Early flight Seattle

[gochina]

Our RCL cruise will be back to Seattle pier 91 at 6AM. Is it possible to make to SEA Tac for a 10:25 AM flight if I walk off with my own luggage?

[Budget Queen]

Is it consistently reported the ship is clearing and people are getting off the ship at 6am?? Many don't start until later, in the later cases, no, don't book that flight. You need at least 1.5 hours at Seatac, (my suggestion) since it can clog up and is a very busy airport. You need to allow 1/2 hour to get there, with no traffic. Plus- nobody can just assume the gates will open and they are first in line to walk off the ship. There can be hundreds of people ahead of you.

 

There should be guidelines posted by your cruise line for flight scheduling recommendations. Verify those first.

[mapleleaves]

My standard advice is:

-it's a 30 minute drive to SeaTac but allow an hour due to hwy/tunnel construction, city events, sports events, and the usual congestion.

- you should be at the airport 2 hrs prior for a domestic flight.

 

Backing into that, you should be getting into your cab by 7:30/7:45am. Can you guarantee that will happen? What will it cost if you miss the flight?

 

You might get TSA precheck and breeze thru security in 20minutes. That's what I experienced 2 Saturdays ago at 5:30am. But I was surprised at the long line at the regular TSA station so early in the day.

 

So it depends on your comfort level and if you're willing to risk that there might be glitches to slow you down.

[need2cruisesoon]

remember sometimes there are 2 ships debarking at pier 91 when you return. Our day was our ship Solstice and Explorer of the Seas.

our wait for a cab was 1 hour :

 

Edited July 17, 2016 by need2cruisesoon

[Sequim88]

You might get TSA precheck and breeze thru security in 20minutes.

 

I have Precheck and last flight out of Seattle (on a Friday afternoon) I timed it and it was 90 seconds. Only time I stopped walking was to show passport and boarding pass. Now THAT'S breezing through security. :D If you don't have TSA Precheck already there are reports of backlogs in applications and getting an appointment for finger printing and interview.

 

To trade money for time perhaps have a limo service waiting.

[djzack67]

Sounds like it might be a tight squeeze. I try to always give myself an extra hour and a half more than I think I need. Just in case

 

 

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[firegal2539]

The rule of thumb for all cruise lines is between 11 am and 12 pm for flights after a cruise. You can call your line and find out what time the earliest flight can be caught. The lines want you off the ship but there is no guarantee that you will be first off the ship and the lines don't care if your flight us at 11 am they won't get you off any faster.

 

 

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[nj cruisin]

Why be stressed out worrying about lines and possible delays as mentioned by others. I personally witnessed a passenger screaming at the desk clerk because this individual had booked the return flight too close to docking. Don't let Murphy's Law ruin your trip. Book sometime in the afternoon.

 

 

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[gochina]

Why be stressed out worrying about lines and possible delays as mentioned by others. I personally witnessed a passenger screaming at the desk clerk because this individual had booked the return flight too close to docking. Don't let Murphy's Law ruin your trip. Book sometime in the afternoon.

 

 

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You are absolutely correct! I will look for later flight. Thanks everyone for your input. This will be our first time cruising out of Seattle and that's why I seek help.

[Paulinda]

Good idea gochina. Even if the ship is in dock at 6am immigration/customs won't be until probably later. Our ship docked before 7am and we weren't allowed to leave because immigration officials weren't available. We finally disembarked at about 8:15 am. We had an 11:30 flight to catch and easily made it but we have pre-check tsa and skipped thru the lines, it was a Sunday morning with lighter traffic and we used luggage direct to avoid the luggage hassel.

 

I asked our PCC about the 11:30 am flight before the cruise and he thought we would be ok and said any flights after 11 am would probably be fine. As it was our plane was delayed for an 1/2 hour and we waited.

 

In the future I probably will never cut it so close again. An extra day in Seattle would have been fun.