Transfer Questions in Seattle

[custompcsys]

Ok, this is my first Princess cruise, first time in Seattle, and first cruise since the Home Line and the Oceanic were in existence, so please have mercy on a Princess newbie! :)

 

I'm flying to Seattle on Friday for a 7/16 sailing on the Diamond. There are 6 people in our group. Since we will be arriving around 11:00 a.m. local time if all goes well, I rented a van from Budget Rent-A-Car large enough to carry all of us and our luggage so that we could take advantage of the 24 hours or so that we will have to see some of Seattle. Our plan is to use the van to sightsee, get to our hotel in the Lake Union area, and to transport the majority of our party to Terminal 30 on Saturday. We will drop 4 of our party and all of the luggage at the dock Saturday late morning, then 2 of us will be taking the van back to SEA-TAC airport. We purchased Princess transfers to get back to the cruise terminal from the airport after returning the van.

 

I'm hoping someone who is familiar with the transfer process in Seattle might be able to tell me where to meet the Princess representative since we are not coming in on a flight on Saturday. I would assume that baggage claim would be the place but I just wanted to make sure. I could have returned the van at a downtown location on 4th about a mile from the terminal, but I though just grabbing the Princess transfer would be easier, plus the airport would have more transportation options should the Princess transfer get messed up.

 

Any thoughts? Am I crazy? PLEASE tell me I didn't mess up! :D Thanks!

[CruiseYVR]

Personally I would have chosen the downtown drop off location. You are driving back to Sea Tac which will take you a good 30+ minutes with an average amount of traffic.

[custompcsys]

I suppose I could still change the reservation with over a month to go, but then 2 questions arise. One is will a taxi be readily available at Budget's downtown location, and can I cancel the Princess transfers?

 

Thanks for the response :)

[calikak]

You shouldn't have too much trouble finding a taxi on 4th avenue where the Budget place is downtown, but if you do, just walk north on 4th a few blocks until you get to a hotel and you should see plenty of taxis waiting around. It won't be more than a few bucks for a cab from there to the terminal.

[pacurnl]

I also would choose the downtown drop-off. I do not know about Seattle, but in Fll it is a madhouse, and you may find yourself waiting a very long time in order to fill up the bus-- I estimate it could take you as long as 3 hours to get back to the ship, if the travel distance is really 30 mins. Shouldn't be a problem to cancel the transfers this far in advance. Good Luck.

[sally r]

Don't go back to Sea Tac. Two people without luggage will have no problems hailing a cab. Budget just may have a free shuttle, too.

 

Otherwise you plan is good, very good. Enjoy Seattle.

[custompcsys]

OK, I'm sold......I'm chaning the reservation to return at their downtown location (801 4th Ave, listed as the financial district location) and will grab a cab back to the ship.

 

Thanks to everyone for their input! :D

[VibeGuy]

Smart move; transfers in Seattle are a total waste. That Budget location has always been good about dropping me at the Ferry Terminal (Pier 52) and it should be a cheap cab ride if need be.

 

Eric

[custompcsys]

Done deal - I made a new reservation with a return at the downtown location, canceled the original with the return at SEA-TAC. For some reason it wouldn't let me change the original reservation, said the car class was sold out, but it let me make a new one and confirmed the full-size van! Probably because of the discount code I had in the original one, but the non-discounted rate was a whopping $1.00 more, so who cares? :)

 

Now to contact my TA and cancel the airport to ship transfers. Thanks again to everyone - the help on this board has really been invaluable!

[sally r]

Very good! You will be glad you made the changes. I agree, these boards are wonderful! How do people cruise without them?

 

Have a wonderful cruise..Alaska is fantastic.