Turning 20

The Port of Seattle celebrated the start of its twentieth cruise season earlier this week with the arrival of Celebrity Eclipse at the Bell Street Pier Cruise Terminal at Pier 66.

This year promises to be a record-breaking year. The port estimates 1,208,590 passengers will pass through the port this year on cruises, breaking last year's record by more than 93 thousand.

The complete story appeared in the April 19 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Other Things You'll Want to Know - March 15, 2019

CND subscribers also read about:

• The Port of Seattle considering an additional cruise terminal
• The Port of Dublin considering cutting cruise capacity

Details appeared in the March 15 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Other Things You'll Want to Know - January 10, 2019

CND subscribers also read about:

• Berkshire Hathaway entering the cruise insurance market
• Seattle adding more shore power
• Sail O-Way on HAL

Details appeared in the January 10 issue of Cruise News Daily. 

Seattle Wants You to Stick Around

After getting the results of their survey at how lucrative it is for cruise passengers to stay in Seattle even for a few hours, the port is doing what they can to encourage cruise passengers to spend some time downtown for a few hours or a couple of days.

Details appeared in the July 13 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Drive Carefully

It took some careful driving (sailing) on Wednesday, but Windstar's Star Legend became the largest ship ever to transit the Ballard Locks and sail on Seattle's Lake Union.

The ship is sailing this summer on an Alaska program from Seattle, and this was a special detour that carried employees, VIPs, travel partners and media on the daylong excursion. It was the first time a Windstar ship had visited Seattle in 27 years.

Details appeared in the June 29 edition of Cruise News Daily.

At some points, Star Legend had only 12 feet of clearance.

Photo courtesy of Windstar Cruises. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission.

Norwegian Bliss Named in Seattle

Norwegian Bliss became the largest cruise ship ever christened at Seattle on Wednesday when Seattle radio personality Elvis Duran named the ship in the Emerald City.

The complete story appeared in the May 30 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Other Things You'll Want to Know - May 23, 2017

CND subscribers also read about:

• 34 people being prosecuted for carrying drugs aboard Costa ships between Europe and South America in both directions over a two-year period
• NCLH opened a new terminal at the Port of Seattle

Details appeared in the May 23 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Holland America Begins Seattle's Alaska Cruise Season

This weekend will open the Alaska cruise season at the Port of Seattle when Holland America ships begin arriving for their summer duties.

It kicks off on Saturday (April 29) when Eurodam arrives for the first of 22 round trip seven-night cruises to Alaska.

Details appeared in the April 28 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

The Three Fastest Cruise Ships on Rails Sailing Through Seattle

Holland America Line bills itself as Seattle's Hometown Cruise Line, and to prove that, they now have three “ships” cruising right through the heart of the city.

The “ships” are actually three Sound Transit Light Rail trains wrapped in a graphic to resemble Holland America's newest ship, ms Koningsdam, which will be sailing from Seattle this summer to Alaska.

Details appeared in the January 11 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Photo courtesy of Holland America Line. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission. 

Norwegian Commits to Seattle/Alaska

At a press conference today in Seattle, Norwegian Cruise Line said their next ship, a Breakaway Plus-class ship, Norwegian Bliss, will be custom-built for cruising in Alaska.

At the same time, the line announced a 15-year agreement to remain at the Port of Seattle and invest $30 million to upgrade the facilities at Pier 66, the terminal Norwegian uses for their Alaskan cruises.

The complete story appeared in the October 13 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Other Things You'll Want to Know - May 21, 2016

CND subscribers also read about:

• Royal Caribbean will upgrade Southampton's City Cruise Terminal so passengers who have completed their embarkation forms online can be aboard within ten minutes of stepping onto the curb in front of the terminal. 
• Carnival is ending their five-year relationship with comedian George Lopez.
• The mayor of Seattle proclaimed this "Seattle's Hometown Cruise Line Day."

Details appeared in the May 20 edition of Cruise News Daily.

And They’re Off ...

Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam arrived in Seattle early this morning to kick off the start of the summer Alaska cruise season, and it’s anticipated that this will be a record season for both Holland America and for the Port of Seattle.

Nieuw Amsterdam is one of three Holland America ships that will be homeported at Seattle this summer and one of the fleet of 11 of seven brands that will be sailing from Seattle this year.

Details appeared in the April 29 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Nieuw Amsterdam arriving at Seattle this morning to begin the 2016 Alaska season

Cruise News Daily Headlines for August 21, 2014

* European Traffic Surging at Guadeloupe
Cruise business will be booming in Guadeloupe this winter, but not with Americans.

* A New Type of Shore Excursion
We noticed a repositioning cruise this fall aboard MSC Magnifica with a killer itinerary. It’s a 20-day trip from Hamburg to Buenos Aries, so it won’t interest many of our readers, but there was a shore excursion that also caught our attention that we’d like to see more of.

* Seattle Traffic DownAs the cruise season winds down, the port of Seattle has revised its cruise passenger figures downward. It seems to be a trend from 2012 to 2013 and now 2014.

The complete articles appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers.

Cruise News Daily Headlines for May 30, 2014

* Could ECA’s Spell the End for Shore Power?
The Environmental Control Areas along many shorelines may end up saving cruise lines and ports some money in capital expenditures at the same time as they are preventing a lot of pollutants going into the air.

* Other Things You’ll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about a possible date being set to refloat Costa Concordia ... an alleged sexual assault by two men aboard Navigator of the Seas ... and everybody winning in Seattle, except the opposing team.

The complete articles appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers.

Cruise News Daily Headlines for May 1, 2014

* The Norwegian View
Norwegian Cruise Line held their conference call for analysts to discuss their first quarter earnings this week. While there weren’t any major revelations, it was interesting to hear their CEO, Kevin Sheehan, explain the way the company thinks about things that we mostly take for granted.

* Another Opening Day
Seattle’s cruise season begins on Saturday (May 3) with the arrival of two ships.
   Holland America’s Westerdam is expected to berth at 5:45am, and Golden Princess should be alongside by 7:00am.

The complete articles appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers.

Cruise News Daily Headlines for April 3, 2014

* Two Die in Incident with Independence of the Seas
Two dockworkers died Wednesday afternoon at St. Kitts, in an unusual accident as Independence of the Seas was leaving the dock.

* Don’t Drink the Water (or Swim in It, Either)
The US Consulate in Bermuda has issued a warning to Americans visiting the island, that swimming at the island’s beaches could be hazardous to their health due to contamination from sewage. The warning went on to say that any US tourists planning to swim off the south shore should consider immunizations for Hepatitis A and typhoid.

* Other Things You’ll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about Crystal broadcasting the FIFA World Cup ... clean fuel incentives ... and the secret ship.

The complete articles appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers.

Life boats being attached to Regal Princess in anticipation of delivery next month.

Photo courtesy of Princess Cruises. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without permission.

Port Everglades breaks its record, P&O passengers go free, "Explosive" issue in Seattle

CND subscribers also read about Port Everglades' record-breaking year ... a new free service for P&O passengers ... and an "explosive" issue in Seattle.


Details of these items appeared in the "Other Things You'll Want to Know" column in the October 29, 2010, edition of Cruise News Daily.

Cruise study in Savannah, New fees in the BVI, What Cuba's missing, Seattle cruise record

CND subscribers read about Savannah's study of the cruise industry, and what they didn't find out ... updates on Celebrity Century's emergency drydock ... what the British Virgin Island's don't seem to realize about dealing with cruise lines ... new estimates by the cruise industry of what Cuba's missing ... and a record-breaking cruise season in Seattle.


Details of these items appeared in the "Other Things You'll Want to Know" column in the October 22, 2010, edition of Cruise News Daily.

Wanted: The Silent Sail Away

The new cruise terminal at Seattle is only a couple of weeks old, but KOMO reports that it's already drawing complaints from the neighbors - not because of the extra traffic or the ships' horns - but rather the loud music coming from the ships in port and at sail away time. Some of the complaining neighbors are a mile away.

The port says they have now asked the ships not to play music until after they have left the terminal.

Seattle Opens New Cruise Terminal

The Port of Seattle opened the new Smith Cove Cruise Terminal at Pier 91 today. The new facility has two 1,200-foot berths and will replace the temporary facilty at Pier 30 which will return to cargo use. The first ship to arrive will be Holland America's Amsterdam, which will turnaround there on Friday (April 24, 2009).

The Smith Cove terminal will be used by Holland America, Princess and Royal Caribbean. Celebrity and Norwegian Cruise Line will continue to use the Bell Street Cruise Terminal at Pier 66.

Details were in the April 23 edition of Cruise News Daily.