Seattle Cruise Port Guide Info
Welcome to Seattle city that has captured the world's heart with movies such as Sleepless in Seattle and shows like Grey's Anatomy. This city will capture your heart as well with all that one needs in one place whether you are a foodie, explorer, lover of music and culture, techie world, or mesmerizing nature. Natives often reference that they could not imagine themselves living anywhere else as they have everything they need right here. The same reasons that the natives find it challenging to leave are the same reasons why Seattle is extremely attractive for cruise ship vistors.
As you disembark the cruise ship from your voyage nearby there is a park that often locals during the warm weather enjoy the sun just sitting around and socializing, drinking a cup of Seattle’s best Starbucks, as well as practicing yoga.
Pike Market Place
Next to the park is the famous and oldest in the city public farmers market Pike Market Place that was started in 1907. Here local vendors showcase their artsy and beautiful crafts such as necklaces, earrings, paintings, pottery, clothing, etc. However, Pikes Market is often busy especially during Sunday as locals attend their Sunday brunch, shop their organic groceries, as well as locally grown flowers. The restaurants at Pikes Market overlook the water and the Seattle Great Wheel which makes the experience even more memorable. Pike Market is also a place where local fishermen sell their seafood fresh from the waters surrounding the Seattle area as well as the greater Pacific NorthWest (PNW). As you walk into Pike Market Place you will notice ever so often a fish flies from one person to another as they are bought making it an exciting experience indeed.
Seattle Aquarium
Short walk from Pike Market Place is located the Seattle Great Wheel. As you walk to the Great Wheel you will notice vendors extend from Pikes Market Place where you can stop by and enjoy the scented home-made wax products. But before you reach the Great Wheel, you will notice the Seattle Aquarium that in itself is an amazing experience to visit and play pirates reminding yourself of the days when you were a child having fun while daring to imagine.
Seattle Great Wheel
As you leave the aquarium you approach the Seattle Great Wheel that is a 175-foot (53 meter) Ferris wheel which is one of the tallest in the United States. Recommended to take a ride in the wheel as marvel at the sights of the Puget Sound. Ever so often you may be able to spot whales and other sea life jumping from the water in the greater distance of the Sound. No worries, even if it is cold outside the gondolas are quite warm as they are climate-controlled.
From the Seattle Great Wheel you can catch an uber or a taxi for short 5 minute ride to the Space Needle; however, we encourage the 30 minute walk instead simply because the walk will allow you to explore Belltown with its high risers, restaurants from any part of the world, rich music history, as well as the Olympic Sculpture Park where sculptures from local artists are exhibited.
Space Needle
The Space Needle was built for the 1962 World’s Fair with its futuristic observation tower; it is another way to explore the gorgeous views of the Seattle and Puget Sound greater area. It was revamped in 2018 renovation that cost $100 million, thus it will only please you with its innovations. On a clear and beautiful day, you might be able to even see the gorgeous site of one of the active volcanoes in Washington State that last erupted in 1894 and it is marked as one of our nation’s most dangerous volcanoes. Washington state harbors another of these dangerous volcanoes that is near Mt. Rainer, Mt. St. Helen which last erupted in 2008. However, this volcano is not visible from the Seattle greater area.
Museum of Pop Culture
Only a two-minute short walk from the Space Needle is the Museum of Pop Culture which is a colorful shrine to pop culture and creativity and Seattle has a lot of this as it does attract a creative population. As you approach it you will notice the shimmering exterior that captures even the local’s attention that pass by on the way to work. Here you will find rock music, science fiction, films and video games exhibit and treasured memorabilia. The experience is one that would make you feel as if you are walking through time of pop culture. There is something for anyone to include the ones that would like to see the original Death Star model from Start Wars.
Amazon Headquarters
As Amazon is taking over the world not only with online shopping, movies, and songs, many are not aware that the headquarters of Amazon is nestled in Seattle. In fact, most tech companies (i.e., Google, Microsoft, Facebook, etc.) have offices and headquarters in Seattle and the surrounding area as Seattle has become the tech center of the world. And while you will be able to see their offices as you walk through the city, the one that often captures people’s attention is the Amazon Spheres with its futuristic structure and live green walls. From the museum this is just a short 15-minute walk.
Starbucks Reserve Roastery
From the Amazon Sphere only a 15-minute walk in Capitol Hill is the Starbucks Reserve Roastery that attracts a lot of tourists. Capitol Hill attracts the younger professional local population, and it is always lively with people walking around, meeting for coffee or dinner, to enjoy music and drinks, and so much more. At the Starbucks Reserves you can get any possible coffee, tea, soft drinks, pastry, etc. that Starbucks offers, but even more it is a social place for people to join together and enjoy each other’s company exchanging ideas. While you are in Capitol Hill, check out also the ice creamery Molly Moon’s that serves ice cream that will melt your heart into sweetness.
Underground Tour
Often people who move to Seattle or tourists are not familiar with the underground of Seattle. The story related to the underground is that the city of Seattle was built on top of the intriguing subterranean storefronts and sidewalks entombed due to the Great Fire of 1889. The so-called buried city is still accessible and often guided tours are available that spam about 75 minutes. While touring the interconnecting tunnels are open to the public, it is highly advisable to go with a guided tour to be able to gain the full historic experience in a safe manner. Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour is one of the most utilized and recommended.
If you visit Seattle during Christmas time you will be mesmerized by the Enchant Christmas Seattle which is in the T-Mobile Park and it is a seasonal Christmas Market. This market will make you feel as if you are in the North Pole with its bright maze-like trail made of ice where people can ice skate, shiny and bright lights, as well as food and drinks to warm yourself.
And while there is so much more to explore in Seattle and the area if one has more than a day, enjoying and experiencing these few mentioned will surely make you want to visit again or have more time to explore more of all that Seattle and Washington has to offer. So, come and visit knowing that we will not be able to guarantee you that you would want to leave afterwards.