Pier 91 to Seatac Recommendations

I hate to barge into this conversation, I've been searching the board for a bit and this was the closest/most recent one to my question. We are on Celebrity Solstice coming back into pier 91 at 6am. Last SW flight coming home leaves at 9:55am. We have precheck which should save some time at security. We have never flown into SeaTac but we are fairly experienced travelers.

Is 9:55am pushing it? This is our third cruise but first from Seattle and first Celebrity fwiw.

Sorry for any etiquette violations...

I hate to barge into this conversation, I've been searching the board for a bit and this was the closest/most recent one to my question. We are on Celebrity Solstice coming back into pier 91 at 6am. Last SW flight coming home leaves at 9:55am. We have precheck which should save some time at security. We have never flown into SeaTac but we are fairly experienced travelers.

 

Is 9:55am pushing it? This is our third cruise but first from Seattle and first Celebrity fwiw.

 

Sorry for any etiquette violations...

Yes, a 9:55am flight is pushing it to the extreme. Is it possible to make it? Yes, it's possible but it's highly improbably. There will be 2 ships at Pier 91 that morning, the Celebrity Solstice and Explorer Of The Seas. Between the 2 there will be approx. 7000 passengers disembarking. Usually, disembarkation begins about 7:30am, so while it is possible you could be off your ship by 7:45am, the odds are against it. That would give you less than 2 1/4 hours to get a taxi and get to SeaTac through morning rush hour traffic. While most of the traffic will be going the opposite direction you will, I would not want to take a chance on it, especially after factoring in how traffic can be in the vicinity of the SeaTac terminal building.

Others may have better knowledge of the area and disagree.

Tom

I used Seattle Town Car & Airport Shuttle. Excellent communication and service. $90 cash for 7 people. I'm sure the other company would have been fine also but I felt better having a confirmation email!

 

 

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So you have already used them? Is the site seatowncar dot com?

So you have already used them? Is the site seatowncar dot com?

Yes, I used them on June 30. The website you mentioned is correct.

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I hate to barge into this conversation, I've been searching the board for a bit and this was the closest/most recent one to my question. We are on Celebrity Solstice coming back into pier 91 at 6am. Last SW flight coming home leaves at 9:55am. We have precheck which should save some time at security. We have never flown into SeaTac but we are fairly experienced travelers.

 

Is 9:55am pushing it? This is our third cruise but first from Seattle and first Celebrity fwiw.

 

Sorry for any etiquette violations...

I agree it is pushing it. If you keep your luggage and walk off the ship with it you might be able to get off the ship early. The people that did this were getting off the ship right after 7 am. We did not do this but we were in the first group off (we put our luggage outside the stateroom the night before) and were able to meet our car service between 8:30 and 8:45. Good luck!

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Thanks for the replies @pierless and @casone. You basically confirm what I suspected. I guess its a hotel room for another night and fly back Saturday.

It's REALLT tight but doable if:

1). No checked luggage

2) you move briskly through the airport (no mobility impairments)

3) you have a smartphone and plan to use Uber or Lyft

(I used to live on the hill just to the west of Pier 91 and am a very frequent traveler)

How to do it: follow the advice to be first walkoff, get an UberX, tell the driver to take 509. When you come off the 1st Avenue South bridge, and are headed up the hill, look at this link:

http://www.king5.com/mb/weather/sea-tac-airport-cam

If there are cars backed up on the upper roadway, ask the driver to drop you on the arrivals level. If both roadways are backed up, ask the driver to go around the south end of the airport, and enter the parking garage from the south airport entrance. $5 should cover the parking charge to drop you off at the skybridge to the terminal marked for Southwest.

I think you'll need 50 minutes from the port to the airport sidewalk at that time of the morning. Once you're in the airport, look for the security checkpoint with the shortest PreCheck line; all gates are connected airside.

Good luck; we'd love to have you stay and explore Seattle but I get needing to get home posthaste.

Thanks @VibeGuy! That is great info.

I have always wanted to tour Seattle, it is our 25th anniversary and we are going up a couple days early. We really need to get back that Friday, but it may not work out.

I hate to barge into this conversation, I've been searching the board for a bit and this was the closest/most recent one to my question. We are on Celebrity Solstice coming back into pier 91 at 6am. Last SW flight coming home leaves at 9:55am. We have precheck which should save some time at security. We have never flown into SeaTac but we are fairly experienced travelers.

 

Is 9:55am pushing it? This is our third cruise but first from Seattle and first Celebrity fwiw.

 

Sorry for any etiquette violations...

Thanks for the replies @pierless and @casone. You basically confirm what I suspected. I guess its a hotel room for another night and fly back Saturday.

I checked and it looks like the Solstice comes and goes on Fridays. That would complicate things a little further, as traffic to the airport on Fridays can be even busier than on other weekdays.

I guess the risk is missing the flight. I know Southwest can be more flexible than some, but they only have so many flights a day and you'd be risking that all the other flights are full, so waiting for a later flight (possibly with a forced overnight somewhere along the line) might be a big gamble. So I think erring on the side of caution makes more sense.

What dates are we talking about?

August 18 - 25th. It says arrival at 0600, and all I know as far as how long it should take to actually be walking off the ship is what I have read here. The last flight back to NW Florida (PNS) leaves at 9:55am. The next flight is the following morning. Someone mentioned checking bags, we would definitely have bags to check at the airport.

All reverse hex caveats apply (and I am going to choose my words carefully to not risk the wrath of Mr. Murphy), but I have never had to concern myself with flying standby. According to Southwest, if I arrive within 2 hours after departure of flight, they will put me on standby status. I suppose that would mean I could get on the flight the following day.

Some people aren't good at improvising when it all goes to heck. They need to allow two full hours at the airport and fly the day before if there's a 5%.

Southwest operates from the B gates in Seattle which don't require a train or much walking.

I just checked and United has a flight leaving at noon on the 25th that costs $4 more than the Southwest flight that you're looking at. You change planes in Houston and arrive in Pensacola about half an hour later then you would have on the Southwest flights.

I just checked and United has a flight leaving at noon on the 25th that costs $4 more than the Southwest flight that you're looking at. You change planes in Houston and arrive in Pensacola about half an hour later then you would have on the Southwest flights.

I thought about doing that too, but I have a SW companion pass for my wife so that skews the math a little

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I thought about doing that too, but I have a SW companion pass for my wife so that skews the math a little.

Will an extra night in Seattle cost less than the two hundred bucks difference?

Will an extra night in Seattle cost less than the two hundred bucks difference?

Wash basically

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Yes, I used them on June 30. The website you mentioned is correct.

 

 

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Thanks!

Add $25 per bag from United.

It's tight but it's not dreadful and anyone flying WN enough to have a companion pass is likely to get decent treatment.