Cruises offer much more than just relaxation on the open sea. They provide an all-in-one vacation…read moreexperience with world-class entertainment, diverse dining options, and the chance to explore multiple destinations--all at an incredible value. Some of us were first-time cruisers, and the others had experience on other cruise lines. My partner, his family, our friends and I had decided on a 7-day Alaskan Cruise on the Norwegian Bliss departing from Seattle with stops in Sitka, Juneau, Icy Strait Point, Ketchikan, and Victoria, BC (to comply with a 100-year-old law) from 8pm to midnight. We had balcony rooms on Deck 10. We were blessed to have good weather with some sunshine sans rain. The Norwegian Bliss is the biggest ship we have ever sailed on. There was no chance to be bored on this massive 20-story liner. From the swimming pools, water slides, impressive go-kart track, and numerous activities to the varied, as well as many, food and beverage outlets scattered all over the ship. We enjoyed the entertainment of Brent and Sarah's magic show, the comedy show of Chris Bower with Clint Jackson, and Trina Johnson. There were so many people on board, as it's peak season. I also had an opportunity to reconnect with an ex-coworker from the travel agency after close to 30 years. Our steward, Edwin, introduced himself on the first day and took care of us and the cabin. The staff overall was consistently cheerful, friendly, and helpful, especially our greeter, Cherry, at the buffet. The port stops were well worth the trip on the Inside Passage. My only critique was the Ketchikan dock. One's docked 7 miles from town, and that puts a time crunch on the excursions. One needs to factor in 30 mins each way of shuttle transportation. However, the Ketchikan port shopping terminal is massive, and wait until this port to shop. Overall we had a wonderful, memorable experience.

It's the pier that Norwegian Cruise Line uses for their cruise ships that are heading out to…read moreAlaska. I must say that it was the smoothest & easiest embarkation and disembarkation that I've ever experienced. We stayed the night before at the Marriott, and for good reason. All we had to do was roll our luggage across the street and walk to the second building. The line formed right at the main entrance as luggage was being picked up curbside by a porter. Easy peasy! Returning was even better. We filled out the Port Valet form making sure that all the flight information was correct. We received our airline boarding passes and luggage tags 2 nights before disembarkation. The bag that you leave outside of your stateroom the night before will be picked up and checked into the airline automatically. You don't see it until you get to your destination. You don't even need to check-in at the airport. It's so convenient, and it's complimentary. I don't know of any other port that has this service. I could be wrong. The process for disembarkation was very organized. We wore our stickers identifying us as Port Valet & Airport Transfer. The port authority staff guide you every step of the way. The facial recognition process went well, and we were in line for our airport transfer in no time. Would I do it all again? Absolutely!! They make cruising to Alaska so carefree. Not a worry in the world.

I'm giving this five stars just because it can get you from the airport to downtown for just $3 one…read moreway! Waaaaay more affordable than Uber or Lyft which can be $50-$80, depending on the time of day, etc. While it takes longer, it's not THAT long, and if you time it right, you have a chill ride with money saved for lunch/dinner/shopping, etc. The train itself was clean and it automatically announces which station you're at and which is the next stop - great for anyone nervous about where you are - and there's plenty of signage showing the stops. The only thing about this particular station is that it was a little hard to find because it doesn't appear to be a train station at first, quick glance. It's on University and 2nd - look at the surrounding buildings and you'll see the subway looking tiles and where to go.

Within walking distance of Pike's Market in Seattle, the Symphony Station stop on the 1 Line Light…read moreRail is part of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel, about 60 to 70 feet below ground. It is named such being next door to Benaroya Hall, the home of the Seattle Symphony. The entrances to the subway system in downtown Seattle are (unintentionally?) hidden. Google will get you to the right corner, but the entrance/exit is specifically in one place. In this case, it's the SouthWest corner of the building, so had to walk around until I found signs for it...even then, it's just not as easy to find as other stations in more transit-intensive cities. You need to choose which train you want to take, before going down the appropriate set of stairs. Once on the platform, one would notice the extreme amount of space between the tracks going in opposite direction, and the lack of height from the platform and the tracks. The gap between the tracks is wide enough to handle 3 or more lanes of cars...so I wondered "That's a lot of work to dig just to allow repair vehicles to come down". Later I learned the history behind it. The Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel was initially built (dug) to handle transit buses, serving that purpose from 1990 to 2005, and then shared by light rail and buses from 2005 to 2019. During that time, it was one of only two tunnels shared by both buses and trains in the U.S. Now it is just for Light Rail, with the large bus lanes being a remnant of the past.

It is so extremely convenient to hop on the light rail and get dropped off almost directly to my…read morejob. I can go from SHORELINE to Sea tag on the number one light rail, which is great and super easy for me and saving gas. I really can't wait until Federal Way and Tacoma are completed probably it'll take another 10 years but it's definitely gonna be worth the wait On the down side, there are not enough handicap parking spaces on each floor

Using public transportation in Seattle…read more..... My friend told me that we were gonna catch the light rail to go to Lumen Field for the Seahawks football game, and he also mentioned to me that we could also stop by Pike Place Market to "holo-holo", as the light rail would take us all the way to where we needed to go. I guess the light rail system has been used in Seattle for sometime now, as I could see there were lots of rail stations throughout the city. The station that we used to get onto the rail was the - Angle Lake Station, because it was the closest station in proximity to where my friend lived. The Angle Lake Station had a very large parking garage. After parking our car, it was a breeze to get onto the light rail & make our way to Pike Place Market, as well as Lumen Field. I can see how effective it is when light rail is built, & utilized properly. It certainly saved us a lot of money in the sense that we didn't have to look for parking while attending the Seahawks game, as I saw some parking places charging like $90.00 for game day parking. More rail stations are still being constructed, and my friend said he couldn't wait till the rail station in Federal Way is finished.

The free Seattle Waterfront Shuttle was created in 2018 (running from May to Labor Day), and later…read moreexpanded to include the Seattle Center (where the Space Needle is) in May 2025. This allows passengers to connect from the Chinatown light rail station as far north as the Seattle Center. This route is also served by the monorail, so our party of three used both (monorail going to Seattle Center from Westlake station, shuttle coming back to Chinatown station). It's a shuttle, not a bus so probably seating for no more than 25 people. On the day we took it, it was not too crowded and traffic wasn't too bad in the area, so the goal of the shuttle coming every 15 minutes seemed to be met. One must look for a bus sign that clearly states Seattle Waterfront Shuttle...there are a lot of other buses in the same area...we saw it drop off people on the other side of the street, and then about 10 minutes later, came for us on the other side. The journey to Chinatown was pleasant, with most people on the bus being dropped off at the Pike's Market stop.

The Seattle Waterfront Shuttle is a FREE shuttle that accepts tips for the drivers who drive a…read morecontinuous loop stopping at all the local tourist sights. There were 4 shuttles cruising the loop on the day that I was riding and I used the shuttle as a Hop On Hop Off to see as many sights as I could. I stayed in downtown Seattle so it was only a short 5 block walk to the closest pick up stop. Some stops are clearly labeled with a sign and some you just have to look for a small group of people gathering while waiting for the pick up. The shuttle is available to anyone in the waterfront area and it holds about 20 people. The posted online information said it takes about 45min- to 1 hour to traverse the whole loop and busses should arrive avery 15 minutes. It was very convenient for getting to the Space Needle and the Pike's Place Market/Aquarium area. Some of the bus drivers were friendlier than others and the busses were very clean. I'm not sure if this shuttle operates year round but I know that it is fully functioning during cruise ship season in Seattle.

Sis and I rode the rails for her work and I gotta say, this was quite a charming way to discover…read moredowntown Tacoma. I stopped at the Thriftway just because there was a stop there and got to buy some nice little snackies. As we rode around, I saw businesses I want to try. I had no idea there was a Melting Pot nearby, so I'm gonna take Mom to the station near the Tacoma Dome, take the train there and have our fondue, then have a little adventure riding the rails. Why not? It's cheap and it's fun.

Everyone knows you head down to Federal Way for Korean food. It's pretty obvious once you start…read moreseeing business signs in Hangul off Pac Hwy. Now you can get here by taking the light rail. The light rail connection from Federal Way to Sea-Tac Airport and Downtown Seattle is a big win for the South End. It's pretty convenient since it's close to the I-5 ramps. I know it'll be a drop off point for folks heading to the airport, work and school. The best thing about the 1 line is that it takes you right into downtown Seattle and UW without having to transfer to other lines. Plus, if you get on at the Federal Way station you'll get first dibs on prime seats. Hi-Five, right? Just like the named art piece at the station. The track feels like the Canada Line SkyTrain from Richmond to Vancouver, BC. No fare gates so fare evasion happens all the time. No platform screen doors like Sea-Tac Airport's underground trains so pay attention and don't fall on the tracks. As for tourism, some people may opt to stay in hotels in Federal Way rather than downtown Seattle or SeaTac. With this new light rail station, it's only a couple stops away from Sea-Tac Airport and less than an hour to Westlake Station/Downtown Seattle. I'm sure hotel shuttles will be a common sight at this station too. I always saw shuttles at the Angle Lake station whenever I dropped fam and friends off. They have public restrooms at this station. Hopefully during Summer 2026 they'll have enough Honey Buckets for stations that don't have restrooms. With all the games, concerts, and special events at the stadiums plus heatwaves there's going to be a lot of beverage consumption. Federal Way doesn't have free on-demand shuttle service like Bellevue. People will still have to use their car to navigate around the business district. As Federal Way grows, I'm curious how the city will shift from being car-centric to pedestrian-friendly. They don't have to reinvent the wheel. They just have to study the growth blueprint of Lynnwood and Redmond, ask them about their successes and failures, then apply whatever fits the needs of this South End community. I just hope Federal Way finds passionate, experienced urban planners who have the best interest for this area. I'm ok if the city takes their time strategically planning growth as long as they're thoughtful about the PNW environment and the people they serve. Anyway, the Federal Way Link Extension grand opening was a fun celebration. Lots of people showed up. Not everyone was able to get on the first NB train though. They had food trucks, activities, and pop-up tents with freebies and swag bags plus they had ST Merch. It was a successful party. Next up? The 2 Line Crosslake Connection.

Wow, used the water taxi for my Game 1 World Cup experience and loved it. Frank discovered a new…read moremode of transportation from West Seattle to downtown... Well, I started my day parking on the street by the dock. I jumped in line with fellow soccer followers on game day. Waited in line for maybe 15 minutes and a mini ferry showed up. I paid with my credit card ( $5.50 ) which was a screaming deal. Grabbed an upper deck seat for the journey and waited to launch. I think maybe 15 minutes to cross the great water way and that was it. For those considering using this service I highly recommend it. You're dropped off on the waterfront and have easy access to Pioneer Square, Stadiums & Pike Place Market. Cost wise it's really a great alternative to driving into town.. I'll use again in a few days for game 2 of THE WORLD CUP!

The water taxi is the only public transit option that costs $1 less via Orca Card vs Transit Go…read moreTicket app. The Orca Card costs $3, so if you plan to have more than one round trip by water taxi, using the Orca a Card would be the more economical option for you. Easily the best views of the Seattle waterfront. The water taxi is very punctual. They start letting folks on the boat 5 min before the listed departure time, and the dock about 10 mins before the listed arrival time. The front a back of the boat is open (unenclosed), including the upstairs back area, and I find being outside in the wind helps numb the feeling of motion sickness vs being in the interior areas of the boat. There are trash and recycle bins in the interior areas of the boat.

Water leaking on most of the toilet in terminal N woman's restroom. Overall clean. Watch out when…read moreyou wash your had the faucet water spits out

Boy does this airport need upgrading. Try and find a restroom without a long line anytime. The…read moreairport is small and crowded. The restrooms are so small, only 5 stalls for the whole baggage claim area! The airport has good signage tho and lots of helpers to ask for jnfo

This is a newish 2 Line station. It is located in a quieter part of Bellevue. Many new apartment…read morebuildings, but not much retail nearby. You can walk to the Safeway on 140th from here however. It is a street level station, so watch out for trains when crossing the street. There is a surface parking lot for this station across the street which is convenient. I like parking here and taking the train to Wilburton Station to go to Whole Foods. Seems easier to park here than try to find parking spot at Whole Foods when it is busy. Overall, I find this station just okay. It could use a bus connection. There is not a lot here to recommend aside from the commuter parking lot.