Seattle before Vancouver then Cascades train north

[brewcrew]

We are planning on flying into Seattle before our Alaskan cruise next summer.  We would land in Seattle around 10:30 am and then spend the day in Seattle.  We really would like to see the Space Needle and Pike Place Market on that day.  We then plan on taking the 7:45 am train to Vancouver the next morning to spend 2 days in Vancouver.  We are looking at Marriott Courtyard  in Pioneer Square since it is close to King Street Station.  I just don’t know if that is a very  hilly walk.  Does this sound doable?  Any helpful tips or ideas would be appreciated.  Taphanks!

[klfrodo]

Seattle is very hilly in general. Probably as bad as San Francisco.

 

We go up to Vancouver by train quit often. However, there are times that the trains are shut down due to hill slides or accidents at train crossings. Just have a back-up plan in place for this. It probably takes Amtrak about 24 hours to arrange buses if something should happen to shut down the trains.

[cheone]

16 hours ago, brewcrew said:

We are planning on flying into Seattle before our Alaskan cruise next summer.  We would land in Seattle around 10:30 am and then spend the day in Seattle.  We really would like to see the Space Needle and Pike Place Market on that day.  We then plan on taking the 7:45 am train to Vancouver the next morning to spend 2 days in Vancouver.  We are looking at Marriott Courtyard  in Pioneer Square since it is close to King Street Station.  I just don’t know if that is a very  hilly walk.  Does this sound doable?  Any helpful tips or ideas would be appreciated.  Taphanks!

Walk to King Street Station-5minutes slight downhill. Pike Place Market via 1st Ave -15 - 20 minutes-moderate uphill.  Space Needle is a 25 minute walk past Pike Place Market.  Your best bet is take city bus to Space Needle and on the way back get off at Pine or Pike St and go over to the Pike Street Market and then downhill to your hotel.   Your in a very bad crime area at the location of your Hotel-alot of Assaults and Robberies.   The King County Courthouse, announced three days ago that employees can work from home because of the assaults against the employees.  Judges in the Courthouse have been pleading with the city for 2 years  to provide police protection because of Jurors, Judges and court employees are being assaulted, raped and assaulted  and the Jurors quit in the middle of Trials.  Your best bet is to stay in your hotel room.  Another option you can look into is get a hotel in Edmonds, just north of Seattle and walk to the Train Station there.    

[princeton123211]

19 hours ago, brewcrew said:

We are looking at Marriott Courtyard  in Pioneer Square since it is close to King Street Station.

Close to the station but Pioneer Square is a bit dodgy right now. We were there about 3 months ago and while Seattle does have a homeless problem in general, Pioneer Square is a focal point of it. Additionally, it has (or had, most hadn't reopened yet) a lot of college type bars. There are more grown up options elsewhere. 

 

Personally I would rather stay somewhere else in town and just take an Uber to the station. 

[nowornever]

Agree totally with the above posts - train can be great or not so much. Since you only have 1 overnight, you might consider staying at an airport hotel (many choices) & taking the light rail to downtown to visit PPM & walking or taking monorail to the Space Needle.  Then you could take the "Quick Shuttle" to Vancouver. Right now it's not running because the border is mostly closed but hopefully it will open soon.  You can google it.  It's not as scenic as the train but maybe less "iffy."  You could always fly if push comes to shove.

[Glaciers]

The area around the Marriott Courtyard is less than desirable right now although that area isn’t really hilly.  You might consider Embassy Suites which is next to the train station. This is a recent thread regarding the same hotel on TripAdvisor.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60878-i74-k13630410-Is_the_walk_from_T_Mobile_Park_to_Pioneer_Square_safe-Seattle_Washington.html

 

[brewcrew]

7 hours ago, klfrodo said:

Seattle is very hilly in general. Probably as bad as San Francisco.

 

We go up to Vancouver by train quit often. However, there are times that the trains are shut down due to hill slides or accidents at train crossings. Just have a back-up plan in place for this. It probably takes Amtrak about 24 hours to arrange buses if something should happen to shut down the trains.

Thank you so much!  Very good information to think over!

[brewcrew]

1 hour ago, nowornever said:

Agree totally with the above posts - train can be great or not so much. Since you only have 1 overnight, you might consider staying at an airport hotel (many choices) & taking the light rail to downtown to visit PPM & walking or taking monorail to the Space Needle.  Then you could take the "Quick Shuttle" to Vancouver. Right now it's not running because the border is mostly closed but hopefully it will open soon.  You can google it.  It's not as scenic as the train but maybe less "iffy."  You could always fly if push comes to shove.

Thanks for the tips!  We appreciate it!  Will look into the Quick Shuttle!

[brewcrew]

7 minutes ago, Glaciers said:

The area around the Marriott Courtyard is less than desirable right now although that area isn’t really hilly.  You might consider Embassy Suites which is next to the train station. This is a recent thread regarding the same hotel on TripAdvisor.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60878-i74-k13630410-Is_the_walk_from_T_Mobile_Park_to_Pioneer_Square_safe-Seattle_Washington.html

 

 

Sadly, the Embassy Suites is sold out for our days because it is the best location for early morning departures at the train station.  It looks like we might just have to get a cab or Uber to the train station early in the morning.    Thanks for the info!!!

[Ferry_Watcher]

On the positives side, taking Amtrak is a very relaxing way to go.  If for some reason there was a mudslide that blocked the tracks, Amtrak would put passengers on a bus and transport you.  Mudslides occur during the (real) rainy season - Fall thru early spring.  The fact that you plan to arrive in Vancouver, BC two days before your cruise is great.  Another option is for you to fly directly to Vancouver.  It is a beautiful city. 

[brewcrew]

15 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

On the positives side, taking Amtrak is a very relaxing way to go.  If for some reason there was a mudslide that blocked the tracks, Amtrak would put passengers on a bus and transport you.  Mudslides occur during the (real) rainy season - Fall thru early spring.  The fact that you plan to arrive in Vancouver, BC two days before your cruise is great.  Another option is for you to fly directly to Vancouver.  It is a beautiful city. 

We love Vancouver.  Probably the most beautiful city we have ever visited.  We did want to see the highlights of Seattle too though on this trip.  Figured this way we could  do both.  Thanks for sharing!!!

[memoak]

It is a beautiful train ride have done it many times.  Was just in Seattle last month and no real crime uptick that I saw.  Felt very safe

[brewcrew]

We decided to  book the train.  We are flying into Seattle on a Wednesday morning and taking The train Thursday morning.  That gives us 2 days to get to Vancouver if there is a problem.  I think we will really enjoy the beauty of it!

[Dan G]

Pioneer Square while convenient for the train isn't all that central for sightseeing.  You really want to be more in the heart of downtown Pike, Pine Westlake Center.  Hyatt, Sheraton Westin are all close by.  If you still want the train area then look at the new Residence Inn which is at the train station.  A cab or uber will be less than $10 (about) from downtown to Amtrak.  Its a beautiful train ride and I suggest booking business class as they allow you off first to go thru immigration which is a big benefit going north.  Book in advance as the train often sells out.