Flight out of Seattle

What's the earliest time recommended to book a flight out of Seattle after a cruise?

A quick look around the board will find many threads on the topic. 11am is acceptable, although others are more comfortable with 11:30.

We flew out of Seattle on Sunday, July 8th - the day after our cruise - and United warned us in advance that the TSA lines were frequently backed up substantially and to allow plenty of time to clear security. We arrived at 6:40 am for an 8:20 am flight and had no trouble checking in. Luckily the check in staff told us to go to the far left (when facing the airline counters) security checkpoint since 'it is staffed with trainees and is never busy.' Our son and daughter-in-law did that and went right through. Our daughter, son-in-law and 3 1/2 year old daughter went in the other direction (when nature calls a 3 year old you head in the direction of the nearest restroom!). Security checkpoints 3 and especially 4 were incredibly long even for TSA pre-check. They were telling TSA pre-check passengers to go to checkpoints 1 and 2 to the far right. We all met up at the gate by 7:15. It was a good thing we only needed to wait 1/2 hour to begin boarding because the lack of seating at the gate was incredible.

I can't imagine what the lines are around 9 - 10 am with the influx of that day's disembarking passengers so while an 11 am flight should be fine, don't dawdle disembarking and I hope your gate has an adequate sitting area!

I wouldn't really book anything before noon because I don't like to be rushed. When we sailed 2 summers ago, we had a car pick us up after we got off the ship, probably around 8ish and there were no problems getting to the airport. But man, those were some of the longest lines I had seen in awhile, and we fly out of Chicago! Luckily, my husband has priority check-in and the woman let us go with. They were telling everyone it was a 60-90 minute wait in the line to get through. She said there were multiple cruises coming/going that day, so a lot of people. I just would rather sit for an extra hour or two and be safe. Plus, luckily being a military family, we can use the USO facilities, which at Seattle are beautiful!

Thanks everyone for the replies.

Our flight departed at 11:45 and we had no problem even with the ridiculously long TSA line. They got the line moving very quickly.