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Transfer on disembarkment day - SEA?


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Just booked Alaska cruise out of SEA. The ship is suppose to arrive at 7am.

 

I am thinking of a 12:55pm flight out of SEA to YVR (Vancouver) on a Sunday.

 

Can I take Princess transfer to the airport for this flight?

 

There is a 11am non stop SEA-YYZ (Toronto).

 

Can I make this flight either transfer or private?

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Just booked Alaska cruise out of SEA. The ship is suppose to arrive at 7am.

 

I am thinking of a 12:55pm flight out of SEA to YVR (Vancouver) on a Sunday.

 

Can I take Princess transfer to the airport for this flight?

 

There is a 11am non stop SEA-YYZ (Toronto).

 

Can I make this flight either transfer or private?

 

I suspect that your cruise will actually arrive at the pier around 6:00am, that is normally when they arrive. The first people off the ship will normally come off at 7:30am, but sometimes will be allowed to start coming off as early as 7:15am, but that is the earliest I've ever seen. The first Princess transfer bus from the pier will normally leave NLT than 20 minutes after the first person steps on the bus, so that bus normally is gone before 8:00am, and may depart as early as 7:45 or so. (I have actually seen buses get filled and depart in less than 10 minutes after the 1st passenger gets on, but that is not normal and is usually due to everybody on that bus having already checked their bags through EZ-Check. :))

 

Depending on traffic conditions, it normally takes 30-45 minutes to get to the airport. (Earlier buses usually take shorter amounts of time.) The transfer buses make one stop at the terminal, either the North end of the terminal or the South end of the terminal. Passengers flying out of SeaTac on Alaska, American and Southwest are normally loaded onto a bus going to the North end of the terminal as that end is closest to those airlines, while passengers going on all the other airline normally are loaded onto a bus going to the South end of the terminal. That breakdown of passengers evens out the passenger load on the bus destinations.

 

Hope this info helps and you have a great cruise.

 

Tom

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Thanks for the helpful information.

 

There is suppose to be 3 ships in on my disembarkment day

 

I am traveling by myself so will not take the 11 flight as I am a worrier and worry about making the flight.

 

There is a 3:30 flight. Would I be able to take their post cruise tour?

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Thanks for the helpful information.

 

There is suppose to be 3 ships in on my disembarkment day

 

I am traveling by myself so will not take the 11 flight as I am a worrier and worry about making the flight.

 

There is a 3:30 flight. Would I be able to take their post cruise tour?

 

While there will be 3 ships in Seattle on that day, there are never more than 2 ships at Pier 91. The 3rd ship will be at Pier 66 and will have no affect on departures/arrivals at Pier 91. As to your question about a post-cruise tour, I have no idea how long such tours are (there may be different tours of different lengths available.) You will be able to determine that when you get start looking at the available tours on your cruise.

 

Good luck!

 

Tom

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Thanks for the helpful information.

 

There is suppose to be 3 ships in on my disembarkment day

 

I am traveling by myself so will not take the 11 flight as I am a worrier and worry about making the flight.

 

There is a 3:30 flight. Would I be able to take their post cruise tour?

 

Don't worry about the number of ships coming in, The Port of Seattle can only service about 3 cruise ships/day.

 

Princess and HAL use Pier 91, which has 2 slips. When the Alaska cruise season starts Princess and HAL use both slips on Saturday and Sunday. Pier 66 is also a cruise ship terminal, but can only service one ship at a time. I've seen Norwegian, RCCL using it. And I think that Disney does also. I'm not sure about Celebrity. Pier 91 and 66 are very far apart, so there isn't any clash between the ships and their passengers for transit resources.

 

Pier 91 is all the way up north in Elliot Bay and is very distant from the rest of the touristy piers down along Alaskan Way. So, as a cruise terminal is concerned, Pier 91 is all business. Pier 66 is within walking distance of a lot of the tourist attractions along the waterfront.

 

Anyway, that doesn't answer your concern. However, if you disembark the ship and get one of the earliest transfers from the ship to SEA you'll not have a problem making an 11 am flight. Security lines at SEA move pretty smoothly. They aren't super well designed security areas, but TSA tries to keep them moving. Sea-Tac was designed and built long before all of this security theater was instituted, so the security areas aren't really large enough for all of the equipment, etc, but they make it work.

 

So, let's say the bus leaves Pier 91 at 8am. It's only about 45 minutes from there to SEA. You'll be at the ticket counter for your airline by 8:45, 9am at the latest. Security lines are behind the ticket counters. Pick the one that looks the least busy. You'll be through security in 30 minutes, maybe less. So, you'll be in the terminal by 9:30. From any of the security gates, you're only 10 minutes at a brisk walk to your departure gate. Maybe 15 minutes if you are departing from the North or South satellite and you have to take one of the underground trains to get there.

 

So, assuming an 8am departure from Pier 91, I don't see any reason why you wouldn't be able to make an 11am flight out of SEA.

 

You'll want to look at the disembarkation day shore excursions offerings and see their scheduled times to determine if one would fit with a late departure. Keep in mind that at Seatac an arrival 2 hours prior to a flight is generally more than sufficient to make a flight.

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Thank you for this information.

 

I feel more comfortable after reading that I can make the 11am flight. I would be home in 4 1/2 hours (6:27PM) compared 6 1/2 or 8 1/2 hours (arriving at midnight or 1am) with a connecting flight through Vancouver.

 

Princess charges $31 CDN for the transfer.

 

Would it be better to take a taxi or private car to the airport?

 

If so, any names?

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Thank you for this information.

 

I feel more comfortable after reading that I can make the 11am flight. I would be home in 4 1/2 hours (6:27PM) compared 6 1/2 or 8 1/2 hours (arriving at midnight or 1am) with a connecting flight through Vancouver.

 

Princess charges $31 CDN for the transfer.

 

Would it be better to take a taxi or private car to the airport?

 

If so, any names?

 

 

A-1 LIMO....Solomon is the owner. We use him whenever we are in Seattle whether it be for a cruise or not. They have SUV's and Town Cars.

Give him a call. 206-245-3540

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Would it be better to take a taxi or private car to the airport?

 

If so, any names?

 

Since you're traveling by yourself, the least expensive way to get from Pier 91 to SeaTac A/P is via Seattle Express. Last season (2016) the cost was $15/person. Their buses are smaller than the regular shuttle buses and they fill up more quickly, so they leave sooner as a rule. Their website is at http://www.seattleexpress.com/21501.html so you can contact them right now even and be all set up way in advance.

 

Shuttle Express, at http://shuttleexpress.com/seattle/cruise-transfers/ is a couple of bucks higher at $18 last season so you do have a choice.

 

Tom

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I wouldn't recommend the cruise line transfers. They move so slowly, take forever to fill up and there are plenty of other options at this port. Another thing to consider is where those cruise line transfer buses let you off. I had a super long walk last time from where the buses parked, dragging my bags all the way. :cool: With a private transfer/taxi, you'll get dropped right off where you need to be. So much more convenient and not much more money.

Edited by DrivesLikeMario
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Since you're traveling by yourself, the least expensive way to get from Pier 91 to SeaTac A/P is via Seattle Express. Last season (2016) the cost was $15/person. Their buses are smaller than the regular shuttle buses and they fill up more quickly, so they leave sooner as a rule. Their website is at http://www.seattleexpress.com/21501.html so you can contact them right now even and be all set up way in advance.

 

Shuttle Express, at http://shuttleexpress.com/seattle/cruise-transfers/ is a couple of bucks higher at $18 last season so you do have a choice.

 

Tom

 

Thank you for the names for shuttles.

 

Are the shuttles easy to locate at the pier?

 

I have emailed Seattle Express.

 

I checked out Shuttle Express, for a 11am flight, their shuttle is 6:50am or earlier. I don't think you can you self disembark that early?

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Thank you for the names for shuttles.

 

Are the shuttles easy to locate at the pier?

 

I have emailed Seattle Express.

 

I checked out Shuttle Express, for a 11am flight, their shuttle is 6:50am or earlier. I don't think you can you self disembark that early?

 

Yes, both Seattle Express and Shuttle Express are very easy to find. Straight out the front of the building and straight out to the far end of the bus lot. There will be people inside the building between the door where you come out of the luggage hall and the doors to the outside with signs for both bus lines.

 

The earliest you'll get off the ship will be 7:15am and there will be no buses leaving the pier for the airport before that time because there will be nobody off the ships yet. ;)

 

Tom

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Considering the options presented above, shuttles, cabs, etc., I think a cab is your best bet. If you are comfortable with Uber, I bet that is an option, too. The Seattle cabbies know the route from SeaTac to Seattle like the back of their hand, so if Seattle is suffering from a traffic issue on your disembarkation day, the cabbie should know the best workaround.

 

Cabs line up at Pier 91 when the ships come in, so finding one shouldn't be an issue. I bet you can be in the earliest walk-off group, get your luggage and be in a cab faster than I can write all of this up.

 

I stand by my 45 minute estimate from Pier 91 to SEA, especially by cab and so early in the morning.

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I would use UberX or Lyft over a car service with a few cars. When something goes wrong, having literally thousands of drivers in the metro area is useful.

 

Take the 11:00, request an UberX just before you step on the escalator downstairs from the level you disembark to. I'm a local who used to live a few blocks away from the terminal and think the timing advice is solid.

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Last season, 2016, the rate from Pier 91 to SeaTac was $40, or almost 3 times the Seattle Express rate and almost 2 times the Princess transfer rate.

 

Tom

 

You won't find much if any discount with Uber or Lyft. But they are convenient and clean. Seattle has "regulated" them, so they charge about the same, maybe a little more, to go from Seattle to the Seatac and vice versa. Obviously, if you are sharing a ride with Seattle Express or any other van shuttle service your price would be less, but if you are worried about delays related to filling a van and getting a bunch of strangers organized, you are better off with a cab, Uber/Lyft or an executive/black car service.

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You won't find much if any discount with Uber or Lyft. But they are convenient and clean. Seattle has "regulated" them, so they charge about the same, maybe a little more, to go from Seattle to the Seatac and vice versa. Obviously, if you are sharing a ride with Seattle Express or any other van shuttle service your price would be less, but if you are worried about delays related to filling a van and getting a bunch of strangers organized, you are better off with a cab, Uber/Lyft or an executive/black car service.

 

There is seldom a problem with filling a small van such as the ones Seattle Express and Shuttle Express use at the pier at the very start of the disembarkation process. Later on, after, say, 9am, yes, it may take a while, at least with the large 40-50 passenger busses. But even then those buses are usually dispatched at the 20-minute mark.

 

As to Uber or Lyft, I have no experience with those.

 

Tom

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IF you end up using the Princess tour or transfer option, be sure to confirm that your flight departure time adheres to the stated restrictions. Usually, the tour/transfer description will state something like "only for SEA flight departures after xx:xx."

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Since Seattle Express is cheaper that Princess transfer, I might take them both ways.

 

Does Seattle Express have a booth at the airport?

 

To let you know, Seattle Express does not go from the airport to port only from airport hotels to port.

 

They go from port to airport for $15, must have reservation, every 15 minutes, starting at 7am.

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Since Seattle Express is cheaper that Princess transfer, I might take them both ways.

 

Does Seattle Express have a booth at the airport?

 

We use ShuttleExpress in Seattle. Shared van took us from the airport parking structure to the ship with a couple of downtown stops on the way. Worked well for us. You make a reservation online and then check in at their desk when you get to the garage and they put you on the next van going out. https://shuttleexpress.com/seattle/cruise-transfers/ When we were there they had about six vans loading for various destination. We only had 8 people in the van and six were going to the port.

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