Seattle Touristy thing

[Luvsprincess]

I am booked on a B2B on princess. Where is a good, fun place to go hang out for a few hours with an 18 year old. Went to the Music experience last year. Not looking for lunch. Are there any malls around?

[Casagordita]

Westlake Center, Pacific Place, and Rainier Square are all downtown Seattle malls. Plus, there are the big department stores (Nordstrom's flagship store, and Macy's), Nordstrom Rack, and lots of other single stores in the few blocks around them. A serious shopper could find plenty to do there!

[Luvsprincess]

How much do you think the cab ride is?

[Hobbit]

If the 18 year old is all about the shopping then there's the usual slew of Levi's Abercrombie and Fitch et al in the downtown core. Those are around 3rd through 6th and the Pike Pine corridor.

 

Westlake Mall is at Pine between 4th and 5th and a Link Light rail stop is right there so it's easy to get to.

 

Pacific Place mall is on 7th and is pretty cool, high end (for Seattle). If you go there stand in the middle of the mall and note that though it was easy to find your way in and up, finding your way down and out is more difficult. Kinda freaky and totally intentional.

 

If your teen is a gamer you should hit Gameworks up on 7th also (I think) they've got some amazing video games, shooting arcades that take you up many stories above the ground, all the latest and greatest as well as a bevy of classic games like pacman.

 

But if your teen is a shopper what you really want to do is go to Pike Place market. The ground floor is largely fish and fruit, but head down to the lower floors in the market and you'll find the eclectic shops that have been there for years.

 

If you want to so something appealing to a teen that is educational do the Bill Spiedel Tour of Underground Seattle in Pioneer Square. Trust me, it is fun for teens, lotasa talk about brothels and alcohol, but in a tasteful way, there are kids on the tour also.

 

As far as transportation, say where you are coming from and where you are going to and I'll over-inform you on how to get there.

[Hobbit]

O you are at pier 91/Smith Cove Pier which is north of downtown. The easiest way to get to/from the ship is to cab it. I'll guess the fare is about ten bucks each way but I never cab so that's a total guess.

 

However, most teens love to way-find, and having your teen way-find their way to/from downtown on public transportation could in and of itself be interesting.

 

Exit the ship.

Find the striped pedestrian walk way that will lead you out of the port property. It's not a separated sidewalk, but it is well striped.

You will pass many signs that look deceptively like bus stops but do not be fooled, they are not bus stops, they are telling you that you are on the route to the actual bus stop.

The last portion of your walk is up a flight of stairs onto a bridge, this is the actual bus stop. You will take the flight of stairs you come to first.

You will catch the #19 or #24 to downtown Seattle. If the bus says something other than downtown you are on the wrong side of the street.

Exact change required. Get a paper transfer. (The paper transfer doesn't work on all of our transit, but some. The buses in the downtown core are free. The monorail is for tourists and costs money no matter what, and you are not being tourists, you are being cool locals)

While you are on the bus pick up a schedule so you have the schedule and maps that show where it runs.

Make note where you get off so you know where to catch it back. Also how long it took so you know how much time you need.

To return to the ship reverse the process.

 

Once you are downtown it's easy to get around and there's stuff to do. I'm pretty sure you can pick up a downtown map at the pier before you leave.

[Luvsprincess]

Ok, I am definitely looking to cab it not public transportation. Where is the closest big mall...like Sears, pennys, stuff like that? I am going on princess (pier 91?). Still a $10 cab ride each way? Also, Pikes Market, how far is that and cab price?

[Luvsprincess]

Oh, forgot to ask. Is there any # that I can call for a tour around seattle via a bus company or something like that?

[Hobbit]

Sears? JC Penny? <<scratches head>> There isn't a Sears or JC Penny in downtown Seattle. Real Estate is waaaaay too expensive in Seattle.

 

Westlake Mall is right downtown as is Pacific Place, but they are more shi-shi. No Sears there.

 

Pike Place Market (no S) is right downtown so the cab fare to the market from pier 91 is the same. And yes, Princess comes to pier 91 which is north of the downtown core.

 

Once you are downtown you can walk or bus hop (its free to ride buses in downtown) to get around, then cab back to the pier.

[Hobbit]

Ride The Ducks of Seattle. Take the monorail to get to it. I've done this one, corny but fun.

 

Argossy cruises on Puget sound are nice. More water stuff but very nice and a lot of variety. They leave from the waterfront which is one block down (literally) from Pike Place Market, so those segway together nicely.

 

Let's Tour Seattle. I haven't done these, but they hit some nice spots. AND they pick you up at the cruise terminal and handle your bags. Bonus.

 

Show Me Seattle - City Tours. You have to get downtown but I checked their list and they hit the cool stuff that we always show our out of town guests.

 

Gray Line of Seattle does the Hop on, Hop off tours of the city.

[Casagordita]

Ok, I am definitely looking to cab it not public transportation. Where is the closest big mall...like Sears, pennys, stuff like that? I am going on princess (pier 91?). Still a $10 cab ride each way? Also, Pikes Market, how far is that and cab price?

 

The nearest standard suburban mall, is, well, in the suburbs. That's where you're going to find the big box stores and less hoity-toity department stores--like Hobbit said, downtown real estate is just not part of their business model. I guess Northgate might be the closest to downtown (and technically within the city limits, but it's still a fair distance). Southcenter is probably about the same distance, in the other direction. Northgate is probably closer to Pier 91, but neither is going to be a cheap cab ride.

[Luvsprincess]

You all are great for the suggestions. I intentionally booked the southcenter Doubletree so I can go to that mall pre-cruise. I am going to look into the tours from the bus companies as you listed. Thanks again!! Any other suggestions or thoughts, please continue to post as I check everyday. :)

[Hobbit]

What is the appeal in going to a standard mall with chain stores?

[Dan G]

I think you'll find that almost all tours do precruise as the doing it Post is hard to schedule with various disembarkation times.

 

I do like downtown as its more interesting than a 'mall'. If you really want to go todowntown or to a mall you can call a Flat rate taxi prior to exiting the ship. You must prearrange however the advantage is they don't meter by time just by zip code so it can work out much better than a standard cab. You can get the rate online at flatrateforhire.com or just call them at 206-242-8800. If you want a mall then use Northgate as the destination or zip code 98125