My parents are taking a cruise from seattle to alaska in early part of sept. i would like to find them options for hotels which are close to the port as well as well have easy access to restaurants( preferably walking). they are about 70 yrs old, have visited the usa a couple of times and can speak english. They have travelled around the globe in escorted tours but generally stay away from unsafe areas. I would find indian veg restaurants to eat for them. They do like to walk but not sure what the weather will be like ....if its too cold might not be the best thing for them to walk.
Please give me some direction as to where to find them hotels( i always generally bid on priceline), transport options, best way to get from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the port( smith cove cruise terminal). They will be staying in seattle atleast a full day before and full day after the cruise....so need ideas for them for day trips( if there are bus tours or anything else you can suggest).
Also please suggest food options for them.....if indian places are not easily acessible...will eat at places like chipotle.
what kind of clothing should they take for their stay in seattle....or the clothes for their alaska cruise should suffice.
Any help would be welcome.
thnx y'all.
seattle/cruise/hotel/daytrip ideas/where to stay
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I can only help with a few small things.
The weather in September here is very nice. It's one of the prettiest months of the year. It won't be "cold".
I would have them simply use a taxi from the airport to a downtown hotel, then again from the hotel to the port.
If you know how to bid priceline, you can get one of the major downtown hotels (Sheraton, Westin, etc.) for a decent price. Just bid only in the central downtown core (not out at the airport or other areas).
You might have a look at the "West Coast Departures" board on Cruise Critic: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=413 where there are numerous threads about pre- and post-cruise arrangements for Seattle, including a mega-thread with "Seattle Q & A" posts... now almost too long to manage.
Basically, the Smith Cove/Pier 91 cruise terminal is around 3 miles from the center of downtown Seattle, and there are no hotels located within walking distance of the terminal. Any hotel in the city core will be around a $10 - $15 cab ride from Smith Cove; this is the preferred means of getting to/from the cruise ships to downtown. (There's another terminal, at Pier 66 on the central waterfront, which is much closer and walkable from a couple of good hotels, but that's not the case with Pier 91.)
There's a light rail system that runs to the downtown area from the airport, however it's not especially luggage-friendly and may or may not require a bit of a walk from whichever downtown station is closest to their selected hotel. Otherwise, a taxi or car service from the airport to downtown will be in the $40 - $50 range. Shuttle Express also runs shared-van service to downtown hotels from the airport, but with 2 persons the cost is close enough to that of a cab to make the taxi more attractive.
There are numerous restaurants in the downtown area; I'd recommend looking for a hotel within a few blocks of the Pike Place Market which is in a flatter part of (very hilly) Seattle and which will also expand the range of restaurant options. I can't think of any Indian restaurants in the downtown area (numerous ones in the neighborhoods) but there's no shortage of good places - including many with vegetarian offerings if that's a concern.
For activities, do a search on this board for Seattle activities - there are many options.
As for clothing, it's likely that their Alaska gear will be fine, but they should think in terms of layers, as early September can often be quite warm in Seattle. Or not.
If they're here over the Labor Day weekend (first Monday in September and the weekend prior) the area around Seattle Center (Space Needle etc.) will be very crowded (and fun) due to the annual Bumbershoot arts festival, which draws hundreds of thousands of visitors over the weekend. www.bumbershoot.org
Were they may parents, I would book them a room in downtown Seattle so they will be close to restaurants, shops, entertainment, transport, etc.
Fifth and Pine is the heart of the retail core. Nearby hotels include the Mayflower, Andra, Sheraton, and Westin--there are many others.
There is a Chipolte restaurant at 3rd and Pike.
Reportedly, the best Indian food in downtown Seattle is served at this place:
http://www.seattlemadhu.com/menu.html
HTTY
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