The Port of Seattle (Wash) is considering a $340 mill project to add a new cruise terminal, as part of its Waterfront 2040 plan.
Seattle handled 1.1 mill cruise passengers last year and according to the Puget Sound Business Journal, the port has been in conversation with Seattle’s mayor about renovating the existing cruise terminals, adding one more, and making improvements to the waterfront as part of the overall project.
This year, Seattle is celebrating 20 years of serving the cruise industry and welcomed 1,114,888 revenue passengers through its cruise terminals, the second year in a row the Port exceeded the 1 mill pax mark.
“This year, Port of Seattle is proud to celebrate our 20 years of serving the cruise industry, while also handling over one-million passengers for the second year in a row,” said Commission President, Gregoire said in a results roundup. “This continued growth points to a bright future for cruise in Seattle, and we are proud that each homeported cruise vessel brings approximately $2.7 mill for our local economy. Through innovation and collaboration, we continue to work with our partners to make this the greenest port in the nation.”
More growth is expected next year with the arrival of the Royal Caribbean’s ‘Ovation of the Seas’—a 4,180 pax vessel that will be the largest on the west coast —and the addition of the ‘Norwegian Joy’, sistership of the ‘Norwegian Bliss’, a 4,000-pax vessel.
In 2019, Seattle will host seven cruise lines and 11 vessels for a range of itineraries, almost all of which include Alaska via the Inside Passage on seven and 14 day cruises.
