Sightseeing in Seattle and Adventures in Alaska - Pre Trip

[Lizzim]

I almost called this “Sleepless in Seattle” but decided that might be tempting fate and even though I’m pretty good at sleeping after our covid interrupted Florida trip we don’t need any bad vibes!

We booked this trip last year on board having taken our 1st cruise with Royal Caribbean (not our first ever cruise) to the glamorous destinations of Belfast and Liverpool.

We initially got a price of £2887.28 for the cruise in a Junior Suite guarantee but when we returned home there was an offer on the website and we managed to get a further reduction in the price to £2236.28 which I was pretty happy with!

Our itinerary when we booked was as follows:

Port	                                         Arrive	Depart
Seattle		                                        1600
Sea Day		
Icy Strait Point	                         1300	2100
Skagway     	                         0700	1700
Endicott Arm & Dawes Glacier      0500	1000
Juneau	                                 1300	2000
Sea Day		
Victoria BC	                         1700	2200
Seattle	                                 0700

We had to sort out flights and hotels for the Seattle element of our trip and found that flights were a similar price through the cruise line so we added them on a couple of months ago.

We are flying out on a Friday in Sept having stayed the night before at the Hilton Garden Inn Heathrow (not the one attached to T2). We stayed here in February and it’s cheaper on Hilton points than the T2 one (always looking for a bargain).

We have booked the long stay parking and will drop the car off on the Friday morning before heading to T3 for our flight. We are back in economy so have booked the No1 lounge as we really enjoyed the quieter environment in June.

Our flight out is with Virgin, I am tempted to bid for an upgrade to Economy Delight – it’s not Upper Class but would be more comfortable

On arrival in Seattle we are staying at Homewood Suites by Hilton Seattle Convention Center Pike Street for 3 nights in a 1-bedroom suite where we apparently get drinks and snacks included!

I have no plan at this point for Seattle, I see there are lots of attractions but need to work out if I should buy us a ‘city pass’ type deal before we go.

Our cruise starts on Monday (covid permitting), we still have to do a pre-cruise test at the moment so will use Qured or similar again as they would have been fine last time (if we had both been negative).

We are due to board at 1130, so will sort out and Uber or Lyft to get there.

We have unfortunately had a change of itinerary due to an engine issue that Quantum of the Seas is experiencing. We are apparently getting some onboard credit as compensation.

Our new itinerary is here:

Port	                            Arrive	          Depart
Seattle		                                  1600
Sea Day		
Ketchikan	                    0700	          1300
Skagway                       1100	          2100
Juneau	                    0700	          1500
Sea Day		
Victoria BC	            1700	          2200
Seattle	                    0700

Day 1 and 2 are at sea so will explore the ship and maybe try and do the North Star or the sky diving again (I think we have to pay on sea days so depends on the cost).

Day 3 we are at Ketchikan and I have booked an excursion called Lighthouse, Totems and Eagles. We would like a little wander around the town too if we have time.

Day 4 is Skagway where I have booked us the train. We will again try and visit the town here too!

Day 5 is Juneau, where I was hoping to do Whale Watching but our timings have changed and the tour I wanted to do (with a local operator) no longer works.

We also lost the glacier from earlier in our itinerary so as a result I have now booked us the Mendenhall Glacier and Salmon Hatchery excursion. I suspect it will be less impressive than the one we had hoped to see but hopefully we will still get some good photos.

Day 6 we are at sea again, I might see if I can book us a speciality restaurant.

Day 7 we visit Victoria, we will do a wander around on our own as I think this is much more of a city type port.

Before we know it, we will be back at Seattle where we have another couple of days planned. We are returning to the same hotel (unless it is dreadful on our first stay) and will continue sightseeing depending on what we got through in the first couple of days.

Our flight home is with Delta and we are due to arrive back to Heathrow on a Thursday at around 1315.

We have decided not to try driving home after an overnight flight and 8 hour time difference so will collect the car and head back to the Hilton Garden Inn (again booked with points).

We will try and get back to something like UK time in the safety of a hotel room before driving home the next day.

Recommendations for restaurants, attractions and shopping in Seattle would be appreciated!

[WIGGYSMUM]

Sounds like a great trip you have planned , looking forward to the report!

[Lizzim]

Originally Posted by WIGGYSMUM

Sounds like a great trip you have planned , looking forward to the report!

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Really hope we get to go on the cruise this time around!

[WIGGYSMUM]

Originally Posted by Lizzim

Really hope we get to go on the cruise this time around!

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You will , positive thinking 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

[Lizzim]

Originally Posted by WIGGYSMUM

You will , positive thinking 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

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We can do our test on the Sat so I am more hopeful

[AlexE]

Never been on cruise but it may be our way to see Alaska etc. Hope you will do a trip report .

we are currently o our way to Heathrow ready for our flight to Seattle in the morning. We got a great price for the Mayflower Park Hotel- so will report back later

[Lizzim]

Originally Posted by AlexE

Never been on cruise but it may be our way to see Alaska etc. Hope you will do a trip report .

we are currently o our way to Heathrow ready for our flight to Seattle in the morning. We got a great price for the Mayflower Park Hotel- so will report back later

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Yeah, we aren’t brave enough to do Alaska on our own. This will be a taster and depending how it goes we may go back. There will definitely be a report

[cornishfrogboy]

I am really interested to see your trip report, should you do one.

We are in Seattle for 2 days next April and apart from the museum of flight (at Boeing and a stop on the train between Tacoma Int and Downtown), we have not yet made plans.

[Lizzim]

Originally Posted by cornishfrogboy

I am really interested to see your trip report, should you do one.

We are in Seattle for 2 days next April and apart from the museum of flight (at Boeing), we have not yet made plans.

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I’ll definitely do one, as long as we get on the ship having failed to do so in Florida.

[wdw-wanderer]

I did the Mendenhall Glacier & Salmon hatchery tour from Juneau and in the morning before it left I had time for a quick trip up the Mount Roberts cable car with some fantastic views of the Gatineau Channel.