Tell me what you did in Seattle and how you got to Vancouver.

[tigerchic89]

We want to fly into Seattle and sightsee before our Alaska cruise. 3 teenagers and 2 adults. Thanks for the input!

 

[KristiMc]

We did two one-way car rentals to get to/from Vancouver. We toured around Seattle the day we got off the ship before we flew home the next day. We did the Space Needle and Pike Place Market. If you haven't been to Vancouver before I would spend at least a day there also.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

We went to Pike Place (original Starbucks is there as well), a Mariners game (our local team was playing them) and the Space Needle.

The following morning we took the Amtrak to Vancouver and thoroughly enjoyed it. We took a cab to our hotel from the train station and flew home from Vancouver. Next time we'll fly directly into Vancouver and stay an extra day as we preferred Vancouver over Seattle. However, my family is younger than yours - the boys were 5 and 7.

 

[Dug720]

If you like pop culture , music, sci-fi, etc., definitely check out the Museum of Pop Culture - http://www.mopop.org - (formerly the EMP museum). Lots of fun!!

 

[danicaw]

If you are interested in a local food tour, check out https://www.savorseattletours.com/.
We are locals and have enjoyed this companies tour - Did the chocolate one for hubbys birthday a few years back.
Great way to see downtown and the market and snack along the way.

If you are here for a few days, check out the CityPass options.
If you are doing lots of things by Seattle Center - check out the Maxwell Hotel. Walking distance from the Needle.

 

[sambycat]

we flew in late on a thursdy i think and took the train to vancouver friday morning, did the HOHO all around vancouver and on return, took the train back to seattle and did sight seeing for a day. just know the train runs once a day each way (well it might be twice) but the train up was like 8 am or something so check out the availability of the train if thats your plan before you do commit. we really enjoyed it and it was easy! the bus around vancouver was easy and suited or needs and seattle was easy to navigate, we were at a hotel near the space needle and did the monorail. really fun!

 

[Disneyteachers]

Flew into Seattle. Did Pike's Place, Space Needle, etc. Took train to Vancouver (would do that again.) Did a whale watch, Capilano, etc in Vancouver. We really liked Vancouver, Seattle was not a family favorite. We flew out of Vancouver.

 

[sharksfinatic17]

We flew into Seattle and took public transportation to our Airbnb. We then went to Pike's Place Market, first Starbucks, Chihuly, Space Needle, Duck tour (we were there for 1 1/2 days) and then took the train to Vancouver. In Vancouver, we had 2 1/2 days. We went to Granville Island, took a water taxi, Stanley Park (hop on hop off bus), Capilano, and Grouse Mountain. We loved both cities. We used public transportation the whole time.

 

[SLK1]

Funny, I just logged onto the Dis after months away to post this very same question! Great info, thanks!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

You might want to look into the Chilhuly Glass and Garden museum in Seattle. It is phenomenal. Especially if you were a fan of the original chandaliers on the classic ships.

 

[bwvBound]

We did the inverse earlier this month: ship arrived Vancouver and we then spent time in Seattle. We booked the Amtrak Cascades Rail between the two cities as it makes border crossing mostly seamless. In Seattle, we enjoyed the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field (an ALL day adventure; we did NOT fully cover the flight exhibits); a walking tour of the underground Seattle Business District (good, but be prepared for lots of bathroom humor) and, of course, Pike's Market for our favorites: Moon Valley Organics (for a solid moisturizing bar and a few special soaps) and Market Spice Tea (for tea and spices, as the name implies).

 

[terrybsw]

Try the Seattle Underground tour. Interesting look into the history of the city. Unbelievable what is right under our feet.

 

[scrapperkimmydee]

We will be doing the same thing. Our plans: original Starbucks, and a combo ticket for Chihuly garden and glass and the Space Needle. Maybe do the underground, as well. And that market where they throw the fish.

Then we'll ferry over to Victoria. We'd planned to amtrak to Vancouver, but the train was booked by the time we went to buy our tickets.

 

[Dug720]

We will be doing the same thing. Our plans: original Starbucks, and a combo ticket for Chihuly garden and glass and the Space Needle. Maybe do the underground, as well. And that market where they throw the fish.

Then we'll ferry over to Victoria. We'd planned to amtrak to Vancouver, but the train was booked by the time we went to buy our tickets.

Well, the original Starbucks and "that market where they throw the fish" are in the same location. So that makes that easy.

 

[lunaland]

Personally, as someone who lives half an hour from Seattle, I would recommend you try to spend more time in Vancouver! If it helps, we have family visit from France about once a decade. They stay for a month. Of that month, we drive into Seattle for one day and then usually bring them up to Vancouver or Victoria for 4-5 days and down the Oregon coast for the same.

 

[GTRARNP]

We did the inverse earlier this month: ship arrived Vancouver and we then spent time in Seattle. We booked the Amtrak Cascades Rail between the two cities as it makes border crossing mostly seamless. In Seattle, we enjoyed the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field (an ALL day adventure; we did NOT fully cover the flight exhibits); a walking tour of the underground Seattle Business District (good, but be prepared for lots of bathroom humor) and, of course, Pike's Market for our favorites: Moon Valley Organics (for a solid moisturizing bar and a few special soaps) and Market Spice Tea (for tea and spices, as the name implies).

What did you do with your luggage from cruise disembarkation until the Cascades train that evening?? We are thinking this is the way to go with our large party, but we don't know what to do with our luggage during the day. TIA!!

 

[bwvBound]

What did you do with your luggage from cruise disembarkation until the Cascades train that evening?? We are thinking this is the way to go with our large party, but we don't know what to do with our luggage during the day. TIA!!

We were planning to check the baggage at the trail station. However, as the weather wasn't in our favor, we ended up exchanging our rail tickets for an "immediate" bus service, serviced by Amtrak. It wasn't as pretty -- but it got us into Seattle much earlier.

 

[TestingH2O]

If the weather is good, I highly recommend spending time on Mt Rainier. It's beautiful and has some nice short hikes. We did a full day there and a half day at Pike market before heading up to Vancouver. We had hoped to do Chihuly on the day we disembarked, but one mishap after another on our drive meant we got back too late for any more sightseeing.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

What did you do with your luggage from cruise disembarkation until the Cascades train that evening?? We are thinking this is the way to go with our large party, but we don't know what to do with our luggage during the day. TIA!!

Not sure which hotel you're staying at prior but we stayed at the Hyatt Regency and I asked well ahead of time if we can leave our luggage there for the day while we toured until our flight left at 8 (we went back to the hotel at 4:30 to get to the airport at 5). They were more than happy to do so.

 

[cmwade77]

We did the repositioning cruise to Vancouver, spent a few days there, then took the train down to Seattle, grabbed an Uber to the airport and flew out from there. Between Uber and the train, it worked out to about $20 per person for the two of us for the transportation down. It worked out amazingly well.