Seattle’s record-breaking cruise season got underway Friday morning as the Norwegian Jade docked at Pier 66 on its way to Vancouver, bringing thousands of visitors to a waterfront that has been transformed after more than 15 years of planning and construction.
The City of Seattle and non-profit Friends of Waterfront Park officially opened 20 acres of new public space last September, replacing the old Alaskan Way Viaduct with a sweeping renovation that includes a new playground, freshly finished piers, bike lanes, public bathrooms, and public artwork. The completed Pier 58, which opened last summer, and the rebuilt Pier 62, which debuted in 2020, round out a waterfront that now offers visitors a dramatically different experience than the one that existed a decade ago. The project involved years of collaboration between the city, Sound Transit, the Seattle Center, waterfront businesses, and a broad network of donors and supporters.
For many of the Norwegian Jade’s passengers, Friday was their first time walking Seattle’s waterfront, and the reaction was largely positive. “There’s a lot to do, and you feel like you’re in the city rather than just the port area,” said Olivia Raley. Other passengers praised the cleanliness of the piers and the quality of shopping and dining options along the water. “I’ve not seen one piece of litter anywhere, unlike England,” laughed Diane Hughesdon. Tony Perna, visiting from San Diego, said the experience shifted his expectations. “I had heard some stories that things weren’t so great in Seattle, just like San Diego has some problems,” Perna said. “But it looks like you guys are cleaning it up pretty good.”
The Port of Seattle is projecting a record-breaking season, with more than 2 million passengers anticipated by the time the season closes in October. Last year, cruise season generated $1.2 billion in local economic impact, a figure port officials expect to grow as visitor numbers climb alongside the FIFA World Cup bringing additional international traffic to the city this summer.
