ALASKA Planning Issues

[shadowmeboy]

I was wondering about the wisdom of having a flight out of Seatac before noon. What if there's a delay for customs/immigration that delays disembarkation from starting on time? And what is there's a lot of traffic (special events' date=' sporting events, accidents)?[/quote']

 

More likely you will have 2 hour long TSA lines. SeaTac can suck for Security lines, just bring your patience!

[Roz]

I've found all cities on the west coast to be expensive. Don't know what to tell you. Doing an Alaskan cruises is not for the faint-hearted when it comes to budgets.

 

Have never rented a car in Seattle. Always travel on foot, use public transit, and shuttle services.

 

Roz

[Pierlesscruisers]

Can someone answer a simple question for me? What the most cost-effective way to rent a car in Seattle for a few days?

 

I've only rented a car to drive from Seattle to Vancouver to catch a cruise from there but the best price I found was from Alamo and they were good to work with. One added advantage of Alamo is that not only do they have an office at SeaTac where you can pick up your car, but they also have a downtown location where you can probably drop off the rental when your embarkation day arrives. The reason I mention that is because they are one of 3 rental car companies (Alamo, National, Enterprise) that also have a stand at Pier 91 where your cruise will be docking so that they will probably be able to provide you transportation from their downtown location to Pier 91. You would need to check on this, but I suspect that you might be pleasantly surprised and able to save a cab fare to the pier! Here is website for the info on the car rental facilities at Pier 91 and Pier 66:

 

http://www.cruiseterminalsofamerica.com/seattle-cruise-terminals/car-rental-information

 

Tom

[422Melissa]

I'm also questioning my wisdom in scheduling a flight that leaves at 11:15 given the long security lines! We'll be platinum self assist, and we have TSA pre-check, so I'm crossing my fingers. I also have trip insurance that will kick in if there's a 3 hour ship delay or greater.

 

Worst case scenario, I reschedule our flights and pay the change fees if we get too close for comfort. Right now, the dreaded red-eye flights are 3 times the cost vs. our current flights, so I'm going to take my chances.

 

Are cabs plentiful when you debark, or do I need to prearrange a specific company to pick us up?

 

Thank you all for the advice, and I'll definitely check out the Vietnamese restaurant.

[peety3]

I'm also questioning my wisdom in scheduling a flight that leaves at 11:15 given the long security lines! We'll be platinum self assist, and we have TSA pre-check, so I'm crossing my fingers. I also have trip insurance that will kick in if there's a 3 hour ship delay or greater.

 

Are cabs plentiful when you debark, or do I need to prearrange a specific company to pick us up?

If you're focused, I think you'll do fine. Cabs are ready and waiting all morning long. My wife just flew out of SEA this morning, and was able to do (Premier) bag drop with United and get through security (via the Premier/etc. lane) in <26 minutes. She said Pre would have been much faster if she had it.

 

Assuming you're traveling in some semblance of "group" (you say "we" above), don't hesitate to split up and research different TSA lines. Every TSA checkpoint feeds every terminal; obviously some of them are closer to these vs. those terminals, but once you're "in", you're able to get to every gate. The North and South terminals require an underground train after you enter the secure area; South is south of A and North is north of D.