sharecruises Posted May 13, 2012 #1 Share Posted May 13, 2012 I have been "Freebiequeen" for about 14 years so I do pretty well at getting bargains. I am also (blush) pretty diligent about researching stuff online and am very used to booking independent excursions and (trying) to satisfy a majority of those I travel with. 18 in group, but not everyone is doing anything, but some of us are doing "all" of this Got rooms at Quality Inn and Suites on John St...not fancy I don't think but pretty good reviews, seems close to Space Needle, can walk or ? elsewhere. Free Breakfast. Shuttle from airport - $10 each. Shuttle to pier for Spirit $6 each. *Old price but I convinced them to honor it LOL some are going up for 3 nights, some for 2 Freebiequeen....I kept alerts up and found a price drop that saved us $40 per room haha....now the price is much much higher I really do suggest book early for Seattle Saturday Night May 19....."happy hour" and beyond at Keys on Main This looks like a fun dueling piano bar, very close to our Hotel Manager is happy to have us I bought a $75 off $150 coupon at restaurant.com (I used a code to parlay) and will share that with the group as a treat, they have more "bar food" we can enjoy, share Sunday May 20th Tillicum Village Salmon Bake and Cruise 11:30 am....after much back and forth some of us decided on Tillicum Village Salmon Bake my friend whose daughter lives in Seattle really liked it and other say it is great Will get us in "mood" for our Alaska adventure Of course...being Freebiequeen... I found it on Goldstar for $48 (regular price $79) so that sealed the deal Yay After cruise....explore Sculpture Garden....."Ye Olde Curoisity Shoppe" and waterfront area Sunday May 20th.....Eithiopian Feast at Habesha....I have a groupon but arranged a deal on top with owner as more than 4 people wanted to join me :) Freebiequeen....Yay * Monday May 21: lunch at the Sky City restaurant at Space Needle.....lunch is min $25 and includes the observation deck etc, plus you get to see the view as the restaurant slowly turns....vs paying $1 9just to go up to the deck. I think we can have a "light" lunch, keep it around $25-30...and if hungry later munch at Pike Place <grin> I also found coupon for a FREE Desert, yay....want to try the Lunar Orbiter haha Monorail to downtown >> Pike Place Market...want to see the pig, the first Starbucks...and check it all out. Not going to pay for a tour...figure I can "do it myself" Some places that I see people rave about : Pike Place Chowder, Beechams Cheese, Pierosky Pierosky, Chukar Cherries....and oh the flowers (however, lots of flowers here in Florida LOL) I found a coupon for free bowl of clam chowder if buying an entree...some may want that Cheese festival is going on so I will be looking for free samples * Gum Wall ?, also shop for "must have" keep warm clothing that is not that available or cheap in south florida. Mon night May 21 - Group Dinner ...12 of us>> Decided Fisherman's too complicated....now we are going to the (affordable) Old Spaghetti Factory this looks totally "Northern" to me, very different from what I am used to :) This is planned for Monday May 21, night before and most of the group is getting together here I realize it is not fine dining but they seem happy to accomodate groups and it is about 1/2 mile from our hotel Considerably easier to work with :). I signed up for deals with them, let's see if they send Freebiequeen something LOL We will also pick up our bottle of wine each to take on the ship (Carnival Spirit).....will try to get Washington State wines to share on the ship. Other things we may do>>> FREE Goldrush Museum , some may do Underground tour Ride the monorail and ride the "free bus" around the free bus zone I am guessing that warm clothes/rain gear is available year round in Seattle and probably cheaper than it would be here in Florida (where we have swimsuits, beach chairs, sun hats and glasses, suntan lotion available year round LOL). and so onto the Carnival Spirit....Tues May 22 ...where 6 others in group will join us, they are flying in same day That's it..that's my plans :) Much thanks to all who have provided so much information , advice and ideas!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruise4Sunshine Posted May 14, 2012 #2 Share Posted May 14, 2012 Sounds wonderful in all sorts of ways. Being from Seattle, I"m going to send this to my friends who might have out of town guests. One thing to note is the "free bus area" will be discontinued in September 2012, so if you're reading this for travel after that time, please don't count on it. At least that's what Metro Transit's proposed plan is for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDMau Posted May 15, 2012 #3 Share Posted May 15, 2012 The weather the rest of this week is looking really good but it does change alot. I found the lunch at the Space Needle to be rather good and was filling and we stayed in the $25 -$27 range. It looks like you will a fun filled week in Seattle. Enjoy your stay and the cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRPro Posted May 15, 2012 #4 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Have a great trip--sounds like you've really done your homework. You will love Alaska! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharecruises Posted May 15, 2012 Author #5 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Thank you all so much :) Here's how I found the "free dessert" for Sky...looking around the space needle site, saw a tab for "Celebration Club"... it said blah blah Celebrate your Birthday, Anniversary with us sign up so since I use one click form filler software (Freebiequeen) I signed up but did not expect much Looked in my email...and there it was ...print a cert for a free dessert with entree :) Yay It worked for my friends too...we plan to enjoy the Lunar Orbiters...their signature "dry ice" dessert , kind of 1960's "futuristic" LOL Enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bacflip4 Posted May 15, 2012 #6 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Just an FYI this hotel "Quality Inn and Suites" had many reviews about people leaving with bed bug bites. ick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aim2CruiseGirl Posted May 16, 2012 #7 Share Posted May 16, 2012 I have been "Freebiequeen" for about 14 years so I do pretty well atgetting bargains. I am also (blush) pretty diligent about researching stuff online and am very used to booking independent excursions and (trying) to satisfy a majority of those I travel with. Great Job, Etsy!! I will also be sailing on the Spirit (June 12) look forward to hearing from you when you return. Would love to hear if you found any bargains in Alaska and/or on the cruise! Have a great time....:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharecruises Posted May 16, 2012 Author #8 Share Posted May 16, 2012 Just an FYI this hotel "Quality Inn and Suites" had many reviews about people leaving with bed bug bites. ick! Yeah...one or two...well I will just have to check I have a group with me, these rooms have been booked for months..and the prices right now are out of reach. I can NOT do priceline/etc with this many people just doesn't work Thanks I will write a review and I am sure to find some bargains Heck I got my waterproof jacket, like new, with hood for $4.50 at Salvation army <grin> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvercrikhix Posted May 21, 2012 #9 Share Posted May 21, 2012 Good job Etsy! I love to save money too, as every bit can go for something else! I am hoping you do a review when you get back, it would be excellent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharecruises Posted May 22, 2012 Author #10 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Had a great time in Seattle, arrived early, Quality Inn shuttle picked us up and took to hotel check in a bit slow but all in all hotel was great The people there were fantastic, Tammy and John special shout out Loved them First night we had a good time at Keys on Main, fabulous food, reasonable prices, accepted my restaurant.com coupon no problem, fun dueling piano show..talented young energetic guys Sunday>> nice breakfast at QI (free) then off to Tillicum Village Enjoyable boat ride, lots of interesting facts about Seattle history etc then....beautiful Blake Island...totem poles and more Greeted with cups of steaming clams, you eat them and crush them into the walkway, which is...crushed clamshells :) The longhouse smells of yummy salmon grilling over fire we had super buffet, fresh Northwestern meal, loved it and watched a wonderful show of dance and storytelling of the Native people Gift shop had true crafts and items, all Native owned companies, no made in China junk We all loved loved Tillicum Afterwards checked out Pike Place Market...nice...but crowded would be better if lived there and buying food I guess...nice but once was enough for me. Dinner that night was Eithiopian, only fair however, I was really looking forward to this, food was good but they were out of the "cottage cheese" that should be served and they only had one bottle of honey wine which is traditional. I would not suggest Habesha restaurant, it was only OK They did honor the Groupon no problem, but being out of expected items was a bummer. ~~~~~ Monday wow Lunch at Sky City >>> SURPRISE...THEY CHANGED THE MENU LAST WEEK new items...some good..maybe a bit more expensive Our reservation was great...11 am we rode up to top of needle looked around 1/2 hr....walked down to the beautiful restaurant Wonderful lunch...I had fabulous salmon sandwich...others raved about the lambburger the new "crab on toast" was a bit skimpy and didn't seem to be that great Dessert : free with the coupon LOL>>> Yay>>> had the Lunar Orbit, yummy and what a photo op Then....wow....first day of Chihuly Garden and Glass $19 admittence http://www.chihulygardenandglass.com/ This was fantastic and beautiful, had seen some of his works at Atlantis in Nassau but wow...this was magical! We finished off the day at Old Spaghetti Factory, very delicous and affordable, also different from South Florida where you don't see many old old red brick factories LOL All in all we had a really good time in Seattle, saw a lot I would especially reccomend Tillicum Village, Sky City for lunch, and the new Chihuly Glass and Gardens Onward to Alaska I will add some photos when I can Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvercrikhix Posted May 25, 2012 #11 Share Posted May 25, 2012 Thank you for updating this thread with your Seattle insights! It sounds like your adventure is off to a great start! I am so excited for you! Sorry your Ethiopian Dinner wasn't all you had hoped for, I know you were really looking forward to that. I need to go see if the Sky City changed their menu on their website, We already knew what we were going to order for lunch! Chihuahua G & G looks amazing, we will have to check it out! We got our plans pretty set, but Tillicum sounds great, if we don't get there, it will be another reason to see Seattle again. Have a great time! Looking forward to hearing more, more, more..... Please! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
letmetellya Posted May 25, 2012 #12 Share Posted May 25, 2012 Sharecruises - if you dont mind , I have a couple questions . I made a reservation for keys on the main , dinner and show at 7:30 , and I saw on restaurant .com the coupons . Do you know if that is valid for drinks too and when you made your reservations did they send another email other then the copy of your reservation ? I just dont want to get the coupon without having a confirmed seat . Also , how did you find the salmon bake and cruise on goldstar? I just cant find it . It looks like you are the one in the know so Im the one asking . Glad you had a great trip , Im going in July . Thanks in advance for your help ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharecruises Posted May 31, 2012 Author #13 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Hi there...you can use the certificate towards your drinks, they were very easy to work with. If you are there before 7 they also have 1/2 price drinks you can buy and then apply your cert to the rest of the food /drinks at Keys on Main. I loved it....fun dueling piano bar There were a lot of younger people in there, some "bachelorette" parties and they would bring these gals up on stage and OH my sing to them haha Fun times <grin>....Enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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