Seattle car rental

[mvaygibson]

Hello, we will be Cruising this Aug/Sept and have a late flight. Renting a car for the day to sightsee is a possibility for us, but how do you get from the pier to the car rental place? Thank you for any help or ideas!

[Ferry_Watcher]

At least at Pier 91 in Seattle (HAL, Princess, Royal, Celebrity & Carnival), you will have to get yourself to the car rental place by either taxi or Uber/Lyft.

[Glaciers]

@Ferry_Watcher  Was hoping you'd pop in here. Someone posted on a different site that one of the downtown rental locations has a shuttle pick up from Pier 66 but I couldn't confirm it.

 

[Ferry_Watcher]

@Glaciers, Thanks!  As you probably remember, pre-pandemic there was a shuttle van for the big 3 car rental facility in DT Seattle, but sadly that shuttle service hasn't returned post pandemic.

 

As for Pier 66, I can't speak for what happens there.

[1025cruise]

That's sad that the shuttle to the downtown hotel with the car rentals is no longer. We used it when we returned for a car for a day. However, it ended up being a waste for us. Our plans to sight see post cruise ended up turning into a long nap. We only used it to get to our airport hotel, and to get dinner. 

[psuboater]

If you're only looking to stay around the city for the day to explore the city, I highly recommend ditching the car idea. Traffic is back to pre pandemic levels after Amazon announced return to office, and if you're coming in July, you're possibly looking at competing with the MLB All Star game (7/8-11) or Taylor Swift (7/21-7/23). Parking is a pain and expensive. If you're fairly mobile, Seattle is pretty compact to walk and be able to see everything you want to see. I actually recommend walking onto the Bainbridge Ferry for the morning to explore the quaint downtown and get some great views of the sound and then of downtown heading back. Light rail can get you easily to the airport once you're ready to get to SEA. 

[Gardyloo]

10 hours ago, mvaygibson said:

Hello, we will be Cruising this Aug/Sept and have a late flight. Renting a car for the day to sightsee is a possibility for us, but how do you get from the pier to the car rental place? Thank you for any help or ideas!

It's possible to pick up a car at a downtown location (get there by cab or Uber from the cruise terminal) and drop it at the airport that night but watch out for very high "one way" surcharges, even if it's just across town.  I'd do some dummy pricing, then probably just head to the airport, using a cab, Uber or transfer from the cruise line, get the car there, throw your luggage in the trunk, and go from there.  It will speed things up at night and might save some money.  Plus, if you plan to tour to someplace like Mount Rainier, or maybe do a "Vashon loop" (google the places on this map - https://goo.gl/maps/dkxYpbCGKiSrV8yU8 ) picking up at the airport will shorten the driving distance.