Glaciers

Just over a mile from the port along a flat walking path. https://goo.gl/maps/ZgEYUmgTTEoK57vb9

The float is a better experience but a longer day. The hike is good, and free.

A couple other options….There is a nice hike in Whittier called the Portage Pass Trail. It’s a fairly short hike to the top which gives you amazing views of Portage Glacier on one side and Passage Canal and the town of Whittier on the other. You can also hike down to Portage Glacier if you have the time but the treat is just getting to the top for the view. Another option is the Spencer Whistle Stop which requires a short train ride on the Alaska Railroad. There are guiding services that will paddle you around the bergs that have calved from the glacier before heading down the Placer River to catch the train that had dropped you off a few hours earlier. This is one of our favorite south central excursions. Lunch at the Swiftwater Seafood Cafe! https://www.alaska.org/detail/portage-pass-trail https://alaskanrafting.com/product/spencer-iceberg-placer-river-float/

There are a few bathrooms at the market. The cleanest with the least use are a couple doors north of Starbucks at 1916 Pike Place, inside and to the back.

In the past they have used the Dena’ina Center when there has been an event booked at the Eagan but not often.

The Belltown Inn is also a short, four block walk to the pier and near many more restaurants than the Marriott.

We parked at the value long term lot at the airport next to the Templeton station and took the train to Canada Place. $135US for 2 weeks. You’ll need to check their website & reviews for safety issues. We had no problems. https://www.yvr.ca/en/passengers/parking-yvr

Check with PJ’s taxi for transportation between Whittier and Seward. https://www.pjstaxi.net

The Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s tour just added the optional “King Crab Snack” this year so there wouldn’t be any reviews yet.

Yes, it’s a safe area although it would be best if you weren’t walking alone late at night. The elevator just south of the Marriott is supposed to be open by the end of this month giving you another option to get up the hill. There are a few dispensaries in the same general area, Have a Heart, Lux, Bakeree & Shawn Kemps.

My bad. I was sending you south to the glacier rather than north to Anchorage.

You are late in the season but it looks like the last day of the full route of the Glacier Discovery Train is September 17. The Glacier Discovery train departs Whittier at 12:45pm and returns at 6:05pm. https://www.alaskarailroad.com/ride-a-train/schedules

We did a b2b on the Royal last year and the ship was only about ½ full with 700 doing a b2b. Seems they could throw an excursion out there for those folks in Whittier. There’s certainly enough. Both the 26 Glacier Cruise and the Glacier Discover are great options. You can also do a rafting excursion as part of the Spencer Whistle Stop. https://alaskanrafting.com/product/spencer-iceberg-placer-river-float/ If you end of staying in Whittier you could also do the Portage Pass Trail hike. You don’t need to go all the way to Portage Glacier. Just going to the top of the pass gives you spectacular views of the glacier on one side and Whittier and Passage Canal on the other. Lunch at the Swiftwater Café.

We heard the horn blasts signaling it was pulling away from the dock at 4:30pm yesterday. Nice to have the ships returning.

@Solara Of those our choice would be Inn at the Market. We love the rooftop deck overlooking the market and Elliott Bay.

I have yet to confirm but Norwegian has updated their covid requirements by country and effective today, Columbia has been removed from the list and no longer requires it. Can anyone confirm this?

You should consider just going to the top of the pass to Divide Lake. The views of Portage Glacier from there are fantastic as well as looking back toward Whittier and Passage Canal. Hopefully someone will chime in to assist with the luggage issue. For lunch, the Swiftwater Café is our go-to spot.

@slidergirl I’m not a big sushi fan so haven’t been but it seems the more popular spots in Belltown are Umi Sake House, Shiro’s & Wasabi Sushi & Izakaya. That’s just based on walking by and seeing how packed they are in addition to speaking with folks in the neighborhood and our building. The best place might be the one you can get into easily. They’re very popular.

We parked at the long-term lot at the airport near the Templeton station and then took the sky train downtown. It was $135US for 14 nights.

Hurtigruten has trips out that way. Also Seabourn, Ponant & Holland. Depends how far out you want to go. Most of these go as far Dutch Harbor on the chain and then up to Nome.

When we've booked the train through the cruise line site the train pick up near the dock. Before the slide at the Railroad Dock the train pulled up very near the ship although have to think that's changed. From the Broadway dock, the train pulls up at the end of the dock for easy boarding. When we've booked through direct through WPYR we walked into town and caught the train from their facility.

We’re going to the Sand Bar next month during our stop in Cabo. One post from January 2022 indicated they paid $14 going and $12 returning. And, as Ashland indicated, everyone seems to say US currency is fine. We actually just changed our massage reservation from 10am to 11am. We dock at 8am and tender. Could find little info on how long the process would take plus the taxi to the Sand Bar.

Consider using Spot Saver. We used is a couple of years ago and we breezed through TSA. Not sure that’s always the case but it worked for us. https://www.portseattle.org/SEAspotsaver

I quit chasing new gear about the time mirrorless was getting going. Usually took two bodies and several lenses with a range of 16-600 but trying to quit taking the camera bag and scale things down. Used to take the tripod but rarely used it. Although I certainly still take some of my gear but in my attempt to scale down, I’ve began using my phone for photos more often. Picked up the iPhone 14 Pro and if I need something big enough to print, the RAW files are 20mb+ and edit/post process well. It works amazingly well. I don’t always have my camera gear but I do always have my phone. There is a bit of a learning curve when using the phone properly for photography. It would be marginally acceptable for a whale watch or shooting the mountain goats along Gloomy Knob in Glacier Bay but does wonderful with landscapes and wide interior shots.

Neither of those hotels are actually downtown although several hotels use the term. The Hyatt is in a better location across from the Seattle Center and access to the monorail for 3-minute transportation downtown which puts you close to Pike Place Market. The rates you posted are actually pretty good for cruise season. There are also a ton of good restaurants within a 10 minute walk of the hotel in Belltown along 1st & 2nd Aves.