Five ways into this guide
Pick the question you actually have. Each card goes straight to the answer, not back to the top. Booking a tour yourself? Our comparison of Shore Excursions Group and Viator covers which of the two suits which kind of port day — and when the ship's own tour is still the better buy.
Cruise lines here now
Ten lines homeport across two piers — including two brand-new 2026 entrants already sailing.
Jump to lines →Where you can go
A consistent Alaska core, plus a Canadian stop or two depending on your itinerary.
Jump to regions →Pier 91 or Pier 66?
A genuine fixed assignment, published by the port itself — a rarity we cover.
Jump to terminals →Compare parking
Official parking at both piers — plus one genuine naming conflict on the port's own site.
Compare parking →Flying into SEA
Roughly 25-40 minutes to either pier, depending which one your line uses.
Jump to getting here →Seattle in brief
Seattle's 2026 season is its busiest ever: roughly 330 vessel calls, about 2.1 million passengers, and 16 homeported vessels — the largest lineup in the port's history — confirmed via trade-press reporting on the Port of Seattle's own season announcement. Like San Diego and San Francisco, this is a genuinely seasonal port rather than a year-round one: the 2026 season opened with Norwegian Jade's arrival on April 17 and Noordam's homeport departure on April 19, and closes with Noordam's final departure on October 11.
Unlike San Diego or San Francisco, though, Seattle's port authority actually publishes a fixed line-to-terminal assignment: Pier 91 (Smith Cove) and Pier 66 (Bell Street) each have a named, confirmed list of homeport lines, rather than leaving it to your boarding documents. And both terminals have official, port-endorsed on-site parking with a rate confirmed directly on the Port of Seattle's own site — the cleanest official parking picture of any port we cover, with one genuine wrinkle covered below. Seattle is also on track to be the first U.S. port requiring every homeport cruise ship to connect to shore power, a mandate taking effect in 2027; 11 of the 16 homeport ships already used it in 2026.
Cruise lines sailing from here
This is the one section on this page built to go stale on its own clock, so it's kept in one block, dated, sourced — and not repeated anywhere else on this page.
Pier 91 (Smith Cove) homeports eight lines, confirmed directly on the Port of Seattle's own site: Carnival Cruise Line (Carnival Spirit, Carnival Miracle), Celebrity Cruises (Celebrity Edge), Cunard (Queen Elizabeth), Holland America Line (Noordam, Eurodam), Princess Cruises (Star Princess, Royal Princess), and Royal Caribbean International (Voyager of the Seas, Anthem of the Seas). Two more lines joined Pier 91 for 2026 as genuine first-time Alaska entrants — MSC Cruises (MSC Poesia, beginning May 11) and Virgin Voyages (Brilliant Lady, beginning May 21) — and unlike a season that's merely booked for the future, both ships have already sailed repeatedly this year (15 and 9 appearances respectively in the port's own 2026 schedule when we checked date), even though neither is yet named on the port's own terminal-overview page as an official homeport line.
Pier 66 (Bell Street) homeports two lines, confirmed directly on the Port of Seattle's own site: Norwegian Cruise Line (Norwegian Bliss, Encore, and Joy) and Oceania Cruises (Riviera, weekly Alaska sailings). Norwegian Jade opened the port's entire 2026 season with an April 17 arrival before repositioning elsewhere.
One wrinkle: a third-party schedule aggregator shows Cunard's Queen Elizabeth calling at both Pier 91 and Pier 66 across the 2026 season, despite Pier 91 being its officially named terminal on the port's own site — disclosed here rather than resolved.
Sources: the Port of Seattle's own Pier 91 and Pier 66 terminal pages (portseattle.org/places/smith-cove-cruise-terminal-pier-91, portseattle.org/page/bell-street-cruise-terminal-cruise-lines); trade-press reporting on the 2026 season and its MSC/Virgin Voyages debuts (cruisehive.com); the Port of Seattle's own 2026 cruise schedule (portseattle.org, cross-checked via a schedule aggregator for per-ship appearance counts) — verified September 13, 2026. Confirm your own line, ship, and sailing date directly before booking around this list.
Where you can go: a consistent Alaska core
Seattle's whole season points one direction — Alaska — which makes its destination pattern more consistent than the multi-region hubs further south. Nearly every line's own itinerary page names the same three core ports; the differences show up mostly in which secondary stops (Sitka, Icy Strait Point, Prince Rupert) a specific ship adds. As with every hub we cover, none of the destinations below have a dedicated destination page or excursion guide on this site yet, so the cards carry the same tier and confidence discipline as every other port but don't link anywhere.
Common, not guaranteed — port order and content vary by sailing date, per Princess's own itinerary page, so check your specific itinerary rather than assuming from the pattern below.
Destinations
8 places you can reach from here
Grouped by how routinely a cruise from Seattle actually calls there, verified against Princess's, Celebrity's, Norwegian's, and Holland America's own itinerary pages rather than any single port authority's destinations list. Common, not guaranteed: the stops on any sailing depend on the line, the ship and the specific itinerary, so check your own sailing.
Showing all 8
Core
3Named on Princess's, Celebrity's, and Norwegian's own Seattle itinerary pages alike.
Juneau
Alaska
Named on Princess's, Celebrity's, and Norwegian's own Seattle itinerary pages — Alaska's capital, and a core stop across the port's major lines.
Ketchikan
Alaska
Named on Princess's, Celebrity's, and Norwegian's own Seattle itinerary pages — Celebrity's own site calls it "your first port of call on a round-trip Alaska cruise from Seattle."
Skagway
Alaska
Named on Princess's, Celebrity's, and Norwegian's own Seattle itinerary pages, tied to White Pass & Yukon Route gold rush history on each.
Regular
4Genuinely served from here, each confirmed on at least two lines' own itinerary pages.
Victoria
Canada
Named on Princess's, Celebrity's, and Holland America's own Seattle itinerary pages — the standard law-required stop for foreign-flagged ships on round-trip U.S. Alaska sailings.
Sitka
Alaska
Named directly on Norwegian's own 2026 itinerary page and on Holland America's 7-day "Alaskan Explorer" itinerary from Seattle.
Icy Strait Point
Alaska
Named directly on Norwegian's own 2026 itinerary page, and on Holland America's 7-day "Alaskan Explorer" itinerary (Eurodam sailings specifically).
Prince Rupert
Canada
Named on multiple Holland America Seattle itineraries, including an overnight call on the longer "Great Bear Rainforest" sailing.
Occasional
1Real, but a less consistent stop than the core three.
Wrangell
Alaska
Named on Princess's own Seattle Inside Passage itinerary page, which notes port order and content "may vary by sailing date."
No destination matches that. Clear the filter to see all 8 again.
Not covered above: Holland America's longer 14-28 day sailings from Seattle add Anchorage, Kodiak, and Valdez, along with an Arctic Circle transit on its longest itinerary — real, but resting on a single line's much longer sailings rather than the repeatable 7-day pattern above, so none of these gets its own card here. Glacier Bay National Park, Endicott Arm, and Dawes Glacier appear on several itineraries as scenic cruising only, with no disembarkation, matching the same exclusion logic used for scenic-only stops at other ports we cover.
Cruise terminals
One port authority, two terminals, and — a rarity we cover — a genuine fixed line-to-terminal assignment published directly on the port's own site, rather than left to your boarding documents.
| Terminal | Address | Homeport lines |
|---|---|---|
| Pier 91 — Smith Cove Cruise Terminal | 2001 West Garfield Street, Seattle, WA 98119 | Carnival, Celebrity, Cunard, Holland America, Princess, Royal Caribbean, MSC, Virgin Voyages (8 lines) |
| Pier 66 — Bell Street Cruise Terminal | 2225 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA 98121 | Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises (2 lines) |
Both addresses and the terminal assignment confirmed directly on the Port of Seattle's own site. Pier 91 has two shore-power-connected berths; Pier 66 gained shore power in an expansion completed after summer 2024. Pier 66 sits within an 11-acre waterfront complex with a 1,700-space parking garage (25 accessible) and a 6'6" vehicle height limit; Pier 91's off-site lot capacity is disclosed on the parking page, where the port's own pages disagree with each other. Stable
Parking, in short
Both terminals have official, port-endorsed parking with a rate confirmed directly on the Port of Seattle's own site — the cleanest official parking picture of any port we cover. The one wrinkle: two of the port's own pages disagree with each other on Pier 91's operator name and its RV/oversized rate. Review periodically
Two official options, one internal naming conflict, and a genuine RV-rate discrepancy — that comparison gets the full page it deserves.
Where should I park for a Seattle cruise?
Pier 91 vs. Pier 66, compared on price, space, and vehicle limits — including the operator-name conflict at Pier 91.
Compare your options →Getting here
One airport serves both terminals, with a meaningfully shorter trip to Pier 66 than Pier 91.
| Airport | Distance | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| SEA — Seattle-Tacoma International | Pier 91: 30-40 minute direct ride | Confirmed directly on the Port of Seattle's own site. |
| Pier 66: 30-40 minute direct ride | Confirmed on the port’s own Pier 66 page; Norwegian’s port directions put the airport 14.06 miles away. |
Both figures Stable — confirmed on the port's own terminal pages, rechecked September 26, 2026; actual drive time depends on Seattle traffic.
Comparing SEA with Paine Field, with the cab, light rail, Seattle Express and Carnival prices and how early to land on sail day? See Nearest airport to the Seattle cruise terminals. Flying in the day before? We ranked the 20 best hotels for the night before on shuttles, cruise parking, breakfast and distance, and picked six splurges.
Stay the night before
Twenty hotels for a Seattle cruise, from Pier 66 or Pier 91, ranked on shuttles, cruise parking, breakfast and distance. These are the top six. Tap one to see why, or hold a room.
Planning a Seattle cruise?
Tell us your line and what you want out of it.
First Alaska cruise or your tenth, Pier 91 or Pier 66, family or a couple — tell us the actual situation and we'll match you to the line, the ship, and the itinerary that fit, priced honestly before you commit.
Answers verified against current pricing and itineraries before you book.
Seattle FAQ
Which cruise lines homeport at Seattle, and which pier do they use?
Ten, split across two terminals with a fixed assignment confirmed directly on the Port of Seattle's own site. Pier 91 (Smith Cove) hosts Carnival Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, Cunard, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, MSC Cruises, and Virgin Voyages. Pier 66 (Bell Street) hosts Norwegian Cruise Line and Oceania Cruises. This is one of the few ports we cover where the port itself publishes a fixed line-to-terminal assignment rather than leaving it to your boarding documents.
Is Seattle cruising available year-round?
No — Seattle's Alaska season runs roughly mid-April through mid-October. The 2026 season opened with Norwegian Jade's arrival on April 17 and Noordam's homeport departure on April 19, and closes with Noordam's final departure on October 11. Outside that window, homeport sailings pause.
Are MSC Cruises and Virgin Voyages really sailing from Seattle now?
Yes — both are genuinely new for the 2026 season (MSC Poesia beginning May 11, Virgin Voyages' Brilliant Lady beginning May 21), and unlike a confirmed-but-not-yet-sailed season elsewhere we cover, both ships have already made repeated, real sailings from Pier 91 when we checked date (15 and 9 appearances respectively in the port's own 2026 schedule). Neither line is yet named on the port's own terminal-overview page as an official homeport line, but the schedule itself confirms they're actively sailing.
Which terminal will I use, Pier 91 or Pier 66?
Check which line you're sailing, since the assignment is fixed rather than boarding-document-dependent. Carnival, Celebrity, Cunard, Holland America, Princess, Royal Caribbean, MSC, and Virgin Voyages all use Pier 91 (Smith Cove); Norwegian and Oceania use Pier 66 (Bell Street). The one wrinkle: a third-party schedule aggregator shows Cunard's Queen Elizabeth calling at both piers across the 2026 season, despite Pier 91 being its officially named terminal.
Is there official parking at both Seattle cruise terminals?
Yes — a rarity we cover, where most ports have at least one gap. Pier 91 charges $27/day standard, confirmed identically on two of the Port of Seattle's own pages (though those same two pages disagree on the operator's name and the RV/oversized rate — disclosed on the parking page rather than resolved). Pier 66 charges $33/day, confirmed directly on the Port of Seattle's own site, which itself flags the rate as subject to change.
Where does a Seattle Alaska cruise actually go?
A consistent core across nearly every line: Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway. Victoria, B.C. is a common additional stop (the standard law-required call for foreign-flagged ships on round-trip U.S. Alaska sailings), along with Sitka, Icy Strait Point, and Prince Rupert, B.C. on some itineraries. Wrangell and scenic-only stops like Glacier Bay National Park and Endicott Arm/Dawes Glacier round out longer or specific sailings. Check your own itinerary — port order and content vary by sailing.
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