Tell me about Seattle hotel prices We are hopefully going in September but are also having problems finding reasonable prices. According to my research the place to stay is Downtown in the Financial District but it can be a bit deserted after the business people head off after work, and also at weekends but you can literally walk to a lot of the attractions from here. The likes of the Sheraton and Westin etc are well over $200 a night though, which is way above our budget.
Another option might be staying near the Seattle Center. Prices are better here but quality is hit or miss, try looking at the Holiday Inn Express Seattle Center or the Holiday Inn itself (right next to the Express). Sometimes they have good offers. You can walk to the Seattle Center from here (Space Needle, Experience Music Project etc) but it is a longer walk downtown to the likes of Pike Place Market etc. You can hop on the Monorail from Seattle Center however which will take you Downtown.

An option might be http://www.hotwire.com and utilise http://www.betterbidding.com for assistance with Hotwire. I would go 3*, maybe even 3.5* and above and see what comes up. I know the Crowne Plaza which is near the Sheraton Downtown was coming out at $119 on our dates which is much more reasonable.

We did the Alaska cruise last Summer but from Vancouver. The cruise was great (we were with NCL) and we were very lucky with the weather. Don't be bullied by the cruise line to do the trips. We got a walking tour of Ketchikan from the tourist office on the Quay.

In Juneau we bought a bus tour from a booth in the town and went out to the glacier. Good value at $20 per head for 2 and a half hours.

In Skagway we did have minibus tour of the Yukon booked through the cruise company. It was great and we saw much more of the landscape than the groups that took the train ride.

Enjoy.

There is my review of the trip in the Cruise review section. The ship was the Norwegian Sun and mine is the first one on the page. You may also find your ship in the list.