Mapped by April

If you are booking an Alaskan cruise that departs out of the Pacific Northwest, do yourself a huge favor: do not just fly in the morning of your cruise. Give yourself at least two days to explore Seattle first!

Since I have been to Seattle quite a few times, I have dialed in the absolute perfect, most efficient layout if you only have about 48 hours to cross the best of the city off your list. Here is exactly how to maximize your pre-cruise stopover without feeling rushed.

Where We Stayed

We stayed at a beautiful property on Ward Street (Airbnb) in the heart of Seattle. It was the perfect central location for drop-offs, ride-shares, and getting to the waterfront quickly. There are a lot of great sections of Seattle to stay in. Depending on exactly where you want to be on the map, my suggestions would be: Fremont in North Seattle, Capitol Hill in Central Seattle, or Beacon Hill in South Seattle.

🏙️ Day 1: The Iconic Seattle Staples

For your first day, embrace the classic tourist spots.

Mapped by April Money-Saving Tip: If you plan on doing the major city sights today, buy the Seattle CityPass. It saves you a ton of cash on bundled admission tickets for the Space Needle, the aquariums, and the museums rather than paying at the gate individually. You can pick it up at most of the participating locations. Typically, I just buy mine at the Museum of Pop Culture!

The Itinerary:

• Morning: Pike Place Market. Head here first to grab lunch, see the famous fish-throwers, and wander the flower stalls. It gets incredibly crowded later in the day, so hitting it closer to midday right after you check into your lodging is ideal. If you arrived before your lodging is available for your bags, use Bounce! It’s a local luggage storage app. Personally, I have stored my luggage at The Purple Store almost every time I’m at Pike Place.

• Some special places in Pike’s that are worth mentioning:
  • If you’re a lover of Starbucks, the very first Starbucks is here! They usually have fun drinks that they don’t yet have in the rest of the stores.
  • The Gum Wall! It is super weird! But worth seeing and maybe participating in if you have some gum on you.

• Afternoon: The Seattle Center Hub. This area is a goldmine because three major attractions are right next to each other:
  1. Museum of Pop Culture (MoPop): If you are into music, sci-fi, or pop culture history, this building (designed by Frank Gehry) is a must-visit. You can pickup your CityPass here too!
  2. The Space Needle: Go up to the top for those classic, panoramic views of Mt. Rainier and the Puget Sound. You’ll book your timeslot with the CityPass app.
     • Fun fact – we actually got to walk down the exterior stairs of the Space Needle (by choice!) because they were doing elevator maintenance. They gave out free shirts and water when you hit the bottom!
  3. Chihuly Garden and Glass: Located right at the base of the Space Needle. The blown-glass artwork here is mind-blowing and looks incredible in photos.
  4. While you’re in the area, be sure to at least try a Seattle-Style Hot Dog (If you like hot dogs!) it’s delish and fairly unique.

• Late Afternoon Drink: Mr. B’s Meadery. Take a break from the standard Pacific Northwest IPAs and head over to Mr. B’s for a mead flight. It’s a super cool, unique spot to relax after walking all afternoon. They have two locations now, but I do think that their Fremont location is the most cozy and fun.

• If you have extra time: Check out the Woodland Park Zoo or take a peaceful stroll through the Seattle Japanese Garden.

🛶 Day 2: Culture, Family, and Underground Secrets

For your second day, you want to dive a little deeper into the city’s unique history and take things a bit easier before boarding the ship tomorrow.

The Itinerary:

• The Underground Tour: Start your morning in Pioneer Square and take a guided underground history tour. Seattle was actually rebuilt on top of itself after a massive fire in 1889, and walking through the literal buried storefronts and old sidewalks beneath the current city streets is fascinating. There are quite a few underground tour companies, as they each own different parts of the underground.
  • Personally, I have done Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour twice and loved it!
• Afternoon Catch-Up: Leave the afternoon open to cross off anything you missed on Day 1, do some light shopping, or grab a coffee by the water. This means you should go to the Zoo, Aquarium, or Japanese Garden!

⚓ Day 8: The “Bonus” Post-Cruise Day

The beauty of this layout is that when your cruise ship docks back in Seattle at 7:00 AM at the end of the week, you don’t have to stress about a morning flight. We booked a late-night United flight home (departing at 10:54 PM), which gave us one final, full “bonus day” in the city.

Take your time getting off the ship, store your luggage at the a local locker service like Bounce, and use this day to hit any spots you missed, like the Seattle Aquarium or a ferry ride across the harbor, before heading to the airport. The waterfront park near the Aquarium is also awesome!

I would also recommend the Seattle Great Wheel if you’re not scared of heights. It is so cool to see Seattle from this angle, and you’ll get a chance to see Mt. Rainer on a clear day!

Next Up…

Pack your bags and grab your boarding passes, because in Part 2, we are stepping aboard Holland America’s Eurodam for our full ship review, the best onboard activities, and everything you need to know before you sail away to Alaska!

📸 All photos used in this post are taken by me and should not be reused.