Planning your Pre-Night in Seattle Before Your Alaska Cruise

Where to Stay, How to Get to the Port, and What to Expect

One of the best things you can do when cruising out of Seattle is to plan to arrive at least a day early. This is also true when you are flying in for ANY cruise. Trust me — you do not want to risk flight delays messing up your embarkation day. Plus, Seattle is a fun city to explore before your cruise!

For our Alaska cruise, we stayed at the Grand Hyatt Seattle, and I absolutely recommend it. We were traveling as two adults and three kids, and we splurged a little on a Club Level room — totally worth it.

🌟 Why I Loved the Grand Hyatt Seattle:

• We splurged on a club room. Club rooms come with daily breakfast and a cozy evening reception with snacks and drinks. NOTE: when we visited alcoholic beverages are not included in Club but they have a beer/wine selection with $5 drinks in the evening. We also had access to certain spa amenities (ask about these as they weren’t voluntarily giving this information).

• The Balmain Paris amenities in the room were such a nice touch.

• We had a walk-in shower and a separate tub, which is rare and super appreciated when traveling with kids.

• The entire hotel (and room!) smelled amazing — fresh and clean.

• There’s even a champagne vending machine. Yep. You read that right. 🥂

• It’s located near downtown, but also a short drive to the port.

• Here is a link to some great information on the Grand Hyatt Seattle

We booked our transportation to the hotel to the airport through this company, we had a group of 8 and they accommodated wonderfully. When we landed they texted to see where we were and told us the door to be at to be picked up. They showed up in a Mercedes Sprinter van and gave the BEST service to our hotel.

On the day that we needed to go to the ship, we used the transportation that the Grand Hyatt Seattle provided. They charged $17 per person and it was 100% worth it — smooth, friendly, and dropped us off right at the terminal. If you’re staying downtown, I recommend leaving about 1 hour before your check-in time at the port. Here are some other providers that provide that service to Pier 91 or Pier 66 from hotels in the area.

🏠Other Hotels in the Area to Consider

Here are some other local hotels that are conveniently located with my ESTIMATED price ranges and the info that I have been given about them. This information may be outdated when you read this, so please double check directly with each hotel.

• Holiday Inn Seattle SEATAC Airport $$

  • This hotel has a shuttle that will pick you up from the airport for FREE when you arrive, and there is a shuttle that they offer to take you to the pier

• Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown Seattle $$$

• Hyatt House Seattle Downtown $$$

• The Edgewater $$$$

✈️ Flights + Timing Tips:

• Try to book an early flight into Seattle — just in case of delays. We landed around 11:00AM and that was great for checking in to a local hotel and to do some sightseeing

• We flew Alaska Airlines out of Houston, but United also has great options if leaving from a hub that they service.

  • With Alaska Airlines you can pre-order snack boxes before you are on the plane to enhance your air travel. We took advantage of these pre-orders with our kids.

🏙️ What to Do in Seattle (Even With Limited Time):

If you’ve got a little extra time before or after your cruise:

• Visit Pike Place Market — fresh seafood, unique vendors, and great food. (My family had seafood, I grabbed a delicious beef kabob from a Greek stand!)

  • If you're walking to the fish market from your hotel, ask the front desk for walking directions — we skipped the walk and later found out there were a few “less ideal” blocks along the way.

• The Space Needle is a classic, and if you only have a few hours, you can even book a quick Seattle city tour.

  • There is this one that will pick you up the day of your cruise, give you a city tour, and then drop you at the cruise terminal!

If you have a late flight, there is a pretty cool post cruise tour package here as well!

Planning your trip out of Seattle the right way can make your whole cruise smoother and more enjoyable. Let me know if you want help picking a hotel or need ideas for what to do pre- or post-cruise — I’ve got you covered!

Feel free to use any of the links above if you prefer to book yourself…though I LOVE booking clients. If you book through any of those links you are supporting Vacations By Jill - LTW Travel!

📞 Call me at 800-887-0564 or visit jillsvacations.com to start planning.