Seattle

About Seattle

Seattle is the primary US homeport for round-trip Alaska cruises, with most ships sailing from Pier 91 at the Smith Cove cruise terminal just north of downtown and a smaller number from Pier 66 at Bell Street. A seven-day round-trip from Seattle must call at one foreign port under the Passenger Vessel Services Act, which is why nearly every Seattle-Alaska sailing stops in Victoria BC on the return leg. The terminal is a 15-minute cab ride from Sea-Tac airport's Link light rail and close to Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, and the Seattle Art Museum for pre- or post-cruise stays. Departures cluster in late afternoon on Saturdays and Sundays from May through September.

• Seattle is the northernmost major city in the contiguous United States, sitting about 100 miles south of the Canadian border.
• The Port of Seattle ranks as the fourth-largest port in North America by container handling as of 2021, making it a vital Pacific Rim trade gateway.
• The city grew explosively during the Klondike Gold Rush of the late 1890s, serving as the primary outfitting and embarkation point for prospectors heading to the Yukon.
• Seattle grew 21.1% between 2010 and 2020 — one of the fastest growth rates among large U.S. cities — fueled largely by the tech boom anchored by Amazon and Microsoft.
• The Duwamish people inhabited the Elliott Bay area for at least 4,000 years before European settlement, and the city itself is named after Chief Seattle, a prominent 19th-century Duwamish and Suquamish leader.