Not sure about Seattle Hotels and Transportation

[mom02]

(Re-posting from Seattle Q&A...)

 

I've tried searching the Seattle forum for hotel and transportation information, but still have a couple of questions I'm hoping someone can shed some light on.

 

We are flying in the night before our cruise with our 2 young children and are trying to find a hotel for 1 night. After exploring several hotels in both locations, most hotels near the airport offer free shuttles to the hotel while the hotels in downtown we will have to pay. In your opinion, is it better to stay at a hotel near the airport or downtown?

 

My next question is about shuttles and car seats. Bus-type shuttles have no seat belts and do not require car seats. Are the shuttles from the hotels the kind that do not require car seats? I'm also looking at the shuttles that will take us to the pier. Are those also the kind that do not require car seats?

 

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

[mapleleaves]

The Seattle forum of tripadvisor has an excellent article about hotels under Top Questions.

 

In general .....it's best to stay downtown if you plan on sightseeing, otherwise it's a 40 minute commute via Light Rail to get downtown. But if you're arriving late and don't plan on sightseeing, an airport hotel is much cheaper. (Try the Sleep Inn, Seatac since there's a restaurant closeby; handy with kids in tow. Or one of the big chain hotels with a pool to keep them entertained and worn out ?)

 

Which pier are you going to? If you stay by SeaTac I normally suggest staying a hotel that partners with Seattle Express shuttle. But at $15pp, for several bucks more you can get a car service. Travel in comfort and on YOUR schedule. Probably $65 to downtown.

 

Already There and Celebrity Car Service have been well reviewed on this forum. Ask them about car seats. I've never seen a kid in a car seat or booster on the hotel shuttle. Call Sleep Inn just to ask them that question.

[shadowmeboy]

I prefer staying by the airport, you will save money by staying out there even with the cost of the shuttle. I prefer the best western executel, they have been great the 20+ times we have stayed with them.

[1025cruise]

What time are you arriving? If you don't plan to do any sight seeing, stay by the airport.

[mom02]

Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place, but when I checked on Tripadvisor, all the responses were from 2012 or older. When I tried some of the suggestions on there, the links no longer had the deals or info originally quoted on the forum. Too bad because it sounded like there were some great links.

 

Our flight arrives at SeaTac around 7pm, so no sightseeing for us! I was trying to look into "snooze and cruise" packages at the hotels nearby, but haven't had great luck with that.

 

Thank you for the suggestions on staying near the airport. Doesn't sound like it should be much of an issue getting to Pier 91 the next day...? We're sailing on Celebrity.

[mapleleaves]

Look under TOP QUESTIONS for an article on hotels and another article for cruisers with info on hotels, transportation, etc

 

Pier 66 is downtown, pier 91 is about 5 north, so a taxi/towncar will be about $10 more. But you won't have any issue getting to the pier whether you use a taxi, towncar, shuttle. Figure on a 30-40 minute ride.

 

If you're game, look at Priceline .... there's a thread at the top of this page for winning bids.

 

(BTW, if you do decide to stay downtown, STILA towncar has the airport contract and their fee is fixed at $45 for 2 people. You just call them from the courtesy phone at baggage claim)

[Dan G]

Shuttleexpress.com

have car seats you can reserve and they will take you to the pier.

Seattleexpress.com

does the hotel shuttles from airport hotels to the piers though I doubt they have car seats but you can ask.

 

For hotel pkgs look at

seattlesouthside.com

however most of these hotels outsource the transportation to the pier so its easy enough to do it yourself. Be aware where some hotels are as some are far from airport even though they offer a free shuttle it may not be in a convenient area.

[mom02]

In case this might be useful to anyone else out there...

 

Based on everyone's great suggestions, we booked a hotel near the airport and are going to use Seattle Express to get us from the hotel to the pier and then from the pier to the airport after the cruise. I called the number on the Seattle Express website and after playing a little phone tag, spoke with Matt who was very nice and helpful in answering my questions.

 

Their shuttles have high backed seats similar to buses, so they don't have seat belts and do not require car seats. Kids are half price (I forget the age range) and kids under 3 are free if they sit on an adult's lap.

 

Thanks for everyone's help!

[mapleleaves]

Glad to hear it that you worked things out for your family.

And thank you for that followup information.