Newbie

[marsabez]

Fellow cruisers:

We, a family of four, will be on our first Alaska and also on our first HAL cruise in July for the 14 days out of Seattle on the Amsterdam. I have a lot of questions and hope some can be answered here.

We have not bought transfers or air travel, just booked the cruise. We will be departing from So. Florida. Is there a way we can save on the airfare by selecting specific airport (right now we are getting 450/p out of West Palm Beach, is this reasonable?). Also, how far is the port from the airport? How much are taxi or transfer fares from the two terminals?

I will come back with more questions as I think of them!

[RuthC]

Do yourself a favor and fly to Seattle at least one day before the ship sails. Not only will this help with jetlag, but it allows more time for your luggage to catch up with you, should it go astray.

I did this cruise last August, and stayed downtown overnight. It was less than $40 for a cab to my hotel, and less than $30 for a cab to the pier.
You can also book through HAL for the hotel, and transfers are included in the price.

[marsabez]

Thanks! I think we will allow one day before and one day after the cruise. Has anybody had experience bidding on Priceline for airfare from the east to the west coast?

[Cinder Again]

One other thing. I think when I had a group going on a cruise out of Seattle, I used Grayline for transport to/ from airport and hotel. You can look them up online, or if/when you choose a hotel, ask them for a transfer company. It probably will save you some money over just getting a cab, and you might be able to get them to give you a city tour on the way to your hotel or something. I stayed at the Edgewater Hotel, which was lovely and within walking distance of a lot of the sights. I actually woke early (I'm an east coaster too) and saw my ship sailing into port in the morning! It's not too inexpensive, but it was a good location in the city, near Pikes market and restaurants.

[travellingprof]

No need to take a taxi from the Seattle airport to downtown. They have a great rapid rail system (like a monorail) that only costs a few dollars per person. It only took about 30 minutes to get to the main area of downtown...even a taxi isn't much quicker. Enjoy Seattle...and be sure to talk a walk thru Pikes Market place....lots of fun and good eats!

[Modern_Viking]

Here are two Seattle companies I have used for transportation to and from the airport / cruise port:

http://www.seattleexpress.com/Schedule2010.htm#CRUISE

http://alreadytheretowncar.com/

You can also just take a taxi. There seemed to be plenty at the Seattle piers when ships were disembarking.

As for air fare, $450 r/t seems reasonable to me for a transcontinental flight. You might save a little leaving from FLL, but maybe not. It is too early to book flights on Southwest for July, so you might want to wait a month or two and see if prices are lower when they have announced their summer schedule. Summer is the busy season for tourists going to Seattle, so it isn't likely to be cheap. Seattle seems to be a good destination to try to use frequent flier miles or credit card reward points for cross-country plane tickets.

If you use Priceline, they could easily put you on a very early morning flight out of Seattle, so you would have to stay a night after your cruise to be sure you could make your flight. I am not sure if they reserve the right to assign you a red-eye flight. Remember, there are no changes or refunds with Priceline when you "name your own price."

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have used AlreadThereTownCar quite a few times before and after cruises in Seattle. Much better for 4 people than a taxi -- roomier.

[marsabez]

Many thanks for your replies. Right now here are my plans: get a priceline airfare three days before the cruise with return one day after. I think that will save me the anxiety over cancelled flights. I plan to visit Seattle and possibly Mt. Rainier and St. Michelle Chateau. Please let me know what you think of these plans and also if you have any hotel recommendations.
Also, how wise would be to rent a car on my first leg of the trip. Please keep the answers coming!