SEEN OFF WEST SEATTLE: First cruise ship of 2024

Thanks to Lynn Hall for the photo of Norwegian Bliss, sailing in Elliott Bay this morning as the first cruise ship to arrive in Seattle this year. Cruises between Seattle and Alaska started in 2000 (four years after downtown Pier 66 opened), the Port of Seattle notes, calling this the 25th year (although technically it’s the 24th because of the pandemic hiatus in 2020). The schedule for this year, running through October 28, includes 275 sailings (more than seven times the 36 sailings that first year), 800,000 unique passengers, and close to $900 million in economic impact, the port calculates. As mentioned here back on Wednesday, Pier 66 – where this ship docked – is expected to be shore-power-capable by midseason; the other two cruise berths, in Magnolia, already are. Meantime, after its late-afternoon sailaway, Norwegian Bliss – which can carry up to 4,000 passengers and 1,700 crew members – is now outbound, approaching Port Angeles; its return next Saturday will be the season’s second cruise-ship call here (see the full season schedule here).

Rhonda April 6, 2024 (9:47 pm)

Welcome, Seattle shoppers. Those giant ships full of people will help dig us out of our $200 million city budget shortfall.

Gross April 6, 2024 (11:03 pm)

Unsustainable gas guzzling behemoths.

Alki Seltzer April 7, 2024 (12:38 am)

On the contrary, they haul several thousand passengers at very good efficiency. Much more efficient than a bus, train, or airliner.
- WestSeattleBadTakes April 7, 2024 (3:08 am)
  
  Source?
- Sigh April 7, 2024 (7:32 am)
  
  Amazingly wrong. I don’t know how anyone could reach the conclusion that cruise ships are more efficient people-movers than trains? You must just be fishing for commenters to come and correct you? Weird.
  - Watertowerjim April 7, 2024 (1:32 pm)
    
    Certainly more efficient and environmentally friendly than 3,000 people flying to each port, taking taxis to their hotels and back.
    - sigh April 7, 2024 (7:06 pm)
      
      Hi, Jim, couple points:
      
      First, it’s not like cruise ship passengers don’t fly and taxi to and from the cruise ship terminals.
      
      Second, I’m not so sure that it is more efficient than 3,000 people flying to each port. It’s really an insanely environmentally destructive behaviour to take a cruise.
      
      I know all this is a drop in the bucket compared to corporate-levels of destruction, but to argue that cruise ships aren’t horrible for the enviroment, or, even more oddly, argue that they are more efficient than other modes of transit is just wrong-headed.
      
      For example–taking CO2 emitted per person per mile ships average about 1.5 pounds whereas planes generally average under .5 pounds per person per mile. This isn’t even getting into the waste generated/dumped, etc., etc.
- Daniel Fraser April 7, 2024 (4:06 pm)
  
  The difference between trains, cars, and other normal means of transportation vs. cruise ships is that people use most of transit to GET SOMEWHERE. Cruise ships just cruise around and stop at those ripoff cruise ship shops.
  - The King April 7, 2024 (5:48 pm)
    
    There are seniors who actually have chosen to live on these cruise ships as it’s cheaper than assisted living. Crazy times we live in.

35steve April 7, 2024 (6:37 pm)

Saw the article and went straight to the comments. The hoi polloi did not disappoint. Can’t wait to book my cruise.

sigh April 7, 2024 (10:09 pm)

The ‘hoi’ in ‘hoi polloi’ means ‘the,’ btw, so you basically said “The the commoners did not disappoint.” The more you know!

Sorry, comment time is over.