Seattle City Guide - Getting There By Water

Seattle's harbour, run by the Port of Seattle (tel: (206) 728 3000; website: www.portseattle.org/seaport), is a working harbour - with terminals for cruise ships, cargo ships, commercial and recreational mooring, as well as for local ferries (see Getting Around). The Terminal 30 Cruise Facility, 2431 East Marginal Way South and the Bell Street Pier Cruise Terminal, Pier 66, 2225 Alaskan Way (tel: (206) 615 3900) are where the cruise liners dock. Facilities are extensive with shops, restaurants, entertainment, parking and hotels, all within easy reach. Ferries to Victoria in Canada depart from Pier 69, 2701 Alaskan Way, and Pier 48, one block south of the Washington State Ferry terminal (see Getting Around).

Boat services: Several major cruise lines, with summer cruises to Alaska, currently operate out of Seattle. Both Princess Cruises (tel: 1 800 421 1700; website: www.princess.com) and Holland America Lines (tel: 1 877 932 4259; website: www.hollandamerica.com) leave from the Terminal 30. Holland America Lines also offers a Pacific Northwest cruise. Norwegian Cruise Line - NCL (tel: 1 800 327 7030; website: www.ncl.com), Celebrity Cruises (tel: 1 800 722 5941; website: www.celebrity.com) and Royal Caribbean (RCL) (tel: 1 866 562 7625; website: www.royalcaribbean.com) sail from Bell Street Pier Cruise Terminal at Pier 66. Victoria is also accessible daily all year round on the Victoria Clipper (tel: (206) 448 5000 or 1 800 888 2535; website: www.victoriaclipper.com) high-speed catamarans (from Pier 69).

Transport to the city: A taxi service operates from the cruise terminal to SeaTac Airport. Contact Metro Transit (tel: (206) 553 3000; website: http://transit.metrokc.gov) for public transport schedule information from downtown to Terminal 30 or Bell Street Pier Cruise Terminal. To catch the Victoria Clipper at Pier 69, take trolley 194, which takes 45 to 60 minutes.