Seattle: Express Walk-Off for Alaska Cruise

Hi, all!

Just wondering if anyone on the recent Alaska sailings has done express walk-off on the morning of disembarkation? We have a late-morning flight, so we have a car service booked for 8:15am. I'm wondering how early guests are able to depart the ship, and whether I'll be able to disembark and get onto the pier/pickup area by 8:15?

Thanks in advance for any feedback you can provide! :)

~ Shay

Hi, all!

 

Just wondering if anyone on the recent Alaska sailings has done express walk-off on the morning of disembarkation? We have a late-morning flight, so we have a car service booked for 8:15am. I'm wondering how early guests are able to depart the ship, and whether I'll be able to disembark and get onto the pier/pickup area by 8:15?

 

Thanks in advance for any feedback you can provide! :)

 

~ Shay

Hi Shay, I disembarked Solstice last Friday. I didn't do self-disembark

but when I stood on my balcony about 7:15am there were already

people getting off the ship....I had a good view.....so I am guessing

you can self-disembark long before 8:15....

I was in the 8:00am group and was actually off the ship right on time.

Hi Shay, I disembarked Solstice last Friday. I didn't do self-disembark

but when I stood on my balcony about 7:15am there were already

people getting off the ship....I had a good view.....so I am guessing

you can self-disembark long before 8:15....

I was in the 8:00am group and was actually off the ship right on time.

Thanks so much for your reply, Lois -- I appreciate it! :) I had emailed Celebrity to inquire about express walk-off, and was told that we'd be able to debark "close to 8am". We did walk-off on our Mediterranean cruise last summer, and they accidentally put a group of us in the wrong elevator or forgot to lock the available floors (instead of going down to the gangway, we went up to the top floor, stopping at every deck on the way up and back down)...so it took us quite a while before we made it off the gangway. I was relieved to hear that you saw people departing well before 8am, so I'm hoping the process goes more smoothly this time around. ;-)

Thanks again!

~ Shay

We did an express walk off in Vancouver and Seattle. Both times we were off and clear of customs very quickly and were able to catch cabs to the airport without any problems. We were off the ship by 7:30.

We did an express walk off in Vancouver and Seattle. Both times we were off and clear of customs very quickly and were able to catch cabs to the airport without any problems. We were off the ship by 7:30.

Thanks so much for sharing your experience with express walk-off, 81Zoomie -- I appreciate it! It's good to know that you were off the ship by 7:30; that should give us plenty of time to catch our 8:15 transfer/car service. Thanks again!

~ Shay

Of my two cruises were disembarkation was delayed until after 9:00 am, Seattle was one. Just saying. Not likely to happen, but have a back-up plan.

Of my two cruises were disembarkation was delayed until after 9:00 am, Seattle was one. Just saying. Not likely to happen, but have a back-up plan.

Thanks for the heads-up on the delay you experienced, phoenix_dream. I'll make sure I have the contact number for the car service so I can call if there's a delay. But I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't happen!

We did the express walk-off last Friday. Got in line about 7am, they didn't start until promptly 7:30. We were about 25 back in line and were through by about 7:45, and on the Seattle Express shuttle leaving the terminal by 8am. We had an 11:35 am flight, and did the luggage valet. Our checked bags met us in Dallas.

Texasopa, how long did it take you to get to the airport during rush hour? Our American flight was moved up 20 minutes to 11:00. I'd like to get to SeaTac by 9:30 at the latest.

Thanks very much!

Texasopa, how long did it take you to get to the airport during rush hour? Our American flight was moved up 20 minutes to 11:00. I'd like to get to SeaTac by 9:30 at the latest.

Thanks very much!

We were at SeaTac by 9am. We also had TSA PreCheck, so we walked through the security line.

We did the express walk-off last Friday. Got in line about 7am, they didn't start until promptly 7:30. We were about 25 back in line and were through by about 7:45, and on the Seattle Express shuttle leaving the terminal by 8am. We had an 11:35 am flight, and did the luggage valet. Our checked bags met us in Dallas.

Thanks so much for sharing your experience with the express walk-off, Texasopa! I appreciate the information, including what time you lined up and what time you off the ship by...that's very helpful!

Would you mind sharing a few details on how the luggage valet worked? I've heard mention of it but haven't really seen any specific details. Do you arrange it through the ship or the port? Is it open to passengers on any airline? What is the cost per bag? Thanks in advance for any info you can share!

~ Shay

Thanks so much for sharing your experience with the express walk-off, Texasopa! I appreciate the information, including what time you lined up and what time you off the ship by...that's very helpful!

 

Would you mind sharing a few details on how the luggage valet worked? I've heard mention of it but haven't really seen any specific details. Do you arrange it through the ship or the port? Is it open to passengers on any airline? What is the cost per bag? Thanks in advance for any info you can share!

 

~ Shay

Luggage Valet, flight has to be after 11:30 am, and out of Seatac.

I think about Sunday or Monday, you will get a full sheet application, inserted in the daily schedule. Completely fill this out and return it ASAP to guest relations, you also need to take a copy of all your flight details, I took our complete receipt, they will make a copy. The application lists all airlines involved. If your airline ISN'T listed, you can still turn it, Southwest isn't listed but I still turned it in and it was accepted. Cost is $20 for 2 bags and 1 boarding pass, plus whatever bag fees your airline charges. About 5pm Thursday night and envelope showed up with my boarding pass and 2 airline luggage tags. Put the luggage tags on the bags and put in the hall, we didn't see the bags again until Dallas. They were actually the 1st on the luggage pickup in Dallas, as you can tell the ship printed tags look different then all the others.

It made express walkoff so easy.

On our recent embarkation in San Diego there was no express walk off. This didn't affect us, but it did cause some who were booked on early flights (before 11), to miss their flights. When I looked in the details of the cruise booklet, there was a statement notifying passengers there would be no express walk off (I didn't notice it when I received the document). This was the first time we experienced this situation. Don't know if it is unique to San Diego or if it happens when there is a full immigration inspection (which also happened). Unfortunately, most people book flights well ahead of receiving the ticket booklet. I imagine this is one reason cruise lines always suggest later flights.

A week ago in Barcelona, we walked off the ship with our luggage at 6:40 am. We avoided all the taxi headaches, which I've had in Seattle too. Lines too long, taxis too few.

Luggage Valet, flight has to be after 11:30 am, and out of Seatac.

I think about Sunday or Monday, you will get a full sheet application, inserted in the daily schedule. Completely fill this out and return it ASAP to guest relations, you also need to take a copy of all your flight details, I took our complete receipt, they will make a copy. The application lists all airlines involved. If your airline ISN'T listed, you can still turn it, Southwest isn't listed but I still turned it in and it was accepted. Cost is $20 for 2 bags and 1 boarding pass, plus whatever bag fees your airline charges. About 5pm Thursday night and envelope showed up with my boarding pass and 2 airline luggage tags. Put the luggage tags on the bags and put in the hall, we didn't see the bags again until Dallas. They were actually the 1st on the luggage pickup in Dallas, as you can tell the ship printed tags look different then all the others.

It made express walkoff so easy.

Thank you so much for the detailed info, Texasopa -- I really appreciate it! It sounds like the valet service certainly would make the walk-off MUCH easier, and $20 isn't much considering the convenience factor. Thanks again!

~ Shay

On our recent embarkation in San Diego there was no express walk off. This didn't affect us, but it did cause some who were booked on early flights (before 11), to miss their flights. When I looked in the details of the cruise booklet, there was a statement notifying passengers there would be no express walk off (I didn't notice it when I received the document). This was the first time we experienced this situation. Don't know if it is unique to San Diego or if it happens when there is a full immigration inspection (which also happened). Unfortunately, most people book flights well ahead of receiving the ticket booklet. I imagine this is one reason cruise lines always suggest later flights.

Yikes; sorry to hear that happened to some of the people on your cruise. Our flight is at 11:55, so we have a little more time to get to the airport -- but I want to allow plenty of extra time in case of traffic or long TSA lines. I had already emailed Celebrity to ask about express walk-off, and was told we'd be able to disembark "close to 8am" with express walk-off...so it is being offered on this cruise. But I'll certainly keep that in mind for future cruises!

~ Shay

A week ago in Barcelona, we walked off the ship with our luggage at 6:40 am. We avoided all the taxi headaches, which I've had in Seattle too. Lines too long, taxis too few.

Glad to hear you had an easy disembarkation in Barcelona! Though I'm sorry to hear you've had taxi headaches in Seattle in the past. Based on my research, it looks like a private car service costs about the same as a taxi would from the pier to SeaTac...so there's no waiting in taxi queues and no stressing if you get stuck in traffic, since you pay a set fee and don't have to sit there watching the meter creep up and up. ;-) We've already booked our return service, but the woman I spoke with said to contact them if we're running behind schedule since the driver may take another fare if we're running more than a few minutes late...so that was my only real worry about the Seattle disembarkation process.

Glad to hear you had an easy disembarkation in Barcelona! Though I'm sorry to hear you've had taxi headaches in Seattle in the past. Based on my research, it looks like a private car service costs about the same as a taxi would from the pier to SeaTac...so there's no waiting in taxi queues and no stressing if you get stuck in traffic, since you pay a set fee and don't have to sit there watching the meter creep up and up. ;-) We've already booked our return service, but the woman I spoke with said to contact them if we're running behind schedule since the driver may take another fare if we're running more than a few minutes late...so that was my only real worry about the Seattle disembarkation process.

If you go to shuttle waiting area R at the port, Seattle Express will be waiting there. $12 each person to SeaTac, shuttles leave every 15 mins, even if not full. Our shuttle had 3 couples on it.

http://www.seattleexpress.com/

Texasopa you have wonderful info.

By checking the link, I see my hotel is a partner, so I reserved the trip over and the trip back to SeaTac. Reading about the cab lines at the port after disembarkation was making me nervous. Thanks so much for taking the time to share!

P.S. Is the "shuttle area" hard to find? After going through customs we head in which direction?

Thanks again.

Texasopa you have wonderful info.

By checking the link, I see my hotel is a partner, so I reserved the trip over and the trip back to SeaTac. Reading about the cab lines at the port after disembarkation was making me nervous. Thanks so much for taking the time to share!

P.S. Is the "shuttle area" hard to find? After going through customs we head in which direction?

Thanks again.

After going thru customs, continue straight out the door. Continue walking almost straight to the end of the shuttle line. When we exited the terminal they had someone (Mark) with a Seattle Express sign pointing you in the right direction. If you don't see the shuttle once you get to area R, look for a guy with a clipboard. Ask for Matt, he will call a shuttle if needed, they are waiting in adjacent lot until needed.

If you go to shuttle waiting area R at the port, Seattle Express will be waiting there. $12 each person to SeaTac, shuttles leave every 15 mins, even if not full. Our shuttle had 3 couples on it.

http://www.seattleexpress.com/

Good info, Texasopa -- thanks for sharing! We already booked and paid for our car service, but this is good info to have if we should do another cruise out of Seattle. I'll definitely keep it in mind!

~ Shay

UBER works GREAT!