We will be arriving in Seattle at the end of our Alaska cruise (Princess). Here are my questions:

1. Anyone know if there will be taxis waiting at the dock for hire to take us to a hotel?
2. We will be staying in Seattle for a few nights and won't be renting a car. Any hotel suggestions? Ideally, we don't want to pay more that $250 per night for a room (2 adults with AAA).
3. Any suggestions of places/sights to see in Seattle that are often overlooked by tourists?

Thanks

There will be plenty of taxis, believe me. Princess docks at Pier 91 (see star at upper edge of map):

https://goo.gl/maps/Pv3ACLy76Tm

Note the east-west street labeled 99. The hotels in that area (Lower Queen Anne) are less expensive than downtown. The map does not give price information for them (they would be today's prices anyway...not too helpful) but if you hover over the orange dots you will get names and addresses to Google.

www.visitseattle.com

What are you interested in? I think my two favorite places that don't come up all that often are the Wing Luke museum in Chinatown and West Seattle- Alki Beach. I also like the neighborhood Ballard.

If you can up your budget a little, I would. The hotels downtown are more expensive but I think it's worth the money as I like to stay as close as possible to Westlake Station and Pike Place Market. Some of the cheaper hotels really aren't convenient to shopping or dinner. But Seattle is expensive that time of year- budget places like Travelodge are probably 200 after tax. Of the budget options, I probably like La Quinta the most.

Btw- I was assuming summer but I realized you don't say when this is. If it's a spring cruise, 250 would cover one of the downtown hotels- my favorite is probably the Mayflower Park. The Hotel Monaco is good too, but that's often more expensive.

It will be in July. We can up the price to $300 a night. We really want a decent location for sight seeing and getting to the light rail station to return to the airport.

What about the Hyatt Place near the space needle? I have plenty of free rooms I can use for them... any thoughts?

What about the Hyatt Place near the space needle? I have plenty of free rooms I can use for them... any thoughts?

Poor location IMO. Nothing much around except car washes and gas stations; very trafficky and quite far from most attractions.

For access to the light rail, look at the Mayflower, Andra, Westin, Sheraton, Hyatt Grand, Roosevelt, Warwick, Palladian, Arctic Club, or Courthouse (Pioneer Square.) The last two are closer to the Pioneer Square light rail, the others to the Westlake station.

Do the math - a hotel located outside the core area might save you enough money to cover the cost of a cab or towncar to the airport ($50-$60) vs. $3 each for the train. Way more convenient, too.

Thanks for everyone's input. We decided to book the Mayflower.
gardyloo- I had the same thoughts as you and I agree. I just thought the Hyatt Place was a little closer to 'things'.

Staying at the Mayflower seems like the perfect location for us. Can't wait for the cruise to Alaska and for the time exploring Seattle!