Flight Question About Alaska Cruise from Seattle

I have a question I hope someone can answer from experience. I am considering an Alaska cruise from Seattle in the future. My husband is not fond of flying, so we usually try to get direct flights from/to Charlotte. From CLT to SEA there is no issue, we can make the one direct flight fine. On the return, there is one non-stop from SEA to CLT that leaves at 1pm, and arrives here at 9pm, which is great. However, I was wondering if a 1pm flight is okay the day of disembarkation in Seattle. I know we are supposed to get there several hours ahead of flight time so do you all feel we will be able to make a 1pm flight with no problem? Because if we don't make it the next direct flight is at 10pm and flies all night and arrives in CLT at 6am (ugh!:(). I really want to avoid that overnight flight if possible. The only other alternative is to stay one post night in Seattle and then get to the airport with time to spare the next day to catch that 1pm direct flight. Any advice out there from our experienced cruisers? Thank you....!

1:00 PM would be fine and you certainly will be able to get over to the airport with plenty of time.

Keith

No problem with a 1:00 pm flight.

Agree with Keith. You should have no problem making a 1:00 Flight. I would look at using Luggage Direct (if your airline is on the list) so you have no worries about your luggage. You also get a little earlier disembarkation when using this program. The HAL link for this program is listed below. You also can sign up for this on the ship.

https://www.maketraveleasier.com/holland/services

My husband and I returned back from an Alaskan cruise in September. Our flight time was at 1:00. We made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare. We had enough time to walk around and eat lunch before our flight.

Denise

Thank you all. That makes me feel much better. I hated to stay an extra night just to catch the desired flight home. This would be really stretching it if we decide to do the 14 day Alaska vs the 7 day Alaska. I have never been away longer than 7 days plus a few days extra.

I forgot about Luggage Direct.......got that last time in FLL and it worked great. Thanks for the link and the advice.

Have a great time.

Keith

Have a great time.

Keith

Thank you! Hoping to go for our 25th anniversary in '19...the 14 day itinerary would be a dream for me (us)! Hope it works out if the pet sitter can watch my furry babies for that long. If not, I guess we will do a 7 day instead with a couple of added days in Seattle. Appreciate the info.

I forgot about Luggage Direct.......got that last time in FLL and it worked great. Thanks for the link and the advice.

This past season, the Port of Seattle provided the same service free of charge. It worked great, and it took the place of HALs Luggage Direct. You wouldn't know the difference - boarding passes printed and all.

This past season, the Port of Seattle provided the same service free of charge. It worked great, and it took the place of HALs Luggage Direct. You wouldn't know the difference - boarding passes printed and all.

We used that service and it was very convenient. IIRC, our flight was around 2 PM, but we could have nade a 1PM flight, and we did not rush to get off the ship.

One caveat--although the ship will print your boarding pass, go to check-in and get a fresh one. Our passes were rejected at security, and we had to go back to check-in, get new passes, and then get in the security line again. We were told it happens "sometimes," whatever that means. We had plenty of time, so it was only an annoyance. But if anyone is tight on time it could be a problem.

We used that service and it was very convenient. IIRC, our flight was around 2 PM, but we could have nade a 1PM flight, and we did not rush to get off the ship.

 

One caveat--although the ship will print your boarding pass, go to check-in and get a fresh one. Our passes were rejected at security, and we had to go back to check-in, get new passes, and then get in the security line again. We were told it happens "sometimes," whatever that means. We had plenty of time, so it was only an annoyance. But if anyone is tight on time it could be a problem.

I agree about the boarding passes. My husband's worked fine and mine did not. The same thing happened to the couple in front of us who were also from our ship.

Denise

Used the Seattle service for luggage. It was easy. Fill out the form a few days before and ur luggage tags and board ur boarding pass are left in ur room the day before ur flight. Our flight was later in the afternoon, so we spent some time in Seattle then took the Metro to tHe airport. Our boarding passes did not work for TSA precheck but the other line was not long. You could also use ur phone to get a copy of ur boarding pass. The Seattle Port service was great, wish all port cities had it. Good luck.

We used the Luggage Direct in June from Seattle on Jetblue 11:00 flight to Dulles. It was a great convenience and we had no trouble making the flight by getting off the ship early. Easy airport to deal with in Seattle....