How long to get from Seattle debarkation to Airport?

[Tormania]

I have been doing my research and the typical rule of thumb is to not schedule a return flight after your ship gets back to port any sooner than 5 hrs after that time. Well this summer we arrive back in Seattle on the Quantum of the Seas at 6am on Monday, July 22nd.  There is a cheap, NONSTOP, flight home that leaves at 11am, right at that 5 hour mark.  The next best flight leaves another 3 hrs later and gets me home 6 hrs later.  Boo!!!!  So for those of you that have prior experience during 2023 cruise season coming back from Akaskan cruises into Seattle, what has been your experience on how long is really is taking to get back to the airport?  As a side note, we are doing carry-on ONLY, so no need to stop and check in bags either.  Thanks everyone!

[SpeedNoodles]

If you do self assist and get off of the ship at the first opportunity, you will probably not have any issues.  We were in our Lyft by 8:15 and to the airport by 9.  That was a Sunday, though.  Mondays could take longer with the atrocious Seattle traffic.

[Carpe Diem]

  If you want to be at the airport 2 hours prior to flight time, that means you would want to be at the airport by 9 AM.  It is a 40-45 minute drive from the cruise port to the airport.  So, you would need to be off the ship, through customs and in a cab/Uber/Lyft by 8:15 AM.  I guess it all depends on what time the local authorities clear the ship for passenger disembarkation. Sometimes it can be as early as 7:30 AM, but sometimes it can be as late as 8:30 AM.    I have cruised to Alaska out of Seattle twice before and I am cruising to Alaska out of Seattle again in May 2024.  For me, when I book my flight home after the cruise, I try to find a flight that leaves at noon or later.   It's all up to you and your comfort level, though.

[MR_Soccer]

Another thing to do is to get the flySEA app for your phone.  It's the airport app and you can use it to find out the wait times of the security lines, which lines work for clear, TSA precheck or general and you can even get a reservation through the SEA spot saver program.  There are 5 security checkpoints and all of them access the entire airport.  

[Colon]

Last year I had a 10:35 am flight. I arrived around 8:15 am to the airport. 

[billdauterive]

As others have stated it's about 45 mins to the airport from the port depending on traffic of course.  If you're taking lyft/uber, it's about a 10 min walk from the terminal to the staging area. 

Personally I made an 11:30 flight last year without any trouble and plenty of extra time without rushing.  I think 11 is reasonable with the caveat that you're not leaving much room for unforeseen delays. So if the ship docks late, or customs clearance is behind, or uber/lyft is busier than usual, or traffic is worse than usual, or airport security is far behind then there is a real risk of missing your flight.  Also note you won't be able to take advantage of the port of Seattle luggage valet since the flight is before noon.  *Side note, I REALLY wish other ports would offer this service too.  It's such a great way to not have to deal with bags and have an opportunity to stay later and enjoy things in the city after a cruise.

As long as you understand the higher level of risk and are ok with it, then I don't think 11 is unreasonable.  Now anything between 10-11 I think is starting to push it to an unreasonable risk (and I'm an extreme risk taker when it comes to travel dates/times).  Any time before 10 would be pure insanity...

[Tormania]

Thanks for all the advice everyone.  I went ahead and booked the 11am return flight.  Checked out the airport and see that you can reserve a TSA Checkpoint time with the SEA Spot Saver so that is a way to save time at the airport and I'm the kind of person that doesn't like to hang around and be idle so I'll be awake are ready to go before the ship docks anyway so I'm pretty confident we'll be fine.