Taxi info please..

[ariannas1nana]

We are going to be in Seattle for a couple of days in June for our cruise...I know this may sound weird but we have never been in a taxi before...never had to...I need some info about how to get one, do I need the exact addresses of places we are wanting to go? How does this work?

 

Thanks

[CruiserBruce]

Unless the destination is a well known landmark, yes you should have the address for where you are going. At bare minimum for moderately well known things, like common hotels, the street it is on. So, you should be able to say "the Y hotel downtown on B St". Or something similar.

[Gardyloo]

Cab drivers in Seattle know where the hotels are as well as the cruse terminals (2.) If you're going to a private residence or B&B, then of course having the address is important. In Seattle the geographic designations (such as "East Denny Way" or "Southwest California Avenue") are very important because the city is carved up into geographic chunks where these distinctions can make a difference of miles - 15th Avenue NW and 15th Avenue NE are in entirely different parts of town.

Edited March 8, 2014 by Gardyloo

[misty57]

Sorry to add another question to the OP's, but what is the average cost for taxi from SEATAC airport to pier 66? We are flying in day before and staying at an airport hotel that has a shuttle, so unable to take cruise line transfer. Is there an airport shuttle that will go to the pier?

[CruiserBruce]

A little reading on the board would reveal towncars and taxis are about the same price, $45 or so.

[mapleleaves]

I recommend flatrateforhire.com or their sister site eastsideforhire.com. They'll pick you at the hotel and take you to the pier. They're not metered so they're a bit cheaper than most cabs. I think it's $30 to downtown. (the rate is on their website). I've used them twice for airport pickup with great success.

 

A fun thing to do .... check your bags onto the ship, then go across the street to the elevator next to the Marriott Hotel. It will take you up the hill and within a block of the Pike Place Market. grab a large bouquet of fresh flowers for your room, for under $10

[martincath]

We are going to be in Seattle for a couple of days in June for our cruise...I know this may sound weird but we have never been in a taxi before...never had to...I need some info about how to get one, do I need the exact addresses of places we are wanting to go? How does this work?

 

Thanks

There has already been a warning about the geographic part of street addresses, but it's worth reinforcing - first cabbie we ever used in Seattle said he had not heard of our hotel (it was relatively new at the time) and did not ask which 'zone' of the city it was in when I gave the (numerical only) street address.

 

Fortunately I had checked in advance exactly where it was, but hadn't memorized it - he'd already started driving while I was pulling out my notes and when 30 seconds later I followed-up with which chunk of the city it was in he said "You just saved yourselves about ten bucks" and changed direction.

 

Rather than ask me to clarify, he'd just started heading for the furthest-away zone containing that street name & number. Not the only time I've had this happen either (not in Seattle - it's a risk in any city with sections that repeat street numbers).

 

Just in case you do run into a cabbie that is happy to, shall we say, 'maximize profit' without worrying too much about quality of service I always check the driving directions on Google Maps just before we leave on a trip to a city I'm unfamiliar with - if you get in a cab and tell the driver "123 North ABC street, take Route X" they're much more likely to assume you know the town and the temptation to rip you off is much reduced.

[mapleleaves]

 

Just in case you do run into a cabbie that is happy to, shall we say, 'maximize profit' without worrying too much about quality of service I always check the driving directions on Google Maps just before we leave on a trip to a city I'm unfamiliar with - if you get in a cab and tell the driver "123 North ABC street, take Route X" they're much more likely to assume you know the town and the temptation to rip you off is much reduced.

 

That's the advantage of using flatrateforhire --- it's a flat fee, not metered for mileage and time. If the driver gets lost, or stuck in traffic, the fare to downtown is still $30. It's actually to the drivers advantage to get you to the destination quickly so that he can move on to the next passenger.

[martincath]

That's the advantage of using flatrateforhire --- it's a flat fee, not metered for mileage and time. If the driver gets lost, or stuck in traffic, the fare to downtown is still $30. It's actually to the drivers advantage to get you to the destination quickly so that he can move on to the next passenger.

Agree 100% ML!

[ariannas1nana]

Thanks for all the info...I think we will go with the flatrateforhire from airport to hotel, which is in Seattle center...and from the port back to the airport...and use taxi to the port from hotel..I mapped it and hotel is like 1.6 miles from port.

 

Thanks again!

[misty57]

A little reading on the board would reveal towncars and taxis are about the same price, $45 or so.

 

I have been perusing this board since September. The cost of the taxi has been discussed but not clearly from airport hotel to pier. Lots of chatter about downtown hotels though, which we had originally planned on . I don't get the irritability with questions that may have been asked before. I used the search function and it didn't give me the information that I wanted, so I posted on this thread since the question was somewhat related. Big thanks to the person that did answer my question with information about flatrateforhire.

Traveling to an unfamiliar city is to me like trying to find my way in the dark, just like the person who has never before taken a taxi. Thank goodness for helpful people on CC and for sites like Tripadvisor. Have a blessed day:)

[Colo Cruiser]

A great Limo company in Seattle....

 

Solomon's 206-245-3540

 

Very reasonable.

[Juicy2143]

Do you have to prebook flatrateforhire for picking you back up at the port to take you to the airport or are they at the port?

[Splinter]

Pre-book with them on-line for both legs of your trip. When getting off the ship, call them when you have your luggage, and they will tell you where to meet the cab.

[pizzalady1]

Do you have to prebook flatrateforhire for picking you back up at the port to take you to the airport or are they at the port?

 

I just called them when I got to the street. They were there in 5 minutes. They call you when they are close and tell you what their taxi number is so you can find them. The regular taxi line was very long, so we avoided that wait by using flatrate.

 

I used them 6 times while in Seattle last July, and did not pre-book any of the trips. Just called them and they came very quickly.

Edited March 13, 2014 by pizzalady1

[mapleleaves]

Do you have to prebook flatrateforhire for picking you back up at the port to take you to the airport or are they at the port?

 

Yellow Cab and Stila Towncar have the contract at SeaTac so they are the only companies with vehicles on-site, waiting for passengers. Other companies can certainly pickup and drop off at the airport, but they can't just drive thru trolling for passengers. Maybe other companies park at the cell phone lot nearby waiting for a call.

Both times I used flatrate/eastside I had a reservation. I provided my flight arrival time, and within 2 minutes of landing they called to say the taxi was closeby. The driver called about 5 minutes later, gave me his number and said to call when I had my luggage as he was only 1 minute away. I called again, told him which door i was at, he told me his cab number, and he pulled up as we were talking.

I guess it doesn't matter whether you have a reservation or not, but I prefer knowing that my ride is arranged and waiting for me. I don't want to waste time calling and waiting for a vendor.