Alaska Cruise Guide
Seattle vs Vancouver: Alaska Homeports
Seattle or Vancouver? How the two Alaska homeports differ — the piers, the PVSA and the Victoria stop, roundtrip vs one-way routes — and which one your cruise should start from.
Guides & explainers
- Seattle or Vancouver: How to Choose Your Alaska Cruise Homeport
Seattle means easy US flights and round-trip Inside Passage loops with a Victoria stop. Vancouver means one-way Gulf routes, Glacier Bay lines, and no PVSA detour. How to pick.
- Seattle's Two Cruise Piers: Pier 91 vs Pier 66
Seattle handles 330 cruise calls and 2.1 million passengers in 2026 across two terminals: Pier 91 (Smith Cove) and Pier 66 (Bell Street). They work very differently. Here's how to choose.
- Norwegian Bliss and NCL's Alaska Season: The Seattle Pier 66 Model
Norwegian Bliss ran NCL's first Alaska sailing of 2026 on April 25 from Seattle Pier 66. Why NCL anchors on Seattle (not Vancouver) and how that shapes their Alaska deployment.
- Why Alaska Cruises Stop in Victoria: The PVSA Explained
Alaska cruises stop in Victoria, BC because of the Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886 — not the Jones Act. Here's the actual rule, the 2026 Iran-War carve-out that doesn't apply, and the only US-flagged exception.
At this guide's ports today
- Norwegian Encore — Other, today
Upcoming sailings
- ms Koningsdam — OtherApr 7, 2027
- Carnival Spirit — OtherApr 14, 2027
- Carnival Legend — AlaskaApr 20, 2027
- ms Eurodam — OtherApr 23, 2027
- ms Zaandam — AlaskaApr 24, 2027
- ms Eurodam — AlaskaApr 24, 2027
- ms Koningsdam — AlaskaApr 24, 2027