Seattle Check-in Embarkation - How early is too early?

[travelpeon]

If check-in / embarkation officially begins at 12 noon for the Sun Princess on Sunday, August 6th, when is it too early to check-in?

 

Our plane arrives at 9am morning of the cruise at Seatac in Seattle, where we plan on grabbing a privately booked super shuttle and heading to pier 30. All in all, I'm guessing we'll be staring at the cruise ship by 10:15 am if our flight isn't delayed. Just what do we do for the hour and fourty five minutes until official check-in begins? Will Princess let us check our luggage and check-in without getting on the ship?

 

Also, if I'd like to take a quick trip off the ship for an hour or two after checking in, would it be a nuisance to reboard? Do I have to go through the process of checking in again (and the long lines) or can I just slide close to a Princess staffer and show that I'm already checked-in and head through security for the gangplank (and skip the luggage drop + check-in lines)? I know I could take my side trip first, then check in, but I'm wary of checking in later because the lines get longer.

 

Thanks in advance. Never cruised out of Seattle and our last cruise was 10 years ago.

[ctipton55]

Hi

 

You will be fine, we are going the day before on the Dawn. I always get to the Seattle pier about 10:30 am because once Customs clears the ship, you can get on. We are usually on board around 11:30

[dforeigner]

I read that pier 30 is not in the niecest part of town. Therefore, if you plan to take off to sightsee you may consider using a cab or rental.

[joanne1]

I read that pier 30 is not in the niecest part of town. Therefore, if you plan to take off to sightsee you may consider using a cab or rental.

 

It's not that the pier is in a bad neighborhood, just that it's surrounded by an industrial area. If you get there early I have read that you can leave your bags there for $3.00 a piece. It's a long walk to the downtown area . . . I would take a cab (I think it was around $10 last time, with tip) and see Pike's Market, etc.

[AlaskaFan05]

Hello,

My DW and I went out of Seattle last year on the Diamond to Alaska. We arrived at the pier around 10:15 and they were ready for anyone coming in. We arrived by cab from our hotel and was met by a Princess representative who was guiding everyone as to what to do. They took our luggage and x-rayed it immediately and then loaded it onto the big cages they use to load the ship. We were then directed inside the terminal. Once inside, we went right up to check in and within 5 minutes we were ready to go. They have limited seats inside the building if you want to wait. There is a big steel roll up door that you will head through once they start boarding. The chairs are lined up near there. There was probably only a 100 people there when we got there and we where able to board around 11:30. It was very easy and like posted above its not that the area is unsafe, its just that you are down by the piers and there is nothing there but industry. We found it to be very clean also. Hope this helps and have a great cruise !!!

 

Jeff:)

[travelpeon]

Thanks for the advice. We'll just head there directly from the airport and bring something to do while waiting to board. If I do decide to take a side trip after checking in, I'll be sure to ask the Princess agent at the dock about getting back onto the ship before departure.

[digitalgirl]

Thanks, we leave on the Sun next week and I was wondering the same thing. We watched it depart today on the web cam and it was so cool!

Caly

[MommyJamiex4]

Our flight arrived in Seattle at 10am, and by the time we got our luggage, in the taxi, and to the pier it was already almost 11:30. They took our luggage and we were on the ship by noon. I feel that the earlier you get there the better. I have gotten to piers before at 2-3 and the lines were horrible. I'd rather spend my day on the ship as opposed to standing in line.

[PlanoDebbie]

The lines will be long by noon. We got to the pier about that time for our Sapphire cruise last summer and encountered extremely long lines. There's nothing close to the pier worth seeing. My brother-in-law left a suitcase at the hotel and had to take a taxi back there to pick it up. Had a major part of the 50th anniversary gifts for the in-laws in it, so absolutely needed it. His little trip back to the Embassy Suites cost him $60 round trip!

 

Hope your flight home is not too early. The lines going into the Seattle airport were absolutely ridiculous after the cruise.