattle on May 5th at 3:15 pm (the day before our cruise departs in Vancouver).

 

Originally we purchased Carnival bus transfer between Seattle and Vancouver and return so we booked a room at the Seattle hotel precruise.

 

Now, the transfers have gone bye bye as Gray Line in Vancouver has ceased operations. Carnival is working on an option for us but nothing concrete right now.

 

I seriously want to get the transportation behind me so I can work on other things.

 

Carnival will refund us our transfer fees but that leaves me to find alternate transportation to Vancouver from Seattle. All my other flights are nonrefundable so I must work around those situations as well.

 

I can cancel my hotel in Seattle with no penalty.

 

I am looking for alternative transportation to Vancouver and return.

 

May 5th arrive Seattle 3:15 via Southwest Airlines - I can change this for $20 to arrive a little earlier into Seattle but not much earlier.

 

We would not like to travel onto Vancouver on May 5th and book a hotel in Vancouver to be there.

 

I see it is approximately a one hour flight from SEA to YVR for about $100 each way.

 

How reliable would bus service or train service be? I see the train only goes in the morning so that option is out. The bus takes 4 hours, is it worth the price difference of flying on into YVR and back?

 

This is all very nerve wracking!

 

Thanks in advance.

Susan

[SeattleCruiselover]

I have been trying to read thru this lengthy thread to find out a couple of things, but at 80+ pages, it would be really cumbersome.

I am booked on the Star Princess for a r/t Inside Passage cruise on September 13th. I have never been to Seattle before, so feel rather uncertain about how to plan. Apparently there is a significant distance between the airport and the pier.

 

Since I have to fly from FL and the cruise is scheduled to depart at 4 PM, I am thinking it would be best to fly in a day early. Apparently, Princess does not offer a hotel/transfer package in Seattle. I really don't want to pay "an arm and a leg" for one night in a hotel, and I don't plan to sightsee in Seattle.

 

What I have seen in a quick perusal of the first few pages leads me to think it might be best to stay at a hotel at the airport, where the rates may be better, and to purchase a transfer package to the pier from Princess.

 

Please let me know if you think this is a reasonable plan. And if so, any hotel recommendations? If not, what do you think would be a better plan?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

They DO offer hotel and transfers (unless they have changed it in the last two weeks since I checked last). They use the Westin downtown, and the bus leaves directly from there to (now) Terminal 91.

[SeattleCruiselover]

One thing to note is that currently there's a light rail link under construction from the airport to downtown. The first phase is scheduled to open in "summer 2009" and will go from downtown to a station around 2 miles from the airport, from which (free?) shuttle buses will be laid on to transport pax to/from the airport terminal. "By the end of the year" they say, the actual airport station will be completed, allowing direct train access from the airport to downtown.

 

Many around here view these promises from the transit authority (Sound Transit) with a tablespoon of salt, but there could be benefits for cruise pax before the end of this cruise season. How Sound Transit will make provisions for luggage etc. remains to be seen, but since the airport is the current terminus one would hope that there will be racks, provision for carts up to the station, etc., just as in other cosmopolitan world cities (restrains laughter.)

 

http://www.soundtransit.org/x1171.xml

 

Tablespoon? My, you are the optimist. I give them a whole shaker's worth of salt, but I am also hopeful that they will prove me totally wrong. I think they had to postpone their light rail crash drill on Rainier Av yesterday, due to the whole street being blocked by the floods/slides. An omen? Let's hope not.

[SeattleCruiselover]

We arrive in Seattle on May 5th at 3:15 pm (the day before our cruise departs in Vancouver).

 

Originally we purchased Carnival bus transfer between Seattle and Vancouver and return so we booked a room at the Seattle hotel precruise.

 

Now, the transfers have gone bye bye as Gray Line in Vancouver has ceased operations. Carnival is working on an option for us but nothing concrete right now.

 

I seriously want to get the transportation behind me so I can work on other things.

 

Carnival will refund us our transfer fees but that leaves me to find alternate transportation to Vancouver from Seattle. All my other flights are nonrefundable so I must work around those situations as well.

 

I can cancel my hotel in Seattle with no penalty.

 

I am looking for alternative transportation to Vancouver and return.

 

May 5th arrive Seattle 3:15 via Southwest Airlines - I can change this for $20 to arrive a little earlier into Seattle but not much earlier.

 

We would not like to travel onto Vancouver on May 5th and book a hotel in Vancouver to be there.

 

I see it is approximately a one hour flight from SEA to YVR for about $100 each way.

 

How reliable would bus service or train service be? I see the train only goes in the morning so that option is out. The bus takes 4 hours, is it worth the price difference of flying on into YVR and back?

 

This is all very nerve wracking!

 

Thanks in advance.

Susan

 

Susan, four hours is only the BASE time for the bus. About half of the border crossing at Blaine is closed at any time through mid 2010 for construction. If it's a good day, you might get across the border in 1-1.5 hours. On a bad day, it can be up to 3 hours, so you should always budget 8 hours for the bus trip, just in case, then be happy if it is less.

 

The train is a far better option, because you do customs/immigration when you get into YVR, and they are very efficient about it there. It would require coming in a day early, but the peace of mind is always worth it, in my estimation.

 

If you are set on the bus, you can use Quick Coach direct from SEA-Tac to YVR downtown, including Canada Place or Ballantyne Pier:

 

http://www.quickcoach.com/

[flamomo]

Karen,

I will have to call Princess and see if they are still offering that, as I think it would be way preferable that trying to arrange it myself.

I did the dumb thing and ass-u-me'd that there was none, because it was not on the list in the cruise atlas.

I've used Princess hotel and transfers on three cruises out of LA and really liked it.

Thanks so much for posting that information.

 

Mary Lou

[SeattleCruiselover]

Karen,

I will have to call Princess and see if they are still offering that, as I think it would be way preferable that trying to arrange it myself.

I did the dumb thing and ass-u-me'd that there was none, because it was not on the list in the cruise atlas.

I've used Princess hotel and transfers on three cruises out of LA and really liked it.

Thanks so much for posting that information.

 

Mary Lou

 

I just looked in Polar One (PCL's online res engine), and they offer both the DoubleTree and the Westin, and transfers from both to the cruise terminal, so you should be OK.

[JRJarr]

I know this has probably been asked and answered somewhere in these 85 pages, but which Airporter bus takes me from the airport to terminal 30 for Golden Princess? Thanks I'm trying to plan for 6 ladies all coming from different cities day of the cruise.

[wrp96]

I can't answer you on the Airporter bus, but please be aware that Princess is not using Terminal 30 this year. Instead, Princess is supposed to sail from Pier 91 (if it gets finished).

[flamomo]

Karen,

Is that Polar One site available to anyone or just TAs and PCL?

[venusbello1]

Can you tell me what the closest Marriott is to the cruise port for a Princess cruise?

 

Thanks so much!

VB1

[nowornever]

that would be the Waterfront Marriott. I think that Princess leaves from the piers at the south end of the waterfront, not Pier 66, which is directly across from the Marriott, but it would still be closer than the Residence. Spring Hill Suites by I-5 wouldn't be bad either.

[wrp96]

that would be the Waterfront Marriott. I think that Princess leaves from the piers at the south end of the waterfront, not Pier 66, which is directly across from the Marriott, but it would still be closer than the Residence. Spring Hill Suites by I-5 wouldn't be bad either.

 

 

Princess is using Pier 91 this year, not Terminal 30. Pier 91 is north of Pier 66, I believe in Magnolia.