2010 Seattle Public Transit Info for Cruisers

[calikak]

Here is a list of Seattle's public transportation options that are most useful for cruisers.

 

-Seattle has two cruise piers, Pier 66 (aka Bell Street Cruise Terminal) and Pier 91 (Smith Cove Cruise Terminal). Pier 66 is normally used by Celebrity, RCCL, and NCL. Pier 91 is normally used by Princess and HAL (and the occasional Carnival ship). However, sometimes they move things around, so check the Port of Seattle website (http://www.portseattle.org/) to find out for sure where your ship will be.

 

-Seattle has no subway system, but does have a decent bus system run by an agency called Metro. Within the downtown core, buses are free and run on almost every street. Visit transit.metrokc.gov for fare and schedule information, including a customized trip planner. If you're not sure which bus to take, just ask a driver--most of them know the whole system pretty well. Bus service to Pier 91 involves a very long walk out of the terminal and up three flights of steps to catch the bus on the Magnolia Bridge. I would not recommend this option. Bus service to Pier 66 is the #99 (see below about the Waterfront Streetcar replacement bus).

 

-Our region's very first light rail line, called Link, is now open! It runs from SeaTac Airport to downtown Seattle. If you are staying at a hotel downtown and can haul your luggage a couple of blocks, this is a great option. Fare is $2.50 each way. Since we now have light rail, Metro has discontinued its direct bus service to SeaTac, so light rail is your best option.

 

-The Waterfront Streetcar still hasn't started back up yet. But the transit authority is running a free (that's right, FREE!) replacement bus along the route that the trolley normally takes. It's Bus #99 and it's painted green and cream like the trolleys are. It stops right by Pier 66, but not Pier 91, and goes to Pioneer Square, which is our historic district.

 

-If you need to get from Seattle Center to downtown Seattle (including Pioneer Square), consider taking Bus #3 or #4, which stops on 5th Avenue by Seattle Center and on 3rd Avenue in downtown Seattle.

 

-The Monorail is still in service, and fares are $2 for adults each way. It runs from Seattle Center to Downtown Seattle and back, making it convenient for tourists who want to go to the Space Needle or EMP from downtown Seattle, but don't want to take the bus.

 

-The South Lake Union Streetcar runs about every 15 minutes between downtown Seattle and the south lake union area. This is more handy than the bus for anyone staying at a hotel on/near south Lake Union. Fares are $2 adults, 50 cents ages 6-17, 5 and under free, and they accept transfers from Metro buses.

 

-To get from SeaTac to a cruise pier, you have a couple of options. A taxi will cost you roughly $30 to Pier 66 or $40 to Pier 91, and is probably the most convenient option. Or, you can take a shared ride shuttle, which will run you about $25-30 per person for a couple, or about $80-90 for a van that seats 10. Or, you could take the light rail into downtown, getting off at the Pioneer Square station, then walk west to the waterfront, and get on the #99 (the trolley replacement bus) heading north to Pier 66. As I said before, Pier 91 has no good public transit options, so plan to take a cab or a shuttle.

 

-To get from SeaTac to downtown, besides the light rail, you could do a taxi or shuttle at about the same cost as it would be to go to the cruise piers. Or, there's also a private bus service that stops at several of the downtown hotels and costs about $10 per person.

[cruznliz]

Thanks for all the valuable info!:D I will print a copy to bring with us. Our cruise on the Royal is 14 days, Monday to Monday. We will be staying with my dear brother in Tacoma, but of course they have work to go to Monday morning. I'm envisioning that they can drop us at SEATAC in the morning. The light rail sounds intriguing. Is there much of a step to lift the luggage on? How much would a taxi be from the end of the light rail Downtown to Pier 91? Princess apparently charges $24 pp for transfers. We might be better off just using them.:rolleyes: Any additional ideas would be appreciated!

[LeftcoastBC]

Amtrak Update:

 

The will still be two trains a day in EACH DIRECTION between Seattle and Vancouver.

Morning and

early evening. Check schedule for exact times.

[iTinKso]

Thanks for the great info. We'll be going to a Mariners' game so this info will certainly come in handy - we are hoping to stay near the cruise pier.

[calikak]

Thanks for all the valuable info!:D I will print a copy to bring with us. Our cruise on the Royal is 14 days, Monday to Monday. We will be staying with my dear brother in Tacoma, but of course they have work to go to Monday morning. I'm envisioning that they can drop us at SEATAC in the morning. The light rail sounds intriguing. Is there much of a step to lift the luggage on? How much would a taxi be from the end of the light rail Downtown to Pier 91? Princess apparently charges $24 pp for transfers. We might be better off just using them.:rolleyes: Any additional ideas would be appreciated!

 

I think the best option from Tacoma is this: Sound Transit operates a heavy rail commuter train called Sounder that runs from Tacoma to downtown Seattle. It only runs during commuting hours, but it'd drop you right at King Street Station, where it will be pretty easy to find a taxi to take you to Pier 91. Fare from Tacoma to Seattle is $4.75. The trains can be a bit crowded (next to the ferry, the train is probably the best way to commute in this region) but since you're getting on at the first station, you should be able to get a seat in the lower part of the train, so no stairs at all. I think there's maybe one step to get up on the train? I used to commute on the northern Sounder, but it's been several years, so I just don't remember. For more info, check out http://www.soundtransit.org.

[calikak]

Amtrak Update:

 

The will still be two trains a day in EACH DIRECTION between Seattle and Vancouver.

Morning and

early evening. Check schedule for exact times.

 

That is great news! I was worried after the Olympics they'd go back to one train a day.

[calikak]

Thanks for the great info. We'll be going to a Mariners' game so this info will certainly come in handy - we are hoping to stay near the cruise pier.

 

Since you're on NCL, you can definitely stay near the pier, there are two hotels right by there (although they're both pricey). Very easy to get to a Mariners game on public transit--light rail has a station by the stadiums (our football and baseball stadiums are right next to each other), and the #22 has regular service between downtown and the stadiums. Note that the stadiums are outside the ride free zone.

[gkrnjlr]

Thanks for the information! I'm curious.....is taking the light rail AFTER our cruise to SEA a reasonable option? When we get off the ship - where do we need to go to get on the light rail? Is it an easy walking distance to get to it?

 

Thanks again!

[Av8tor]

Calikak,

 

I know it's quite a distance from Pier 91 to the transit tunnel to catch the LINK light rail to SEATAC so walking is out of the question. Rather than paying $30-40 for two people to take a shared van or taxi to the airport, I am considering taking a taxi from pier 91 to Pike's Place or Pioneer Square for an early lunch and then paying $2.50 each for LINK to the airport. Any idea how much the taxi fare would be from pier 91 to the transit tunnel area? I'm guessing it'd be about $10-15...

 

Thanks for all you helpful information!

[southern-cruiser]

Here is a list of Seattle's public transportation options that are most useful for cruisers.

 

-Seattle has two cruise piers, Pier 66 (aka Bell Street Cruise Terminal) and Pier 91 (Smith Cove Cruise Terminal). Pier 66 is normally used by Celebrity, RCCL, and NCL. Pier 91 is normally used by Princess and HAL (and the occasional Carnival ship). However, sometimes they move things around, so check the Port of Seattle website (http://www.portseattle.org/) to find out for sure where your ship will be.

 

-Seattle has no subway system, but does have a decent bus system run by an agency called Metro. Within the downtown core, buses are free and run on almost every street. Visit transit.metrokc.gov for fare and schedule information, including a customized trip planner. If you're not sure which bus to take, just ask a driver--most of them know the whole system pretty well. Bus service to Pier 91 involves a very long walk out of the terminal and up three flights of steps to catch the bus on the Magnolia Bridge. I would not recommend this option. Bus service to Pier 66 is the #99 (see below about the Waterfront Streetcar replacement bus).

 

-Our region's very first light rail line, called Link, is now open! It runs from SeaTac Airport to downtown Seattle. If you are staying at a hotel downtown and can haul your luggage a couple of blocks, this is a great option. Fare is $2.50 each way. Since we now have light rail, Metro has discontinued its direct bus service to SeaTac, so light rail is your best option.

 

-The Waterfront Streetcar still hasn't started back up yet. But the transit authority is running a free (that's right, FREE!) replacement bus along the route that the trolley normally takes. It's Bus #99 and it's painted green and cream like the trolleys are. It stops right by Pier 66, but not Pier 91, and goes to Pioneer Square, which is our historic district.

 

-If you need to get from Seattle Center to downtown Seattle (including Pioneer Square), consider taking Bus #3 or #4, which stops on 5th Avenue by Seattle Center and on 3rd Avenue in downtown Seattle.

 

-The Monorail is still in service, and fares are $2 for adults each way. It runs from Seattle Center to Downtown Seattle and back, making it convenient for tourists who want to go to the Space Needle or EMP from downtown Seattle, but don't want to take the bus.

 

-The South Lake Union Streetcar runs about every 15 minutes between downtown Seattle and the south lake union area. This is more handy than the bus for anyone staying at a hotel on/near south Lake Union. Fares are $2 adults, 50 cents ages 6-17, 5 and under free, and they accept transfers from Metro buses.

 

-To get from SeaTac to a cruise pier, you have a couple of options. A taxi will cost you roughly $30 to Pier 66 or $40 to Pier 91, and is probably the most convenient option. Or, you can take a shared ride shuttle, which will run you about $25-30 per person for a couple, or about $80-90 for a van that seats 10. Or, you could take the light rail into downtown, getting off at the Pioneer Square station, then walk west to the waterfront, and get on the #99 (the trolley replacement bus) heading north to Pier 66. As I said before, Pier 91 has no good public transit options, so plan to take a cab or a shuttle.

 

-To get from SeaTac to downtown, besides the light rail, you could do a taxi or shuttle at about the same cost as it would be to go to the cruise piers. Or, there's also a private bus service that stops at several of the downtown hotels and costs about $10 per person.

Thanks so much for the great transit information. Was trying to figure out the most economical transportation to the pier. Save money for the cruise you know.

[katiensb]

what would you suggest be our best route from 5th Ave to amtrak station

 

There are 3 of us

 

Thanks

[2happywanderers]

Here is a list of Seattle's public transportation options that are most useful for cruisers.

 

-Seattle has two cruise piers, Pier 66 (aka Bell Street Cruise Terminal) and Pier 91 (Smith Cove Cruise Terminal). Pier 66 is normally used by Celebrity, RCCL, and NCL. Pier 91 is normally used by Princess and HAL (and the occasional Carnival ship). However, sometimes they move things around, so check the Port of Seattle website (http://www.portseattle.org/) to find out for sure where your ship will be.

 

-Seattle has no subway system, but does have a decent bus system run by an agency called Metro. Within the downtown core, buses are free and run on almost every street. Visit transit.metrokc.gov for fare and schedule information, including a customized trip planner. If you're not sure which bus to take, just ask a driver--most of them know the whole system pretty well. Bus service to Pier 91 involves a very long walk out of the terminal and up three flights of steps to catch the bus on the Magnolia Bridge. I would not recommend this option. Bus service to Pier 66 is the #99 (see below about the Waterfront Streetcar replacement bus).

 

-Our region's very first light rail line, called Link, is now open! It runs from SeaTac Airport to downtown Seattle. If you are staying at a hotel downtown and can haul your luggage a couple of blocks, this is a great option. Fare is $2.50 each way. Since we now have light rail, Metro has discontinued its direct bus service to SeaTac, so light rail is your best option.

 

-The Waterfront Streetcar still hasn't started back up yet. But the transit authority is running a free (that's right, FREE!) replacement bus along the route that the trolley normally takes. It's Bus #99 and it's painted green and cream like the trolleys are. It stops right by Pier 66, but not Pier 91, and goes to Pioneer Square, which is our historic district.

 

-If you need to get from Seattle Center to downtown Seattle (including Pioneer Square), consider taking Bus #3 or #4, which stops on 5th Avenue by Seattle Center and on 3rd Avenue in downtown Seattle.

 

-The Monorail is still in service, and fares are $2 for adults each way. It runs from Seattle Center to Downtown Seattle and back, making it convenient for tourists who want to go to the Space Needle or EMP from downtown Seattle, but don't want to take the bus.

 

-The South Lake Union Streetcar runs about every 15 minutes between downtown Seattle and the south lake union area. This is more handy than the bus for anyone staying at a hotel on/near south Lake Union. Fares are $2 adults, 50 cents ages 6-17, 5 and under free, and they accept transfers from Metro buses.

 

-To get from SeaTac to a cruise pier, you have a couple of options. A taxi will cost you roughly $30 to Pier 66 or $40 to Pier 91, and is probably the most convenient option. Or, you can take a shared ride shuttle, which will run you about $25-30 per person for a couple, or about $80-90 for a van that seats 10. Or, you could take the light rail into downtown, getting off at the Pioneer Square station, then walk west to the waterfront, and get on the #99 (the trolley replacement bus) heading north to Pier 66. As I said before, Pier 91 has no good public transit options, so plan to take a cab or a shuttle.

 

-To get from SeaTac to downtown, besides the light rail, you could do a taxi or shuttle at about the same cost as it would be to go to the cruise piers. Or, there's also a private bus service that stops at several of the downtown hotels and costs about $10 per person.

 

 

Thank you for all this great information.

 

We will be arriving in Seattle at the end of May from Anchorage post cruise and staying at the Ramada Downtown Hotel. Are we to understand from your email that it is about $30 for a taxi from the airport to this hotel downtown? And is this much the same price as a shuttle fare for two people?

 

The taxi sounds much more convenient for us as we are arriving 7.30pm and the shuttles seem to only drop off at certain hotels and ours is not one of them. Don't really fancy trying to find our hotel, after being dropped at the nearest hotel by the shuttle, in the dark and cold in a strange (to us) city.

 

Would you recommend a taxi to and from the airport in preference to a shuttle in our case?

 

Looking forward to your reply, and many thanks in advance.

 

2happywanderers :confused::confused:

[calikak]

what would you suggest be our best route from 5th Ave to amtrak station

 

There are 3 of us

 

Thanks

 

Where on 5th? If you're up by Seattle Center, you'll want to take the 3/4 into downtown (a good place to get off is at Madison/Marion), then transfer to just about any other bus at the stop where you get off, (the 3/4 turn before getting to the Amtrak station). If you're already in downtown, then just about any bus on 5th will get you to the Amtrak station. Just be sure to ask the driver before you board if they stop near King Street Station.

[calikak]

Calikak,

 

I know it's quite a distance from Pier 91 to the transit tunnel to catch the LINK light rail to SEATAC so walking is out of the question. Rather than paying $30-40 for two people to take a shared van or taxi to the airport, I am considering taking a taxi from pier 91 to Pike's Place or Pioneer Square for an early lunch and then paying $2.50 each for LINK to the airport. Any idea how much the taxi fare would be from pier 91 to the transit tunnel area? I'm guessing it'd be about $10-15...

 

Thanks for all you helpful information!

 

I'm not sure, but I'll be finding out on May 14 when I get of the Zaandam and head to work downtown...will try to remember to post here to let you know! I'm guessing it'll be in the $15 range plus tip.

[calikak]

Thanks for the information! I'm curious.....is taking the light rail AFTER our cruise to SEA a reasonable option? When we get off the ship - where do we need to go to get on the light rail? Is it an easy walking distance to get to it?

 

Thanks again!

 

If you're coming from Pier 66, it's pretty easy: you get off the ship and get on the #99 Waterfront Bus, which is free (it's painted green and like a butter color). Take it to the end of its line, where you'll get off and walk a block to the International District tunnel station, where you get on the light rail to the airport. Assuming your luggage is fairly easily managed, this is a really easy transfer.

 

If you're coming from Terminal 91, then you'd need to take a taxi downtown--ask to be let off at Westlake Center, which is a shopping mall. Go in the basement of the mall and there's an entrance to the tunnel, where you can get on the light rail.

[katiensb]

Thank you for all this great information.

 

We will be arriving in Seattle at the end of May from Anchorage post cruise and staying at the Ramada Downtown Hotel. Are we to understand from your email that it is about $30 for a taxi from the airport to this hotel downtown? And is this much the same price as a shuttle fare for two people?

 

The taxi sounds much more convenient for us as we are arriving 7.30pm and the shuttles seem to only drop off at certain hotels and ours is not one of them. Don't really fancy trying to find our hotel, after being dropped at the nearest hotel by the shuttle, in the dark and cold in a strange (to us) city.

 

Would you recommend a taxi to and from the airport in preference to a shuttle in our case?

 

Looking forward to your reply, and many thanks in advance.

 

2happywanderers :confused::confused:

 

The Ramada Inn Downtown actually offers a towncar pick up. I believe the front desk said it was 50.00. Give them a call to verify..

[calikak]

Thank you for all this great information.

 

We will be arriving in Seattle at the end of May from Anchorage post cruise and staying at the Ramada Downtown Hotel. Are we to understand from your email that it is about $30 for a taxi from the airport to this hotel downtown? And is this much the same price as a shuttle fare for two people?

 

The taxi sounds much more convenient for us as we are arriving 7.30pm and the shuttles seem to only drop off at certain hotels and ours is not one of them. Don't really fancy trying to find our hotel, after being dropped at the nearest hotel by the shuttle, in the dark and cold in a strange (to us) city.

 

Would you recommend a taxi to and from the airport in preference to a shuttle in our case?

 

Looking forward to your reply, and many thanks in advance.

 

2happywanderers :confused::confused:

 

It should be around a $30-40 taxi ride--I think they do charge a little extra for extra people but I'm not positive. Also, we've just had a change in the taxi companies that are contracted with the airport and I'm not positive how that will affect rates--and I'm not sure when the new company takes over. But because the Ramada is downtown, I'm pretty sure it's included in the standard "airport to downtown hotel" rate, whatever that will be under the new system.

 

There is also a shared ride shuttle service (I can't mention the name here because that's against Cruise Critic's rules) that will drop you directly at any address in town. This is different (and a bit more expensive) than the shuttle bus service that has scheduled stops at a few hotels. You might have to make one other stop before getting dropped at your hotel, but you won't be dropped at some random hotel and then have to find your way to your address. I use this service to get home from the airport when I'm traveling with heavy luggage and by myself, because for one person to my part of town, it's cheaper than a taxi. (When I don't have a lot of luggage, I just take the bus downtown and hop on the light rail.) They have a booth in the airport, so you don't have to reserve a shuttle if you don't want to--not sure if reserving in advance means it costs less or not, you might want to check into that.

 

You also might want to check out the airport's website for more info about transport costs from the airport:

 

http://www.portseattle.org/seatac/

[2happywanderers]

It should be around a $30-40 taxi ride--I think they do charge a little extra for extra people but I'm not positive. Also, we've just had a change in the taxi companies that are contracted with the airport and I'm not positive how that will affect rates--and I'm not sure when the new company takes over. But because the Ramada is downtown, I'm pretty sure it's included in the standard "airport to downtown hotel" rate, whatever that will be under the new system.

 

There is also a shared ride shuttle service (I can't mention the name here because that's against Cruise Critic's rules) that will drop you directly at any address in town. This is different (and a bit more expensive) than the shuttle bus service that has scheduled stops at a few hotels. You might have to make one other stop before getting dropped at your hotel, but you won't be dropped at some random hotel and then have to find your way to your address. I use this service to get home from the airport when I'm traveling with heavy luggage and by myself, because for one person to my part of town, it's cheaper than a taxi. (When I don't have a lot of luggage, I just take the bus downtown and hop on the light rail.) They have a booth in the airport, so you don't have to reserve a shuttle if you don't want to--not sure if reserving in advance means it costs less or not, you might want to check into that.

 

You also might want to check out the airport's website for more info about transport costs from the airport:

 

http://www.portseattle.org/seatac/

 

 

Many thanks Calikak.

 

Your information is most helpful to us first time Seattle visitors.

 

Much appreciated.

 

2happywanderers :):)

[trinaM]

thanks beth for the detailed information on public transit options in Seattle.

Its good to know before cruising from pier 91.

susan

[grandma13]

Last time we did this, we did it all by bus. It was easy, except that at the end we had to walk down a lot of stairs with our luggage and then walk quite a ways to the Pier. We certainly saved a bundle!

 

This time we plan to take Light Rail to downtown and then get a taxi from downtown to Pier 91. My first question is, which stop should we get off and will it be easy to find a place to flag down a taxi to take us to the Pier?

 

Second, on the way home we plan to take light rail back to the airport and leave our luggage in storage for several hours because our return flight won't leave until 7:30 pm. We will have another couple with us then who are on the same flight home. Would it be fairly easy to get a taxi to the light rail station that would hold four of us plus luggage?

 

One more thing. One review said it is hard for find where you buy the light rail tickets. Have you found that to be true?

 

Thanks,

 

Nancy

[gkrnjlr]

Last time we did this, we did it all by bus. It was easy, except that at the end we had to walk down a lot of stairs with our luggage and then walk quite a ways to the Pier. We certainly saved a bundle!

 

This time we plan to take Light Rail to downtown and then get a taxi from downtown to Pier 91. My first question is, which stop should we get off and will it be easy to find a place to flag down a taxi to take us to the Pier?

 

Second, on the way home we plan to take light rail back to the airport and leave our luggage in storage for several hours because our return flight won't leave until 7:30 pm. We will have another couple with us then who are on the same flight home. Would it be fairly easy to get a taxi to the light rail station that would hold four of us plus luggage?

 

One more thing. One review said it is hard for find where you buy the light rail tickets. Have you found that to be true?

 

Thanks,

 

Nancy

 

We just recently got back from our cruise (6/13) and we used the Light Rail a LOT. Hindsight being 20/20 I would've booked all hotel nights in the airport area and just taken the Light Rail downtown each day. It was really nice!

 

First off....it was EASY EASY to buy tickets. There's an electronic kiosk at each stop that you can purchase tickets at. Tickets from SEA were $2.50 per person, one way. For going downtown - you'll want to go to the very end and get off at the West Lake stop. When you get off, you can take the escalator or elevator to street level and then make your way around. Very easy to get around!

 

When taking our luggage on the Light Rail we noticed that we were NOT the only ones that had luggage (on any of our trips that we took, actually) but we did apparently ride towards the end of rush hour because we had to stand for the trip from an airport hotel to the downtown hotel. (We flew in, stayed at the Hilton SeaTac the first night then the next two nights we were at the Grand Hyatt downtown). That was the only time we had to stand.

 

Post-cruise we were going to take the Light Rail back to the airport but it was closed that day. I'm glad we saw the signs prior to leaving on the cruise! Instead, we took Seattle Express for $12 per person.

 

Have a great trip!

[mulecruizer]

I am disembarking my ship ( Royal Princess July 5 sailing in Victoria) after spending a few days visiting relatives there I am going to Bellingham to visit other cruise buddies. I will then take the Amtrack down to catch flight at Seatac... on July 27.

 

what do you know about the bus connections for that light rail and where I would get off the Amtrack.

 

thanks for all your info in advance!

[grandma13]

We just recently got back from our cruise (6/13) and we used the Light Rail a LOT. Hindsight being 20/20 I would've booked all hotel nights in the airport area and just taken the Light Rail downtown each day. It was really nice!

 

First off....it was EASY EASY to buy tickets. There's an electronic kiosk at each stop that you can purchase tickets at. Tickets from SEA were $2.50 per person, one way. For going downtown - you'll want to go to the very end and get off at the West Lake stop. When you get off, you can take the escalator or elevator to street level and then make your way around. Very easy to get around!

 

When taking our luggage on the Light Rail we noticed that we were NOT the only ones that had luggage (on any of our trips that we took, actually) but we did apparently ride towards the end of rush hour because we had to stand for the trip from an airport hotel to the downtown hotel. (We flew in, stayed at the Hilton SeaTac the first night then the next two nights we were at the Grand Hyatt downtown). That was the only time we had to stand.

 

Post-cruise we were going to take the Light Rail back to the airport but it was closed that day. I'm glad we saw the signs prior to leaving on the cruise! Instead, we took Seattle Express for $12 per person.

 

Have a great trip!

 

Thanks for the great information! Do you have to reserve ahead to take the Seattle Express?

 

If worst came to worst we could take a taxi to a bus station and ride the bus from there, which really wasn't bad last time.

 

Nancy

[calikak]

Last time we did this, we did it all by bus. It was easy, except that at the end we had to walk down a lot of stairs with our luggage and then walk quite a ways to the Pier. We certainly saved a bundle!

 

This time we plan to take Light Rail to downtown and then get a taxi from downtown to Pier 91. My first question is, which stop should we get off and will it be easy to find a place to flag down a taxi to take us to the Pier?

 

Second, on the way home we plan to take light rail back to the airport and leave our luggage in storage for several hours because our return flight won't leave until 7:30 pm. We will have another couple with us then who are on the same flight home. Would it be fairly easy to get a taxi to the light rail station that would hold four of us plus luggage?

 

One more thing. One review said it is hard for find where you buy the light rail tickets. Have you found that to be true?

 

Thanks,

 

Nancy

 

When you get to SeaTac, follow the signs to Link (the name of the light rail system) to get the light rail station, and buy your tickets downstairs in the station, not upstairs on the platform.

 

To find a taxi, I would get off at the International District station--go up the escalator and follow the signs to the King Street station (our Amtrak station). You'll have to walk a couple of blocks, across a sky bridge over the train tracks (which is at street level, the tracks are below street level) then go down an elevator and you'll by the front of the Amtrak station, which has a taxi stand so there's almost always a taxi waiting there at any time of day.

 

Another option would be to get off at the Pioneer Square station and head for the exit that leads up to 3rd Ave and I think Columbia (or is that Cherry...not sure which)--when you step off the train, turn to your left and head up the escalator, then turn right and go out the exit there (which will have another escalator). Once you're off the escalator, keep going straingt ahead and the building in front of you across the street is the Arctic Hotel (Juno is the restaurant at street level). Ask them if they can hail a taxi for you if there's not one waiting in front of the hotel.

 

I would ask for a taxi to Westlake Center--the light rail station there is the one closest to Pier 91 so it'd be the cheapest taxi ride (and light rail fares are the same from any downtown light rail station to SeaTac, so, no cost difference that way). Once you're at Westlake Center, go into the mall building itself and go down to the basement, that's where the light rail station is.

 

Instead of going all the way to SeaTac and back to store your luggage, you might want to store it at Pier 66. After you sight-see, go back there to pick it up and then get on the free #99 waterfront bus, and take that to Pioneer Square or the International District, both of which have light rail stations. When you get onboard, ask the bus driver if he can tell you which stop is closest to a light rail station. That would save you (1) the fares to SeaTac, and (2) a good hour in commuting time. Taxi to Pier 66 will probably run about the same as a taxi to Westlake.

 

There are almost always minivan taxis available at Pier 91, so that shouldn't be a problem fitting 4 adults and luggage.

 

Have a great cruise!

[gkrnjlr]

Thanks for the great information! Do you have to reserve ahead to take the Seattle Express?

 

If worst came to worst we could take a taxi to a bus station and ride the bus from there, which really wasn't bad last time.

 

Nancy

 

You're very welcome! When I started doing research I was just simply trying to figure out the least expensive way to do it and the Light Rail saved us a fortune!

 

As for Seattle Express.....we were at Pier 66. You mentioned that you are going to be at Pier 91? I am not sure if it's the exact same price, but it's definitely worth checking! Seattle Express - we did email and that reservation set up ahead of time. Here is the information that I have:

 

Matt Schmer

Seattle Express

206-793-8430

mattseattleexpress@yahoo.com