Question on departure flight time from Seattle Alaska cruise this August

[CruiseGus]

Ok returning to Seattle on Ovation in august on a Friday.

My original flight was to leave SEA at 1:37 and I was good with that time.

AA just bumped the departure time from SEA to 12:03 (noon)

next possible flight it a 3:30ish. 

I know this is the Covid era so who knows, but in the past would the 12:03 flight be cutting it to close. 

Should i already have private transportation arranged to get me to the airport or will normal procedures be OK.

We do tend to leave the ship early under normal circumstances.

Opinions and past experiences appreciated

[KristiZ]

Personally, I would still be comfortable with that flight time. My procedure for Port of Seattle has always been 1) self debark with all luggage, 2) walk or taxi to the light rail (depending on the pier we're docked at), and 3) light rail comfortably all the way to the airport. Should take less than 60 minutes after you get off the ship, even if you're docked at Pier 91.

[Reigert2008]

I seem to remember that Royal says to not book flights before noon, just in case.  So, 12:03 is technically OK!  However, you may also want to look into the Luggage Valet service that Royal offers.  We didn't use it since we fly Southwest and it was not an option at the time, but it would make like easy!

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/does-royal-caribbean-offer-luggage-valet

[12thman]

4 hours ago, CruiseGus said:

Ok returning to Seattle on Ovation in august on a Friday.

My original flight was to leave SEA at 1:37 and I was good with that time.

AA just bumped the departure time from SEA to 12:03 (noon)

next possible flight it a 3:30ish. 

I know this is the Covid era so who knows, but in the past would the 12:03 flight be cutting it to close. 

Should i already have private transportation arranged to get me to the airport or will normal procedures be OK.

We do tend to leave the ship early under normal circumstances.

Opinions and past experiences appreciated

I would take the later flight. Seatac has a very serious shortage of TSA agents, they are offering a signing bonus of $1,000.00. Because of this shortage even the "CLEAR" lines are slow as well as PRECHECK. The lines can stretch from the TSA entry point to the PARKING LOT!!! Been there done that!!! HATE IT!! If that happens expect to wait 2 to 3 HOURS to get through the check point. Now it really depends on the time of day you are going that's why the later flight is better if you do experience what happened to me then no problem because you arrived early. Plus there's 13 coins right across the street and it's open 24/7 365 they have breakfast, lunch and dinner all day. Hope that helps.

[CruiseGus]

2 hours ago, Reigert2008 said:

I seem to remember that Royal says to not book flights before noon, just in case.  So, 12:03 is technically OK!  However, you may also want to look into the Luggage Valet service that Royal offers.  We didn't use it since we fly Southwest and it was not an option at the time, but it would make like easy!

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/does-royal-caribbean-offer-luggage-valet

with the lack of cruises this year i wonder if they are still doing this?  guess i can ask the concierge when we get on board.

[GaryAA]

We are on the same cruise and have a 11:45 flight. We were planning on getting Clear and using luggage valet but we might just book a later flight. I hate to do that because we get home pretty late with the current flights.

[ConstantCruiser]

In Seattle luggage valet is offered by the port, not the cruise line.  That's why it's free for everyone.  I was told the port does it because it doesn't have room to handle thousands of bags coming off a ship and trying to manage the flow of passengers trying to find their bags.

Will the port still offer it in 2021 with pandemic protocols?  Time will tell.  

FWIW - In 2018 coming off Explorer in Seattle I was at the airport by 7:45am by using self assist and a taxi.