How much time available to get to Airport??

[pomlover]

We are going on the Pearl in May. Our ship returns at 8am and of course we are on one of the bottom floors. Anyway, How much time should we allow to get to the airport? Oh, we will be in Seattle. And of course the best fare is at 10:55 am! And we are also traveling with kids. We have done the thing where we care our luggage off ourselves. But never on NCL and Seattle. Would appreaciate the advice!

 

Thanks!

[Arwenmark]

Never book before noon or preferrably 1:00. I have been on Several cruises where we docked by 7 and did not get off till almost noon and actually past noon on where because there was some holdup with immigration or customs. It DOES happen, you will probably be off by 9:00 but you don't know and even if you are you have to get to the airport and get through air port security which can take a long time as well. To many variables and the cruiselines tell you never book before NOON at the earliest.

[pomlover]

I figured as much. Airfare is so expensive! And the closest airport to us is 2 1/2 hrs away. So we are thinking of driving another 3 hrs to visit family and that airport would have cheaper flights. But of course we still have to think about the time.

[Poodlelover]

I am going on the cruise to Alaska June 13 -20 and had the same problem. The airfare was so much more after 12:00 than before. Then the only flight available was 12:40 and my TA told me that I should be okay, and that six hours after you dock was probably better., but the flights were already full so had to take it. I hope customs hurries up and clears us! I was hoping to take advantage of just lounging on my balcony watching others get off first, but it looks like I will be getting off first and knowing others are watching me! Oh, well.

[DAGVBSB]

I would worry less about the getting off the ship and more about getting through the airport. SeaTac is absolutely the worst airport to fly out of.

 

We were on the Star in 2005, doing the same itinerary that the Pearl now does. We were off the ship by 9:15 a.m. (regular disembarkation, picked up luggage on shore).

 

Our flight was at 1:30 p.m..... we walked up to the gate at 1:00 p.m.! It took our bus 20 minutes once we got near the airport just to get us to a drop off point due to the traffic. Then it was another wait of over an hour to check in and then the worst of all... the security check-point. Very poorly organized, very poorly ran and just a choke point that took forever to get through.

 

There are about 3 cruise ships disembarking the same morning that the Pearl does and that just adds to the chaos at SeaTac.

 

Any flight before 1:00 p.m. is risky.

[Don Haynes]

Keep in mind Seattle is a bit disconnected from the rest of populated America. Its so far away to drive, it takes three long days to drive to the east coast and two long days to Chicago, everyone flies, including the citizens of Washington state. With cities on the east coast in populated America, most can get to their ships with a day drive, and many with a short drive at that compared to Seattle.

[garycarla]

To increase your odds

1 -do self disembark - a bit challenging if you have to carry the kids stuff too.

2 - do NOT take ship transfer - you will have to wait for a full bus, you have to wait for everyone to get off the bus - you have to wait for everyone else and their luggage

 

Just get off, grab a cab and get going.

 

by the way, this topic comes up often on the Alaska boards.

[cole]

We are in the same boat (no pun intended). Our 1:00 flight has just been changed to a 12:00 departure. I was wondering, if folks do the BAGS program and not have to worry about luggage, will that increase chances of making connections in plenty of time?

[Budget Queen]

Frankly, I have flown out of Seattle many times. With the Pearl being on a Sunday, AND if you want to book this flight, you can most likely make it.

 

KEY for doing so, self disembark, meaning you will HAVE to carry off all your own bags, then you are first off the ship. I've been off the ship and through customs at 7:15am. The get in the cab line and to the airport, fare about $35.

 

IF you can't handle your own bags, be up early and can't get moving, then this option isn't for you. But I will also be doing this, again. Self disembarking is a big timesaver. I actually made a 8:20am flight from Miami in November. :) Didn't expect that.

[hello]

Budget Queen, you are amazing -- I really enjoy reading your posts -- and the info that you had given me years ago regarding the train in Skagway -- thank you, again!

[NW Pacific]

Your flight has to be 1:00pm or later to do the BAGS program, at least it was that way lsst week on the Star.

[cole]

Thanks for jogging the memory about the BAGS program. Looks like we will be carrying our bags off ourselves - but we will make it work!

B. Cole

[newmexicoNita]

We are going on the Pearl in May. Our ship returns at 8am and of course we are on one of the bottom floors. Anyway, How much time should we allow to get to the airport? Oh, we will be in Seattle. And of course the best fare is at 10:55 am! And we are also traveling with kids. We have done the thing where we care our luggage off ourselves. But never on NCL and Seattle. Would appreaciate the advice!

 

Thanks!

 

noon would be better, but you should be ok. as for the bottom floor that makes no difference. NCL will call for debarkation according to your color tags which will be coordinated with your flight time unless you choose to do the self debarkation..The only problem I can see; the ship returns at 8am, that does not mean it will be cleared by then, but on the positive time, it has been our experience and we are certainly seasoned cruisers, that ships normally arrive the last day hours before the posted time.

 

Nita

[Tideone]

I have to agree with a previous poster.... the security check point at SeaTac has to be the the worst of any i have ever been through.... I didn't think we were ever going to get through in time and to our gate.....

Also do not take the ship's transportation to the airport, especially if you are in a hurry....

Several years ago we cruised on the Star out of San Pedro and made the mistake of taking a bus that NCL provided...

The previous poster is right, the bus doesn't leave until it is full.... and I mean completely full....

In addition to having to wait and wait for passengers to get on the bus, we were held because someone on the bus had left a bag in the ship's terminal.... someone came to the bus and got on and asked if there was a whatever there name was on board.... no answer...

Then right before we were getting to ready to pull away and head for the airport... this no name moron suddenly remembered what there name was and they needed to get their bag... this meant another wait while they went back in the terminal to get their bag....

Once we got to the airport we found we were going to be the last ones getting off the bus... there was another couple across from us that were facing a deadline too.... so every minute we stopped just caused more and more panic for us and them....

Our biggest problem came when the person who forgot their name got off, she had 20 other people with her.... which meant we had to wait while the driver unloaded all their bags, which it turned out were behind everyone else's bags....

I really felt sorry for him because after he finished unloading the bags for them, not a one of them offered him a tip....

We finally got to the Delta unloading area and found we were five minutes late for our flight and we would have to take the next flight....

I had been saving my delta miles for a long, long time to use on our flight out to los angeles and our flight back... I had even booked first class on a 777.... very nice.... and i was looking forward to our return flight on the same aircraft....

When she told me we couldn't go that day, I even asked if she could rebook us for the next day.... she said the flight was full.... which turned out to be a lie because when I got home i checked the delta internet site and they showed plenty of empty seats in first class.... You know I haven't flown delta since....

The 767 we took home had to have been one of the first ever built as it was falling apart.... the sound did not work for the movie, the air circulation was horrible and the service was awful....

Thanks for letting me vent...

[cole]

"Your flight has to be 1:00pm or later to do the BAGS program, at least it was that way last week on the Star."

 

I just checked the BAGS Program on NCL website and this is how it reads:

"Your flight must depart after 11:30am and no later than 11:59pm the same evening."

 

If that is the case than our 12:00 (noon) flight should be doable with no worry about schleping our bags off the ship (Pearl)!

B. Cole

[pomlover]

Thanks for all the help!