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Alaska

tncruisergurl

By tncruisergurl,
in Alaska

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CAnative1

CAnative1

Posted
Posted (edited)
Which airport do you fly into? I was getting prices for plane tickets and they have 3 airports in Seattle

 

 

When I went, we flew into Seattle-Tacoma International airport. We then used a private car service to pick us up and drive us to the hotel. I want to say the cost was between $30 and $40 at the time.

Edited by CAnative1
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Captain Carnival

Captain Carnival

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I have always heard that if you're going to Alaska, Carnival is not the cruise line to go through. They don't have a great itinerary apparently. I would really recommend at least looking at other lines, like Princess or Royal Caribbean.

On the contrary - we had an incredible itinerary: Sitka, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, AND Glacier Bay as well all on the Funship Carnival Miracle!

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Roz Great Review Rare

Roz

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I was on Captain Carnival's cruise and it was spectacular! My 3rd time to visit Alaska and by far the best. It was the last cruise of the season and was 8 days and went to Glacier Bay. We left from Seattle and debarked in Vancouver.

 

Roz

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Budget Queen

Budget Queen

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On the contrary - we had an incredible itinerary: Sitka, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, AND Glacier Bay as well all on the Funship Carnival Miracle!

 

This was a ONE time itinerary. The OP is sailing in August with the regular itinerary. A BIG difference.

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Budget Queen

Budget Queen

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We're considering going on the cruise to Alaska in August. Any advise? What to do? Where to stay in Seattle? Is August a good time to go there? What is the weather like?

 

Weather is totally unpredictable. Take a look at Miracle trip reports, but be advised that the itinerary this year on the regular runs was the worse of the Alaska cruises this year, due to a ship issue.

 

Then head over to the Alaska board, all your information with great details.

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uprivermama

uprivermama

Posted
Posted
Which airport do you fly into? I was getting prices for plane tickets and they have 3 airports in Seattle

 

You definitely want Sea-Tac (abbreviation is SEA). A downtown hotel will provide the best opportunity for easy sightseeing either before or after the cruise. The airport area hotels are in a real cruddy area and quite a ways away from the major tourist sites (Space Needle, waterfront, Seattle Center, etc).

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gagenie

gagenie

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We're considering going on the cruise to Alaska in August. Any advise? What to do? Where to stay in Seattle? Is August a good time to go there? What is the weather like?

 

We went to Alaska this pass 5th of July out of Seattle, we flew into Sea-Tac in Seattle, a driver picked us up at the airport which the Hotel arranged for us. I think it was 40 dollars. We stayed at the Hotel 5 in downtown, we was able to walk everywhere we went, Pike's Market, Space Needle etc. I really enjoyed my stay with them. Weather for us in AK was mostly clear except later in the evening in Juneau it started to rain and late evening in Skagway other than that we had great weather!

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Roz Great Review Rare

Roz

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I don't think the area around Seatac is "cruddy"; it's a typical hotel/restaurant area near a major airport. The Hilton has a light rail station attached to it, which allows those staying at lower priced hotels (lower priced for Seattle :D) to have easier, cheap access to downtown.

 

Roz

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tncruisergurl

tncruisergurl

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Wow thanks for all the replies. I'd rather go to the Caribbean but my husband is wanting to go to Alaska. We are used to driving to a port but we'd have to fly to Seattle. It's a huge expense to factor into our budget. I hate flying somewhere and not knowing how far away the hotel/port is. I'll keep researching and reading!!

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Budget Queen

Budget Queen

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Wow thanks for all the replies. I'd rather go to the Caribbean but my husband is wanting to go to Alaska. We are used to driving to a port but we'd have to fly to Seattle. It's a huge expense to factor into our budget. I hate flying somewhere and not knowing how far away the hotel/port is. I'll keep researching and reading!!

 

I stay near Seatac, which most hotels have tip based shuttle service. I've then used the light rail to sail out of Pier 66, or a shuttle service at 512pp this year for pier 91.

 

I like the cheap Super 8 Seatac, easy access to light rail and city buses. I've also stayed at the La Quinta, Red Roof, Days Inn, Sleep Inn, Holiday Inn Express, all SeaTac area, and liked them all.

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tncruisergurl

tncruisergurl

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If you want an airport hotel that is definitely not "cruddy," we had a wonderful time at the Cedarbrook Lodge

 

http://www.cedarbrooklodge.com

 

 

Wow that looks like a nice place, but that's way out of our budget. We are a family of four and would fly in the night before and wouldn't really spend time in a hotel so we wouldn't pay that much.

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RSF Cruiser

RSF Cruiser

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If you aren't doing any sightseeing in Seattle, there many hotels near the airport for a lot less money than downtown. We stay at the Marriott Fairfield Inn. Free shuttle service from the airport and $12 pp for shuttle service to the ship. I think most of the airport hotels have the same set up. We fly on at night and take the morning shuttle to the ship.

 

For the return after the cruise, we hired a car to take us directly to the airport. I think it was about $35 or $40 for the two of us. I found it through a Google search and reading posts on the west coast departure forum on CC.

 

If we were going to spend some time sightseeing in Seattle, then I'd stay downtown to be able to walk to most of the sights.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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mapleleaves

mapleleaves

Posted
Posted (edited)
Wow thanks for all the replies. I'd rather go to the Caribbean but my husband is wanting to go to Alaska. We are used to driving to a port but we'd have to fly to Seattle. It's a huge expense to factor into our budget. I hate flying somewhere and not knowing how far away the hotel/port is. I'll keep researching and reading!!

 

Airport area hotels are much cheaper than downtown hotels. Seatac is a 30 minute drive south of Seattle. Most airport area hotels provide a free shuttle to/from the airport.

If you get to Seatac early enough in the day to do some sightseeing, you can easily get downtown via the Light Rail. It takes 40 minutes to get from Seatac to downtown ( Westlake Center) and costs $3pp. From Westlake Center you can catch the monorail to the Space Needle, or, you can walk 3 blocks to the Pike Place Market.

http://www.soundtransit.org/Schedules/Central-Link-light-rail

 

During the summer it's light until 9/9:30pm so you might as well take advantage of the long daylight hours. If you prefer to take a cab back to your hotel, use http://www.eastsideforhire.com .... they're a flat rate service and charge $30. A regular cab will cost $40+.

 

Seattle Express has the cheapest rates for shuttle service to the pier. $12 is a great deal. Look at their web site for a list of hotels they partner with.

 

p.s. the WEST COAST DEPARTURE forum is a better resource for info on Seattle area hotels, so you might want to jump over there and read thru the first couple of pages .

Edited by mapleleaves
p.s.
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