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Tag: Seattle

  • Dining Cruises in Seattle: A Guide

    Dining Cruises in Seattle: A Guide

    As you might expect of a major city on the coast, there are dining cruises in Seattle. Indeed, there are a great variety of dining cruises – including brunch, lunch, and dinner cruises, as well as several themed dinner cruises – and they are offered by three different companies: Waterways Cruises and Events, Argosy Cruises, and Queen of Seattle. As is so often the case, though, these cruises aren’t always easy to find, particularly because the diverse set of offerings are spread across different companies. To help you find a dining cruise in Seattle, we have composed the following guide, which will give you an idea of what cruises are available and how they can be booked.

    Waterways Cruises and Events definitely seems to be the main provider of dining cruises in Seattle. During the summer and into the early fall, they offer regularly scheduled brunch, lunch, and dinner cruises, and they also consistently offer a “BBQ on the Lake Cruise,” which is in the middle of the afternoon. So, you can basically take a dining cruise with Waterways at any time during the day. In addition to their regular cruises, they also have a few “special event cruises” and “senior lunch cruises,” which are essentially versions of the regular cruises with some theme – a brunch cruise will feature bingo, for example, or a BBQ cruise is offered during the Seafair Airshow, where you can see the Blue Angels fly over the ship. So, there are a lot of different options, and Waterways has a really easy website that lists all their dining cruises. Once you are on this page, you simply click on the dining cruise you are interested in, which will bring you to a page with all the relevant information about the cruise (price, menu, schedule, etc.), as well as a tool to book the cruise directly online.

    Argosy Cruises and Queen of Seattle are a little different. Both seem to be primarily sightseeing cruise companies, so their offerings are focused in this direction, and in fact their dining cruises are a bit hard to find. The Queen of Seattle appears to offer only dining cruises for particular theme cruises, like the “1890’s Gold Rush Cruise,” and these cruises don’t appear to run very often. (At present, for example, there are no themed cruises on their events calendar.) When these cruises are offered, though, you can book them on the Queen of Seattle website. Argosy Cruises does regularly offer a cruise that features dinner, at least through the summer and up until about mid-September, but the meal doesn’t actually take place on the ship. Rather, you eat in Tillicum Village on Blake Island, where a buffet is served that features whole salmons baked on cedar stakes over an open fire (the way that Native Americans of the region traditionally cooked salmon). The cooking of the fish is itself a show, but the trip also features a “show of live dance and storytelling in the spirit of the Northwest Coast Indians,” to use Argosy’s exact wording, as part of the cruise. If you are interested in booking this cruise, visit the Argosy Cruises page for Tillicum Village.

    If you are looking for a standard dining cruise that features a meal on the waters surrounding Seattle, Waterways Cruises is the natural place to start, and at least one their cruises will likely appeal to you. However, Queen of Seattle may occasionally offer a dining cruise with a theme of particular interest, and Argosy Cruises trip to Blake Island is a cool opportunity in its own right, even if it isn’t a traditional meal on the water. Between these three possibilities, you should be able to find what you are looking for.

  • The Port City of Seattle: Things to See and Do Before Leaving on a Cruise

    The Port City of Seattle: Things to See and Do Before Leaving on a Cruise

    Along with Vancouver, Seattle is the major cruise port of the Pacific Northwest. Nearly a million people will pass through the cruise terminals in 2014, and seven cruise lines operating 11 vessels are based in Seattle. If you are taking a cruise to Alaska and/or Canada, there is a reasonably good chance you’ll find yourself in Seattle, and if you have some spare time before or after your cruise, we have compiled a guide of things to see and do.

    Like New York, there are two cruise terminals in Seattle, and the cruise line you are sailing with determines which part of the city you will sail from. If you are cruising with Norwegian or Oceania, you will depart from the Bell Street Cruise Terminal at Pier 66. If you are with Carnival, Celebrity, Princess, Holland, or Royal Caribbean, you’ll be sailing from the Smith Cove Cruise Terminal at Pier 91. Both terminals are on the western side of the city, in the maze of land and ocean that makes up the Puget Sound. The Pier 91 terminal is a few miles north of the Pier 66 terminal, so they are fairly close, but by no means side by side. This naturally presents us with certain challenges when describing what to do before or after your cruise, as it depends on which terminal you sailing from. So, we will describe attractions that are near both terminals, but note which terminal it is closer to.

    Before moving on, we should mention that if you have a day or more in the city, it essentially doesn’t matter which terminal you are leaving from, as you’ll likely have time to see whatever part of Seattle you want to. Of course, this includes the sights we discuss near either terminal, but we focus on these attractions because our guide doesn’t operate on the assumption that passengers have ample time to do whatever they want. If they did, this would just be a standard overview of things to see and do in Seattle, as opposed to a guide of things to see and do before or after a cruise.

    Overall, there are definitely more sights of note near the Pier 66 terminal, which is closer to the heart of Seattle proper. And when you think of the heart of Seattle, one building that likely comes to mind immediately is the Space Needle, which is only about a half a mile from Pier 66. And the great thing about the Space Needle is that it is surrounded by lots of other things to see. The Pacific Science Center, an enormous science museum, is right by the Space Needle, and so is the Seattle Center, where there are always an assortment of events and programs, as well as a number of restaurants and bars. The Chihuly Garden and Glass, an extremely highly regarded art museum, is in this area too. If you have kids, the Seattle Children’s Museum is also in the vicinity, right by the Seattle Center, in fact. Finally, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is in the Space Needle area. The headquarters is worth checking for the simple reason that much good emanates from the Foundation’s beautiful buildings, but there is also an onsite visitor center, which showcases some of the organization’s philanthropic work. So, there is plenty to do if you find yourself at the Pier 66 terminal with time to spare.

    Of course, you can get to this part of Seattle from Pier 91 too. Public transportation or a car could get you there in about 20 minutes, and if you have the time and the interest, the Space Needle and the surrounding area is definitely worth checking out. Indeed, this is probably the direction you should head if you can manage it because there really isn’t much in the immediate vicinity of Pier 91. If you are stuck in this area, though, there are at least a few parks in which you could kill some time. Smith Cove Park is right by the terminal, and so is Ursula Judkins Viewpoint, which is a great place to get a view of the city. These are both to the west of the terminal, but if you head east you will come to a narrow park that runs along the coastal edge of the city (it begins as Centennial Park and then turns into Myrtle Edwards Park), almost all the way down to Pier 66, actually. It’s an excellent place for a long walk, which might be just the thing to do before confining yourself to your cruise ship. So, there are things to do near Pier 91, but the terminal definitely isn’t by the main sights of Seattle in the way that Pier 66 is.

    There are lots of things to see and do before leaving on your cruise from Seattle, but the extent of your options will to some degree depend on what terminal you are sailing from. If you are at Pier 66, you have more than enough to keep you occupied. If you are at Pier 91, you can head to the center of action near Pier 66 if you have time, or you can enjoy the parks in the vicinity of your departing port. Either way, you you’ll have something to do besides sitting on a bench at the cruise terminal.

  • Costco Cruises from Seattle

    Costco Cruises from Seattle

    Seattle is one of Costco’s “homeports,” and while the city is not in the same league as two of Costco’s other homeports, New York or Miami (in terms of cruise offerings), there are still plenty of Costco cruises from Seattle. Because of its status as a Costco homeport, Seattle is a beneficiary of the long reach of Costco Travel’s promotional efforts. Cruises from Seattle are featured prominently on the Costco Travel website, and there are also a number of featured deals for Seattle cruises. Below is a guide to Costco’s cruises from Seattle, which covers both what is available and how you can book a cruise via Costco Travel.

    The best place to begin looking for cruises from Seattle is on the Costco Travel page dedicated thereto. This page lists all of Costco’s “featured deals” for cruises from Seattle, and while only five offers are available at the moment, they are worth checking out. One of these cruises might be in line with your vacation aims, and to make them even more appealing, there is some promotional offer attached to every featured deal. (For the record, booking through Costco almost always earns you some sort of free perk, or “included extra,” but the featured deals can be especially good, which is why they are worth considering.) With very few exceptions, cruises from Seattle sail to Alaska and/or Canada, so all of the featured deals are for cruises to these destinations. So, there isn’t much diversity among the featured deals, but that’s because there isn’t much diversity among the cruises that sail from Seattle in general. The city is ideally situated to offer cruises to the north, and this is exactly (and almost exclusively) what it does.

    If one of the featured deals doesn’t catch your eye, or even if one does, it worth checking out of the rest of Costco’s cruises from Seattle by using the search tool on the Costco Travel website. Before zeroing in on cruises from Seattle, you need to perform a more general search, one that allows you to select more general vacation criteria like your desired cruise line and your departure month. The latter is the only required criterion, and it is advisable to only select your departure month so that you aren’t precluding any Seattle cruises from your search. After you have performed the initial search, you can filter the search results by a number of factors, like your departure port. Once you select “Seattle” as the port of disembarkation and update the results, you will be left only with cruises from Seattle. It is essential to note, however, that your departure month greatly impacts how many cruises are available. If you are searching for cruises from Seattle in July, there will be dozens of options to choose from. If you are searching in the winter (October through April, as far as the cruise world is concerned), there will be no cruises available at all. If you are booking during the fall or spring shoulder season, the results are somewhere in between, although there are generally at least a couple of dozen Seattle cruises from which to choose.

    Again, Seattle is not a hub of cruise activity like Costco’s other homeports, and the cruise offerings are basically limited to trips to Alaska and Canada. However, a trip from Seattle to Alaska/Canada might be just what you are looking for, and if you are Costco member, you can get one of these cruises for a good price.

  • Seattle to Alaska Cruise

    Just about every major cruise line features sailings to Alaska, but there are some that are more popular than others. Some of the best major cruise lines for Alaska Cruises are also some of the world’s most luxurious cruise lines. The top Alaska cruise lines include: Silversea Cruises, Regent Seven Seas, Celebrity Cruises, Cruise West, Princess Cruises, and Holland America Line. Many of these cruise lines offer a Seattle to Alaska cruise. These include: Celebrity Cruises, Holland America Line (HAL), and Princess Cruises as well as Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) and Royal Caribbean (RCCL).

    Seattle to Alaska cruises depart from the The Port of Seattle, which owns and operates Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the 18th busiest airport in the world. The Port of Seattle is also regarded as one of the worlds busiest, handling 190 ship calls and nearly 755,000 passengers during the 2007 season. The Port’s passenger cruise terminals are located at Pier 66 and Terminal 30.

    Seattle to Alaska Cruise Schedules

    The five major cruise lines operating weekly service out of Seattle feature cruises on 10 premier vessels. “Norwegian Cruise Line and Celebrity Cruises depart from the Bell Street Pier Cruise Terminal at Pier 66. Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean depart depart from the Terminal 30 Cruise Facility.” The Port of Seattle lists the following:

    Celebrity Cruises
    Celebrity offers weekly departures to Alaska onboard the Infinity, plus 3 and 4 day Pacific Northwest itineraries on the Mercury. For sales information please contact your local travel agent or call (800) 722-5941.

    Holland America Line (HAL)
    Holland America Line offers seven-day cruises from Seattle to Alaska on the ms Amsterdam, ms Oosterdam and the ms Westerdam. Holland America passengers depart from the Terminal 30 Cruise Terminal located at the south end of Seattle’s downtown waterfront. For sales information please contact your local travel agent or call (877) 932-4259.

    Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL)
    Norwegian Cruise Line has made Seattle its homeport for seven-day summer cruises to Alaska on board the Norwegian Star and Norwegian Pearl. Passengers depart from the Bell Street Pier Cruise Terminal at Pier 66 on Saturdays and Sundays. For sales information please contact your local travel agent or call (800) 327-7030.

    Princess Cruises
    Princess Cruises offers seven-day cruises from Seattle to Alaska, on board the Golden Princess and the Star Princess. Princess Cruises depart Saturdays and Sundays from the Terminal 30 Cruise Facility located at the south end of Seattle’s downtown waterfront. For sales information please contact your local travel agent or call (800) 421-1700.

    Royal Caribbean (RCCL)
    Royal Caribbean offers seven-day cruises to Alaska on the Rhapsody of the Seas departing Terminal 30 every Friday. For sales information please contact your local travel agent or call (866) 562-7625.

    About Seattle to Alaska Cruise Lines

    Celebrity Cruises is excellent for pampering as Infinity and Summit feature AquaSpas with thalassotherapy pools and a wide assortment of beauty treatments. Art aficionados on their way to Alaska will also appreciate Celebrity’s impressive art collections as well. Guests aboard any of Celebrity’s 11 ships can expect an endless number of unforgettable cruises filled with excursions highlighting culture, wildlife, history, and geology. Alaska excursions will include all highlights along with everything from flightseeing and flights to the Arctic Circle to dog sledding.

    Princess Cruise Lines and Holland America Cruise Line are considered some of the best Alaska cruise lines for their excellent cruisetours. These cruise lines currently lead the industry in interior voyages (Alaska and Yukon Territory) and Holland has exclusive passage into the Yukon’s Kluane National Park, as well as Tombstone Territorial Park. Princess Cruise Lines’ 7-day Gulf of Alaska cruise should be noted as well.

    While the majority of Alaska cruise lines mentioned above are “kid-free,” there are several cruise lines that top the list for families interested in an Alaska cruise. Carnival Cruise Lines and Norwegian Cruise Line feature special shore excursions for kids and teens, as well as on-board activities that will keep kids busy during long days at sea. Royal Caribbean may also be a bit more family friendly.

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