Princess Transfer - Seattle to SEATAC

[u2harmony]

I just read several pages of mostly negative posts about the Princess Transfers and I am now worried -

 

My first Princess cruise to Alaska is coming up and I booked the transfer back to the airport after the cruise docks - my flight home is 11:35am - I have a full suite so I might get off the ship a bit earlier and hoped to be on the first shuttle to the airport.

 

I have read that I might be waiting around for several hours to go to the airport and that will cause me to miss my flight.

 

I am fully paid so it's too late to cancel, I assume.

 

Any suggestions - should I just eat the cost and take a personal cab? Are they usually available outside when the cruises dock?

 

Thanks so much in advance. :)

[bassmaster150]

We had zero issues. We were in a full suite, and had the ability to adjust our debark time to whatever we needed. We were off the ship too quickly in my opinion as we had to wait at the airport for like 3 hours before our flight....but absolutely no issues. We were on the first sailing of the Ruby Princess in Alaska this season...May 8

[moki'smommy]

It shouldn't be a problem. As you noted, being in a suite you can basically set your own time to get off the ship. If your luggage tags don't put you in the first group, go to passenger services and point out to them that you need to get off early.

 

It isn't a long distance from the cruise terminal to the airport but traffic can be wicked. We've never had to wait around. You should depart as soon as the shuttle is full. This is not more than 15 or 20 minutes waiting IF you are the first person on the bus. There will be plenty of people getting off ASAP. If you decide that the wait is too much, yes, there are plenty of cabs available. But again, the shuttle normally works fine.

 

Scheduled disembarkation times for non-suite guests are based on their flight times. Since you are in a suite, getting off early is no problem. FWIW, we were at the airport at least 3 hours before our flight each time we used Princess transfers.

 

On transfers TO the cruise terminal, they sometimes try to stall you out at a hotel. I think the plan it to avoid crowds at the cruise terminal, but what it does is irritate people. However, there are limited options when a flight arrives at 8am and people aren't OFF the ship at that hour. Still, keeping people sitting at a hotel for 4 hours is not needed when 2 would do the job.

[u2harmony]

Very, very helpful.

 

Thank you both. :)

[Thrak]

We have a transfer in Vancouver that seems to have been automagically put in place as part of our connoisseur cruise tour. We have no use for the transfer as we aren't even going to the airport. I wish I could just get the cost of the transfer removed but I don't think I can do that.

[New York Nana]

I just read several pages of mostly negative posts about the Princess Transfers and I am now worried -

 

 

 

My first Princess cruise to Alaska is coming up and I booked the transfer back to the airport after the cruise docks - my flight home is 11:35am - I have a full suite so I might get off the ship a bit earlier and hoped to be on the first shuttle to the airport.

 

 

 

I have read that I might be waiting around for several hours to go to the airport and that will cause me to miss my flight.

 

 

 

I am fully paid so it's too late to cancel, I assume.

 

 

 

Any suggestions - should I just eat the cost and take a personal cab? Are they usually available outside when the cruises dock?

 

 

 

Thanks so much in advance. :)

 

 

 

This was the debark schedule from the Ruby on Sunday, May 15. I would expect the Crown (on Saturdays) would be similar. You can see the earliest times are to self walkoff and then next earliest is for a SEATAC transfer.

 

 

As stated, being in a suite allows you to have your time adjusted - but do it as soon as you receive your luggage tags to avoid any lines. You will have to complete a debark information sheet with flight info that Pax Svcs uses to schedule you.

 

As far as the Princess Transfer itself. If you're one of the 1st ones on it, you WILL wait for it to fill up (not HOURS, perhaps 20 minutes?). We left the ship around 9:30 and was at SEATAC around 10:30. Our flight wasn't until late afternoon.

 

I believe that if we had a flight prior to noon, we would have used a local shuttle service (check the boards, there are several mentioned). I researched the taxi fares and it would have been quite a bit more (the port is far north of the city, the airport is far south). However, if you're concerned about being there 2 hrs prior to flight, I personally might take the taxi.

 

I also believe that you can have the $$ you pre-paid for the transfer be removed from your account when you board and go to Pax Svcs. It may be given back as a 'credit' on board or it may be credited back to your credit card you purchased it with. I've never done this so I can't speak to it - but it never hurts to ask. Likewise, if your cruise is farther out than week from now, you can call Princess (or go through your TA) and see about canceling it for refund.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[u2harmony]

Very helpful - I am on the Ruby 1st week of September.

 

Does "walk off" mean take your own luggage?

 

The Debark Info Sheet - I will do that onboard, right?

 

I figure based on what you guys told me, if I am off the ship by 8:30 and on my way to the airport shortly after, I should be fine. I booked my flight before all of the longer security line issues, and I do use the TSA line, so that should help expedite things.

 

Might try for a credit anyway and just use a shuttle service, but we'll see. I'm probably worried for nothing, but the Ruby returns on Sunday and my husband and I have to be back at work on Monday so a flight change would not be good for us and this 11:30am flight gets us home early evening. :)

 

Thank you all again.

[idahospud]

Very helpful - I am on the Ruby 1st week of September.

 

Does "walk off" mean take your own luggage?

 

The Debark Info Sheet - I will do that onboard, right?

 

I figure based on what you guys told me, if I am off the ship by 8:30 and on my way to the airport shortly after, I should be fine. I booked my flight before all of the longer security line issues, and I do use the TSA line, so that should help expedite things.

Yes, walk off means you take off all your luggage with you.

 

Debark info sheet - you will get a form in your cabin a few days into your cruise asking for your disembarkation information. You will list your flight and time. They will then distribute passengers into colored luggage tag groups corresponding to disemebarkation preferences. Since you've already purchased the ship's shuttle, you will mark that box. In our experience the ship has been good about accommodating passengers with early flights and will send you off on one of the 8:00ish disembarkation Princess shuttle times. (If you were flying out later in the day you would be assigned a later Princess shuttle time.)

 

I was in Seattle last week and the lines had gone down quite a bit from a couple weeks back. We love our TSA precheck. It makes things a breeze.

[goodmud]

Half of our group on the Crown in May had flights at 11:25. We purchased transfers. They were in the group that got off at 8 am. They made their flights just fine. Hope that helps.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I thought the transfers were relatively painless in Seattle to SEATAC. I'm not sure how Princess does it, but with Celebrity, the entire bus of people were dropped off at one location at the airport, then you had to get to your check-in counter on your own. Normally, this wouldn't be too bad but for some reason, I got "lucky" and my check-in counter was the absolute last one. Must've been at least a half mile walk while dragging heavy luggage by myself. :cool: Hopefully, Princess buses will make a few stops and it'll be quick and easy for you.

 

As a first-timer, it's best to go with the transfers. It'll make your life a little easier. You can be in a bit of a daze your first few times cruising and it's nice just to let someone else take the reins. ;)

[4cats4me]

I just read several pages of mostly negative posts about the Princess Transfers and I am now worried -

 

 

 

My first Princess cruise to Alaska is coming up and I booked the transfer back to the airport after the cruise docks - my flight home is 11:35am - I have a full suite so I might get off the ship a bit earlier and hoped to be on the first shuttle to the airport.

 

 

 

I have read that I might be waiting around for several hours to go to the airport and that will cause me to miss my flight.

 

 

 

I am fully paid so it's too late to cancel, I assume.

 

 

 

Any suggestions - should I just eat the cost and take a personal cab? Are they usually available outside when the cruises dock?

 

 

 

Thanks so much in advance. :)

 

 

 

You can do walk off express disembarkation if you can handle all of your luggage. Then if you do walk off, just get a cab and the ride to the airport should be a quick 25 -30 mins both times we were at the airport by 8:30-9:00. Seattle TSA was horrible both times, though, so slow and they were very rude compared to every other airport we've been to. Very slow moving lines even four and two years ago

[emoji30]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited June 14, 2016 by 4cats4me

[caribill]

I just read several pages of mostly negative posts about the Princess Transfers and I am now worried -

 

My first Princess cruise to Alaska is coming up and I booked the transfer back to the airport after the cruise docks - my flight home is 11:35am - I have a full suite so I might get off the ship a bit earlier and hoped to be on the first shuttle to the airport.

 

I have read that I might be waiting around for several hours to go to the airport and that will cause me to miss my flight.

 

I am fully paid so it's too late to cancel, I assume.

 

Any suggestions - should I just eat the cost and take a personal cab? Are they usually available outside when the cruises dock?

 

Thanks so much in advance. :)

 

Don't worry.

 

Your disembarkation time will be assigned based on the fact you do have a Princess transfer and what time your flight is.

 

When you fill out the disembarkation form, mark it accordingly.

 

You will be sent luggage tags for the disembarkation time you will be assigned.

 

The time you will be assigned will get you to the airport in time to make your flight.

[caribill]

We have a transfer in Vancouver that seems to have been automagically put in place as part of our connoisseur cruise tour. We have no use for the transfer as we aren't even going to the airport. I wish I could just get the cost of the transfer removed but I don't think I can do that.

 

The default option when you book a Princess cruise is to include airport transfers.

 

So if you do not want it, contact your Travel Agent (or Princess if you booked directly) to have it removed.

[Cruiser411]

We have a transfer in Vancouver that seems to have been automagically put in place as part of our connoisseur cruise tour. We have no use for the transfer as we aren't even going to the airport. I wish I could just get the cost of the transfer removed but I don't think I can do that.

 

Have it removed onboard...

[jeffbrig]

We have a transfer in Vancouver that seems to have been automagically put in place as part of our connoisseur cruise tour. We have no use for the transfer as we aren't even going to the airport. I wish I could just get the cost of the transfer removed but I don't think I can do that.

 

I don't know if the connoisseur tour is different, but I've always been able to have transfers added and removed by my TA. It's worth a phone call to see. I live in FLL, and half the time when I book a cruise, airport transfers get added automatically. Obviously, I have no need for an airport transfer, and I've had no problem getting those charges removed.

[Pierlesscruisers]

I just read several pages of mostly negative posts about the Princess Transfers and I am now worried -

 

My first Princess cruise to Alaska is coming up and I booked the transfer back to the airport after the cruise docks - my flight home is 11:35am - I have a full suite so I might get off the ship a bit earlier and hoped to be on the first shuttle to the airport.

 

I have read that I might be waiting around for several hours to go to the airport and that will cause me to miss my flight.

 

I am fully paid so it's too late to cancel, I assume.

 

Any suggestions - should I just eat the cost and take a personal cab? Are they usually available outside when the cruises dock?

 

Thanks so much in advance. :)

 

Anybody who told you that you will be waiting around "for several hours to go to the airport" has, to put it mildly, either an "alternate view of reality" or has a problem judging time. With an 11:35 departure time, I would suggest that you request an early disembarkation time from the ship, however, as I feel that it is better to be at the airport waiting than it is to be at the pier waiting!;) That said, the earliest you will be able to come off the ship is usually 7:30, although sometimes that is moved up to as early as 7:15 or so. The only thing you will have to do before getting to the bus lot will be to pick up your bags in the baggage hall (assuming you don't go with EZ-Check, in which case you will not even see your bags until you reach your final destination) and clear customs. With an early departure, you will probably clear customs in 15 minutes or so. If you do not feel comfortable with your disembarkation time, you can always go down to Passenger Services on Deck 6 and request and earlier time. Normally, one of the determinants on disembarkation times is whether you have an airport transfer and the time of your flight so that normally gets you off in plenty of time, though.

 

Depending on what airline you will be departing Seattle on, you will be put into 1 of 2 lines leading to the transfer buses, neither of which will have more than a few people, if any, in them. The first buses will depart the pier as soon as it is loaded and no more than 20 minutes after the first person gets on the bus. One exception to that rule is that the first bus in each of the 2 lines I just mentioned may not depart until 8:20. (When a bus is filled, it will depart, regardless of how long it has been there.) Since it is about a 30 minute trip to SeaTac the 1st bus should be at the airport by 9am at the latest.

 

The 2 lines I mentioned earlier will both get you to SeaTac. The one line is for passengers traveling on American, Alaska, and Southwest airlines and will drop you off at the North Lot. The second line is for passengers traveling on all the other airlines and will drop you off at the South Lot.

 

For passengers traveling on Southwest Airlines, Southwest will have a desk and personnel at the North Lot who will take their luggage, process their passengers, issue boarding passes, etc. so that all those passengers have to do is go through security and straight to their departure gate.

 

For passengers traveling on Delta Airlines, Delta will do the same for their passengers at the South Lot as Southwest does at the North lot.

 

While there were security line problems at SeaTac earlier in the year, those problems seem to have been dealt with and I have not heard of any problems approaching what was prevalent during May so hopefully, that problem has gone away.

 

I hope this puts your mind at rest and you have a great cruise and you have a safe, comfortable flight home.

 

Tom

Edited June 14, 2016 by Pierlesscruisers

[caribill]

Anybody who told you that you will be waiting around "for several hours to go to the airport" has, to put it mildly, either an "alternate view of reality" or has a problem judging time. With an 11:35 departure time, I would suggest that you request an early disembarkation time from the ship, however, as I feel that it is better to be at the airport waiting than it is to be at the pier waiting!;) That said, the earliest you will be able to come off the ship is usually 7:30, although sometimes that is moved up to as early as 7:15 or so. The only thing you will have to do before getting to the bus lot will be to pick up your bags in the baggage hall (assuming you don't go with EZ-Check, in which case you will not even see your bags until you reach your final destination) and clear customs. With an early departure, you will probably clear customs in 15 minutes or so. If you do not feel comfortable with your disembarkation time, you can always go down to Passenger Services on Deck 6 and request and earlier time. Normally, one of the determinants on disembarkation times is whether you have an airport transfer and the time of your flight so that normally gets you off in plenty of time, though.

 

 

Princess should be assigning you to a disembarkation group that is only for those with an airport transfer. Other than requesting an earlier airport transfer group, there is no reason to request an early non-transfer time as you will still need to wait on shore until your transfer is ready to be loaded.

 

With your flight time it is unlikely that EZCheck will be available to you. It will likely only be available for flights later than yours.

[idahospud]

With your flight time it is unlikely that EZCheck will be available to you. It will likely only be available for flights later than yours.

The flight has to be after 11:00, at least as of a couple weeks ago. Here's a link to the EZ check form from a couple weeks ago:

 

EZ check

[Hapytocruise]

I would check with Princess about cancelling the shuttle and take a taxi. Unless it was a perk with your booking I do not see why not. If not cancelable I would just take the loss and tell them you are not using it. Taxi will likely be cheaper and quicker. Security off the ship and then at the airport can take a long time, the earlier off the ship the better for an early flight.

 

 

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[OfficerKrupke]

Seattle TSA was horrible both times, though, so slow and they were very rude compared to every other airport we've been to.

 

We were just at the Seattle airport on Monday. The TSA line was terrible. I don't know why they aren't opening the other entry points to more traffic. The TSA area at terminal S was completely empty, though there were TSA agents on duty. The "cruise ship" TSA area didn't appear to be open, since they weren't redirecting anybody. We were lucky enough to be flying Premium, so we were able to walk past the approximately 1,000 people waiting in line and go straight to the Premium entry, which had 5 people ahead of us. It was worth the extra frequent flyer points we spent to fly Premium (in this case, Business Class) just to avoid that mess.

[Pierlesscruisers]

Princess should be assigning you to a disembarkation group that is only for those with an airport transfer. Other than requesting an earlier airport transfer group, there is no reason to request an early non-transfer time as you will still need to wait on shore until your transfer is ready to be loaded.

 

While it is true that people with airport transfers will be debarked as a group, those are often times also grouped by those using EZ-Check. If a person is not using that program for some reason, then requesting an earlier group may allow a person handling their own bags to get off the pier more quickly. Also, at Seattle the transfer buses to SeaTac airport depart as they are loaded and often times multiple buses will be loading at the same time and departing almost simultaneously. Procedures at other locations certainly may vary.

 

Tom