donnas902 Posted December 15, 2022 #1 Share Posted December 15, 2022 I am looking into booking my own air, how much time would I need to disembark and get to airport? Sailing on the NCL Bliss in September. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted December 15, 2022 #2 Share Posted December 15, 2022 Discussed on the West Coast Departures board (Seattle is not in Alaska) almost daily. 11:30 is the earliest recommended flight. Travel time to the airport is a solid 30 minutes, but Seattle isn't the fastest airport for security, check in and getting to your gate. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/315-west-coast-departures/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don't-use-real-name Posted December 15, 2022 #3 Share Posted December 15, 2022 NCL uses Pier 66 - the other guys Pier 91 Google Maps Map for reference - Zooom in for more detail SEA-TAC airport bottom of image - Pier 66 just off the Big "S" in Seattle Whether you do a walk-off or pick up your checked luggage - the time to the SEA-TAC airport is as noted about a (solid) 30 minutes with traffic cooperating. The check-in at your airline may vary with class of service and any affinity loyalty programs - and off you go to the mayhem of everyone going through a common TSA check point - although having the TSA Pre-Ck or GE and perhaps First/Business Class status may speed you through. Once passed that gauntlet you may have to take an underground shuttle to a remote satellite for your departure gate. All this considered the recommended departure time of 11:30 is valid - it can be tweaked if you want to push your anxiety comfort level - - - Flying eastbound it is a 5-6 hour flight crossing 3 time zones - Leave 11:30am PST arrive 7-8pm EST Using NON-STOP flights (and prevailing tail-winds) All this YMMV 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeepCalmBearOn Posted December 17, 2022 #4 Share Posted December 17, 2022 I plan on it taking an hour and I'm thrilled when it only takes 35 minutes. Seattle can have very bad traffic during the week. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachys Posted January 1, 2023 #5 Share Posted January 1, 2023 I agree with the Seattle traffic, but also at that time of day getting in to the airport can be awful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trivia addict Posted January 2, 2023 #6 Share Posted January 2, 2023 All of the suggestions here are good. We are frequent flyers in and out of Seatac. Definitely agree with the warnings about heavy traffic certain times of the day. I like the suggestion to “plan on an hour and be thrilled when it is only 35 minutes”! That is very true. Also agree that depending on your TSA security level, ( Precheck, Global, etc,), and the gate you are assigned, it can make a big difference, on the length of time that you will need to get to your flight. An 11:30 flight at the minimum is good advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anyislandwilldo Posted January 4, 2023 #7 Share Posted January 4, 2023 Agreed stick with 11:30 or later. We did get stuck in traffic and made it to the airport within 45 minutes of our flight. Thankfully we has TSA precheck so we were able to zip through security. I hate being rushed so that was to close for comfort in my book. We used Seattle Express and were happy with the service. They can't control traffic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psuboater Posted January 4, 2023 #8 Share Posted January 4, 2023 If you do not have TSA Precheck or CLEAR, SEA's Spot Saver can be a lifesaver during the busiest times of the year. It's a free service that allows you to reserve a spot of time for you to go through security: https://www.portseattle.org/SEAspotsaver 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromep Posted January 11, 2023 #9 Share Posted January 11, 2023 I-5 doesn't always cooperate and traffic is usually a headache. From Pier 91 or 66, you have to snake your way on surface streets through Seattle to get to I-5, then you have to deal with whatever traffic is backed up on the bottle neck that is I-5 through Seattle. A really good rideshare, shuttle, or taxi driver will avoid I-5 from both cruise ports and will head down hwy 99, which basically dumps right into SeaTac. Speed limits are slower on the 99, it has traffic lights and intersections, but traffic can be significantly less. However, I'd budget for at least an hour of transit from the ship to the airport, and then determine your acceptable flight times from that. I'm not including the time to go through customs and retrieve your luggage. So you'll want to add some estimate of that to the curb-to-curb travel time. Taxi or Uber/Lyft from the port to the airport is your best bet. Shuttle services suffer from the hurry up and wait nature of gathering an unrelated group of people together for transit to a single destination. Every shuttle I've ever used, there is one party that doesn't have their stuff all together and they hold up the shuttle while they figure out whatever it is that is bothering them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisewiththekids Posted February 12 #10 Share Posted February 12 Is traffic more manageable early Saturday morning than on a weekday? We travel with only carryon and have TSA precheck and are currently weighing our flight options from Pier 91. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted February 12 #11 Share Posted February 12 47 minutes ago, cruisewiththekids said: Is traffic more manageable early Saturday morning than on a weekday? We travel with only carryon and have TSA precheck and are currently weighing our flight options from Pier 91. I would stick to the frequent recommendation no flights before 11...some say none before 11:30. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ferry_Watcher Posted February 12 #12 Share Posted February 12 While there may be fewer business travelers on a Saturday morning, we do have 3 ships disembarking every weekend morning (except very early, or very late in the season). Two ships at Pier 91 (HAL & Princess), and at Pier 66, NCL. Same is true foe Sundays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now