Disembark Schedule Question -- Seattle

[Jason82]

We leave Sunday on the Encore from Seattle. It'll be our first cruise in several years--thanks covid. 

 

What is the disembark schedule/process like these days? We live in the area, so  aren't dependent on a flight or anything. More than happy to get a day's worth of eating in while the people who have to be somewhere get off and on their way. Simply need to plan for the ride back home.  

 

Thanks

 

[hallux]

I haven't cruised out of Seattle, but it's probably like every other turn-around day at other ports - they want the ship cleared as soon as possible, probably wanting people out of their rooms around 8:30 and off the ship by 9:30 or 10 AM.  You're certainly not sticking around for lunch on board.

[Jason82]

Definitely not planning on lunch, but I can eat several breakfasts quickly if needed. 😆

[Superflyisme]

1 hour ago, Jason82 said:

Definitely not planning on lunch, but I can eat several breakfasts quickly if needed. 😆

Good question.  I'd rather let everyone else rush off who are in a hurry if we can leisurely have one last breakfast before we drive home.

[ChiefMateJRK]

I was on the Encore three weeks ago. They made me leave the room at 9:00 (I left at 9:01).  They booted us out of the observation lounge at 9:30. 

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, Jason82 said:

We leave Sunday on the Encore from Seattle. It'll be our first cruise in several years--thanks covid. What is the disembark schedule/process like these days? We live in the area, so  aren't dependent on a flight or anything. More than happy to get a day's worth of eating in while the people who have to be somewhere get off and on their way. Simply need to plan for the ride back home. Thanks

 

First, have a wonderful cruise. Enjoy. We were cruising Alaska 2 weeks ago and the weather in Alaska was glorious (Seattle,,, not so much). 

 

The ship invites you to have a nice leisurely breakfast. The buffet, Observation Lounge, and main dining room all serve breakfast. Your cabin steward would really like you out of the room as soon as possible so they can commence with turn over and be ready for the next cruise. We normally send our bags down with the porters to the baggage hall. And just have a hand carry with us during breakfast. All-Ashore is really around 9:30. They need everyone off (zero count) so that they can reset the ship and be prepared to start boarding the next cruise at 11:00. 

 

If you live in the area, you probably know that the Bell Street Terminal/Pier 66 doesn't really have any good pick-up areas. It is worse on turnaround days because all of the semitrailers with provisions are double parked on the street, blocking lanes. Having someone pick you up could be a bit challenging. 

[coastcat]

4 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

If you live in the area, you probably know that the Bell Street Terminal/Pier 66 doesn't really have any good pick-up areas. It is worse on turnaround days because all of the semitrailers with provisions are double parked on the street, blocking lanes. Having someone pick you up could be a bit challenging. 

 

There are two excellent pick up points for Pier 66:

 

1. Edgewater Hotel: It's next to Pier 66, on the same side of the street. Cars can access the hotel entrance on Wall Street, meaning they can cross over busy Alaskan Way instead of getting into that traffic mess. This is great for Uber/Lyft rides.

 

2. Bell Street Conference Center Garage: The garage is on the other end of the pedestrian bridge that runs from Pier 66 over Alaskan Way to Elliott Avenue. You exit the terminal, take the elevator up, stroll across the bridge, and wait for your ride (there are convenient benches). This is my usual pickup point.

 

A third option is the Marriott Waterfront, which is on Alaskan Way but on the other side of the street so your driver isn't mired in the worst of the cruise morning traffic.

 

 

[Jason82]

10 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

First, have a wonderful cruise. Enjoy. We were cruising Alaska 2 weeks ago and the weather in Alaska was glorious (Seattle,,, not so much). 

Yes, the weather is particularly sad this year. Looking forward to next week either way. 🙂 

[ChiefMateJRK]

12 hours ago, coastcat said:

2. Bell Street Conference Center Garage: The garage is on the other end of the pedestrian bridge that runs from Pier 66 over Alaskan Way to Elliott Avenue. You exit the terminal, take the elevator up, stroll across the bridge, and wait for your ride (there are convenient benches). This is my usual pickup point.

I agree with this.  We did this last time.  Did you find the second elevator in the parking garage to the South to get up to street level?  We got a bit confused and wound up just walking through the North garage to street level (Elliott street).  Same basic thing.

[disneylover89]

On 6/17/2022 at 12:07 AM, BirdTravels said:

First, have a wonderful cruise. Enjoy. We were cruising Alaska 2 weeks ago and the weather in Alaska was glorious (Seattle,,, not so much). 

 

The ship invites you to have a nice leisurely breakfast. The buffet, Observation Lounge, and main dining room all serve breakfast. Your cabin steward would really like you out of the room as soon as possible so they can commence with turn over and be ready for the next cruise. We normally send our bags down with the porters to the baggage hall. And just have a hand carry with us during breakfast. All-Ashore is really around 9:30. They need everyone off (zero count) so that they can reset the ship and be prepared to start boarding the next cruise at 11:00. 

 

If you live in the area, you probably know that the Bell Street Terminal/Pier 66 doesn't really have any good pick-up areas. It is worse on turnaround days because all of the semitrailers with provisions are double parked on the street, blocking lanes. Having someone pick you up could be a bit challenging. 

No trip report? I love your trip reports!

[CptBoatface]

On 6/17/2022 at 7:43 AM, Jason82 said:

Yes, the weather is particularly sad this year. Looking forward to next week either way. 🙂 

We're down in Olympia and it's been miserable this year!

[phillygwm]

On 6/16/2022 at 9:00 PM, Jason82 said:

Definitely not planning on lunch, but I can eat several breakfasts quickly if needed. 😆

You'll choose your luggage tags based on when you want to disembark.  Depending on the port (and it's been a while since I've been to Seattle) I think last group is 9:30-ish.

[swvlhead]

On 6/16/2022 at 9:21 PM, coastcat said:

 

There are two excellent pick up points for Pier 66:

 

1. Edgewater Hotel: It's next to Pier 66, on the same side of the street. Cars can access the hotel entrance on Wall Street, meaning they can cross over busy Alaskan Way instead of getting into that traffic mess. This is great for Uber/Lyft rides.

 

2. Bell Street Conference Center Garage: The garage is on the other end of the pedestrian bridge that runs from Pier 66 over Alaskan Way to Elliott Avenue. You exit the terminal, take the elevator up, stroll across the bridge, and wait for your ride (there are convenient benches). This is my usual pickup point.

 

A third option is the Marriott Waterfront, which is on Alaskan Way but on the other side of the street so your driver isn't mired in the worst of the cruise morning traffic.

 

 

Coastcat,

We're cruising out of Seattle on July 31, are these good options for drop off too? Is it a far walk with rolling luggage? If we get dropped off at option 2 is the pedestrian bridge covered?

Thanks!!

[BirdTravels]

6 hours ago, disneylover89 said:

No trip report? I love your trip reports!

The "issue" is that we were sailing on "they other cruise line". We sail to Alaska on NCL almost every year, but sometimes stray over to the other guys 😉 

 

This cruise sailed with almost 4100 passengers (near double occupancy capacity) with nearly 800 kids onboard. Back to "normal" over on Royal.  

 

Edited June 18, 2022 by BirdTravels

[BirdTravels]

12 minutes ago, swvlhead said:

Coastcat,

We're cruising out of Seattle on July 31, are these good options for drop off too? Is it a far walk with rolling luggage? If we get dropped off at option 2 is the pedestrian bridge covered?

Thanks!!

I would drop off right at the terminal. No need to go anywhere else.

 

You probably need to roll your bags over to the porters who tend to sit and wait for you versus come to the curb and unload bags. 

[swvlhead]

2 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

would drop off right at the terminal. No need to go anywhere else.

 

You probably need to roll your bags over to the porters who tend to sit and wait for you versus come to the curb and unload bags. 

Thank you

[coastcat]

26 minutes ago, swvlhead said:

Coastcat,

We're cruising out of Seattle on July 31, are these good options for drop off too? Is it a far walk with rolling luggage? If we get dropped off at option 2 is the pedestrian bridge covered?

Thanks!!

I'm local; the Bell Street pedestrian bridge is my drop off and pick up point. Yes, you can ask to be dropped off right in front of the pier but traffic is super busy on cruise turnaround mornings. No way I'd do that with an early check-in time since you're competing for space (both street and sidewalk) with all the disembarking passengers and their taxis/Ubers/friends/shuttles.

 

If you pick a later check-in time, after the disembarking folks have cleared out, then getting dropped off right at the terminal should be fine. 

 

Pier 91 is a dedicated area with easy drop off/pick up. Pier 66, not so much.

 

From the garage end of the pedestrian bridge to the elevator down to street level, it's a 400-ft walk. It isn't covered. Morning mist/light drizzle is common; think of it as a rehearsal for Alaska weather... 

[ChiefMateJRK]

33 minutes ago, coastcat said:

I'm local; the Bell Street pedestrian bridge is my drop off and pick up point.

Thanks for posting.  Am I correct in understanding that you ask for drop off at Elliott and Bell, and then go through the parking garage to the pedestrian bridge?  Thx.

[abugarcia1]

We just got off the Encore last month. If you are not in a hurry, you may consider leaving your bags with the terminal. We did that and walked over to Pike Place market to eat and shop before walking back and picking up our bags to travel home. Have a great cruise, we really enjoyed our experience.

[coastcat]

5 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Thanks for posting.  Am I correct in understanding that you ask for drop off at Elliott and Bell, and then go through the parking garage to the pedestrian bridge?  Thx.

No need to go through the parking garage as the pedestrian bridge is outside of it. Here's a screen grab from Google Street View of the bridge entrance; the garage is about 1/2 block to the right and that's NCL Encore in the background.

[ChiefMateJRK]

43 minutes ago, coastcat said:

No need to go through the parking garage as the pedestrian bridge is outside of it. Here's a screen grab from Google Street View of the bridge entrance; the garage is about 1/2 block to the right and that's NCL Encore in the background.

Thanks.  My bad.  IIRC, that pedestrian bridge has a lower level that is accessed from the elevator on the East side of Alaskan Way.  That's the one we took (after crossing the street).  I'm guessing there's another elevator on the West side (i.e. without crossing the street) that a person can take to the top level.  I'll pay more attention next time.  😎