Iwannaseemickey

Mardi Gras--are Cucina and Pig and Anchor still complimentary for lunch (embarkation day specifically)? I have 7 children, and we are trying to find a "good" spot to contain everyone and avoid the craziness of the buffet for the first day.  

We did this this past summer and loved it. They were very conscientious about the time and we were back in plenty of time. Great tour! 

Original poster here….now our plan is to arrive Wed night. Thursday will do the underground tour at 10-requested by family member, head to Pike Place-wander and see that and waterfront and call it a day. Cruise Fri-Fri. Get off ship Fri early, just me, shuttle to airport to pick up rental car, go back and pick up other 6—no luggage since we are using port valet. Drive to Ballard Locks…read this was interesting?? Lunch in area….hopefully good seafood. Drive to Space Needle/ Chihuly exhibit. Kids wanted to see Minecraft exhibit at MoPop, but it’s gone…so skipping that. Not sure what else. Flights are at 10pm, so whatever else fits in time and we should do. Suggestions? 

On 6/29/2022 at 8:08 PM, martincath said:

Bus is reliable, cheap, but slow (70-90mins depending on route) and not very frequent on those out-of-town routes - but unlike here in Vancouver it's still incredibly backward in terms of customer payment convenience, accepting only exact cash fares (in CAD$), no free transfers between buses, and even day passes need to be bought from a driver as you board rather than being able to acquire in advance. Sometimes the 75 turns into a different number in town, then continues to pretty close to the pier - if so, you might be able to just stay on and only pay $2.50pp. If a transfer is needed though, 2 tickets cost exactly the same as a Day Pass ($5) so you may as well have CAD$25 cash in hand as you board, ask the driver for 5 Day Passes, and then you're good to hop on and off any bus you like without scrambling for change - if you let your guide know in advance, they should be able to ensure they have some smaller local bills they can swap with you if they're taking payment in USD or by credit card for the tour.

 

Taxis - available cabs with 5 passenger seats are very limited as most vans are adapted to take wheelchair passengers so they lose a row of seats. I know Yellowcab does have at least a few unadapted minivans though - but you'd have to call them and specifically book one of those vehicles, as otherwise you're looking at max 4 bums on seats in the adapted vans or the much-more-common Priuses. Ballpark price on the meter, CAD$60 oer vehicle - traffic could bump that up some, but with 5 folks to split the ride I think it's safe to assume that the equivalent of US$15pp will cover the ride and a tip no problem.

 

Is your guide going to drop you off at Butchart, since you didn't ask about getting there just coming back? No chance you'd consider just paying them extra to hang with you at the gardens then drive you back - that would be pricier than a cab but much less hassle for 5 people, as if anything goes wrong on the minivan cab supply front you would be looking at needing 2 cars for double the price...

Thank you! Our guide said much of the same. She has said she will stay and drive us back. 

On 6/17/2022 at 12:44 PM, Gardyloo said:

I would change the order of things.  After disembarking, take a cab or Uber to Pike Place and visit the market then.  You ought to be early enough to avoid the (massive) crowds that will be there by 10:30 or so.  Being there on a holiday weekend will make matters much worse.  What I'd do is have a light breakfast (if any) on the ship before leaving, then head to the market and have a real breakfast at someplace like Lowell's in the main arcade.  Walk off the carbs and watch the merchants set up for the day.  Have a coffee at the "original" Starbucks (it isn't) if you must, but be gone by 10:30 or 11, unless you want to be in the middle of the mob.

 

If it was me, I'd then walk down to the central waterfront and either take the Bainbridge ferry, or instead take the Argosy Locks cruise, departing from Pier 54.  This will take you to and through the Ballard locks, past Fishermen's Terminal, and into Lake Union, where you'll see the houseboats, floatplanes, etc.  Argosy connects to double-deck tour buses to return you to Pier 54, or you could skip the bus ride and explore Lake Union Park, the Museum of History and Industry, etc.

 

I'd save Kerry Park for later in the afternoon, mainly because in the morning the view is compromised by having the sun in your eyes, behind the skyline, while in the afternoon it's in a position to give you better views of everything, including potentially Mount Rainier if it makes an appearance.

 

I'd try to make time at some point in the day to visit Seattle's iconic pan-Asian supermarket/department store Uwajimaya, a block or so from the Chinatown/International District light rail station.  This is a superb experience, and could be a place to stock up on weird Japanese snacks for the flight home.  Don't forget you're here on the Pacific Rim.  There's also a fun food court in Uwajimaya (several Asian cuisines) as well as the fabulous Kinokuniya book store, a branch of the biggest Japanese bookseller chain.  There's a terrific collection of gifts, toys, etc., as well as books and magazines.  

 

 

Elliott Bay Books moved out of Pioneer Square years ago.  They're now located on Tenth Avenue on Capitol Hill.  

You might want to include a visit to the Snoqualmie Valley Railroad Museum, in the town of Snoqualmie, then after the wallabies, you might want to head up to Remlinger Farms, just south of Carnation, where they have plenty of activities for families as well as a decent farm store and places to eat.  You could then, if interested, swing by the original Carnation Farm before returning to Seattle.  Map - https://goo.gl/maps/RfGGqz4Q7ic34UW87

 

Depending on the kids' ages, I'd absolutely make a stop at the Museum of Flight, located at Boeing Field just south of downtown.  There's plenty of parking, a terrific gift shop and decent cafe, but the museum itself is amazing - IMO second only to the Smithsonian in terms of its collection.  It's VERY kid-friendly, with many hands-on exhibits... in my view one of Seattle's premier visitor destinations, for all ages.  Home | The Museum of Flight

Following this thread….we are doing much of the same. Any advice would be welcome. We have a car scheduled once we get off the ship. Our plan was to drive to the Ballard Locks, then eat lunch in the area…hoping for a nice view of the Water?  We would then head to the Space needle and Chihuly exhibit as we won’t have had time to do those our day there before boarding. Beyond that, I have no idea…..flights are at 10pm. Thoughts?

We are doing a private tour of Victoria in late July.   I had planned tea at the end of the tour at Abkhazi Gardens, but is closed for a private event that afternoon.  Our guide suggested we instead do tea at Butchart Gardens after we have had a chance to see the gardens.  I have a 2pm reservation for that.  However, we will need to get back to the ship (5 of us).  How is the city bus OR should we plan on a taxi?  Thank you!

I will have a full day before we get on our cruise (a Thursday), and then also the day we get off the ship-we don’t fly out until midnight (a Friday). I will be traveling with 4 adults, a 19, 15 and 14 yr old. We would like to visit Pikes Place, the Underground Tour, Space Needle, Chihuly, and the MoPop museum. Any opinions on how we should break it up? Or something we should add? The waterfront? Also, want a good dinner Friday before we head to the airport to fly home. Thanks in advance! 

I am taking 4 teen girls to Nassau, it is our only cruise stop. 3 of them have never been on a cruise or out of the country. I want to do something fun with them, but not break the bank as they are paying for this themselves.  I have been to Junkanoo, and thinking that I might want something "nicer".  Should we go to Cable or Cabbage Beach?  Any suggestions?  

Kuaui is easy, just park at the shopping center by the ship. Their is a person that takes money, $20?, and a trolley that you can hop on to run you back, or it’s an easy walk. 

Maui is a bit more of a pain. We parked at the airport and taxied back. Maui was NOT my favorite car rental port, but we made it work. 

Be careful in Maui....I think we used Advantage (it was booked either thru discount Hawaii or Costco), but they do not pick up at the POA port. I found that out the hard way. We had to get a cab to go to get the car, and the cR rental guy talked  quickly and with a huge accent that we had no idea what he added and we agreed to. It was just a mess. Maui was by far the worst car rental experience. The rest of the islands were easy. 

We had the Gypsy for all 4 Islands and it was the highlight of our trip. Excellent narrative. The kids enjoyed it too. They named the guy Bob Shaka. 

We took ours, we enjoyed snorkeling in Maui at Sharks Cove and then farther up the coast. Hunama Bay was horrible the day we were there. The wind was strong and it was miserable. 

We were on this cruise last summer. We drove up to Princeville Ranch and ziplined, then meandered our way back to the ship. We parked overnight in the shopping center nearby ($20) and then got off the ship around 9 the next morning and drove up to Waimea Canyon, dropped the car off at the airport and went back to the ship via the shuttle. Easy! 

I have a person asking me for advice on either the American Spirit or the American Comstellation for an Oct sailing of the Puget Sound- both 8 days. Looking for feedback on either of these ships. 

Thanks! 

Every other port was easy. You walk off and wait outside (very industrial area) for the car rental's shuttle to come. They zip you over there and we were in and out with our car quickly in both Kauai and in Hilo. We ended up doing the ships excursion in Kona b/c of the tender situation and we wanted to snorkel there.

Kauai parking was no problem, you just park in the Harbor Town? Center parking lot and this lady collects $20 and gives you a window tag. There is a shuttle that will run you the block to the port, or you can walk. We were off before the shuttle began running the 2nd morning, so my husband and I walked over there and then drove back to pick up the rest.

We just made sure to be off the ship early and promptly and we had full days in the cars.

If I may make a suggestion, if you are renting cars in all of the ports, look into the "Gypsy Guide" app. I purchased the package from the app store for $25 and it had a guide for every island. We were SO glad we did...the guy (the kids named him Bob Shaka) was great in guiding us and telling us very interesting things. It was totally worth it. We plugged the phone into the car with a cord and could hear it over the car speakers. (Only once did we have to google how to use the system, the rest of the cars it connected automatically.)

We rented a car and zip lined at Princeville Ranch in Kauai and loved it. Fantastic experience.

I bought the Shaka app for all of the islands and we LOVED it. The kids named him "Bob Shaka" and we hooked him up to the car on every island. What a great tour guide it is!!

Was just on the POA this summer and rented a car in all ports except Kona. Maui was the worst, all others were very easy. In Maui, I guess I missed where Advantage is the ONLY rental place that will not pick up at the port, and that is who I booked from with Costco. We ended up having to get a taxi to take us to the place, leaving 1 behind b/c we had 7 people and had to return to pick him up. The counter guy spoke VERY poor English and very fast and I had no idea what I was agreeing to and our initial price doubled. Parking in Maui: I had read here to park at the airport is the safest thing to do, we dropped the group off at the port, then drove to the airport, parked and grabbed a cab back (10 min). We had to leave super early the next morning to go grab the car too. It worked, just took time.

At the other ports, there was a super easy shuttle that picked us up!

First off, make an account early. I had done trial runs on the site and never realized I needed an account. I logged on at exactly 6:59HST (according to Apple) and they were already going and then it made me create an account! By the time I got back, literally 3 min later, most of the tickets were GONE. I had had it marked on my calendar for months, and just like that, the tickets disappeared.

We are doing the Zip n Dip thru Princeville Ranch. I have a rental car that we will pick up and she encouraged me to go with the 12:00 slot so we had plenty of time to get the car and get up there. She said driving is not as fast there as it is on the mainland! It's our overnight, so we can see a few beaches up there, maybe catch the sunset before we head back to the ship.

We had to be off by 9am. Our flight was at 1pm as well.

 

We booked a shuttle to the airport through Roberts. We arrived around 10 to the airport. It is a bit of a process as you go through the agriculture check first and then through security. It took about an hour! I was impressed with the staff who did line control at security. She kept things moving and made sure there was no line jumpers!

 

Once we were through there was a few places to grab lunch and then off to the gate for departure. It really goes fast.

Thank you! I am reserving thru Johnny Cab, and I put down 9:30am, figuring if, like you said we are off by 9, grab luggage, we should be ready to go easily at 9:30. Does that sound right?

Trying to figure out what time we need our transfer driver to be there to get us. Flight is at 1pm.

I am booked on the August 25 cruise and have yet to be contacted from NCL by email about any possible itinerary changes. How come others are receiving communications?

I am a Travel agent & NCL sent it directly to me to send to my clients.

Big ISland is back as of today, June 8. Itinerary is back to normal.

Yep, heard from NCL today, itinerary is back to normal. Now have to change my rentals and excursions for Maui back since Monday they changed the days on us!