SEA Shuttle to Explorer

[croozelyfe]

Hello!

 

This is my first post, please bear with me :)

 

My family and I are cruising to Alaska on the Explorer during the last week of August. We are flying in to SEA and our flight lands at 1:45 pm, then taking a shuttle to the port. Does our arrival time to SEA give enough cushion to get to the ship in time? I'm worried about flight delays and I don't know the distance from the airport to the ship.

 

I would prefer to fly in the night before, but I was vetoed. Can anyone give me some indication of the transfer time from the airport to the dock?

 

I am enjoying all of your posts and tips, I've learned so much in my short time here. Thank you!! :)

[alfaeric]

Hello!

 

This is my first post, please bear with me :)

 

My family and I are cruising to Alaska on the Explorer during the last week of August. We are flying in to SEA and our flight lands at 1:45 pm, then taking a shuttle to the port. Does our arrival time to SEA give enough cushion to get to the ship in time? I'm worried about flight delays and I don't know the distance from the airport to the ship.

 

I would prefer to fly in the night before, but I was vetoed. Can anyone give me some indication of the transfer time from the airport to the dock?

 

I am enjoying all of your posts and tips, I've learned so much in my short time here. Thank you!! :)

 

The ship is scheduled to leave at 4pm, right? Which puts all aboard at 3pm. That seems way to close, to me. According to google, the drive is at least a half hour. So give 10 min to get your luggage, the best of the best would put you at the port at 2:25. More likely later than that, with traffic.

[voyager70]

Yes, that is cutting it way too close. You need to fly in the night before. Enjoy Alaska!

[Clarea]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

I don't mean to be an alarmist, but I don't think you can make it with your present flight.

 

The ship leaves at 4pm, which means you must be checked in at 2:30pm. With a 1:45pm arrival, and time to wait for bags, and probably a 20-30 minute drive to the port (with no traffic jams), I just don't see how you can make it.

[cruisinfanatic]

Hello!

 

This is my first post, please bear with me :)

 

My family and I are cruising to Alaska on the Explorer during the last week of August. We are flying in to SEA and our flight lands at 1:45 pm, then taking a shuttle to the port. Does our arrival time to SEA give enough cushion to get to the ship in time? I'm worried about flight delays and I don't know the distance from the airport to the ship.

 

I would prefer to fly in the night before, but I was vetoed. Can anyone give me some indication of the transfer time from the airport to the dock?

 

I am enjoying all of your posts and tips, I've learned so much in my short time here. Thank you!! :)

That is a huge risk!!!!!

You need to go the day before if flying in that late or find a much earlier flight if the same day.

Even if you have insurance, it might not help you with this

[Kamloops50]

Hello!

 

This is my first post, please bear with me :)

 

My family and I are cruising to Alaska on the Explorer during the last week of August. We are flying in to SEA and our flight lands at 1:45 pm, then taking a shuttle to the port. Does our arrival time to SEA give enough cushion to get to the ship in time? I'm worried about flight delays and I don't know the distance from the airport to the ship.

 

I would prefer to fly in the night before, but I was vetoed. Can anyone give me some indication of the transfer time from the airport to the dock?

 

I am enjoying all of your posts and tips, I've learned so much in my short time here. Thank you!! :)

 

that is a huge risk to arrive that late for any cruise . SEATAC to the Smith cove takes anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes to drive . A flight day before or earlier is better .

[croozelyfe]

Thanks, everyone for the quick replies. Yes, I agree that this is cutting it way too close. I don't think that my group was aware of the transfer time from the airport to the ship. I'll talk with them tonight and see if we can make other arrangements. I'm upset that now we'll have to make flight changes at $200 a pop. :mad:

 

Otherwise I'm very excited about this trip! I've only been on one other cruise, which was 3 days. I am counting down the days to this 7-day trip.

[croozelyfe]

I just talked to my hubby and he said that we arrive at 12:45, not 1:45 pm. I'm guessing that is still too close for comfort huh? I know, I know, I know. We'll change our flights LOL.

[Kamloops50]

I just talked to my hubby and he said that we arrive at 12:45, not 1:45 pm. I'm guessing that is still too close for comfort huh? I know, I know, I know. We'll change our flights LOL.

 

Where are flying from? Are there any chances of weather delays or cancellations ?

[croozelyfe]

Where are flying from? Are there any chances of weather delays or cancellations ?

 

We're flying in from Los Angeles, on Delta. It's a relatively quick flight. I haven't flown Delta in awhile but I remember they used to be notorious for flight delays and cancellations. I don't know if they have improved over the last few years.

[Clarea]

I just talked to my hubby and he said that we arrive at 12:45, not 1:45 pm. I'm guessing that is still too close for comfort huh? I know, I know, I know. We'll change our flights LOL.

Still way too close for me. :eek:

[Kamloops50]

We're flying in from Los Angeles, on Delta. It's a relatively quick flight. I haven't flown Delta in awhile but I remember they used to be notorious for flight delays and cancellations. I don't know if they have improved over the last few years.

Try checking Alaska Airlines for a better schedule.

[Roseflyer]

The good news is that when flying Los Angeles to Seattle, I don't see a need to fly in the night before. If you catch the first flight out of LAX, you will be in Seattle by 10am and have no problem making the cruise. The first flight of the day usually is reliably on time and even if late, there are plenty of alternatives. Both SEA and LAX are good airports with few delays. 12:45 is cutting it too close. I would suggest trying to get to SEA by 11am. Tickets between SEA and LAX are very very cheap. You probably can buy a new ticket for less than the $200 change fee.

[croozelyfe]

The good news is that when flying Los Angeles to Seattle, I don't see a need to fly in the night before. If you catch the first flight out of LAX, you will be in Seattle by 10am and have no problem making the cruise. The first flight of the day usually is reliably on time and even if late, there are plenty of alternatives. Both SEA and LAX are good airports with few delays. 12:45 is cutting it too close. I would suggest trying to get to SEA by 11am. Tickets between SEA and LAX are very very cheap. You probably can buy a new ticket for less than the $200 change fee.

 

Thank you. I am looking into early morning flights from LAX to SEA on Southwest and Virgin America; they seem to have good deals. I wanted to just "miss" our original flight leaving LAX, but I'm afraid the airline will cancel our return flights back from SEA if we do that. Looks like we will be buying more RT tickets. :o

[Kamloops50]

Thank you. I am looking into early morning flights from LAX to SEA on Southwest and Virgin America; they seem to have good deals. I wanted to just "miss" our original flight leaving LAX, but I'm afraid the airline will cancel our return flights back from SEA if we do that. Looks like we will be buying more RT tickets. :o

 

If you don't take the first flight . They will cancel the return flight as well.

Check if Alaska and Delta don't have a code share flight in the morning.

Edited June 2, 2016 by Kamloops50

[PCWalton1]

You say you are flying on Delta. They have a 6:30 am flight on August 26 that arrive at 9:12 am. Just change flights.Maybe of you do the change online they might not charge a fee,

[CyberTag]

When did you book? Some airlines allow changes at no charge within 24 hours.

[ReneeFLL]

That is cutting it to close for comfort for me. I would be to stressed that something would go wrong. Hope you find a better flight.

[reallyitsmema]

Thank you. I am looking into early morning flights from LAX to SEA on Southwest and Virgin America; they seem to have good deals. I wanted to just "miss" our original flight leaving LAX, but I'm afraid the airline will cancel our return flights back from SEA if we do that. Looks like we will be buying more RT tickets. :o

 

Dare I ask when your return flights are? Are those too soon after your cruise?

[Spa girl nana]

I agree, go the day before if you can or change to the earliest flight you can. Just sharing my experience from the May 20th cruise and since this was the first for Explorer, maybe some things have changed. We flew in the day before and stayed near the Space Needle. On the day of the cruise we left the hotel at 10:15. I don't know how long it took to get the the ship, but traffic was very bad, Once we got to the ship, check in was very smooth & reasonably quick considering the lines. We chose to go to the Promenade cafe for a quick light lunch and the announcement was made that rooms were ready. So just noting that from leaving the hotel at 10:15 to rooms being ready at 1:00. Fast forward to Muster Drill; mine was at station B13, right be the ramp were guest were boarding the ship. There was a constant line of folks still boarding while Muster was going on. I don't know what time we actually left, but it was later than planned. I'm guessing they waiting until all the passengers were processed in the terminal and those who had booked air through RCL had arrived. My flights with Southwest were all on time.

 

Now leaving the ship and getting back to the airport on the day we came back home....it took us 3 hours from the time we left the ship and got to the airport. One of the delays was our transportation/transfer was by bus and it seemed to take forever for them to get the luggage on the bus, first bus to Southwest was full so we had to wait for another one, then again traffic was also very heavy, but only the stop & roll until we got out of the port area. There were probably 10 or more buses, but there seemed be be only 1 designated for SW. I would think a taxi or van shuttle would be quicker.

 

Celebrity was also there and boarding at the same time, so 2 big ships, traffic, etc.

[Spa girl nana]

I'll add that our experience with TSA at SEA was quick, or a quick as you can walk through those roped off weaving lines. They had the security dogs working the lines. Everything still had to go through the scanners, but I didn't have to take my shoes off or do the stand on the footprints & pose. My sister said they didn't have to take the computer of their bags either. We did have to show photo ID along with boarding pass. Actually seemed to have to show the ID/Passport more on this cruise than I remember on others.

[reallyitsmema]

I'll add that our experience with TSA at SEA was quick, or a quick as you can walk through those roped off weaving lines. They had the security dogs working the lines. Everything still had to go through the scanners, but I didn't have to take my shoes off or do the stand on the footprints & pose. My sister said they didn't have to take the computer of their bags either. We did have to show photo ID along with boarding pass. Actually seemed to have to show the ID/Passport more on this cruise than I remember on others.

 

You didn't have to take off your shoes because of your age. You also don't have to if you have TSA pre-check.

Edited June 3, 2016 by reallyitsmema

[MotorBoatinGal]

We're flying in from Los Angeles, on Delta. It's a relatively quick flight. I haven't flown Delta in awhile but I remember they used to be notorious for flight delays and cancellations. I don't know if they have improved over the last few years.

 

 

We're flying Delta from Pennsylvania and our flights have changed 3 times already. I did rebook our flight because it had us coming into Seattle at 12:30 am (3:30 am EST) which made for a long day for us. Fortunately, there was no charge since the times changed so much. We are also flying in 2 days before cruise which is also a good thing. I would definately see about trying to either fly in earlier or day before. Good luck and enjoy your cruise! Our cruise is mid July - can't wait!!

[InTheWASide]

I just talked to my hubby and he said that we arrive at 12:45, not 1:45 pm. I'm guessing that is still too close for comfort huh? I know, I know, I know. We'll change our flights LOL.

 

With all the dozens of cruises we've done, this is our general rule and it has always served us well:

 

If we are going to arrive the day of the cruise, if there were 5 hours of delays along the way could we still make it with at least a couple hours to spare. If the answer is yes, and the price is by far the best, we'll do it.

 

Example: If we were leaving from Ft Lauderdale and the departure time was 5pm, an arrival at 9am, plus 5 hours (2pm) would still be 3 hours before departure and 1.5 hours before all aboard. We would be okay with that if the savings were tremendous. Same scenario getting in at 10am though, not a chance. And if pricing isn't much different we come in the day before so we can get a good night's sleep (neither of us sleeps particularly well on airplanes)

[Sandy Sails]

It depends what day of the week you're arriving. If it's a week day, no way. Seattle has horrible traffic (I know, I commute to work M-F in it - but on a Metro bus). Weekends are much better but still not great. Seattle is behind the times in transportation options but they're working on it. Meanwhile, too many people, too many cars, not enough freeways = terrible traffic. Plan accordingly.