Seattle debarkation - how early of a flight?

[megbowlstrike]

Hi! I'm cruising on Carnival Spirit in September. My return flight is on Alaska Airlines and was changed to 11am. Is this doable? I am Platinum on Carnival so I can get priority disembarkation, and I have TSA Precheck. I was thinking of booking transportation through Carnival which would leave the port around 8-8:30am.

 

Thank you!

[Glaciers]

The earliest suggested flight time is usually noon. 11am might be pretty tight. We went through the Seattle airport in May with TSA precheck and it took 45 minutes, plus we had to take the train to another terminal.

[Meander Ingwa]

If it is a weekend, 8 is doable, I wouldn't do 830, too tight  If a weekday I would do 7 - 730.  Traffic in Seattle can be bad and all it take is one accident or bad rain to choke your trip.

[megbowlstrike]

On 6/8/2023 at 5:54 PM, Meander Ingwa said:

If it is a weekend, 8 is doable, I wouldn't do 830, too tight  If a weekday I would do 7 - 730.  Traffic in Seattle can be bad and all it take is one accident or bad rain to choke your trip.

It's a Tuesday, so rush hour traffic I guess. 😞

[Meander Ingwa]

It is a somewhat reverse commute once you get out of the core downtown.  The issue become a problem based on the geography of the area.  There are just few escape routes away from traffic snarls .

 

Better to be at the airport too early than be stressing the clock.  There is just no predictions of how it goes.

[CruiserBruce]

One of the most common questions on this board. 

[psuboater]

Just flew out of SEA (home airport) yesterday - I don't normally check bags, but heading on my own cruise out of NYC. The Delta lines were packed to check bags. Even in the self-tagged bag drop and having Sky Priority, it was over 30 minutes to get my bag through.  I would be extremely nervous with an 11am flight.

[Ferry_Watcher]

Even on a Tuesday, I would suggest leaving the ship before 8:30 AM.  Better to have extra time at the airport than the stress of worrying about making your flight.

[9tee2Sea]

On 6/8/2023 at 9:22 AM, megbowlstrike said:

Hi! I'm cruising on Carnival Spirit in September. My return flight is on Alaska Airlines and was changed to 11am. Is this doable? I am Platinum on Carnival so I can get priority disembarkation, and I have TSA Precheck. I was thinking of booking transportation through Carnival which would leave the port around 8-8:30am.

 

Thank you!

just keep in mind, other cruise ships will probably letting off their passengers as well.  There can be an additional 6,000 people going to the airport.  The airport now has a " Reserve your spot" option.  You can reserve your time, so you don't have to wait in the long line.  I used it once, but found it very confusing.  They only hold your time for about 20 min.