NEW for Royal & Celebrity SEATAC Arriving Bus Transfer Passengers

[Ferry_Watcher]

FLASH - New for Royal and Celebrity who are using RCI or X's motorcoach airport transfers, there will be check-in agents that will be able to check in passengers while still at the airport.  These passengers will be given a bracelet which will allow them to bypass the usual check-in line at Pier 91 by showing their boarding pass and passport (passengers will still have to wait in the security line).

 

To qualify for this first-in-the-industry program, these Royal and Celebrity passengers arriving at SeaTac airport and are using the cruise line's airport/pier 91 bus transfer.  Passengers must have completely checked-in online prior to arriving at SeaTac.  This includes answering the often skipped questions about Country of Birth, Country of Residence and an Emergency Contact Phone number.  

 

This program rolled out yesterday with the first Seattle sailing of the Celebrity Solstice.to good success.

[deeis50]

Where do you find out how to do this?

 

[Ferry_Watcher]

13 hours ago, deeis50 said:

Where do you find out how to do this?

 

 

This check-in at SeaTac is only for passengers who are using Celebrity's or Royal's airport transfer bus.  There will be check-in agents at the bus to check in passengers who have completely checked-in online.  You will need your SeaPass or Xpress boarding pass, you will have had to fill out the online check-in, including country of birth, country of residence and have an emergency contact phone. number on file.  You will also need to have a credit card on file.  Check-in agents can take your ship security photo if you were unable to do that at home.

 

Passengers not able to check-in at the airport transfer bus include: those traveling with Permanent Resident Cards (Green Cards), passengers who need a Canadian Visa (India, Indonesia, almost all of South America, South Africa, and many more countries) need to be check-in at the counter at Pier 91.

Edited May 28, 2023 by Ferry_Watcher

[GTJ]

On 5/13/2023 at 11:52 AM, Ferry_Watcher said:

New for Royal and Celebrity who are using RCI or X's motorcoach airport transfers * * * To qualify for this first-in-the-industry program, these Royal and Celebrity passengers arriving at SeaTac airport and are using the cruise line's airport/pier 91 bus transfer.

Do you know which motor carrier Royal Caribbean Cruises has engaged for these transfers?

[Ferry_Watcher]

I don't know which carrier is contracted.  Sometimes the motorcoaches have different names on the side of the coach.  I think it depends on the day and the availability of the motorcoaches.  Both Celebrity and Royal passengers share the same coaches on Fridays.

[GTJ]

9 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

Sometimes the motorcoaches have different names on the side of the coach. I think it depends on the day and the availability of the motorcoaches. Both Celebrity and Royal passengers share the same coaches on Fridays.

Many times the names painted on the sides of the coaches do not accurately reflect the names of the actual carriers, but may instead reflect a marketing effort, possibly for separate clients. (For example, motorcoaches in Alaska may be painted "Princess Cruises," but are actually operated by Royal Hyway Tours Inc., a separate subsidiary of Carnival Corporation, d/b/a HAP Alaska.) You really have to look at the legal lettering on the coaches . . . and even then there can be some surprises as a consequence of the recently-adopted FMCSA rule on the leasing and interchanging of buses. It would be interesting to know if Royal Caribbean is itself the broker, and engages a single carrier (which carrier then subcontracts in the event of its own insufficient capacity), if Royal Caribbean as broker actively involves itself with day-to-day fleet management matters, or if Royal Caribbean engages a broker which, in turn, makes the transportation arrangements. In any event, it is not surprising that Royal Caribbean would handle motorcoach arrangements identically for its subsidiary, Celebrity Cruises.

[Ferry_Watcher]

Motorcoaches used at Pier 91 and Pier 66 are all contracted out.  None of them will have the name of any cruise line.  They will have the name of the motorcoach company that they are associated with.

 

The cruise line sister lines will share assets.  On Fridays, Royal and Celebrity share airporter transportation.  On the weekends, it is the same for HAL and Princess - the passengers are intermingled when it comes to motorcoaches and airport transfers.