After landing
SEA to your hotel
A hotel airport pickup is property-specific. Confirm its final pickup time, or take a direct car after a late SEA arrival.
Choose an overnight hotelPort of Seattle · Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Port of Seattle
SEATouch down
PortGet to your ship
SEA to Seattle, as published
Corridor guide · sources dated on this page · checked August 25, 2026
Taxi
Metered, $20 minimum from SEA
King County sets the floor. On-demand taxis may add $1 on top of it.
Link light rail
$3.00 flat — but only as far as downtown
38 minutes to downtown, then a car or a 20-minute walk to Pier 66.
Transit to the pier
None — the port says so itself
Pier 91 has no public transit at all; Pier 66 has no direct option from SEA.
Typical drive25-40 min
Distance15 miles
Getting from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Port of Seattle — 25-40 min, 15 miles
Your fly-in plan for SEA
Arrive the day before.
Give your SEA flight one night of breathing room before you board at Port of Seattle.
SEALand
HotelSleep
Port of SeattleBoard
Tonight / embarkation morning
Embarkation morning
Hotel to Port of Seattle
Pick the hotel first. If it offers a morning transfer, confirm its terms; otherwise use a taxi, rideshare, or booked car.
Hotels near Port of SeattleFlying into SEA on cruise day?
Avoid it if you can. If you have no alternative, compare the direct options on this page and protect the time you have left.
CruiseDayGuide · Updated August 25, 2026 · sources checked August 25, 2026
The Port of Seattle answers this corridor plainly on its own terminal pages: no transit reaches either pier from the airport. Plan a paid ride.
SEA to Pier 66 and Pier 91, mode by mode
Both cruise terminals are the Port of Seattle's own, and both pages state what does and does not serve them. The badge above quotes 15 miles and 25-40 min; the port's own terminal pages call it a 30-40 minute ride.
| How you travel | Price as published | Time and distance | What the source says |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taxi | Price as publishedMetered, with a $20 minimum on any trip starting at SEA | Time and distance30-40 min to either pier | What the source saysKing County Ordinance 19700 sets the minimum, and an on-demand taxi is allowed to add $1 to it. Beyond the floor the meter runs per mile and per minute. |
| Uber or Lyft | Price as publishedNo published fare — both price by demand at the moment you book | Time and distance30-40 min to either pier | What the source saysThe $20 taxi floor is the only published figure on this corridor; nothing regulates what an app quotes above it. |
| Link light rail | Price as published$3.00 flat adult fare, free for riders 18 and under | Time and distance38 minutes from the airport to downtown Seattle | What the source saysSound Transit charges one flat fare however far you ride. Downtown is where it leaves you: Pier 66 is about six minutes by car from Westlake, Pier 91 about fifteen. |
| Transit direct to the pier | Price as publishedNone published | Time and distance— | What the source saysThe port states there is no direct mass transit from SEA to Pier 66, and that public transit is not available to Pier 91 at all. The bus stop at Pier 91 is permanently closed. |
| Motor coach sold by your cruise line | Price as publishedNot published — quoted inside your cruise booking | Time and distance30-40 min direct | What the source saysThe port says some cruise lines and travel planners run coaches from the airport straight to Pier 66, and prices none of them. |
marks a row read at the source, including the rows where the source publishes no price. A shared airport shuttle serves these piers seasonally, but its operator publishes its fare only inside a booking flow, so no figure is quoted here.
Questions people ask about this route
Is there a train from Seattle airport to the cruise terminal?
Link light rail gets you downtown for a flat $3.00 in 38 minutes, and no further. The Port of Seattle states there is no direct transit from the airport to Pier 66, and that public transit does not reach Pier 91 at all. Finish by car.
How much is a taxi from SEA to the Seattle cruise terminals?
The meter decides, above a floor. King County sets a $20 minimum for any taxi trip starting at Seattle-Tacoma, and an on-demand taxi may add a dollar to that minimum. Beyond it the fare runs on distance and time, and no flat rate is published.
How long does it take to get from Seattle airport to Pier 91?
Thirty to forty minutes by road, the same as Pier 66, on the port's own reckoning. There is no transit alternative to fall back on: the bus stop at the Magnolia Bridge by Pier 91 is permanently closed, so a car is the whole answer here.
How do I get from the Seattle cruise terminals back to the airport?
By road again, because nothing has changed about the transit picture in that direction. Allow the full forty minutes and remember the $20 taxi minimum only governs trips leaving the airport, so the return fare is whatever the meter reads.
Where these figures come from
- portseattle.org — SEA taxis and the King County minimum · read August 25, 2026
- portseattle.org — Bell Street Cruise Terminal at Pier 66 · read August 25, 2026
- portseattle.org — Smith Cove Cruise Terminal at Pier 91 · read August 25, 2026
- soundtransit.org — Fares · read August 25, 2026
Published fares change without notice, so every figure here carries the date we read it. Reconfirm anything time-sensitive before you travel.
Local Tip
Link Light Rail leaves from the airport's own station, a short walk from baggage claim — follow the signage rather than heading for a curb. Cruise line shuttles run scheduled departures tied to boarding windows, not on demand, so confirm your pickup time when you book. SEA is a major international gateway — budget 60-90 minutes for immigration and customs before you reach the train or curb. If you are flying in from outside the US, sort your entry authorization before you book: most visa-waiver travelers need an approved ESTA, it is not issued at the airport, and without one the airline will not board you. Apply through the official CBP site at esta.cbp.dhs.gov — never a paid intermediary.
Once you arrive, find your terminal:
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