Seattle first timer question

[topspin1267]

We are cruising to Alaska from Seattle in July. While we've done over 40 cruises we've never cruised from Seattle so not sure what to expect with debark and we're trying to decide on flight times. 

 

Anyone who has experience with the Seattle port your input would be greatly appreciated. On the average do you think an 11 am flight is too early? (We are Diamond and we are travelling on an Elite offer so we will have early debark and a private car for the airport ride)

 

TIA

[Mic101680]

I personally wouldn't chance one quite that early. Traffic in and around Seattle can be horrendous, and it's roughly a 30-45 min ride from the port to the airport (my experience over the years has nearly always been closer to the 45 min mark). Security/TSA at SEATAC can sometimes take longer than you would expect it to, and I when I was last there a few years ago they still had some major construction going on in and around the airport that caused some delay getting there. Add in possible delays if the ship comes into port late and you have a scheduling nightmare to deal with.

 

[groundloop]

I personally wouldn't chance it with that early of a flight.  If everything worked perfectly you'd probably be ok, but it wouldn't take too big of a snafu to make for a bad day.  As others have mentioned traffic getting to the airport can be bad, as well as the lines getting through security etc.

 

 

[CruiserBruce]

If you look around the board, most will say 11am is the absolute earliest, 11:30 is a better target time. Discussed here quite frequently.

[nwcruiselover]

I wouldn’t book a flight before Noon.  Seattle traffic is notoriously heavy, and as mentioned before, TSA lines can be long, as can check-in lines.  

[psuboater]

I've shared this a few times, but on our Alaska cruise last year, we had issues with customs clearing the ship. The first group off was supposed to be at 7am, and they didn't start disembarkation until 8:30. It was our home port so we weren't stressed, but there were a LOT of stressed out passengers trying to get off the ship for an early time. As others have mentioned, if you're coming back to Seattle on a weekday, you're going to run into terrible traffic on the way down to SEATAC. A Sat/Sun flight will give you a bit more grace, but there's very few easy ways to SEATAC if there's an issue with I5 (which there are many 🙂 ).

 

I have TSA/Clear, so I haven't waited over 10 minutes to get through security. Others who have precheck and not CLEAR can be waiting up to 25-30 minutes, especially on busy times. If you don't have either, highly highly reccomend reserving your spot here: 

https://www.portseattle.org/SEAspotsaver

 

It's free and specifically for those who do not have TSA Precheck. You reserve your time in line and you essentially "cut" the line during your reserved time slot. Otherwise, I've seen regular security lines back up to the parking garage and become over an hour wait. 

 

All in all, I'd say noon to be safe. I've done the nailbiting "just-got-to-the-gate-while-boarding" because of issues with Seattle traffic, and it is not the way to end your cruise.

Edited March 7, 2023 by psuboater

[Prost Seattle]

SEA has had some days where the security line extends into the parking garage.  If you plan an early flight I’d make certain you take advantage of spot saver.

 

https://www.portseattle.org/SEAspotsaver

 

If you aren’t tired of seafood by this point of your vacation, SEA now has a Salty’s restaurant in the terminal with excellent food and it’d be a good place to spend some time.  

[libtrek]

Last fall from Seattle we got off the ship early self debark, got to the airport quickly. Then, boom the security line! Barely made an 11:30 am flight. Won’t chance it again. This year we are doing Vancouver-Seward. Have an ending flight at 1 am in Anchorage. Don’t anticipate any problems making it, LOL.

[Ferry_Watcher]

Guessing that you are cruising on Carnival, and therefore you would be flying home on a Tuesday or Thursday morning.  I think that an 11 AM flight is still iffy.  SeaTac is quite busy even during weekdays.  I agree that having that extra 30 min cushion (not booking a flight before 11:30 AM) still holds for your situation.