Seattle Space Needle worth it?

[Cruiserkenn]

Photos from our post-cruise visit to The Space Needle

 

 

 

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Great pictures! Thanks! Is the Princess ship the Golden?

Edited August 9, 2014 by Cruisin'Rabbit

[Katjoy]

I live in the Seattle area. Here are the top 10 Attractions printed in the Seattle Times. http://seattletimes.com/html/travel/2020948293_sightseeingsummerguidexml.html

 

All the suggestions made on the post are really good. Some other ideas are:

 

The Boeing Flight Museum is so fun & is in South Seattle. I did not see it on the list.

 

Woodland Park Zoo is very good.

 

Shopping in downtown Seattle is wonderful. In fact, on my last Alaska Cruise out of Seattle our room Steward said Seattle is one of the crews favorite ports because of the great shopping not to far from port.

 

One of my favorite stores in the Westlake Center is Lush. They have fun super awesome smelling bath products. I love the bath bombs & try to keep a supply on hand for nice relaxing long baths.

 

Of course there's a huge Nordstrom & Macy's store in downtown.

 

People watching in Seattle is very cool. The hair styles, clothes, & things they do seem so unique compared to other towns. You'll see singers, musicians, preachers, etc. It's different every time I go into town.

 

Enjoy your cruise & your day in Seattle. Seattle & Washington State are great places visit.

 

If you ever return to the area and have more time a visit to Mount Rainier should be on your list of must things to do. Years ago we took a friend who'd never been to Washington. When we took him on the hike to the Grove of the Patriarchs he was in such awe of the beauty & the largest trees he'd ever seen. Plus, the views on a clear day of the Mountain are so very breath taking beautiful. He said he felt like he was in heaven.

 

Have a wonderful cruise, we will be on the Grand August 24th for our 4th cruise to Alaska :D

Edited August 9, 2014 by Katjoy

[Cruiserkenn]

I live in the Seattle area. Here are the top 10 Attractions printed in the Seattle Times. http://seattletimes.com/html/travel/2020948293_sightseeingsummerguidexml.html

 

All the suggestions made on the post are really good. Some other ideas are:

 

The Boeing Flight Museum is so fun & is in South Seattle. I did not see it on the list.

 

Woodland Park Zoo is very good.

 

Shopping in downtown Seattle is wonderful. In fact, on my last Alaska Cruise out of Seattle our room Steward said Seattle is one of the crews favorite ports because of the great shopping not to far from port.

 

One of my favorite stores in the Westlake Center is Lush. They have fun super awesome smelling bath products. I love the bath bombs & try to keep a supply on hand for nice relaxing long baths.

 

Of course there's a huge Nordstrom & Macy's store in downtown.

 

People watching in Seattle is very cool. The hair styles, clothes, & things they do seem so unique compared to other towns. You'll see singers, musicians, preachers, etc. It's different every time I go into town.

 

Enjoy your cruise & your day in Seattle. Seattle & Washington State are great places visit.

 

If you ever return to the area and have more time a visit to Mount Rainier should be on your list of must things to do. Years ago we took a friend who'd never been to Washington. When we took him on the hike to the Grove of the Patriarchs he was in such awe of the beauty & the largest trees he'd ever seen. Plus, the views on a clear day of the Mountain are so very breath taking beautiful. He said he felt like he was in heaven.

 

Have a wonderful cruise, we will be on the Grand August 24th for our 4th cruise to Alaska :D

 

Thanks! A great list! Thanks for mentioning Boeing. The Boeing factory tour is also fantabulous, often available as a shore excursion on Coastal cruises that stop in Seattle. So amazing!

[Aquahound]

Seen a few comments that visiting the Space Needle in Seattle is not worth what they charge for the ride to the top. We will be arriving in Seattle next Friday before we board the Grand on Sunday for our Alaskan cruise so we figured we'd do some of the tourist stuff on Saturday. I know people said there were other views that were just as good as the Space Needle in Seattle so just wanted some ideas as what's best to do for our extra day plus we have an extra day at the end of the cruise. Thanks!! :)

 

I recommend the Columbia tower over the Space Needle. It's much taller.

[Steviewonder1]

There are a couple of winery's there also that are good to visit also.

[SadieN]

My sister lives up in Washington and we enjoyed a nice lunch up in the Space Needle restaurant. The entrance fee is waived when enjoying lunch. I highly recommend this approach if that deal still exists. For the price of a nice lunch (we didn't overindulge and the prices really weren't bad at all), we also were able to go out onto the observation deck -- worth it?? Heck ya!!

 

 

This is what we did. We figured we had to eat anyways. The food was good. Online the prices seemed high but it priced out when considering it includes admission. Best to make reservations. When we went the regular line to the top was 2 hours long.

[Hulagirl]

You have been given some excellent choices for Seattle. This coming Friday it is supposed to be 81 degrees and a beautiful sunny day. Truly, I wouldn't skip the Space Needle if this is the only time you think you will be in Seattle. Yes, there are a lot of other choices, but this is an icon here. The view from the top is spectacular, as shown in the pictures above. I haven't been to the top in years, but it is something that is worth it for the view.

 

Have a great time in our city. Seattle is a beautiful place to visit.

[Tapi]

Great pictures! Thanks! Is the Princess ship the Golden?

 

I don't recall, but I want to say yes. That was last summer (2013), and if you look closely at that photo, there's a Holland America ship right behind it (the Westerdam). That's the ship we were on (we had just disembarked that morning so it was neat to see the ship from the top of the Space Needle). That Princess ship was with us in Juneau, Ketchikan and Victoria, as we were almost on parallel itineraries.

[peety3]

Tour the Boeing factory if a tour is available on Saturday.

 

Seven days a week. I think the only day it's closed is Christmas. But buy your tickets online ahead of time for a discount (and to know that you'll have a spot).

[peety3]

The Boeing Flight Museum is so fun & is in South Seattle. I did not see it on the list.

 

Just to clarify, it's the "Museum of Flight". Although it shows a lot of Boeing planes, and clearly has gotten some good funding from Boeing, it's by no means a Boeing-only museum.

 

There's also a "Future of Flight" micro-museum at the Boeing Factory Tour. It's tiny, but if you're going to do the tour, you might as well take the quick stroll. If nothing else, there's a neat little exhibit showing the various materials used in aircraft construction (wood, steel, aluminum, titanium, carbon fiber, etc.). Each material is presented as a rod of the same diameter and length as the others, so you can lift them to compare the weights, press down on them to see their deflection under load, and I think they list the strengths of each. There's also an observation deck above the building, so you can watch a variety of aircraft landing/taking off, often brand-new aircraft not even "delivered" to the customer yet.

[Cruiserkenn]

Just to clarify, it's the "Museum of Flight". Although it shows a lot of Boeing planes, and clearly has gotten some good funding from Boeing, it's by no means a Boeing-only museum.

 

There's also a "Future of Flight" micro-museum at the Boeing Factory Tour. It's tiny, but if you're going to do the tour, you might as well take the quick stroll. If nothing else, there's a neat little exhibit showing the various materials used in aircraft construction (wood, steel, aluminum, titanium, carbon fiber, etc.). Each material is presented as a rod of the same diameter and length as the others, so you can lift them to compare the weights, press down on them to see their deflection under load, and I think they list the strengths of each. There's also an observation deck above the building, so you can watch a variety of aircraft landing/taking off, often brand-new aircraft not even "delivered" to the customer yet.

 

Fantastic, just fantastic! Thanks for sharing :)

[sherryf]

I've lived in the Seattle area for 23 years and have never been up in the Space Needle. I've been to Seattle Center, have seen the Space Needle many time, but I'm afraid of heights and have no desire to pay a lot of money to ride an elevator.

 

Pike Place Market is always fun. I've been to both the Museum of Flight and the Boeing factory tour, and prefer the former over the latter. Riding a ferry or going to Mt. Rainier are also great options, but require more time. I've been wanting to go to the Chihuly glass museum but haven't made it yet. I think if I had a day in Seattle, that would be on the top of my list, rather than going up in the Space Needle.

[OceanJeanie]

We enjoyed the space needle and had a very good meal there.

We also took the underground tour where you learn how Seattlle was built. It was very interesting, especially if you like history.

[sheba2008]

Seen a few comments that visiting the Space Needle in Seattle is not worth what they charge for the ride to the top. We will be arriving in Seattle next Friday before we board the Grand on Sunday for our Alaskan cruise so we figured we'd do some of the tourist stuff on Saturday. I know people said there were other views that were just as good as the Space Needle in Seattle so just wanted some ideas as what's best to do for our extra day plus we have an extra day at the end of the cruise. Thanks!! :)

 

No ! To much money for what it is, if we had known we never did it.

 

Linda :)

[azgrandmax3]

Lunch was being served in the Michelango Dining room for us. One choice was Salmon with Dill sauce. Just wonderful and I usually do not eat salmon. I asked if it would be offered again and was told NO, not again on a 7 day cruise. We had asked two crew members who welcomed us on board and they both directed us to buffet. As we dropped off carry-ons in cabin I called front desk and they informed me which dining room. Enjoy

[sjmbruce]

We spent a day in Seattle while on a cross country road trip (from Michigan). We went to Pike Place Market to walk around and have lunch, did the Seattle Underground Tour and went up the Space Needle before sunset. We were able to get pictures of the fantastic views in the daylight, then grabbed a coffee and waited to see the magnificent sunset from the top of the needle. Afterwards, we walked around downtown and enjoyed the nightlife complete with music and dinner on a patio. It was a great day!

If we went back again, of course I would love to go to the glass museum, take a ferry and enjoy other activities. However, I think our choices for our single day really worked out as we both have happy memories of our day in Seattle.

[Colo Cruiser]

Seen a few comments that visiting the Space Needle in Seattle is not worth what they charge for the ride to the top. We will be arriving in Seattle next Friday before we board the Grand on Sunday for our Alaskan cruise so we figured we'd do some of the tourist stuff on Saturday. I know people said there were other views that were just as good as the Space Needle in Seattle so just wanted some ideas as what's best to do for our extra day plus we have an extra day at the end of the cruise. Thanks!! :)

 

No ! To much money for what it is, if we had known we never did it.

 

Linda :)

 

 

You are on vacation! The price of a couple of cocktails.

[Northender]

I have an issue with heights, but DH did the Space Needle and loved it. He was gone so long, I thought he was never coming down. The line was long

to get up there, but he thought it was worth it.:)

 

Colo - you want some good clams, take a Canada/New England Cruise and we will meet you and buy you some delicious fired clams.:D:D

[Colo Cruiser]

I have an issue with heights, but DH did the Space Needle and loved it. He was gone so long, I thought he was never coming down. The line was long

to get up there, but he thought it was worth it.:)

 

Colo - you want some good clams, take a Canada/New England Cruise and we will meet you and buy you some delicious fired clams.:D:D

 

I don't like heights either! Have dreams about elevators going up and popping out the top of the 100 story building :eek:. But I went anyway and I am glad I did. :)

 

 

I will hold you to that! ;)

[Dbld777]

Taking the ferry over to Bainbridge Island and back is a neat experience and low cost($8 round trip). Some great views of the downtown skyline and wharf area. About 40 minutes each way and walkable(to the departure Pier) from Pike Place Market or from Seattle Center area via the monorail($2 ea. way). If you've got time, lunch or dinner over on Bainbridge Island is relaxing, with several good restaurants within a 5-10 minute walk of the BI ferry terminal. A lot of good info on Seattle over in the Trip Advisor community forum for Seattle.