My wife and I just booked a cruise from Seattle to Juneau & back for Sep 24 thru Oct 1 on Norwegian. It looks like the weather will be in the 45 to 55 degree range with lots of moisture! We have a balcony room & will probably spend time there. Should I book a hotel room near the airport ($130 to $150 range)? The cheaper the better without getting in the wrong neighborhood, since I will not be carrying protection.

The airport is the wrong neighborhood.

No cheap hotel worth staying in near the airport or in Seattle proper.

The pier/waterfront is downtown, I’d suggest a downtown hotel. Gonna have to pay north of $175-225 a night though.

I’d go name brand chain, there is Holiday Inn, Sheraton, Hyatt options sub $200 (before Seattle’s hefty visitor taxes hotel tax is 15.6%, sales tax 10.1% and a special $2 per night fee).

I can personally vouch for the Westin, it is the only one I’ve stayed at.


There are decent hotels near airport, Hilton, Double Tree, Radisson but I seriously wouldn’t recommend going out after dark on foot in that area. It has been particularly bad lately, just had a guy eviscerated (literally) when he refused to give the assailant a smoke.

Don’t assume you will be safe on the public transportation either. Night time is the wrong time for light rail.

The SEATAC Marriott is fine. The budget hotels around the airport are somewhat sketchy. The Cedarbrook Lodge near the airport is terrific! It's charming, romantic and the food on site is very good. http://www.cedarbrooklodge.com/

Downtown, when we were cruising we stayed at a Courtyard on 4th Street, and I have stayed frequently at the Renaissance on Madison. If you are going to move around in Seattle, just use an Uber or Lyft. They are everywhere, and are pretty cheap.

There's a Red Roof recommended to us, we stayed there, it was fine.
Take good rain gear!

There are some affordable hotels in Renton where we stayed in June, 10-15 minutes away from the airport, but you'll need to take the hotel shuttle to the dock downtown, another 20 minutes away.

Don't let the forecast concern you. In our case rain was forecast every day a week out, but in truth in rained about 3 hours lightly on one day and 15 minutes on another. I'm told the only reliable forecast in AK is to stand outside. The balcony is nice to have, but when you combine the wind from the boat doing 21 knots with the temps, it's pretty damn cold for anything other than brief periods.

If you're in Ketchikan, be sure to try the Fish and Chips at the Alaska Fish House right next to the dock. The Halibut, Salmon, Cod sampler is awesome.

Ask your travel agent. This is a common issue that they deal with.
Next Contact Nowegion. I expect they have blocks of rooms reserved for passengers. If not, they have an answer for you.
We sailed Norwegian to Alaska a few years ago. Great time and very well run. Have you looked at the shore excursions? Reserve then early.

We just got back from Alaska including the cruise. Ditto on reserving excursions early. We did the helicopter to Mendenhall glacier and it was incredible! We also did the lumberjack show in Ketchikan (touristy, but fun) and a whale watching trip in Juneau, they were all better than expectations!

quote:

Originally posted by 911Boss:
The airport is the wrong neighborhood.

No cheap hotel worth staying in near the airport or in Seattle proper.

The pier/waterfront is downtown, I’d suggest a downtown hotel. Gonna have to pay north of $175-225 a night though.

I’d go name brand chain, there is Holiday Inn, Sheraton, Hyatt options sub $200 (before Seattle’s hefty visitor taxes hotel tax is 15.6%, sales tax 10.1% and a special $2 per night fee).

I can personally vouch for the Westin, it is the only one I’ve stayed at.


There are decent hotels near airport, Hilton, Double Tree, Radisson but I seriously wouldn’t recommend going out after dark on foot in that area. It has been particularly bad lately, just had a guy eviscerated (literally) when he refused to give the assailant a smoke.

Don’t assume you will be safe on the public transportation either. Night time is the wrong time for light rail.

If the OP is looking for a downtown hotel I can vouch for the Seattle Marriott waterfront (2100 Alaskan Way; Seattle, Washington 98121) as I spent a great 3 day weekend there. Close to Pike Place, space needle, great jazz bar stumbling distance, and awesome restaurants.

I've stayed at the DoubleTree at the airport when a blizzard delayed my flight out of Anchorage, and I missed all connections to the LA basin before they shutdown for the stupid noise ordnance. It was OK, but it served my purpose as I just slept there, had breakfast, and then back to the airport early AM.

This place is nice and you can walk to lots of things to do, see and eat.

http://www.innatthemarket.com/

Mud Shark- Is that Motel still open?

I would make time to go to the Filson store there.
Always wanted to go, much of their stuff is still made in USA.

HK Ag

Just did a similar Alaska Cruise out of Vancouver, you'll have a good time, lots of time at sea, so bring a book or two, internet/data is available for purchase at $300 a device for the whole trip but the point is to get away from those devices so embrace the lack of electronic access. YOu will get cell and internet service when you hit ports.

In Juneau hit the Red Dog Saloon, all the stores are tourist type, high prices with massive discounts getting them back to just slightly overpriced.

Whale watching can be good or meh, just depends on the day, you never know what you'll get but it's worth doing. There are plenty of excursions to choose from, the glaciers are quite cool (literally) we hit the Hubbard first on the outbound trip, the temp drops as you enter the fjord are significant, several miles out you'll see the water color change in the ocean from the cold temps. Best seat on the boat is the rear deck lounge, when they turn the ship you'll get a full view

Take gloves, hat, jacket, and wear very good walking shoes and pants with stretching waste bands LOL