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Seattle Looking Forward to Strong Cruise Season

Seattle and Alaskan cruises are in demand, so the port is looking forward to another strong year in cruising. While Seattle had a record number of passengers in 2022, ship occupancy is expected to up and the cruise port is ready to welcome 1.3 million passengers in 2023.

Linda Springmann, director and cruise and maritime marketing for the Port of Seattle said, “We saw a significant increase in ship calls. We had some weekday capacity and the cruise lines worked to fill that in. Also, we benefited from global shipping not being open so some of the ships that would have gone to Asia and Australia came to Alaska instead. Alaska is a strong, profitable market. Seattle also benefits from being a drive-to market in addition to having good domestic, North American airlift.”

The port of Seattle has two cruise terminals, Smith Cove at Pier 91 and Bell Street at Pier 66. Holland America and Princess sail weekends from Smith Cove, while Carnival, Celebrity, and Royal Caribbean sail weekdays from Smith Cove.

Norwegian Cruise Line and her sister company, Oceania, both sail exclusively from Bell Street. The current schedule from the port of Seattle starts with Norwegian Bliss on April 14 and ends with Norwegian Sun on October 30.

Seattle had been planning a third terminal but that initiative has been put on hold. Instead, the port is making improvements in its infrastructure and is looking to have shore power installed at Pier 66 by the 2024 season. The port is also involved in the Green Corridor project and has a goal to be 100 percent decarbonized by 2050.