What to do with Hours before Flight in Seattle (big group)?

[SuzieQ521]

Hello:

 

We are disembarking off our Alaska cruise on a Saturday in late May. I know the latest that Princess will let us get off the ship is 10 am if we are lucky.

 

Part of our group of 9 has a 5:30 pm flight and the others are not until 7:30 p.m.

 

I looked at the sightseeing tour that Seattle Express offers but that's more (about $90pp) than anyone wants to pay, especially after the costly Alaska excursions. 

 

The problem is that a couple in our group are mobility-challenged and we also will have a small child...

 

Are there any other reasonably priced shuttle buses or tours that could pick us up from Pier 91 to go sightsee around Pike Place and then possibly drive us to the airport? Or is our best bet trying to take Uber/Lyft from Pier 91 to Pike Place, and then another ride share to the airport? We plan to utilize the Port of valet service for our bigger luggage. 

 

Thanks!

 

[psuboater]

Honestly, $90pp for an all day tour with transportation at the airport is a pretty good deal. Taking an Uber from Pier 91 is going to be $15-20 (x 2-3 Ubers based on group size)  then another from downtown to SEA would be another $45-50 in rush hour traffic (x 2-3 Ubers based on group size), and you're stuck without a bus to hold your larger carry on items all day. With children and a mobility challenged group, I wouldn't recommend  my other option which would be to Uber into downtown then take the light rail down to the airport when you're ready- there's a lot of walking involved. 
 

Saturdays in the spring tend to be very congested downtown as you'll have those boarding on Sunday and Monday ships, as well as the ones leaving later the day Saturday. With a large group of yours it might be worth the $ to make the end of your trip seamless. 

[Gardyloo]

And if it's Memorial Day weekend, you'll also have to deal with (potentially) big crowds at Seattle Center (Space Needle, Chihuly, MoPop etc.) due to the annual Folklife Festival, which can draw upwards of a quarter million people over the long weekend.  

 

Honestly, what I'd do would be to head to the airport when you disembark, store your luggage at the left luggage facility (if you can't check it in or haven't used Port Valet) and then plot your plans from there.  Some could ride the light rail back to downtown, some could buy a day pass for a lounge at the airport, some could think about renting a car for a few hours and head out into the countryside... many options.  

 

Note that the Pike Place market is insanely crowded on weekends during cruise season, starting at around 10 AM.  Not fun.  

[cruiseaholic78]

9 hours ago, SuzieQ521 said:

Hello:

 

We are disembarking off our Alaska cruise on a Saturday in late May. I know the latest that Princess will let us get off the ship is 10 am if we are lucky.

 

Part of our group of 9 has a 5:30 pm flight and the others are not until 7:30 p.m.

 

I looked at the sightseeing tour that Seattle Express offers but that's more (about $90pp) than anyone wants to pay, especially after the costly Alaska excursions. 

 

The problem is that a couple in our group are mobility-challenged and we also will have a small child...

 

Are there any other reasonably priced shuttle buses or tours that could pick us up from Pier 91 to go sightsee around Pike Place and then possibly drive us to the airport? Or is our best bet trying to take Uber/Lyft from Pier 91 to Pike Place, and then another ride share to the airport? We plan to utilize the Port of valet service for our bigger luggage. 

 

Thanks!

 

Another option you might consider is to book an hotel room(s) for part of the day, great for relaxing before (changing) your return flight. I used this option in Sydney Australia when our flight didn’t leave until 21:30 and we chose an airport hotel with a pool.

Happy planning 

Rosalyn

https://www.dayuse.com/s/seattle?selectedAddress=Seattle&sluggableAddress=Seattle&placeId=eyJsYXQiOjQ3LjYyMDI1LCJsbmciOi0xMjIuMzUwNjksInQiOjEsInAiOiJjdXN0b20ifQ%3D%3D%2B55e93668612277f791b0521788a8363f&checkinDate=2023-03-29&isPoolIncluded=true&ne_lng=-119.457369&ne_lat=48.870206&sw_lng=-125.238273&sw_lat=46.339679

 

Edited March 16, 2023 by cruiseaholic78

[psuboater]

20 minutes ago, Gardyloo said:

And if it's Memorial Day weekend, you'll also have to deal with (potentially) big crowds at Seattle Center (Space Needle, Chihuly, MoPop etc.) due to the annual Folklife Festival, which can draw upwards of a quarter million people over the long weekend.  

 

Honestly, what I'd do would be to head to the airport when you disembark, store your luggage at the left luggage facility (if you can't check it in or haven't used Port Valet) and then plot your plans from there.  Some could ride the light rail back to downtown, some could buy a day pass for a lounge at the airport, some could think about renting a car for a few hours and head out into the countryside... many options.  

 

Note that the Pike Place market is insanely crowded on weekends during cruise season, starting at around 10 AM.  Not fun.  

Just as an FYI, all lounges do not allow entry any sooner than 3 hours before take off now. This applies to all lounges at SEA. 

[SuzieQ521]

Thanks everyone. It is the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend so I didn't even think about how Pike Place area is going to be even more crowded than usual.

 

It may be worth it to do the Seattle Express tour after all...

[Ferry_Watcher]

Another option would be after visiting Pike Place Market, you order up a couple of Uber XLs and head south towards the airport, but stopping to spend 3-4+ hours at the Museum of Flight.  Once you are finished there, Uber to SeaTac. 

 

https://www.museumofflight.org/