Disembarkation time at Seattle Pier 91

[kitcrazy]

Our Princess ship is scheduled to arrive at 7 AM on a Sunday morning in Seattle Smith Cove Cruise Terminal at Pier 91. We will have carry-on bags only that we plan to take off the ship ourselves. Is it reasonable to expect that we can be off the ship and in a taxi or pre-arranged car service by 7:45 AM or 8 AM at the latest?

 

Any insights or first-hand experiences greatly appreciated!

[CruiserBruce]

Yes.

[tangerinebunny]

If things go as usual, you'll be fine.

 

If you're planning a flight, most cruise lines suggest leaving a window until noon. Some posters here don't consider that adequate, but it's a gamble that we take.

[kitcrazy]

Thanks for the info guys. If we can leave the Pier 91 by 8 AM the latest, I am confident that we will be able to make our flight at SeaTac. I recall from a previous cruise that if I just let the purser know about our flight plans, we can be one of the first ones off the ship in the morning.

[Donray]

Thanks for the info guys. If we can leave the Pier 91 by 8 AM the latest, I am confident that we will be able to make our flight at SeaTac. I recall from a previous cruise that if I just let the purser know about our flight plans, we can be one of the first ones off the ship in the morning.

 

You and a thousand other people that have an early flight.

[kitcrazy]

As my teenaged niece would say ... "Easy Peazey!"

 

We had a flight to Canada at 9:25 AM that morning.

 

Asked to be in the first self-disembarkation group and got assigned Group 1, no problem. We were told to be at the gathering point at 7:05 AM but because we knew that disembarkation wouldn't be right away, we dawdled over breakfast and didn't come down till about 7:20 AM. Our timing was perfect as we got off the ship just a couple of minutes later. Took us longer to walk up and down the ramps than it did to clear customs ... just had to hold up our Canadian passports and hand the agent our customs card. We went straight to the taxi stand where heaps of cars were waiting. We were in a taxi to SeaTac airport by 7:35 AM. Dropped off our bags and picked up our boarding passes, and we were in the security line by 8:10 AM. Even had time to go up to the Red Carpet lounge and have a coffee before we made our way to our gate for our on-time flight.

 

Easy Peazey! Just wanted to share our experience as I know that prevailing advice of this board tends to suggest that you give yourself at least four hours. A few things that worked in our favour:

 

• This was on a weekend morning so we weren't contending with rush-hour traffic
  
• We self-disembarked -- just rolled our bags off the ship ourselves.
  
• We were prepared to carry-on our luggage on to the plane if necessary (if we were delayed getting to the airport)
  
• We knew our worst case scenario -- if we missed this flight, there was another one later that afternoon, and we didn't have any pressing deadlines at the arriving end.
  

[kitcrazy]

You and a thousand other people that have an early flight.

 

This was not a problem ... even though there were about 150-200 people disembarking at the same time as us, it didn't feel rushed or crowded.

[skandls]

We got off the Solstice yesterday. The ship was not cleared until about 8:10 when the first group was called. We were in no hurry to get off the ship - and the line for taxis extremely long. I would reserve reliable private transport if you want to make an early flight.

[vistapat]

When the ship was cleared, could you tell if those needing earliest disembarkation were able to get through customs in a reasonable time? We will be disembarking Solstice on May 31st and trying to make a 10:30 flight. Just wondered if the Florida customs nightmares were also the case in Seattle?

 

Thanks, Pat

[kitcrazy]

We got off the Solstice yesterday. The ship was not cleared until about 8:10 when the first group was called. We were in no hurry to get off the ship - and the line for taxis extremely long. I would reserve reliable private transport if you want to make an early flight.

 

I would agree with having reliable transport in place. I had the local taxi company's number on speed-dial. I had called them in advance (the week before the cruise) and they said if I couldn't get a cab easily in the line, to just call them and they would dispatch one for me that would arrive within 5-10 minutes. If anyone is nervous about making a flight, just pre-arrange a car service -- slightly more expensive but worth the peace of mind if you're a worrier.

[tangerinebunny]

Disembarked yesterday from HAL Oosterdam using Luggage Direct; assigned time was between 7:15 and 7:30. We went down at 7 and I was actually the first passenger off the ship. Disembarkation started at 7:35.

 

Customs agent didn't even look at my passport.

 

We were at our terminal gate by 8:30.

[rachl143]

We will be traveling on the Star Princess disembarking Seattle on a Saturday (14 days!!) and now having learned about on board airline check in and disembarking the ship early. What do you think is the best transportation option for leaving the pier and going to the market for breakfast before heading to the airport. Our flight is not until 1:30 and even if we got off the ship at 8am and left for the airport at 11am with 30 min travel time and 2 hours at the airport, that leaves us aprox 3 hours to spend in Seattle verses spending that time at the airport. Would you take a taxi or is walking a possibility to the pike place market then have a prearranged car pick us up at the marker? Any suggestions would be so helpful!

[Eaglecw]

Hey rach143, Sounds like a plan to me. Your best option will be to take a cab from Pier 91 to the Pike Street Market, it's too far to walk. After Breakfast and after you do the Pike Street Market you could also go down to the waterfront and check out the shops and things down there, Big Wheel, Aquarium, etc. There is an elevator or stairs that go down to the waterfront from the Pike street market.