Port of Seattle welcomes record number of cruise passengers
The Port of Seattle is celebrating 20 years serving the cruise industry and this 2018 season, welcomed 1,114,888 million revenue passengers through its cruise terminals.
It is the second year in a row the port exceeded the one-million passenger mark, with figures up four per cent on 2017.
More growth is expected in 2019 with the arrival of the Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas – a 4,180-passenger vessel that will be the largest on the west coast, and the addition of the Norwegian Joy, sister ship to the Norwegian Bliss that launched in 2018, a 4,000-passenger vessel.
The cruise industry from Seattle to Alaska started in 1999 with just six sailings and has now grown into a hugely successful business valued over $501 million.
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Seattle is firmly recognised as the USA’s capital for cruises to Alaska and is also the busiest port on the west coast of the USA.
Seattle is home to two cruise terminals, Bell Street Pier at Pier 66 (2225 Alaskan Way Seattle, WA 98121) which is the homeport for Norwegian Cruise Line and Oceania Cruises.
Smith Cruise Terminal at Pier 91 (2001 W Garfield Street, Seattle, WA 98119) serves Carnival Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and
Royal Caribbean International.
Pier 91 serves two ships at a time and offers connections to the city’s power grid, greatly reducing air emissions and helping Seattle strive to be the greenest port in the nation.
Pier 66 is on Seattle’s downtown waterfront within walking distance of Pike Place Market, the Space Needle and other major city attractions.