Port of Seattle's Pier 66 Is New Home to Luxury Cruise Ships

First Full Season Means Millions in New Revenue to Seattle, Region

Seattle is ready to take center stage of the cruise ship world, as two luxury cruise ships homeport this year at the Port of Seattle's new Bell Street Pier Cruise Terminal at Pier 66.

Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Sky, one of the world's largest and newest luxury cruise ships, offers 21 seven-day cruises from Seattle to the glacier-studded beauty of Southeast Alaska beginning May 7. She is capable of carrying more than 2,000 guests and a crew of 750. The Norwegian Sky features a glass-domed atrium, casino, spa and exercise gym, two swimming pools, the cruise industry's first floating Internet café, and an array of restaurants, bars and lounges.

Royal Caribbean International's Vision of the Seas will be sailing six times through the majestic scenery of the Pacific Northwest on three and four-day cruises from Seattle beginning May 15.

The two homeport ships will be joined by several other cruise ships calling at Pier 66 throughout the season, bringing to 35 the total number of sailings from Seattle. The visits will mean an estimated 120,000 passenger movements through Seattle, bringing millions of dollars in both local spending and tax revenue.

Mic Dinsmore, Port of Seattle's executive director, said the Port's new cruise terminal can be the pride of Seattle and King County.

"Thanks to the tremendous community support that's been evident over the past several years, we now are ready to be a homeport for these two outstanding cruise lines. Also, the extraordinary efforts of the Marine Division, under the leadership of Steve Sewell, were critical to attracting these two new cruise lines."

The Port's 56,000-square-foot cruise terminal offers travelers conveniences that most other terminals don't have. These include a concierge service, direct baggage transfer from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, which also is owned by the Port of Seattle, and an innovative $2 million mobile gangway connecting the vessel with the second floor check-in area.

The second phase of construction at the cruise terminal will take place after this first full cruise season and will include a grand entrance with two more access points to the facility, plus an all-weather canopy to cover the ground transportation area for added passenger comfort.

"Our goal is to provide passengers with a convenient, comfortable cruise ship terminal that is also efficient," Dinsmore said. "We want cruise passengers to see their visit to our premiere-class cruise terminal as a positive experience."

Port Commission President Jack Block said the cruise ships will have a tremendous immediate economic impact to the region, in both jobs and dollars.

"We are bringing a new industry to town that will have long-term economic benefits throughout the community," Block said, adding that more than 550 new jobs will be created by the ships' visits, as well as more than $23 million in new annual business revenue.

"From piano tuners to bus drivers, these cruise ships bring our region nothing but good economic news," he said.

Block noted that the ships also will be provisioned and supplied here, and that some visitors will likely spend time in the region before or after their cruise. This adds up to an additional $2.7 million in state and local taxes, and a direct boost of more than $16.7 million in personal income.