Transfer to Airport

[chrisrm]

I am wondering how important it is to get a transfer from the ship to the airport on disembarkation day?

 

We are arriving in Seattle at 7am and our flight leaves from SEA/TAC at 1:50pm. Should we get a transfer from the ship or would it be just as easy to get a cab once we get off of the ship to the airport?

 

This is our first cruise so I don't really know how this part of the cruise works. Any advice or insight is greatly appreciated!

[Colo Cruiser]

I am wondering how important it is to get a transfer from the ship to the airport on disembarkation day?

 

We are arriving in Seattle at 7am and our flight leaves from SEA/TAC at 1:50pm. Should we get a transfer from the ship or would it be just as easy to get a cab once we get off of the ship to the airport?

 

This is our first cruise so I don't really know how this part of the cruise works. Any advice or insight is greatly appreciated!

 

You have plenty of time so a transfer will be convenient as your transport will be taken care of by Princess. Its totally up to you. If we are not in a rush we might take a transfer but a cab should be reasonable as well. A place like Ft Lauderdale where the port is only a couple of miles to the airport we would never take a transfer.

In Seattle we use a limo car service which is also reasonable so we like to treat ourselves.

We use Solomon at A-1 Limo. 206-245-3540. Give him a call and price it. He will be there at whatever time you choose.

Its about a 35-45 minute ride to the airport.

Edited May 13, 2015 by Colo Cruiser

[eandj]

Check your options. Cruise ship transfers are generally more costly and can take time to load and unload the coach buses. Go to the departure ports board and check what options others have used.

[caribill]

Check your options. Cruise ship transfers are generally more costly and can take time to load and unload the coach buses. Go to the departure ports board and check what options others have used.

 

Will the Princess xfer bring you to near where you check in or will it drop everybody off at a location not close to check-in?

[FritzG]

Will the Princess xfer bring you to near where you check in or will it drop everybody off at a location not close to check-in?

 

We've been dropped at our airline on every Princess transfer we've ever taken both domestically and internationally.

[Colo Cruiser]

delete

Edited May 13, 2015 by Colo Cruiser

[vantec]

We just returned from our cruise to Alaska. Our flight left at 11:25, so we walked off the ship and took a taxi to the airport, the cost was $55 and that included the tip. We were at the airport before 8:30. I will mention that as we were going to the airport our taxi driver kept receiving emails saying more taxis were needed at the port. Princess also offers a couple of excursions with a drop off at the airport, you might consider that a fun way to spend part of your day.

[Colo Cruiser]

We just returned from our cruise to Alaska. Our flight left at 11:25, so we walked off the ship and took a taxi to the airport, the cost was $55 and that included the tip. We were at the airport before 8:30. I will mention that as we were going to the airport our taxi driver kept receiving emails saying more taxis were needed at the port. Princess also offers a couple of excursions with a drop off at the airport, you might consider that a fun way to spend part of your day.

 

 

I like that Seattle city tour being dropped off at the airport at the end. :)

[Cruisin' Chick]

If you do a little research, you can get pricing for taxis and shuttles and then compare to the Princess transfer cost. Often cities and areas will have a taxi pricing site so google taxis and Seattle and plug in the address for which terminal you're ending up at (there are different terminals the port of Seattle) and SeaTac (which isn't in Seattle or Tacoma, but south of there).

 

You can also google for shuttle services in Seattle and the bigger ones will have pricing for trips between the port and Sea Tac. For our latest cruise (but in LA), I had emailed several transportation companies as I needed quotes between my home and the port for the 50 miles trip so I was able to get more exact with number of passengers and our amount of luggage.

 

Since you did the right thing and booked an afternoon flight, you shouldn't have to worry about rushing to the airport and having to self-embark and all that.

 

The time that is listed on your itinerary is the scheduled time to dock but won't be the time the first set of passengers can get off the ship. There's customs and immigration checks as well as the standard clearance. During the cruise, you'll be given information about how the last day works but on Princess, it's basically this:

1. The night before, you'll be asked to put out your luggage with the color coded tags you will be given in the hallway outside your cabin so it can be picked up and taken to the hold area. Back on land, a set of drug-sniffing doggies will do their thing, and then the luggage will be placed in the baggage room, grouped by the color tags.

 

Make doubly sure that you have clothing to wear for the next day, shoes, and your toiletries as well as any valuables such as cameras, medicine, etc. Also have your photo ID, passports, etc. Anything else you won't need until you get home can go in your luggage.

 

2. the next morning, go have breakfast. Then return to your cabin and do a final sweep of everywhere. double check the safe if you've used it (many people suggest putting anything you store in there first into a ziplock bag before placing into the safe. Make sure you have the customs form with you even if you don't have anything to declare, and fill out any thing you can on it the night before.

 

3. You will have a specific lounge or other big area to wait in. Go there. Do not wait on the stairwells or anywhere else. this is by color codes and any disembarkation announcements will be made only in the specific lounge for that group. So you will wait with several groups (brown-1, brown-2, red-1, etc.)

 

4. when your tag color is called, your party can leave the ship, taking all of your carry on items with. Have passport and the customs form in a handy dandy spot that you can get to quickly.

 

5. Either on the ship, or in the terminal, you will go into a customs line, either US or other countries. Everyone in your party will hand over your passport and the customs form (a family fills out only one).

 

6. After that, head for the baggage room, look for your color, and gather your bags. If you have the need for a porter, there will be some with flatbed dollies. Just let the porter know if you need to go to the taxi line, or if you have scheduled a shuttle (if a shared van like Supershuttle, there will be a place to go to check in with a curbside rep; if you had scheduled a private one, make sure to bring the contact info -- before the cruise, you can ask for instructions on where to go -- usually it's the same area for Supershuttle, but you may have to call your driver and tell him where you are and what you're wearing...sometimes they have to wait right outside the parking lot there).

[LeeW]

Shuttle Express is a reliable company we have used at $22pp one way. Really easy to take to the pier (since regardless of your reservation you just check in at the desk in the parking lot), but I believe from the pier you need to give them a specific time to pick up (see their web site). The pickup area at pier 91 is quite small, so they only let a limited amount of vehicles in there at a time.

[Pierlesscruisers]

If you do a little research' date=' you can get pricing for taxis and shuttles and then compare to the Princess transfer cost. Often cities and areas will have a taxi pricing site so google taxis and Seattle and plug in the address for which terminal you're ending up at (there are different terminals the port of Seattle) and SeaTac (which isn't in Seattle or Tacoma, but south of there).[/quote']

 

The motorcoach transfer to SeaTac is, I believe, $24/person. Taxi fare to SeaTac is either $42 or $45, can't remember which but it is a flatrate fare. Thus, which is a better deal depends on how many in your party and/or your personal desires. One thing that really is nice is EZ-check. That means that when you put your bags outside your cabin door the night before, the next time you see them is when you arrive at your final destination! No hassling with bags at all. Not all airlines participate in that program so it may or may not be available for your flight. You can check at the Passenger Services desk sometime during the cruise and info on it will also be on the docs that you receive toward the end of your cruise.

 

You will also be able to sign up for a tour of Seattle that ends up dropping you at SeaTac. Whether you can take advantage of that program depends on your departure time and I don't know what the cut-off is for that. Again, that info will be on documentation that you'll receive toward the end of your cruise.

 

However you decide to go, I hope that you have great weather during your cruise and enjoy yourselves completely on your cruise!

 

Tom