Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Port of Seattle Confirms New Alaska Cruises

The Port of Seattle on March 23 officially confirmed that it’s adding two new routes to Alaska, one each from Celebrity Cruises and Oceania Cruise Lines, for the 2013 cruise season.

The Celebrity Cruises’ ship Solstice will be making 19 calls, with the bulk of the itineraries being seven day roundtrip cruises during the summer departing from Smith Cove Terminal at Terminal 91.

The Solstice, which was built in 2008, would be one of the largest cruise ships to berth in Seattle, with an overall length of 1,041 feet and a capacity of 2,850 passengers.

Additionally, the flagship of the Oceania Cruise Lines fleet, the cruise ship Regatta, will be embarking and disembarking guests from Bell Street Pier at Pier 66, for a total of six calls.

The ship, which was refurbished in 2011, has an overall length of 594 feet and a capacity of 684 passengers. Most trips will take place between May and August.
Early cruise bookings have already begun for both new ships.

According to the port, Seattle leads all US cruise homeports on the West Coast in passenger volume and number of ship calls.

The cruise business is responsible for more than 4,319 jobs and $416 million in annual business revenue in the Seattle area, according to the port, with each vessel call generating about $2 million for the local economy.