The Pacific Northwest is a travel destination in its own right. As first-time cruise ship passengers, we treated the Emerald City as a self-directed, major shore excursion on our Alaska cruise. Seattle is full of cool, unique places and is a great place to begin your cruise.
Flight to Seattle
We flew from DFW into Seattle-Tacoma International Airport June 26 with a sailing date for the 29th. This gave us three shore days before we had any sea days and we made the most of it! We both wanted to get more than a glimpse of downtown Seattle from an airplane. Consequently, we did our own planning and extended several days on each end of our inside passage trip.
Where We Stayed in Seattle
We booked Hotel Andra for the pre-cruise and an Airbnb for the post-cruise stays. This worked out famously because we had several ‘musts’ (Fremont Troll on N 36th Street, the Museum of Pop Culture- especially the stature of Chris Cornell on 325 5th Ave N) and several other ‘would-like-tos’ (the Space Needle, Pike Place Market with the original Starbucks), and this gave us the flexibility to adjust our days without feeling rushed. Leah and I could take a break and relax without increasing anxiety.
Touring Seattle
The easy pace we chose enabled us to do everything on our list. On our very first day there, we booked and took two Seattle tours. The Beneath the Streets Underground History Tour was my favorite, but don’t miss the Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour. The tour guides were excellent and we discovered places we will come back to later. Before setting sail from Pier 66 on the Bell Street Pier Cruise Terminal, we experienced some natural wonders including Puget Sound, the Cascade Mountains, and Lake Washington. On our return, we visited some of the city’s iconic sights like Pioneer square. We found this method to be a great way to follow our whims at whatever pace we chose.
Cruising to Alaska?
The major cruise lines running from the Port of Seattle are Princess Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, and there are some smaller outfits like Argosy Cruises. The cruise industry draws visitors from all over the continent, and for that matter, the world.
Your next cruise to Alaska will undoubtedly leave from this amazing city. We would love to learn about your experiences in Seattle or any other port city. Drop us a note in the comments below!
