Seattle Q&A/FAQ

[2Oregonians]

Very nice of you to offer your help to everyone. I have a couple of questions. I am going out on NCL May 10 to Alaska, we are staying at the Travelodge by Space needle. Got a great deal on price, before thy did all reovations on place. What is the best way to get from airport to hotel? I have heard of a shuttle service for $11.00 from airport to some of the main hotels, but don't know how far they are from our hotel? Can we walk from one of these hotels or pay the $2.00 transfer to the Travel lodge? On Saturday how far of a walk is from hotel to Pier 66? When we finish cruise on the 17th what is best car service from pier to airport? We have a 12:05pm flight. We were told back in October ( by NCL)that would give us enough time to get to airport. I am concern about waiting for just any car service to take us to airport. Am I wrong to want to book service to be sure we have one? Thank you again for any help.

Grannymary

 

They did renovations on the TraveLodge by the Space Needle? We used to stay there, but it really started getting dumpy so we've been trying other places. I live 3 hrs south of Seattle and we go up often for a weekend trip. As a kid, we used to stay at that TraveLodge all the time. It was cool in the late 60's / early 70's. Hubby and I would stay there too up until about 5 yrs ago. What kind of renovations and did they do a good job?

[itchintogo]

Hey all. We'll be taking the Princess Golden cruise to Alaska roundtrip Seattle on May 17th. We are flying out on the 16th arriving late. So we thought we'd just get a hotel at the airport, then shuttle to Pier 30.

:confused: QUESTION: Can anyone recommend a hotel under 150.00 would be nice...even less would be better, but it should be clean..(hahaha). Also, that has a shuttle from the hotel to the pier? Is that possible?

 

At the end of the cruise we are staying overnight and flying out late the next day so we'll be exploring Seattle for 1 and 1/2 days. We'd like a hotel downtown.

:confused: QUESTION: Can anyone recommend a downtown hotel, that would be a good location, and also provide Airport shuttle? Or if there is an inexpensive bus to the airport that would be fine too. Of course I know the downtown hotel most likely will be more expensive then the airport hotel....And what would the best way to get from Pier 30 to the downtown hotel..a cab?

 

Thanks!

Judy in Delaware

[SeattleCruiselover]

They did renovations on the TraveLodge by the Space Needle? We used to stay there, but it really started getting dumpy so we've been trying other places. I live 3 hrs south of Seattle and we go up often for a weekend trip. As a kid, we used to stay at that TraveLodge all the time. It was cool in the late 60's / early 70's. Hubby and I would stay there too up until about 5 yrs ago. What kind of renovations and did they do a good job?

 

I, personally, didn't know that they did. They almost completely renovated the Ramada, but don't know about the TraveLodge. Maybe grannymarry can elucidate.

[SeattleCruiselover]

Hey all. We'll be taking the Princess Golden cruise to Alaska roundtrip Seattle on May 17th. We are flying out on the 16th arriving late. So we thought we'd just get a hotel at the airport, then shuttle to Pier 30.

:confused: QUESTION: Can anyone recommend a hotel under 150.00 would be nice...even less would be better, but it should be clean..(hahaha). Also, that has a shuttle from the hotel to the pier? Is that possible?

 

At the end of the cruise we are staying overnight and flying out late the next day so we'll be exploring Seattle for 1 and 1/2 days. We'd like a hotel downtown.

:confused: QUESTION: Can anyone recommend a downtown hotel, that would be a good location, and also provide Airport shuttle? Or if there is an inexpensive bus to the airport that would be fine too. Of course I know the downtown hotel most likely will be more expensive then the airport hotel....And what would the best way to get from Pier 30 to the downtown hotel..a cab?

 

Thanks!

Judy in Delaware

 

Judy: Question the first. The only hotel that I have heard of that has a shuttle from the airport area to Terminal 30 is the Holiday Inn on International Blvd, and I'm not totally sure about that. The rest of them have very limited shuttle service (1-3 miles radius from the hotel). As to the price there, it is likely to be over $150.00 if you include the shuttle. Unless, of course, you have rewards points to spend?

 

Question the second. Sorry, no airport shuttles from ANY of the downtown hotels. Gray Line airporter would be the cheapest way to get from downtown to SEA-Tac. Hotels that it stops at, price info and online ticketing here:

 

http://www.graylineseattle.com/airportexpress1.cfm

 

Downtown hotels, for the most part, are kind of pricy. Courtyard by Marriott on Lake Union from $159.00 plus tax, and Residence Inn by Marriott on Lake Union from $170.00 are both nice and are just a 10 minute bus ride from downtown.

 

From Terminal 30 to downtown (central) hotel about $10.00 or so. From there to Lake Union, add about $5-6.00.

[Karshrimp]

Judy - We are staying at Springhill Suites (dowtown Seattle) that we got on Priceline for $69 a night. It is rated a 2.5 star hotel on their site. SeattleCruiseLover has given us her seal of approval on it! :) I think the rooms run close to $200 a night on the Springhill Suite site.

We are going to take ExpressShuttle from the airport to the hotel and then back again when we are returning back to Texas after the cruise. You can book the RT route on their website. It was running $28 per person RT when I looked last week.

From Springhill to pier 30 and back to Springhill Suites when we come back, we are going to get a taxi per SeattleCruiseLovers advice. If the taxi doesn't show up, we will call SeattleCruiseLover to take us! :p

[SeattleCruiselover]

Judy -

 

From Springhill to pier 30 and back to Springhill Suites when we come back, we are going to get a taxi per SeattleCruiseLovers advice. If the taxi doesn't show up, we will call SeattleCruiseLover to take us! :p

 

Karen, I will be happy to take you, as long as you don't mind if I take you on the bus. It costs $200.00 a month to park in my apartment building. I gave up the car about three years ago......

[Rowan813]

I know that this is probably a stupid question, but...We are sailing on the NCL Star May 10. I am trying to decide on flights. We will probably fly in on the 9th and stay near the port. I am trying to choose a flight home to the Orlando area. The 3 hour time difference really messes things up. Is there any way possible to make a 12:25 flight? I really don't want a redeye and would prefer not to spend another night and fly home Sunday. I am trying to find a reasonable flight that would put us home Saturday night. I am starting to get frustrated. Any guidance would be appreciated!:confused:

[Sea Fan]

I know that this is probably a stupid question, but...We are sailing on the NCL Star May 10. I am trying to decide on flights. We will probably fly in on the 9th and stay near the port. I am trying to choose a flight home to the Orlando area. The 3 hour time difference really messes things up. Is there any way possible to make a 12:25 flight? I really don't want a redeye and would prefer not to spend another night and fly home Sunday. I am trying to find a reasonable flight that would put us home Saturday night. I am starting to get frustrated. Any guidance would be appreciated!:confused:

 

Not a stupid question, it's a good one. I know Princess allows you to leave the ship early if you carry your own bags. Do you know if NCL offers this?

I was amazed at how organized they are in Seattle. We were off the ship by 8:00 am Got our bags and were on the bus by 9:00 am (we put our bags out the night before) we were standing in Seattle airport by 9:30 for a 1:00 pm flight. If you let them know when your flight leaves you should be some of the first to get off. Are you using a NCL transfer to the airport?

Dianne

[SeattleCruiselover]

I know that this is probably a stupid question, but...We are sailing on the NCL Star May 10. I am trying to decide on flights. We will probably fly in on the 9th and stay near the port. I am trying to choose a flight home to the Orlando area. The 3 hour time difference really messes things up. Is there any way possible to make a 12:25 flight? I really don't want a redeye and would prefer not to spend another night and fly home Sunday. I am trying to find a reasonable flight that would put us home Saturday night. I am starting to get frustrated. Any guidance would be appreciated!:confused:

 

It IS possible, if you self disembark and get off the ship really early. Problem is that the Star is not due to dock this year till 8 am (before this year, they docked by 6:30 am). Assuming that all goes well with Customs and disembarkation, getting to the airport by 10:30 to check in and do security SHOULD not be a problem.

[Sea Fan]

It IS possible, if you self disembark and get off the ship really early. Problem is that the Star is not due to dock this year till 8 am (before this year, they docked by 6:30 am). Assuming that all goes well with Customs and disembarkation, getting to the airport by 10:30 to check in and do security SHOULD not be a problem.

 

You must have a magic ball! How do you know all this stuff? Or should I say retain it!!! Karen, Your Good!!!

 

Dianne

[SeattleCruiselover]

You must have a magic ball! How do you know all this stuff? Or should I say retain it!!! Karen, Your Good!!!

 

Dianne

 

Nope, no magic 8 ball. As a health care professional, I'm used to having to learn and retain lots of new information on an ongoing basis. But I'm also a part time TA for fun, and it's important to know these kinds of things for clients/potential clients. (Plus, I'm thinking about writing a travel guide to Seattle and the surrounding area. This helps me to research things I might not already know).

[muncybob]

There is a lot of talk about concern over hotel pricing and I share the sentiment! What we did for this trip is not for everyone, but if you're like us and have good to excellent credit with fairly low debt load & you can payoff your credit card balance every 30 days you may wish to apply for the Starwoods card from American Express. Both my wife and I received one and the sign on bonus points gets us 2 nights free stay(1 for each card after an initial purchase of anything). We'll be staying at the Westin for 2 nights and no charge. The annual fee is waived for the first year. I believe Marriott has a similar program. If we don't feel we'll use the points for any additional hotel stays in the near future we'll cancel the cards before our first year anniversary date. BUT PLEASE do not do this if you cannot payoff your card balances in full every 30 days!

[SeattleCruiselover]

There is a lot of talk about concern over hotel pricing and I share the sentiment! What we did for this trip is not for everyone, but if you're like us and have good to excellent credit with fairly low debt load & you can payoff your credit card balance every 30 days you may wish to apply for the Starwoods card from American Express. Both my wife and I received one and the sign on bonus points gets us 2 nights free stay(1 for each card after an initial purchase of anything). We'll be staying at the Westin for 2 nights and no charge. The annual fee is waived for the first year. I believe Marriott has a similar program. If we don't feel we'll use the points for any additional hotel stays in the near future we'll cancel the cards before our first year anniversary date. BUT PLEASE do not do this if you cannot payoff your card balances in full every 30 days!

 

 

Doesn't work for every one, but, if it does, it is something to consider. Personally, I'm too chicken.

[Rowan813]

Thanks for the advice. We were planning to taxi to the airport from the port to save time. I will probably contact NCL to see how fast we can get off the ship. We are in a suite, maybe they will be a little more helpful. I have no problem carrying my own luggage off the ship. I am a very light packer. :)

[SeattleCruiselover]

Thanks for the advice. We were planning to taxi to the airport from the port to save time. I will probably contact NCL to see how fast we can get off the ship. We are in a suite, maybe they will be a little more helpful. I have no problem carrying my own luggage off the ship. I am a very light packer. :)

 

 

You should be OK then, I should think, because you will have two reasons for priority disembarkation.

[itchintogo]

thank you so much, SeattleCruiselover and Karshrimp (sorry if mispelled here!). The info is very helpful in planning our trip.

 

You guys rock!

 

p.s. Anybody ever listen to Preston and Steve in the morning in Philly? In response to You guys Rock! there should be yelling and hootin and hollering....

 

That's how we feel...can't wait to get our butts on that plane...I can already taste the cooked and cracked dungeness crab at Pike's Market.

 

 

Judy:D :cool: :rolleyes:

[SeattleCruiselover]

thank you so much, SeattleCruiselover and Karshrimp (sorry if mispelled here!). The info is very helpful in planning our trip.

 

You guys rock!

 

p.s. Anybody ever listen to Preston and Steve in the morning in Philly? In response to You guys Rock! there should be yelling and hootin and hollering....

 

That's how we feel...can't wait to get our butts on that plane...I can already taste the cooked and cracked dungeness crab at Pike's Market.

 

 

Judy:D :cool: :rolleyes:

 

Judy: It will be here before you know it, assuming our beloved government doesn't mess it all up for us. (I'm hoping for next year on that one).

[Kaki]

We are sailing on the Pearl 6/8/08. What is the approximate earliest time to drop off luggage before we board the ship? We want to drop off our luggage before we return our rental car (downtown).

Thank you!

[SeattleCruiselover]

We are sailing on the Pearl 6/8/08. What is the approximate earliest time to drop off luggage before we board the ship? We want to drop off our luggage before we return our rental car (downtown).

Thank you!

 

The concierge opens at 9 am and will hold them for you for $3.00 per bag. Baggage check begins at 10:00 am.

[Kaki]

The concierge opens at 9 am and will hold them for you for $3.00 per bag. Baggage check begins at 10:00 am.

 

Perfect:D Just what I wanted to know!!!!

[kneadsdough2cruise]

:o First I want to thank you so, so much for all the great information. I have 4 pages of notes thanks to your in-depth coverage.

 

When looking on hotels.com it lists a 'pier 30' AND a 'terminal 30'. Which is the place that Star Princess leaves from. I saw one was closer to SAFECO but am very confused.

 

Thanks again for your invaluable help!

[SeattleCruiselover]

Terminal 30, which is in the cargo portion of the port. It is about 1.5 miles south of Safeco Field, off of 1st Av South between Lander St and Spokane St. There will be two ships there on Sunday, one HAL and then TP (Star Princess).

 

And you are more than welcome. All of these questions are giving me plenty of "fodder" for what to include in my Seattle Blog and for the Seattle Tourist Guide that I am being "pressured" to write by some of my friends.

[Karshrimp]

Karen, I will be happy to take you, as long as you don't mind if I take you on the bus. It costs $200.00 a month to park in my apartment building. I gave up the car about three years ago......

 

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

[Karshrimp]

thank you so much, SeattleCruiselover and Karshrimp (sorry if mispelled here!). The info is very helpful in planning our trip.

 

You guys rock!

 

p.s. Anybody ever listen to Preston and Steve in the morning in Philly? In response to You guys Rock! there should be yelling and hootin and hollering....

 

That's how we feel...can't wait to get our butts on that plane...I can already taste the cooked and cracked dungeness crab at Pike's Market.

 

 

Judy:D :cool: :rolleyes:

 

Ah, thanks! But everything I have learned is due to SeattleCruiseLover. Glad I could help a little! :)

[SeattleCruiselover]

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

 

Is that a sign of abject horror that I would even suggest taking you on the bus (if so, sorry) or that I would have to pay $200.00 a month for parking in an apartment building? If so, I am in full agreement, but mine is one of the cheaper buildings. Some of them are half again as much.....I can get a bus pass for $80.00 a month and go pretty much anywhere I want to go, pretty much any of the time....and I don't have to do the driving, pay for the gas, the car payment or the insurance (which would jack the parking and other expenses up til they cost more than the rent on my apartment).:(