Seattle Terminal

[JNS123]

Could anyone share there experience of the RCL Seattle Terminal? Going there this summer and wanted to get an idea of what it is like. Also, what are the best ways of transportation to the port. And if possible, could anyone share pictures, or at least direct me where to find pictures. I also wanted to confirm if the terminals had dedicated boarding for suite guests. Thanks 

[twangster]

Smith Cove has small cruise terminals and even smaller waiting areas.  They usually set aside some floor space for suites and Pinnacle but its very limited and fills up fast.  There is not a suite lounge, just some ropes that carve out an area on some occasions.

The cruise terminals are generic and used by many cruise lines.  Think of an airport with different airlines using shared gates.  The port owns the terminal.  Since the cruise lines don't own or lease the space the cruise lines can't do much other than live with the space as it is. 

The terminals are older from the era when only small ships sailed to Alaska.  They were not designed to accommodate larger ships.  As you can imagine this has consequences with larger ships especially when few guests pay attention to their scheduled arrival time.  

[egd207]

We went there last Sept.  The hotel shuttle dropped us off and there were baggage handlers right there loading onto the carts.  Then you walk straight to the terminal doors - not far at all.  We are not suite guests, but the line moved very quickly and the process went very smoothly.  Through security check, walked up to the RC rep.  (we did all the precheck requirements on the app) done in minutes.  Then onto boarding.  Easy peasy.  I was worried before going because I did see a vlog that showed a long line outside of the terminal of people waiting to get into the building.  We had an 11:00 boarding time, so maybe that's why it wasn't too bad.  Hope it goes as smoothly for you.

[Riley]

Seattle Express Shuttle picked us up from our hotel and got us to the terminal in great order.  The vehicles are small buses and pick up from various hotels in the area for about $20 per person (I bought a round trip ticket for airport dropoff at the end and don't recall if that was one way or RT). They did a terrific job and for small parties I recommend them.

[SPS]

34 minutes ago, Riley said:

Seattle Express Shuttle picked us up from our hotel and got us to the terminal in great order.  The vehicles are small buses and pick up from various hotels in the area for about $20 per person (I bought a round trip ticket for airport dropoff at the end and don't recall if that was one way or RT). They did a terrific job and for small parties I recommend them.

I will second the recommendation to use Seattle Express. VERY reasonable costs and very good service to pick up from many SEA-TAC airport area hotels.

If you're lucky, your driver will be "Elvis"! Very personable with some tour guide type info along the way.

https://seattleexpress.com/

 

[CruisingNewb]

Without more detail @JNS123about your trip, I can offer you my experience (and from my memory from last summer):

1. We stayed one block from Pike Market.  We opted to Uber there.  Cost us $30 for a mid-sized vehicle for a family of four.  It took 15 minutes to get there.

2. We had the earliest check-in time.  11:00?  Yes, you should try to stick to the time assigned.  No this does not mean show up right at 11:00 or whatever time.  See below.

3. Even Ubers cannot deliver you to the front of the terminal.  They are required by many, many, many personnel, to drop you off about half a mile from the terminal in a staging area.  You must walk the rest of the way.  This will take no more than 10 minutes, but from entering the terminal area to drop off, if there are alot of cars, add in another 10 minutes. 

4. Keep in mind there are bathrooms, but only 2 on the outside of the terminal building.  The closer you are to the front of the line, the better.  

5. The front of the terminal has a roped off area that can accommodate about 60 people with luggage.  Then, there is a street separating the next waiting area.  This is a shuttle pick-up area.  Keep in mind 2 things: (A) there will be alot of foot traffic from people trying to get to their shuttle; (B) this is the only designated smoking area that I know of and people will be smoking there.  The fumes spread out.  If you don't like this, get there early.

[Bowen]

Oh man, I remember that walk, it was quite lengthy. My dad has MS and there was some way that he was able to get to the drop off point without walking. It was a shuttle or something. He and my mom took it and I walked with my kids.

[FSUFAN]

23 hours ago, Riley said:

Seattle Express Shuttle picked us up from our hotel and got us to the terminal in great order.  The vehicles are small buses and pick up from various hotels in the area for about $20 per person 

I just looked it up and it's now $25/pp.  We are staying close to Pike Place Market. $100 for a 15 minute ride for 4 of us seems pretty steep. We will probably go with Uber or similar. 

[CAGirl30]

On 2/24/2023 at 8:07 AM, CruisingNewb said:

Without more detail @JNS123about your trip, I can offer you my experience (and from my memory from last summer):

1. We stayed one block from Pike Market.  We opted to Uber there.  Cost us $30 for a mid-sized vehicle for a family of four.  It took 15 minutes to get there.

2. We had the earliest check-in time.  11:00?  Yes, you should try to stick to the time assigned.  No this does not mean show up right at 11:00 or whatever time.  See below.

3. Even Ubers cannot deliver you to the front of the terminal.  They are required by many, many, many personnel, to drop you off about half a mile from the terminal in a staging area.  You must walk the rest of the way.  This will take no more than 10 minutes, but from entering the terminal area to drop off, if there are alot of cars, add in another 10 minutes. 

4. Keep in mind there are bathrooms, but only 2 on the outside of the terminal building.  The closer you are to the front of the line, the better.  

5. The front of the terminal has a roped off area that can accommodate about 60 people with luggage.  Then, there is a street separating the next waiting area.  This is a shuttle pick-up area.  Keep in mind 2 things: (A) there will be alot of foot traffic from people trying to get to their shuttle; (B) this is the only designated smoking area that I know of and people will be smoking there.  The fumes spread out.  If you don't like this, get there early.

 

 

Is this true?  You have to walk 1/2 mile to the port from the closest drop off area?  Can anyone confirm?  We're cruising from Seattle this summer and my mother (walks with a walker) cannot walk 1/2 mile.  What is the option for people with accessibility issues?  Is there a closer drop-off for those with a handicap placard? 

[Sea Squirrel]

I believe the walk from the ride share lot is closer to 1/4 mile but I could be wrong, it may be further.  I remember seeing people walking from there and it did look like a hike.  Last summer when we boarded Ovation, only taxis and shuttles could drop off in front of the terminal. We took a shuttle from our hotel which dropped us off in front of the terminal. We did take the Seattle Express back to the airport at disembarkation and I would also recommend them. They pick up near the front. It is also worth noting that almost all taxis in Seattle are small (think Prius) unless you need an accessible van because of wheelchair or mobility scooter.  There was no way a Prius would handle my family with bags which is why we opted for the more expensive shuttle from the hotel. 

[CruisingNewb]

19 hours ago, CAGirl30 said:

Is this true?  You have to walk 1/2 mile to the port from the closest drop off area?  Can anyone confirm?  We're cruising from Seattle this summer and my mother (walks with a walker) cannot walk 1/2 mile.  What is the option for people with accessibility issues?  Is there a closer drop-off for those with a handicap placard? 

I can't remember exactly how long it took us, but we walk fast and I was judging distance by how many minutes it took us from drop off to terminal gates.  It took us about 10 minutes or so.  Its not more than 1/2 a mile, but not less than 1/4 mile.

Also, when we got there, not even taxis could drop off at the terminal doors because there were so many trucks coming in and out for restocking the ships and such.

You may have a different experience.  My input was only meant to share our experience so that you have an idea of the many, many, many scenarios you may encounter.

[CruisingNewb]

@CAGirl30

You see the area to the left right of this image that I posted below?

That parking area is where we were dropped off.  The terminal to board Ovation is at the top right of the image. Ovation is about 1,100 feet long.  Between the area we were dropped off and the entrance of the terminal (where we walked to) and where our Uber dropped us off, is at least 2,000 feet, but probably more like 2,200 feet.  A mile is about 5,000 feet.  So the walk that we made was closer to 1/2 a mile than 1/4 of a mile.

[Nas]

Great Information from everyone regarding the Seattle Port! 

I also have a cruise out in September and am wondering everyone's experience/success in connecting to the ship WIFI from the port? If I am understanding correctly the Quantum Class ships might not have entertainment able to be booked in advance and instead will require ship WIFI. Just wanted to enjoy my walk up the gangway instead of having my head down in a phone. 

[CruisingNewb]

22 hours ago, Nas said:

Great Information from everyone regarding the Seattle Port! 

I also have a cruise out in September and am wondering everyone's experience/success in connecting to the ship WIFI from the port? If I am understanding correctly the Quantum Class ships might not have entertainment able to be booked in advance and instead will require ship WIFI. Just wanted to enjoy my walk up the gangway instead of having my head down in a phone. 

We were not able to connect until on the ship.  BUT---we had no issues making dining reservations and the only show that I understand to be reservable is the Pixels show.  We reserved with no issues.  We also reserved our free Northstar and free iFly sessions without issue.

[CAGirl30]

On 3/6/2023 at 7:10 AM, CruisingNewb said:

@CAGirl30

You see the area to the left of this image that I posted below?

That parking area is where we were dropped off.  The terminal to board Ovation is at the top right of the image. Ovation is about 1,100 feet long.  Between the area we were dropped off and the entrance of the terminal (where we walked to) and where our Uber dropped us off, is at least 2,000 feet, but probably more like 2,200 feet.  A mile is about 5,000 feet.  So the walk that we made was closer to 1/2 a mile than 1/4 of a mile.

Thank you

[Orlasmom]

My husband has Parkinson’s and cannot stand (without support) for more than about 10 minutes. I’m planning to check in online as soon as it’s available to get the earliest possible boarding time. My questions is- Are there seats inside the terminal where he can sit while I hold our place in line? thanks.

[Matt]

9 hours ago, Orlasmom said:

Are there seats inside the terminal where he can sit while I hold our place in line? thanks.

Yes

[PRMLVM]

We are only used to embarking in Florida ports, so I'm trying to get prepared for Seattle.  We are looking up videos and pics, but would appreciate any current info on these specific questions. 

We have our ride to the port, and once dropped off we will follow the crowd.  At some point, is there a designated line outside (prior to the first documentation check) for suites or Keys?  Is there a designated line inside for suites/keys?  I'm just trying to compare to our experiences in different Florida ports that had one or both of those; I figure if I move my group of six efficiently, we will cause less stress for OTHER travelers as well as for us! 

Has baggage drop-off gotten any better?  Are the RC porters clearly marked?  Again, just trying to go in knowledgeable so as not to hold up the line or get in anyone's way!

[Lone Star]

We are cruising on Ovation in 6 days. Can anyone advise me if there is some sort of handicap drop off. My wife recently broke her leg and had to have some hardware added to her knee. No weight on the leg for 12 weeks. Obviously, she’s in a wheelchair and we will be renting her a electric scooter there at the port. Will we have to make this “walk of death” or is there a handicap drop off? We have booked a Uber but now with her injury I’m getting somewhat concerned about all of this. Any info or advice will be very appreciated!

[twangster]

4 hours ago, PRMLVM said:

We are only used to embarking in Florida ports, so I'm trying to get prepared for Seattle.  We are looking up videos and pics, but would appreciate any current info on these specific questions. 

We have our ride to the port, and once dropped off we will follow the crowd.  At some point, is there a designated line outside (prior to the first documentation check) for suites or Keys?  Is there a designated line inside for suites/keys?  I'm just trying to compare to our experiences in different Florida ports that had one or both of those; I figure if I move my group of six efficiently, we will cause less stress for OTHER travelers as well as for us! 

Has baggage drop-off gotten any better?  Are the RC porters clearly marked?  Again, just trying to go in knowledgeable so as not to hold up the line or get in anyone's way!

At the Smith Bay cruise terminal there are two berths so there could be two ships.  The drop off area is usually common to both ships.  When you unload your luggage from your ride make sure you are clear to the porters which ship you are sailing.  Having your luggage already tagged helps.  

The pedestrian line to enter the terminal can be long, sometimes wrapping around the drop off area.  Usually they have a suites queue but it won't be obvious from the luggage drop area.  Make sure to ask where the suites line is.  When it's working it tends to be close to the terminal entrance as opposed to the general line that snakes around outside.  Ask and ask again.

That's just to enter the terminal.  Depending how they have it setup that day the suites queue dumps into the same security queue that the general queue has led up to.  Sometimes the suites queue uses one x-ray machine queue, sometimes not.

Once through security everyone goes up the same escalator.  At the top of the escalator there should be a suites/pinnacle sign that separates you from the general traffic.