Seattle Pier 91 Uber/Lyft Q&A

[Ferry_Watcher]

The Uber/Lyft pick up area (for returning/disembarking passengers) for Seattle's Pier 91 has been revamped and improved.  Passengers who plan to use Uber/Lyft after their cruise will still walk the .04 mile (or take the shuttle) to meet their Uber/Lyft driver & car.  It is a 7-10 minute walk from the terminal building along a pedestrian walkway along the side the road - just follow the signs, or ask a pier staff member for directions. There is also a shuttle bus available as you exit the building on the right-side of the ground transportation area (look for the buses).  The white shuttle bus (hold about 12/14 people) and is located in the first slot "A".   Generally, it is faster to walk to the Uber/Lyft area as the shuttle bus also takes passengers to the on-site passenger car parking lot.

 

The biggest change in the the Uber/Lyft area is the angle-in parking with numbered slots.  Your Uber/Lyft driver can let you know what slot he/she is parked in so you can connect easier.  There is pier traffic staff with walkie/talkies who can also help passengers find their drivers.  The improved Uber/Lyft area also now has a tented waiting area to keep you dry, or out of the sun.  The lot can hold 34 Uber/Lyft cars at the same time.

 

The Uber/Lyft area is just used in the mornings for passengers disembarking.  All passengers arriving to embark (Uber/Lyft, bus, private car, town car, etc) are dropped off in the driveway area close to the Terminal 91 building.

Edited May 8, 2019 by Ferry_Watcher
typo

[Cyn874]

This is incredible, thanks for sharing. I just dealt with calling an uber during disembarkation in Los Angeles and believe me, it was a literal nightmare that involved me standing in the middle of the traffic jam, frantically waving my arms until the driver could find me, haha. 

 

The pictures and detailed description is brilliant as well, so I know what to expect later this summer. 

[purdo]

Great information, thanks for sharing.

[shiska]

Thanks much.

[MoyCoy]

So the walk us short if Lyft drops you off? Are they allowed past the security gates for drop offs?

[CruiserBruce]

17 minutes ago, MoyCoy said:

So the walk us short if Lyft drops you off? Are they allowed past the security gates for drop offs?

Read the third paragraph of Ferry Watcher's first post. Drop off for arriving/embarking pax is up close, just like any other arriving vehicle, taxi, town car, etc.

[Eaglecw]

Just figure on walking about 50 - 75 yards to the front of the terminal building from where you get dropped off.

[Ferry_Watcher]

If you prefer to walk to the Uber/Lyft pick-up area, it is a 7-10 minute  walk covering .04 mile distance. (Highly recommended if you are physically able, have wheeled luggage in good shape, and wish to get to the Uber/Lyft pick-up area faster).  As you exit the Terminal 91 building, veer towards the left and follow the APP Based Ride Share Uber/Lyft signs.

[Ferry_Watcher]

If you wish, or need to use the free shuttle to the Uber/Lyft pick-up area, veer towards the right as you exit the Terminal 91 Building.  You will see the  Ground Transportation Center sign for Taxis, Buses and Shuttle.  You will find the small white  Uber/Lyft Shuttle bus in parking slot "A" and sometimes "B".  Note the actual photo of the shuttle.  This shuttle also transports passengers to the on-site passenger parking lot.  Shuttle holds about 14 people.

[onewin]

Thanks so much for all this great info!

 

[AlanF65]

Cab line getting off Ovation same time as Celebrity ship. Had to change my flight. 2 hours 20 minutes from when I had my luggage until I was at airport

 

[bhsolo]

Wow! Do they have a separate line if you are grabbing a lyft/cab to downtown? Is there a shuttle by chance? 

 

I have a red red eye back east so was planning to use port valet and then head downtown to hang out for a bit. 

[AlanF65]

7 hours ago, bhsolo said:

Wow! Do they have a separate line if you are grabbing a lyft/cab to downtown? Is there a shuttle by chance? 

 

I have a red red eye back east so was planning to use port valet and then head downtown to hang out for a bit. 

 

You can walk to uber lyft area (4-7 minutes) to meet your vehicle or take a shuttle. The lines you see in my pictures are the people with porters and the people without porters waiting for cabs to get into. Traffic was horrible  getting out of the pier  with 7000+ leaving and people showing up to get on next cruise.

 

The line you walked to the shuttles was pretty clear and  open and uber lyft shuttles are right outside the main door on your right.

 

Port valet is the right choice, walk off early and go where you want. Cab is the wrong choice after about 9am when lots of people are getting off.

 

Last year when I got off EOS there were two ships there and the cab line was about 10-15 people so  I wrongly ASSUMED that it would just take a few minutes to get a cab when I made a 12pm flight. Bad decision on my part.

[Ferry_Watcher]

What a challenging morning it must have been waiting for the taxis.  It may have been the perfect storm converging all at once. 

 

It was the Friday of Memorial Day weekend, and there may have been a higher demand for taxis all across the Seattle area as the locals also headed out to SeaTac.   It was the Ovation of the Sea first visit to Pier 91, and the additional 1,100 people she carries (over last years Explorer of the Sea) probably had an impact.  There may have been fewer taxis available because the Seattle school district does contract with the taxi companies to transport students through the school year (which will end mid June).  Finally, there is the traffic choke point of the single lane that is available to enter the Pier 91 area, although it does widen the closer you get to the ship (3 lanes: private vehicles, taxis, buses).  I am guessing that all the parties involved at 91 (Port of Seattle, Cruise Terminals of America, and the folks who run the traffic support staff) will all be looking at what happened Friday, and will make improvements.

[bonsai3s]

We just wanted to take the time and thank Ferry_Watcher for all his help and detailed information.

We can fully attest to how accurate all his information are and have been...we disembarked from the Solstice on May 17th, Pier 91 in Seattle...and it was an easy process..."Thank you Ferry_Watcher!"

Note: We have friends who disembarked last week from the Ovation and regrettably, experienced the overcrowding outside the cruise terminal at Pier 91.  We found everyone, all pier employees, to be super friendly...and agree with Ferry_Watcher that the problem of overcrowding will be corrected.  Happy Sailing to all.

[Ferry_Watcher]

2 hours ago, bonsai3s said:

We just wanted to take the time and thank Ferry_Watcher for all his help and detailed information.

We can fully attest to how accurate all his information are and have been...we disembarked from the Solstice on May 17th, Pier 91 in Seattle...and it was an easy process..."Thank you Ferry_Watcher!"

Note: We have friends who disembarked last week from the Ovation and regrettably, experienced the overcrowding outside the cruise terminal at Pier 91.  We found everyone, all pier employees, to be super friendly...and agree with Ferry_Watcher that the problem of overcrowding will be corrected.  Happy Sailing to all.

 

Thank you my friend for the kind words.  I am glad to help my fellow CC friends as they pass through Seattle's Pier 91.

[bhsolo]

10 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

 

Thank you my friend for the kind words.  I am glad to help my fellow CC friends as they pass through Seattle's Pier 91.

I have to agree, thank you for all of your help!

 

I was also wondering if I could bother you for another question. Do you know if there were any shuttle dropoffs to downtown - preferably to Pike Place? Since I have lots of time before my red-eye flight back home was going to do some more exploring and while I could take a lyft (though I'll definitely be out there by 8:30AM thank you for that helpful tidbit!) figured a shuttle without a tour might also be easy. 

 

Thanks again!!

[Ferry_Watcher]

On 5/28/2019 at 7:05 AM, bhsolo said:

I have to agree, thank you for all of your help!

 

I was also wondering if I could bother you for another question. Do you know if there were any shuttle dropoffs to downtown - preferably to Pike Place? Since I have lots of time before my red-eye flight back home was going to do some more exploring and while I could take a lyft (though I'll definitely be out there by 8:30AM thank you for that helpful tidbit!) figured a shuttle without a tour might also be easy. 

 

Thanks again!!

I was just in your neighborhood (NYC) this past week!

Re shuttle to Pike Place Market / DTSeattle - no shuttles are offered.  You will have to use hired transportation (Taxi, Uber/Lyft) or public transportation with a bit of walking).

[bhsolo]

1 hour ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

I was just in your neighborhood (NYC) this past week!

Re shuttle to Pike Place Market / DTSeattle - no shuttles are offered.  You will have to use hired transportation (Taxi, Uber/Lyft) or public transportation with a bit of walking).

AWWW man. Hope you had a good time even with the rain last week.

 

Thanks, good to know I'll plan to do a lyft. 

[Ferry_Watcher]

2 minutes ago, bhsolo said:

AWWW man. Hope you had a good time even with the rain last week.

 

Thanks, good to know I'll plan to do a lyft. 

Folks would joke about us being use to the rain, but we would tell them that it never rains that hard in Seattle.  Ironically, when we were driving in one of the  downpours, my phone received the first alert about possible flash floods, even before the local residents phones received their alert.

I met a Barry from Hoboken on a coastal cruise last September - could that be you?

[bhsolo]

14 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

Folks would joke about us being use to the rain, but we would tell them that it never rains that hard in Seattle.  Ironically, when we were driving in one of the  downpours, my phone received the first alert about possible flash floods, even before the local residents phones received their alert.

I met a Barry from Hoboken on a coastal cruise last September - could that be you?

Yup, last week was a doozy of doozies with the downpours. Those usually happen a bit later in the summer. Glad to know when I'm in Seattle that won't be as much of a thing.

 

Unfortunately, not me :(.

[va9276]

Big crowd at disembarkation, but an uncrowded walk to the APP Based Ride Share Area. Took a few minutes, but well worth it. Lyft picked us up within 10 minutes and we were at the airport more than two hours before our 11:20 am flight. By the way, our driver said he avoids pickups at Pier 66 because the traffic is crazy, but he loves the Pier 91 arrangement.

 

Also...

We used the Port Valet luggage service so we were not hauling bags. Walked straight to security. Bags met us at final destination just as promised. Although we were told luggage tags and boarding passes might not arrive until after 9:30 the night before disembarkation, they were in our stateroom Wednesday night.

What a great, free service. (We still paid normal baggage fees but used some of our OBC.)

[2pbears]

On ‎6‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 1:53 PM, va9276 said:

 

 (We still paid normal baggage fees but used some of our OBC.)

 

Can you explain how the airline baggage fees are assessed when you using this Port Valet service?   We are allowed two free bags as we are Alaska Airlines cardholders.   Will we still be able to use this benefit or will we have to pay luggage fees?

[cruises42]

Ferry_Watcher what mode of transportation would you recommend to get to the airport? Family members have an 11:30 flight (coming back on a Monday from an Amsterdam cruise).

[Ferry_Watcher]

Luckily, Mondays are very quiet - the Amsterdam is the only ship disembarking on Mondays in Seattle.  And as you know, it carries less than 1,400 passengers.  The Amsterdam tends to have a more leisurely disembarkation (no mass exodus at 7:30 am).    

That being said, SeaTac is a very busy airport especially in the summer.  Your family members really need to be there at least two hours before their flight.  Not sure if their 11:30 am flight qualifies for Port Valet, but if it does I would recommend it.  If not, and if they are physically able, it might be best to carry their bags off and take a taxi or Uber. 

Hope this helps.