Scheduling flights....

[Gopher40]

Booked on the Encore for April 28 - May 5 next year Alaska. Wanting to get to Seattle a day ahead to look around Seattle a little and be assured of no "problems" with timing .

May be switching from the second person flies free that NCL is offering and scheduling our own flights. Arriving in Seattle is no issue, but with the ship arriving back in Seattle at 6AM on the morning of the 5th what would be the earliest flight I would dare schedule? There is one at 11AM, but that may be pushing it. This is our first cruise and we are in a regular balcony cabin. Not sure how complicated disembarking is.

Edited August 24, 2023 by Gopher40

[ggTexasGal]

5 minutes ago, Gopher40 said:

Booked on the Encore for April 28 - May 5 next year Alaska. Wanting to get to Seattle a day ahead to look around Seattle a little and be assured of no "problems" with timing .

May be switching from the second person flies free the NCL is offering and scheduling our own flights. Arriving in Seattle is no issue, but with the ship arriving back in Seattle at 6AM on the morning of the 5th what would be the earliest flight I would dare schedule?

Unless you are in the Haven, or have some status priority, or plan to utilize Easy Walk Off (get in line with all of your luggage EARLY), you probably want to book closer to noon.

[www3traveler]

You also might want to look into the Port of Seattle Valet program.  Check on the Port of Seattle's website for this FREE program and see if you would qualify.

 

Enjoy the City of Seattle and your cruise.

[CaptainBazz]

We had an option of an 11am flight on our trip last year. I was advised that was too early so booked a 3pm flight instead. Sat on the ship until 9am when we were eventually told to leave...wandered down to the street...found a shuttle that was just starting to load...left the port around 9.35am and was at the airport at 10am. We would have easily made the 11am flight if we had left the ship at 7.30am. Go for it.

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, Gopher40 said:

Booked on the Encore for April 28 - May 5 next year Alaska. Wanting to get to Seattle a day ahead to look around Seattle a little and be assured of no "problems" with timing .

May be switching from the second person flies free that NCL is offering and scheduling our own flights. Arriving in Seattle is no issue, but with the ship arriving back in Seattle at 6AM on the morning of the 5th what would be the earliest flight I would dare schedule? There is one at 11AM, but that may be pushing it. This is our first cruise and we are in a regular balcony cabin. Not sure how complicated disembarking is.

If you  have to ask if your flight  is too early, it is.

[DCGuy64]

I've found over the years that all of the things I worry about *possibly* going wrong on a cruise, never do. I was worried we'd be too late for an early flight so I changed it, and we ended up sitting around the airport for 5 hours with nothing to do. To me, 5 hours is plenty of time. A taxi from Seattle port to SeaTac is 21 minutes. And I don't care what TSA says, you *don't* have to arrive 3 hours before for domestic flights. I say go for it, too.

[agrimm01]

Last year leaving Seattle our friends flight was scheduled to leave at 11:30am.  There was an issue with customs or someone so disembarkation didn't start until close to 9am.  By the time our friends got to the airport they were not going to make their flight.  So they purchased that expedited security (Clear) at the airport in order to make their flight.  It worked out for them but I would never book a flight before noon out of Seattle.  Too many things to go wrong.

BTW.. our flight on this same vacation was 11:30pm.  That really sucked.

[RocketMan275]

2 hours ago, Gopher40 said:

Booked on the Encore for April 28 - May 5 next year Alaska. Wanting to get to Seattle a day ahead to look around Seattle a little and be assured of no "problems" with timing .

May be switching from the second person flies free that NCL is offering and scheduling our own flights. Arriving in Seattle is no issue, but with the ship arriving back in Seattle at 6AM on the morning of the 5th what would be the earliest flight I would dare schedule? There is one at 11AM, but that may be pushing it. This is our first cruise and we are in a regular balcony cabin. Not sure how complicated disembarking is.

Some questions to ask yourself:

What is so compelling about that 1100 flight?

When is the next flight? When does it arrive at home station?

Is the 1100 significantly cheaper?

Would you rather be sitting in the airport knowing you're in time for your flight or sitting in a cab wondering if you'll make the earlier flight?

Edited August 24, 2023 by RocketMan275

[DCGuy64]

FYI just for kicks I checked out the SeaTac and Port of Seattle websites. It's 15 miles between the two and according to Port of Seattle, it could take 30-45 minutes. The operative word being "could," which given that times are often exaggerated, it'll probably take much less time. Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to book an 11 am flight with a 6 am port arrival. 5 hours to go 45 minutes is plenty. (And yes, you have to disembark, etc, but I'd be surprised if, say, it took OP until 8 am to disembark, he'd be at the airport by 8:30 and 2 1/2 hours.) https://www.portseattle.org/faq/how-far-airport-pier

[Gopher40]

11 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Some questions to ask yourself:

What is so compelling about that 1100 flight?

When is the next flight? When does it arrive at home station?

Is the 1100 significantly cheaper?

Would you rather be sitting in the airport knowing you're in time for your flight or sitting in a cab wondering if you'll make the earlier flight?

All of those things come into play. Just looking for thoughts. We may even decide to spend another day in Seattle. Right now everything is on the table.

[RocketMan275]

3 minutes ago, Gopher40 said:

All of those things come into play. Just looking for thoughts. We may even decide to spend another day in Seattle. Right now everything is on the table.

You haven't said were you're travelling to. 

One thing to consider is the difficulty in return home flights.  If you're travelling to the east coast, it is almost impossible to avoid an overnight flight if you leave seattle later than early morning. So, you might wish to spend another day in seattle which would allow catching an early morning flight.

We cancelled an alaskan cruise because we didn't like the flights coming home.  

[Gopher40]

14 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

You haven't said were you're travelling to. 

One thing to consider is the difficulty in return home flights.  If you're travelling to the east coast, it is almost impossible to avoid an overnight flight if you leave seattle later than early morning. So, you might wish to spend another day in seattle which would allow catching an early morning flight.

We cancelled an alaskan cruise because we didn't like the flights coming home.  

Michigan

 

[RocketMan275]

Just now, Gopher40 said:

Michigan

 

Michigan might not be too bad since you don't have to change planes in Atlanta like we do.  

So, how do your alternative flights compare?

[www3traveler]

Please keep in mind that NCL IS NOT the ship disembarking passengers on any given Sunday.  There will probably be Holland America, Princess, Celebrity also disembarking passengers.  Weekends in Seattle can also mean freeway contruction season possibly making freeway travel more difficult.

 

The Seattle Mariners have just posted thier 2024 schedule.  You might want to see if they are playing at home that weekend.

[RD64]

Just make sure to have a back up plan that is acceptable to you.

[DCGuy64]

3 hours ago, www3traveler said:

Please keep in mind that NCL IS NOT the ship disembarking passengers on any given Sunday.  There will probably be Holland America, Princess, Celebrity also disembarking passengers.  Weekends in Seattle can also mean freeway contruction season possibly making freeway travel more difficult.

 

The Seattle Mariners have just posted thier 2024 schedule.  You might want to see if they are playing at home that weekend.

According to Cruisemapper, there is just one ship at Port of Seattle on May 5, 2024, and that's the Norwegian Encore, OP's ship. The other lines you mentioned don't seem to be there that day.

https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/seattle-port-6?tab=schedule&month=2024-05#schedule

The Mariners are playing the Houston Astros on May 5, but I doubt the game will start at 6 am! 😉 Another good thing in OP's favor: May 5 is a Sunday, so there's unlikely to be a ton of traffic, especially early in the morning.

Edited August 24, 2023 by DCGuy64

[BirdTravels]

5 hours ago, Gopher40 said:

Booked on the Encore for April 28 - May 5 next year Alaska. Wanting to get to Seattle a day ahead to look around Seattle a little and be assured of no "problems" with timing .

May be switching from the second person flies free that NCL is offering and scheduling our own flights. Arriving in Seattle is no issue, but with the ship arriving back in Seattle at 6AM on the morning of the 5th what would be the earliest flight I would dare schedule? There is one at 11AM, but that may be pushing it. This is our first cruise and we are in a regular balcony cabin. Not sure how complicated disembarking is.

11:00 is perfectly fine. 

 

2022

7:35 Leave Stateroom

7:45 In Cruise Terminal

8:00 Picked p bags in luggage hall and through customs

8:55 arrive SEA via cruise line transfer

9:15 checked bags, through security and in airport waiting area

 

2021

8:45 left stateroom

9:27 Arrive SEA via cruise line transfer

10:09 check in bags and through airport security

 

 

[Grimix]

8 hours ago, www3traveler said:

You also might want to look into the Port of Seattle Valet program.  Check on the Port of Seattle's website for this FREE program and see if you would qualify.

Port Valet is only available for flights after 12pm so that unfortunately won't help the OP.

[RocketMan275]

27 minutes ago, Grimix said:

Port Valet is only available for flights after 12pm so that unfortunately won't help the OP.

That is another reason to consider taking a later flight.

[MarKay525]

How do you plan to get from the cruise port to the airport? 

 

May not be relevant if you are able to walk off the ship early with your luggage in hand, but when we sailed into Seattle in May, once we had our luggage, the line for the cabs was at least 100 people deep (and the walk to the cab area was 5-7 minutes from the terminal) and the wait for an Uber was 45 minutes.

 

YMMV with an early disembarkation, but we were very glad we had an afternoon flight.

 

Do you want your lovely first cruise experience to end with stress hoping you make it to the airport on time if anything "goes wrong" ?

[SimplyAlbert]

We do self-debark (take all our luggage with us).  I wouldn't hesitate to book an 11 am flight.  Having said that, DH is retired and I have a lot of flexibility in my job, so if we didn't make the flight it wouldn't be a big deal for us.  Our finances would allow us to spend a day (or more) until we could get the next flight out.  In fact, depending on the port we routinely don't fly out until the next day, or even two or three days later.

 

If you don't have the flexibility/finances to be able to chance missing your flight, I would look for one later in the day.

[DCGuy64]

On 8/24/2023 at 10:33 AM, Gopher40 said:

All of those things come into play. Just looking for thoughts. We may even decide to spend another day in Seattle. Right now everything is on the table.

You have plenty of time to decide. I would be cautious about booking a flight later in the day solely based on someone else's negative "what if" scenarios. I see this all the time: someone has a bad experience and then tells everyone who'll listen "better safe than sorry, you should do X..." Only you can decide what's right for you. If I began worrying about every little thing that might go wrong or delay me, I'd either give up traveling altogether, or I'd do something silly like quit my job and leave 3 weeks before my cruise "just in case there are multiple delays." When was a kid, my sisters and I used to play a game called "what if." We'd try to outdo each other in terms of outrageous scenarios. So while there can, of course, be unforeseen delays occasionally, I think prudence suggests going with what is most likely. I highly doubt that on an early Sunday morning in Seattle, you'll have all of the following:

 

1. Limited transportation options

2. Snarled traffic due to a baseball game

3. Highway construction.

4. Delayed embarkation.

 

Etc.

 

I've traveled for many years, and I've never missed a cruise and only missed one, yes one, flight, which was my own fault. I'd much rather get home in a reasonable amount of time than sit around waiting in the airport all day since I erroneously thought it would take hours and hours to get there and it only took 30 minutes. And I say this as a worrywart who always imagines things going wrong and they never do. Your call, obviously.

[julig22]

On my last cruise into Seattle there was a dockworker slowdown so there were issues with getting luggage - people with priority tagged luggage had to wait until about 9am or thereabouts. Those who did self-assist were fine.

Yes it's easy to say it's only xxx amount of time to the airport but timing is everything. It's gonna take longer at 7:30 am than 9am just because of crowds.  It's gonna take longer on a weekday because of work traffic. I drive to Seattle and last year they were doing construction so it took forever to get out of Seattle.

Under normal circumstances, 11 is mostly doable but best to have a plan B.

I'm flying out of Anchorage next week.  Had my choice of 11 and 1, have heard so many conflicting stories about crowds there that I chose the later flight BUT I also chose the earlier shuttle and have a changeable ticket so if I get there early I'll try for the earlier flight. But then again, 2 hours isn't much in the overall scheme of things!