Seattle Pier 91 to Sea-Tac airport

[Penzance]

Thank you.  This will be our first visit to Seattle and as we are on the Ruby Princess,  arriving back in port on a Saturday,  knowing what to expect is indeed a great help. Thanks again.

[Penzance]

On 4/24/2019 at 9:31 AM, DaveOKC said:

  On 4/24/2019 at 8:28 AM, Ferry_Watcher said:

In the mornings during disembarkation there is a large sandwich board just by the beginning of the passenger Taxi queue stating that the Taxi Flat Rate to SeaTac is $40 (we are still waiting to see if that price remained the same for 2019).  There is only one 'authorized' cab company (STITA) allowed at Pier 91 for picking up passengers

Has anyone been able to confirm this rate for 2019?

[zelker]

28 minutes ago, Penzance said:

Has anyone been able to confirm this rate for 2019?

Have you tried calling them?  Found this phone number for flat rate taxis on SeaTac's website:  (206) 242-8800 (flat rate)

 

 

Edited May 15, 2019 by zelker

[Penzance]

Thank you Zelker - I couldn't find that number when I searched 😣 I will certainly call them.

Thanks again.

[twentyknots]

Our cruise on the Oosterdam docks on Sunday, June 9 and we're trying to decide best way to airport also.  We have 11:30 flight.  We're considering Already there, and see here that Zelker has been quoted $65 from pier 91 to airport.  HAL charges $29 for each passenger, so $58 for the two of us is the lowest rate I've seen, other than the flat rate taxi, which hasnt announced their rate for 2019 yet.  

Does the flat rate taxi also run from the airport to downtown?

[twentyknots]

Our cruise on the Oosterdam docks on Sunday, June 9 and we're trying to decide best way to airport also.  We have 11:30 flight.  We're considering Already there, and see here that Zelker has been quoted $65 from pier 91 to airport.  HAL charges $29 for each passenger, so $58 for the two of us is the lowest rate I've seen, other than the flat rate taxi, which hasnt announced their rate for 2019 yet.  

Does the flat rate taxi also run from the airport to downtown?

[twentyknots]

Already There service responded to request for quote and their fare from pier 91 to airport is $60.  Also the same rate from airport to the Marriott Waterfront.  Shuttle Express is $44 from airport to the hotel but passengers must walk to parking deck from baggage claim to meet them and it is a shared ride, whereas Already There meets its passengers at the curb outside baggage claim.  With 5 bags I think we'll use Already There.  To be fair I think Shuttle Express offers limousine service in which the driver meets passengers at baggage claim for around $65, but reviews were mixed.

[zelker]

3 minutes ago, twentyknots said:

Already There service responded to request for quote and their fare from pier 91 to airport is $60.  Also the same rate from airport to the Marriott Waterfront.  Shuttle Express is $44 from airport to the hotel but passengers must walk to parking deck from baggage claim to meet them and it is a shared ride, whereas Already There meets its passengers at the curb outside baggage claim.  With 5 bags I think we'll use Already There.  To be fair I think Shuttle Express offers limousine service in which the driver meets passengers at baggage claim for around $65, but reviews were mixed.

Interesting that they quoted me $65 and you $60.  Guess I'll be following up on that! 

 

And yes, with 5 bags, it seems way more efficient to pay a few bucks extra to have your own vehicle and driver.

[zelker]

3 hours ago, Penzance said:

Thank you Zelker - I couldn't find that number when I searched 😣 I will certainly call them.

Thanks again.

Please post back here after you talk to them.

 

[Penzance]

Zelker - I just called the number you wrote and spoke to a very sleepy young lady. She first gave me a quote of $35 from ship-side to Seatac, then changed her mind and said $40 but didn't know for sure. I also asked her if they picked up ship-side. - she didn't know.  Just just kept telling me to book with her. 😣

 

I then called Princess and found they charge $29 per person for their transfer - but after searching for 1/2 hr, couldn't find out what time the coach would leave from ship-side.

 

I then checked with Alreadythere town car and they quoted $65 plus a suggested tip of 20%.

 

 

 

 

 

[zelker]

Holland America also charges $29 pp for their transfer.  Assuming it's the same on Princess, they will give you a time for your transfer based on your flight time.  They use coaches which wait until they're mostly full to leave for the airport.

 

We're staying at the Grand Hyatt for one night pre-cruise.  I contacted the concierge who told me that she can arrange a private transfer from SeaTac to the hotel for $65, tip included.  Then $15 pp inclusive in a shared van from the hotel to Pier 91 the next morning.  I need to find out if she can arrange a private transfer or shared van from the pier to the airport and then compare that to Already There.

 

Flatratetaxi sounds flakey.  

[Penzance]

Thanks for the information. We are staying at the Mayflower Park Hotel for one night pre-cruise. I assume there must be a few HAL passengers staying at the hotel for a shared van to the port the next morning? I must check with our hotel.

[Ferry_Watcher]

8 hours ago, Penzance said:

Has anyone been able to confirm this rate for 2019?

 

I reached out to an individual at the Port of Seattle, who forwarded my question to the folks who lease Smith Cove Terminal - (Cruise Terminals of America).  The individual from  CTA stated that the 2019 Flat Rate taxi fee from Pier 91 to SeaTac will be $47. 

I just sent a follow up email asking if there would be placard by the taxi pick-up area (like there was last season) stating the Flat Fee price, and I will let you know once I hear back.  The taxi company is Yellow Cabs.

 

Hope this helps

Edited May 15, 2019 by Ferry_Watcher
typo

[Penzance]

Thank you Ferry-Watcher. After going around in circles trying to find the best, easiest, less walking pulling luggage, reliable way to make this journey - I gave up all hope and booked a Town Car.  But, if CTA confirms back in time and the Taxi pick-up area doesn't require a long trek  - I could be swayed to change. 

Your, over and above help, is much appreciated.

 

Zelker - I checked and found our hotel also has the shared van service to Pier 91.  Thanks for the hint. 

[Ferry_Watcher]

13 hours ago, Penzance said:

Thank you Ferry-Watcher. After going around in circles trying to find the best, easiest, less walking pulling luggage, reliable way to make this journey - I gave up all hope and booked a Town Car.  But, if CTA confirms back in time and the Taxi pick-up area doesn't require a long trek  - I could be swayed to change. 

Your, over and above help, is much appreciated.

 

Zelker - I checked and found our hotel also has the shared van service to Pier 91.  Thanks for the hint. 

 

Penzance, if pulling your luggage is a concern for you, there are two possible solutions: the free Port Valet service that will transport your luggage to SeaTac Airport assuming that you meet the listed flight times, and that you are flying on one of the listed domestic airlines.  If your flight qualifies, you would put your luggage out the night before (keeping your passport, meds, next day clothes) and your luggage would be checked through to your hometown airport (LAX?).  If you qualify for Port Valet, your luggage is transported free of charge, but you will still need to purchase a airport transfer from your cruise line.  Your airline will still charge you their luggage fee, unless your airline loyalty level exempts you.  The Port Valet sign-up is done on the ship, not prior to your cruise.  You would need to make sure that your paperwork is submitted early in your cruise.  Talk to your room steward or guest services.

 

https://www.portseattle.org/blog/explore-seattle-luggage-free-port-valet

 

If you are not using Port Valet the other option is using a porter.  These guys/gals (all longshoremen) are in the luggage hall where you will be picking up your luggage.  They will have carts to load your luggage and bring you to the area where you are meeting your town car, taxi or whatever ground transportation you have chosen.

 

As for the ship's airport bus transfer, both HAL and PCL passengers share the same buses.  The buses are lined up, passengers are in queues  I know at times last season there were two lines, folks with luggage (non carry-on), and folks without luggage - usually Port Valet folks).  In order to relieve congestion, the non luggage/Port Valet folks were boarded on to buses quickly and sent off. Folks carrying their large pieces of luggage were boarded, but a bit slower.  As soon as the buses are filled, they leave for the airport.  The only time partially filled buses would be delayed leaving is later in the morning (after 8:45) and this was due to waiting for late stragglers getting off the ship.  The goal is all buses leave completely filled.

 

There is lots of Pier 91 staff on duty during disembarkation.  Please fell free to ask any of them questions.

[zelker]

6 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

 

Penzance, if pulling your luggage is a concern for you, there are two possible solutions: the free Port Valet service that will transport your luggage to SeaTac Airport assuming that you meet the listed flight times, and that you are flying on one of the listed domestic airlines.  If your flight qualifies, you would put your luggage out the night before (keeping your passport, meds, next day clothes) and your luggage would be checked through to your hometown airport (LAX?).  If you qualify for Port Valet, your luggage is transported free of charge, but you will still need to purchase a airport transfer from your cruise line.  Your airline will still charge you their luggage fee, unless your airline loyalty level exempts you.  The Port Valet sign-up is done on the ship, not prior to your cruise.  You would need to make sure that your paperwork is submitted early in your cruise.  Talk to your room steward or guest services.

 

https://www.portseattle.org/blog/explore-seattle-luggage-free-port-valet

 

 

Thanks for continuing help.  So we are flying on United which works with the port valet service and already have it on my travel calendar to talk with the front desk on day 2 of the cruise but I don't see where it says what the earliest flight time is to qualify.  Can you point me in that direction?  Thanks.

[Ferry_Watcher]

11 minutes ago, zelker said:

Thanks for continuing help.  So we are flying on United which works with the port valet service and already have it on my travel calendar to talk with the front desk on day 2 of the cruise but I don't see where it says what the earliest flight time is to qualify.  Can you point me in that direction?  Thanks.

 

I am not seeing it either.  It is possible that the earliest flight allowed is up to the discretion of the ship.  Some ships take longer to get luggage off (think Bliss or Ovation of the Seas v Ruby or Eurodam).  Last year I think the earliest flights allowed were after 11 am, closer to 11:30 am.  The airlines have the discretion to set the evening flight cutoff time, which Southwest did last year.

 

Once the season really gets going, folks will post comments about Port Valet.  This should give all of us additional info from passengers' first hand experiences.

Edited May 16, 2019 by Ferry_Watcher
additional info

[zelker]

Seems like I saw 11 am when I was reading about it a month or so ago.  We're coming off the Amsterdam and it's the only ship in port so that works in our favor of course.  Think we're going to book an 11:10 am flight so hopefully that will still qualify us for port valet.  Thx!

[Ferry_Watcher]

Just now, zelker said:

Seems like I saw 11 am when I was reading about it a month or so ago.  We're coming off the Amsterdam and it's the only ship in port so that works in our favor of course.  Think we're going to book an 11:10 am flight so hopefully that will still qualify us for port valet.  Thx!

 

That's a great example - the Amsterdam will be the only ship arriving in Seattle (and also the smallest!).  I hope you follow up and let us know how it works out.

[Penzance]

Thank you Ferry-Watcher.  On T/A and Yelp, the reviews for Flat Rate Taxi are simply dreadful so we will stay with the private town car service.  We don't have a problem pulling our luggage, it was just another passengers observation (which I quoted in Post #22) that gave us concern.

 

We did check the Port Valet and although it does sound an excellent service, and our airline and departure time does qualify,  our carry-on would have to contain items not allowed on airlines (men's toiletries, women's make-up and hair items)  plus our clothes/shoes (from the night before) our nightwear, camera equipment etc. etc.  

 

Thank you for all your help and recommendations. Much appreciated.

[twentyknots]

This has been a most informative thread.  I am leaning towards booking with HAL for getting to the airport, although I don't really have solid reasons for that, other than the price is competitive, I trust that HAL will get me to the airport in a timely manner, and I have no experience with any of the other methods discussed here.  We will probably use Alreadythere for transport from the airport to our hotel.  I am told that the Marriott Waterfront will arrange transit from the hotel to the pier for about $10pp.

 

Questions:
1.  can the HAL booking for transfer be made once on the ship?

2.  Is it capacity limited, i.e, can it sell out?

3.  does HAL's coach require a lot of walking?

4.  where does the Alreadythere service pick up?

5.  does anyone know if a credit card must be used for these transports?

 

Relies much appreciated.

[twentyknots]

This has been a most informative thread.  I am leaning towards booking with HAL for getting to the airport, although I don't really have solid reasons for that, other than the price is competitive, I trust that HAL will get me to the airport in a timely manner, and I have no experience with any of the other methods discussed here.  We will probably use Alreadythere for transport from the airport to our hotel.  I am told that the Marriott Waterfront will arrange transit from the hotel to the pier for about $10pp.

 

Questions:
1.  can the HAL booking for transfer be made once on the ship?

2.  Is it capacity limited, i.e, can it sell out?

3.  does HAL's coach require a lot of walking?

4.  where does the Alreadythere service pick up?

5.  does anyone know if a credit card must be used for these transports?

 

Replies much appreciated.

[Penzance]

I'm not sure about HAL coach transfers because we are on Princess, but they charge the same ($29 pp from dock to Seatac)  For a few dollars more, we have decided to book the Town Car. Plus, it's nice to be able to choose your own time to leave the ship and not have to rely on when the Coach leaves.  Answer to your question #4 = Once you have your luggage and have gone through Customs, you call the driver and he will arrive within 5 - 10 mins.

[Ferry_Watcher]

1 hour ago, twentyknots said:

This has been a most informative thread.  I am leaning towards booking with HAL for getting to the airport, although I don't really have solid reasons for that, other than the price is competitive, I trust that HAL will get me to the airport in a timely manner, and I have no experience with any of the other methods discussed here.  We will probably use Alreadythere for transport from the airport to our hotel.  I am told that the Marriott Waterfront will arrange transit from the hotel to the pier for about $10pp.

 

Questions:
1.  can the HAL booking for transfer be made once on the ship?

2.  Is it capacity limited, i.e, can it sell out?

3.  does HAL's coach require a lot of walking?

4.  where does the Alreadythere service pick up?

5.  does anyone know if a credit card must be used for these transports?

 

Replies much appreciated.

Not sure about booking the transfer on the ship, but it can be purchased in the terminal just after you clear the Customs and Border Protection passport check.  The staff that sells the transfers have a button or something like that indicating that they are selling the transfers.  You can ask any staff person.  Not sure how payment is made.

 

There isn't any capacity - the buses run until everyone has been transported.  The first buses to leave return back to Pier 91 from SeaTac to pick up more passengers.  This is also why the first buses to leave tend to carry the early Port Valet passengers without luggage.  They can be boarded and dropped off quickly.  The buses are in radio contact with the Pier's ground transportation staff.

 

All the passenger pick-ups (with the exception of Uber or Lyft shared based rides) all happen within the drive area in front of Terminal 91. 

Buses, taxis, tour buses and certain shuttles (Super Shuttle) are found on the right (east) side of the drive.  Very obvious because of the taxis and buses. 

On the left side of the drive area (west) this is the area that folks who are waiting to be picked up by private cars (driven by family, friends), all the town cars, limos, the handful of hotel shuttles, etc  - they all use the left side of the drive area.

 

(If an Uber or Lyft car is found to be picking up in this area, they lose their Pier 91 privileges - this is what I was told).

 

The east and west sides of the drive area are equal parallel distance and length.   Unless a passenger has a mobility impairment, the distance is not a big deal - think a good city block from one end to the other.  There is wheelchair assistance (expect a wait), as well porter service - both set up inside the luggage hall before going through passport check.

Edited May 16, 2019 by Ferry_Watcher
added more information.

[Ferry_Watcher]

13 minutes ago, Penzance said:

I'm not sure about HAL coach transfers because we are on Princess, but they charge the same ($29 pp from dock to Seatac)  For a few dollars more, we have decided to book the Town Car. Plus, it's nice to be able to choose your own time to leave the ship and not have to rely on when the Coach leaves.  Answer to your question #4 = Once you have your luggage and have gone through Customs, you call the driver and he will arrive within 5 - 10 mins.

HAL and PCL passengers all use the same buses.  It will not matter which ship you disembarked.