Seattle sightseeing options-pls help me choose itinerary!

[LisaSp]

We don't have a lot of time in Seattle. We arrive around 12:30pm (from east coast) this Thursday (cruising Solstice to Alaska on Friday). Staying at Spring Hill Suites downtown. Once we drop luggage (likely to be ~2pm), I know we will be starving...but I also made us dinner reservations...

 

Anyway, I have two potential itineraries, and can't decide which makes more sense...can you help? In a nutshell, I don't know whether to do Space Needle/Chihuly Thurs afternoon and Pike Place Friday morning, or vice versa. Thanks for any input!

 

Itinerary A:

Thursday

-arrive at hotel, drop off luggage

-grab quick bite somewhere close to hotel

-take hotel shuttle to Space Needle and Chihuly Gardens

-dinner at Anthony's Bell St Diner (we have 7:15 reservations)

-back to hotel to crash as we will be exhausted

Friday

-we are likely to wake up early due to time change; quick breakfast @ hotel

-shuttle to Pike Place market, see some sights there

-back to hotel, shuttle to port (want to be to port around noon)

 

OR

 

Itinerary B:

Thursday

-arrive at hotel, drop off luggage

-take hotel shuttle to Pike Place Market, grab a bite and wander around that area and waterfront all afternoon/early eve

-dinner at Anthony's Bell St Diner (we have 7:15 reservations)

-back to hotel to crash as we will be exhausted

Friday

-we are likely to wake up early due to time change; quick breakfast @ hotel

-shuttle to Space Needle/Chihuly Gardens

-back to hotel, shuttle to port (want to be to port around noon)

[mapleleaves]

It's SEAFAIR time! Seattle will be VERY busy.

http://www.seafair.com/calendar.aspx?SecID=923

 

The Market gets unbearably crowed after 11am, so I'd go with option A. Get to the market at 8/9am otherwise it's hard to move around and it's not enjoyable.

 

On Friday watch for the Blue Angels around noon when they practice. They fly out of Boeing Field and over Lake Washington ... you can't miss the noise. And it's fleet week so the navy will have ships along the waterfront.

 

The Chihuly exhibit is incredible! Enjoy!!!

 

p.s. Pier 91 is only 10-15 minutes away

Edited July 28, 2014 by mapleleaves
ps

[Northender]

I would recommend A also. In my opinion, a quick trip to Pike's Market is all you need. Very, very crowded starting mid-morning. To tell you the truth, it is something that I would not do again.

 

The Space Needle is so much fun, beautiful flowers around, lots to see and do and the lines can be quite long to get in. We spent over a 1/2 day there.:) Enjoy the Chihuly exhibit.

 

My favorite thing was going to Victoria and the Butchart Gardens. That would be a whole day, but I would do it again in a heart beat.

 

Loved both Vancouver and Victoria:D

[LisaSp]

 

My favorite thing was going to Victoria and the Butchart Gardens. That would be a whole day, but I would do it again in a heart beat.

 

 

We will be in Victoria (and Butchart Gardens tour) the last nite of our cruise! Thanks for the input on Seattle too! :)

[LisaSp]

It's SEAFAIR time! Seattle will be VERY busy.

http://www.seafair.com/calendar.aspx?SecID=923

 

The Market gets unbearably crowed after 11am, so I'd go with option A. Get to the market at 8/9am otherwise it's hard to move around and it's not enjoyable.

 

On Friday watch for the Blue Angels around noon when they practice. They fly out of Boeing Field and over Lake Washington ... you can't miss the noise. And it's fleet week so the navy will have ships along the waterfront.

 

The Chihuly exhibit is incredible! Enjoy!!!

 

p.s. Pier 91 is only 10-15 minutes away

 

Awesome info--thank you!

[Northender]

We will be in Victoria (and Butchart Gardens tour) the last nite of our cruise! Thanks for the input on Seattle too! :)

 

 

Great. Don't forget to buy some flower seeds. Ours have come up every year since we planted.:)

[RBKL]

If you go with Plan B then we recommend going to Pike Place Chowder for a late lunch. They have a lot of variety and one option is the sampler.

 

We get on the Solstice the day you get off so please take good care of her for us. We did this cruise last year and liked it so much we booked it again.

 

Have a great trip.

[Casagordita]

I agree with everybody else--Itinerary A makes more sense.

 

I know your hotel serves breakfast, but you might want to skip it and do breakfast at the Market. The Athenian and Lowell's both open early (7 am-ish), both do pretty good food, and both have a great view. Or, if you want just coffee and a pastry, there's Le Panier, or the oldest Starbuck's store. Then you could walk around and watch the Market wake up for the day. Most of the vendors open by 9 am, 10 am at the latest. You can get in and out before the worst of the crowds descend.

[want2seealaska]

What time is your flight home? We are taking a shore excursion from the ship which takes us to Space Needle, Chihuly Glass Museum, and the airport after the cruise. We are also arriving early on a Thursday and plan to head to Pike Place, Elliott's for oysters, and catch some dinner. Someone posted a review of this excursion earlier this summer and it seemed better than sitting at the airport for several hours.

[zephyr17]

I would recommend A also. In my opinion, a quick trip to Pike's Market is all you need. Very, very crowded starting mid-morning. To tell you the truth, it is something that I would not do again.

 

The Space Needle is so much fun, beautiful flowers around, lots to see and do and the lines can be quite long to get in. We spent over a 1/2 day there.:) Enjoy the Chihuly exhibit.

 

My favorite thing was going to Victoria and the Butchart Gardens. That would be a whole day, but I would do it again in a heart beat.

 

Loved both Vancouver and Victoria:D

As local, you couldn't pay me enough to go to Pike Place Market on a summer weekend (although "Down Under" and the other buildings aren't nearly as bad as the main arcade).

 

Of course, I have the option of enjoying it during the off-season. It is still popular and relatively crowded, but not jam packed the way it is in the summer.

[CanWeGoYet?]

Pike Place Market in the summer - the earlier in the day you can get there, the better.

[LisaSp]

Thanks to all, we settled on Itinerary A and it was perfect! We got to see everything that we wanted to see. Seattle is fabulous and our Alaska cruise was even more amazing!

[mapleleaves]

Glad you had such a great time! Thanks for letting us know.