Early flight from SEATAC

[Hrhbob]

We have the possibility of a 10:20 am flight out of SEATAC non-stop to Tucson arriving at 1 pm on a Friday. We are in the Retreat and will have priority disembarkation, TSA pre and will hand-carry our luggage off the ship. Ship scheduled to dock at 6:00 am and we will likely Uber or taxi to SEATAC. Does this sound feasible and doable? Alternative is 3 pm with a stop in Phoenix arriving Tucson 8:00 pm which stinks. Thoughts?

[Northern Aurora]

An opinion from someone who flies in, out and through SEATAC frequently — save yourself some stress and book the 3pm flight.  Flights before 11:30 are generally not recommended.

[markeb]

A little nuts for me. Traffic will "probably" be fine southbound, but who knows.

 

It's Friday. Book a room near Pike Place, spend the day in Seattle, and have a leisurely trip to a 10:20 flight on Saturday (assuming the same flight schedule on Saturday). Tons to do in the area if you don't want to do downtown Seattle. That sounds a lot better than stressing over an early flight or wasting the day "homeless" for a 3:00 pm flight.

[Ferry_Watcher]

Generally speaking, RCI Ovation usually starts their disembarkation around 6:30 AM, and Celebrity (this season the Edge) closer to 7 - 7:15 AM.

Also, FYI many taxis are still under contract with the Seattle school district to provide transportation for special need students, so the number of taxis available are fewer than during the summer months.

 

Catching a 10:20 AM flight I think would be problematic for you.

[SbbquilterUT]

To answer the question - we have made the 10:15 to Salt Lake City each of the past three cruises in August.  Might we miss it, of course but we want to at least try so we get home to our regional airport that day.  Even worked on a Saturday cruise this year.  

[taxiang]

SEATAC can be crazy, even with pre-check. I don't think I'd risk that early.

[rj59]

The good part is that the express lanes go southbound in the morning, meaning there's less traffic going that way. A lot depends on where your flight is departing from, since A terminal can be a long slog, and N gates require a train trip. I got in an altercation disembarking from Reflection on Saturday, from an entitled Karen who was outraged that she had to go to the back of a line after she got off an elevator, so she blocked me and others while she argued, and I was in a rush to also make an early flight, so I let anger at her ruin the final morning of my cruise (and the irritation of having to wait for customs agents, instead of face ID, another issue of disembarking in Seattle). The ship will be packed, as all the ones going out of Seattle are now, so leaving later might give you more of a chance to enjoy a leisurely breakfast and enjoy the beautiful skyline, or check your bags to the airport and instead visit some spot before you head to the airport, and by that time Lyft/Uber will be cheaper and easier to get, and you needn't stress or rush. After all, the purpose of going is to be on vacation and experience different things, including Seattle, which having lived there for over a decade and done dozens of Alaska cruises, I can say has things that are vastly more interesting and memorable than podunk Alaska towns full of souvenir shops. And rushing to leave ideal Seattle summer weather to get back to hellish Tucson weather doesn't seem appealing. 

[crusinthrough]

Getting into SeaTac is bananas with the congestion.  The departure area is better than arrival but the airport is just a mess.

[chemmo]

On 12/12/2023 at 10:41 PM, markeb said:

A little nuts for me. Traffic will "probably" be fine southbound, but who knows.

 

It's Friday. Book a room near Pike Place, spend the day in Seattle, and have a leisurely trip to a 10:20 flight on Saturday (assuming the same flight schedule on Saturday). Tons to do in the area if you don't want to do downtown Seattle. That sounds a lot better than stressing over an early flight or wasting the day "homeless" for a 3:00 pm flight.

Definitely the best solution!

 

We have only flown from SeaTac once so can’t offer a generalisation. However, I do know that any early flight from any destination world wide simply results in finishing a cruise in a stressful way…

[deliver42]

I wouldn't book a 10:30 flight from Sea Tec for free. Nothing before noon. TSA is awful there.