Cruise season arrives in Seattle, tourists to navigate Alaskan Way construction

The Port of Seattle said it expects 1.4 million revenue passengers and 289 ship calls through Seattle before the season closes in October.

SEATTLE - April 15 launches the start of the 2023 cruise season in Seattle. The first cruise ship will be with Norwegian Cruise Line’s Bliss at Bell Street Pier Cruise Terminal at Pier 66.

The Port of Seattle said it expects 1.4 million revenue passengers and 289 ship calls through Seattle before the season closes in October.

"I’m so excited, of course. More tourists mean more customers for me," said Ronnie Rain, a pedicab driver in the area.

As tourists arrive to the Emerald City, they will have to navigate through heavy construction and traffic on Alaskan Way. The development of the new Waterfront Seattle is underway, making the area a bit congested.

"Construction usually means that something cool is going to there later, eventually," said Victoria Tang, while visiting the waterfront.

The City of Seattle, along with several local and state partners, is building a state-of-the-art experience. When completed, the waterfront will offer new parks and amenities, making Seattle a destination for travel.

"I think we’re building something great here. And I think the transformation that’s happening on the waterfront is just really another chapter in the city’s history," said Jessica Murphy, construction manager for the City of Seattle’s Office of the Waterfront.

Once the viaduct was demolished in 2019, crews immediately started transforming Alaskan Way. Murphy said some projects are completed.

"For example, we opened our Union Street and elevator recently. And so that’s an amenity that is here that wasn’t here last year for all these incoming cruise ship passengers," said Murphy.

The construction manager said in early May 2023, congested traffic on Alaskan Way could start to see a little bit of relief with the opening of the new Elliott Way.

"The viaduct used to run through here and it was noisy and loud. And tucked into this hillside, we have built a new Elliott Way and we’re really excited to open it to the public," said Murphy. "It’s a road connection that hasn’t existed before at a surface street. So you can come from the south on Alaskan Way and connect up with Elliott Way into Belltown in a car, in a bike, walking. And you never used to be able to do this."

The City of Seattle’s Office of the Waterfront said all of its construction projects on Alaskan Way are on pace to finish by 2025.

"The bulk of the park promenade will be complete at the end of 2024," said Murphy. "We’ve been quietly making a ton of progress during the pandemic. And people are coming downtown into this area now who maybe haven’t been spending more time and they are definitely having the impression of wow there’s a lot that’s been completed down here."

Officials with Washington State Ferries said construction of its Colman Dock Project is in the final stages. WSF said it is replacing the aging and seismically vulnerable Colman Dock to "maintain its critical role as a regional multimodal transportation hub."

Suanne Pelley with WSDOT Ferries Division said Colman Dock will open its Alaskan Way entrance this spring, as well as the elevated pedestrian walkway that connects the entry building to the terminal building. Pelley said additional features coming this spring include:

Two new elevators in the entry building, connecting pedestrians to and from Alaskan Way
New ticket booth on the pedestrian walkway
New information booth also on the pedestrian walkway
New bicycle holding lane

Pelley said by summer, the Marion Street Pedestrian Bridge will provide access from 1st and Marion into the new entry building. There are also approximately 10 vendor spaces that are being leased throughout the facility.

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