Sad But True, the Up to the Minute Update on Terminal 91 Seattle

[49er]

We don't live in Seattle, but visit our son who lives there often. I think that only one time Mt. Rainer was not visible (we don't come up in the winter:-). I guess this picture must have been taken when we were visiting your fair city:-)

 

49er

[SeattleCruiselover]

Out of curiosity, what mountain is that in the background?

 

Thanks :)

 

That's our lovely Mt Rainier.

[Sauvignon]

It won't be a failure, Sauvignon, but it will be a mess, and that is a certainty. The space is just too tight to efficiently handle even one ship, let alone two ships, and all of vehicular traffic connected therewith. That is a simple fact.

 

 

No, I disagee that is not 'a simple fact', in is just an opinion.

 

The facts are that the terminal is 143000 sq ft, now if you compare the sizes if the ships that will be in port, HAL capacity 1400-1900, Princess 2400-2700 and RCI 2400 against say terminals at Port Everglades then it stacks up very well - leaving aside the new terminal 18 which is being redeveloped to accomodate RCI Oasis class ships but comparing with say the 50,000 sq ft terminal 2 that Crown Princess and Ruby Princess use the seattle terminal should be far more spacious ( allowing for the vagaries of the internal layout/fitting) . On the subject of traffic, I think you need to explian you concerns on this issue, I have stood at the bridge and relevant inersections, and while sure the road layout can be confusing, I really don't understand why you think there is insufficient room.

 

I don't think this fact should discourage anyone from sailing the ships that use the new pier, but it should, as the port officials have already advised, encourage passengers to allow extra time for embarkation and disembarkation, and be prepared for delays and inconveniences not normally connected with embarking and disembarking.

 

Yes, the port officials are advising this and quite rightly so - though again one ought not to infer anything from this, as I said previously, if there is any reason that this will be the 'mess' that you are so sure will happen, it will be because of the people using the terminal and their expectations, not because of the efforts of the Port Authority to deliver an efficient service.

 

What a great shot, SeattleCruiselover. We don't often see whales breaching in the Sound.

 

No, we are not entertainers, just avid dancers who love to cruise with other friends who are also dance fanatics. It is such amazing exercise and so much fun.

 

We are actually happy to be sailing one of the first ships to use the pier. That way we will be able to make informed comparisons of our May, June and September cruises to see if the process is actually improving as time goes by. It should be interesting.

 

Oh Mount Rainier is about 60 miles from Seattle, what is obstructing the view from pier 91?

[SeattleCruiselover]

Oh Mount Rainier is about 60 miles from Seattle, what is obstructing the view from pier 91?

 

You can see it, just not as well. Downtown and the stadia are kind of in the way.

[Theta_Potata]

That's our lovely Mt Rainier.

 

I see Mt. Rainier from my house and I guess the prespective is one I don't get. I thought it might be Mt. Baker, so I thought I would ask. Great timing on the shot, did you use 35mm on this one? My husband is a former Photo Journalist for the Navy and teaches photography to the kids in our homeschooling group.

Anyhow, I looked at the properties on the picture and found your website. You have some great photos.

[jlp20]

For this question, please disregard the long term parking issue.

 

Pier 66, as I recall, has a short loop for traffic to drop off/pick up. Three lanes of traffic going in, two lanes for cars/taxis and a third lane for buses.

 

What is the difference with Pier 91?

 

My one experience going out of Seattle were the pax by the 1000’s refusing to tip a porter and standing in a line going around the cruise building for an hour or more to save $10.

[SeattleCruiselover]

For this question, please disregard the long term parking issue.

 

Pier 66, as I recall, has a short loop for traffic to drop off/pick up. Three lanes of traffic going in, two lanes for cars/taxis and a third lane for buses.

 

What is the difference with Pier 91?

 

My one experience going out of Seattle were the pax by the 1000’s refusing to tip a porter and standing in a line going around the cruise building for an hour or more to save $10.

 

Pier 66 has only ONE lane of traffic into the terminal, and cars may NOT pull in, they have to stop on the street. The parking "lot" is for buses only and they have a heck of a time getting in and out because it is so narrow and short.

 

Taxis have to stop down the block and can only pull up if there is space, and it must be a quick "stop and drop" or quick pick up only, no standing.

 

Terminal 91 has a one line driveway into the terminal itself, which is closed in by a guard gate/guard shack which is, apparently, manned 24/7. It will primarily be used for the trucks reprovisioning the ships. The parking lot is on the other side of the Magnolia bridge, and will have a shuttle from there to the terminal building. They will be limiting traffic into and out of the terminal area pretty severely, at least for the first weeks of the season until they see how the traffic flow will sort itself out.

[SeattleCruiselover]

I see Mt. Rainier from my house and I guess the prespective is one I don't get. I thought it might be Mt. Baker, so I thought I would ask. Great timing on the shot, did you use 35mm on this one? My husband is a former Photo Journalist for the Navy and teaches photography to the kids in our homeschooling group.

Anyhow, I looked at the properties on the picture and found your website. You have some great photos.

 

 

While I OWN a Nikon 35 mm SLR, it is primarily my DD's camera now. I shoot a Nikon D40, or a Fuji 5700 digicam. I appreciate the compliment. If I could, I would be a full time photographer, but doubt that I could make enough to live on from doing so.

[PunkiC]

Pier #91 has only one lane going in and one lane going out. Moreover, that single lane twists around in a large "S" shape over a bridge, around and down into the pier area. Once inside the area, there is maybe 1/20 of the space that there used to be at the old pier. In the beginning, I don't believe they will let cars in to load and unload people at the ship, but will instead direct cars to a holding area where passengers will be picked up by shuttles which will take them, and presumably their luggage, to the ships. Very different from any other port I have ever experienced.

 

At this point, Sauvignon, no one really knows how much, if any, of Mt. Rainier we will be able to see from the ship at the dock. The new port is tucked in between Magnolia and Queen Anne hills. Queen Anne Hill is 500 feet high and the mountain is on the other side of the hill, so until we stand at the top of the ship on a clear day, we won't really know how much, if any, of the mountain will be visible.

 

Also, please bear in mind that Rainier is a very bashful mountain which is very selective about making appearances, so it is possible to make many voyges without ever seeing it.

 

Here is the classic shot of Mount Rainier taken from the park near our home on Queen Anne Hill. The Pier is down behind the other side of the hill, so it is a big question mark whether or not any portion of the mountain will be visible from any part of the ship. It the mountain does happen to be out, we will certainly be able to see it from the water as the ship leaves the dock and heads up the Sound or pulls into the Seattle area before it turns into the pier.

[legalslave]

When we sailed out of the old pier, we sailed past the downtown area and it was such a wonderful view. For those Seattle folks, do you think we will get a view of anything sailing out of Pier 91 for Alaska?

 

Diane

[shootingstar07]

So, I went to Maggie Bluffs at the Elliott Bay Marina this morning, with the ulterior motive of checking up on things at the new cruise terminal at Terminal 91 It was interesting to say the least. Current pictures may be found here:

 

 

If you are traveling early in the season, plan at least an extra hour to hour and half to get to the Terminal. The cab drivers have ABSOLUTELY no idea where it is, I kid you not. I gave him point to point navigation with my GPS and he still drove around in circles for 30 minutes trying to find it, then for another 15 trying to get on the bridge to get to where we were told the parking and shuttle lot might be.

 

The guard at the gate had no idea where the parking is going to be once the season started, she just kind of pointed vaguely north and said she thought it would be "over there somewhere", and couldn't say anything about the arrangements for getting from the parking area to the cruise terminal itself.

 

The building that I think is actually going to be where check in and the gangways will be is all the way at the South End of Pier 91, so it will be a bit of a hike even from where the shuttle buses will drop off to get there. And I only think that because it is the newer of the two buildings (the other one still appears to be a cold storage for the fishermen). They wouldn't let us walk out onto the Terminal Area because we didn't have Port of Seattle ID badges, so the closest I could actually get was from the Marina about 1/4 of a mile or so away to take pictures.

 

I have the dreadful feeling that the first half of the season is not going to be pretty, until they get their routines down. (In fact, I am seriously considering rebooking to leave from Vancouver......:().

 

Note that I live about 3 miles from Terminal 91 and it was about $10.00 on the taxi meter.

 

Questions, my friends?????:confused:

Oh my - I sure hope it won't be like Denver opening the airport way back when. Remember, the baggage handling system that failed? That is in the top 10 complex engineering failures (Titanic being #1)

 

Guess I can hope they have any kinks ironed out by my Aug. 1 sailing. And to think I had a Vancouver sailing and traded it for Seattle to make the airfares lower.

 

Thanks, SeattleCruiseLover, for the heads up.

[SeattleCruiselover]

When we sailed out of the old pier, we sailed past the downtown area and it was such a wonderful view. For those Seattle folks, do you think we will get a view of anything sailing out of Pier 91 for Alaska?

 

Diane

 

Downtown is quite visible, as is Queen Anne hill, but you won't be sailing PAST them anymore, as you are considerably north of the waterfront area now.

[SeattleCruiselover]

Oh my - I sure hope it won't be like Denver opening the airport way back when. Remember, the baggage handling system that failed? That is in the top 10 complex engineering failures (Titanic being #1)

 

Guess I can hope they have any kinks ironed out by my Aug. 1 sailing. And to think I had a Vancouver sailing and traded it for Seattle to make the airfares lower.

 

Thanks, SeattleCruiseLover, for the heads up.

 

I hope it all shakes out no later than the end of May.....

[PunkiC]

You will also be able to see Elliott Bay Marina, which is beautiful, and the Olympic mountain range from the ship. We see the both the Olympics and the Cascades from our home and they are both beautiful when it is bright and sunny.

[PunkiC]

It was fairly clear today so I drove by the pier on my way home from the gym. It looks like we will get a decent view of Rainier from either the front or the back of the ship while at the dock, depending on which direction they dock. So that is good news. It doesn't look like there will be much of a view of the mountain from the cabins, but maybe there will be some view from the east side, which will also get a limited view of downtown. That mountain sure appears to move itself around. ;)

 

There was a group of surveyors on the bridge overlooking the pier today, but I have no idea what they were doing. I am very curious to see how things work during our first cruise on May 10th.

[Ginnylou]

Going out of Vancouver but cruise ends in Seattle on May 15th. Have flight at noon, will be interesting. :rolleyes:

 

Will be back for a June 12th cruise leaving and returning to pier 91. Hope things will be running smooth by then. :)

[hawgwildterry]

For those that may have missed my original post reference photos of the Pier 91 location, here are the photos once again.

 

My son in-law is 1st. Engineer on a large fishing vessel that docks at Pier 90. He just shook his head when I told him that the cruise ships were now going to be using Pier 91. He expects it to be a total nightmare in the beginning.

 

 

 

Day Time Wide Angle Shot

 

 

With Titles

 

 

Tighter Shot

 

 

With Titles

 

[vivian02]

I have been reading the information from this post with interest since we sail out of Seattle on RCI on May 22. Since I was making my final payment last week I specifically asked the Rep which Pier we would need to arrive at. She quoted me "Pier 30". Just to make sure I told her I would contact the Cruise line a week in advance to make sure it hasn't changed. Tim

[hawgwildterry]

I have been reading the information from this post with interest since we sail out of Seattle on RCI on May 22. Since I was making my final payment last week I specifically asked the Rep which Pier we would need to arrive at. She quoted me "Pier 30". Just to make sure I told her I would contact the Cruise line a week in advance to make sure it hasn't changed. Tim

 

Tim,

 

I just read what the Port of Seattle is posting on their website again. Nowhere does it state that Pier 30 will be used by any cruise ship this year. Holland America, Princess and Royal Caribbean will be using Pier 91. Celebrity and Norwegian will remain at Pier 66. You are correct, give the cruise line a call just prior to your sailing date and hopefully they will give you the correct answer to your question at that time.

 

http://www.portseattle.org/seaport/cruise/cruiselinesandschedules.shtml#schedule

[vivian02]

Thanks for the quick reply. Here is what was posted in the RCI "Ground Transportation" information:

Seattle, Washington

 

Terminal 91 Cruise Facility

2431 East Marginal Way South

Port of Seattle website

 

Directions:

From Seattle-Tacoma International Airport - 14 miles:

Take I-5 North.

Take the Madison exit (also called the Convention Place exit).

Turn left onto Madison, stay on Madison until you come to the waterfront.

Turn right on Alaska Way.

Terminal 30 Cruise Facility entrance is about 1.5 miles South on the right hand side.

 

Yes... I see where it says Pier 91 however if you follow the driving directions the direction takes you to Terminal 30? Am I the only one to catch this error? Tim

[SeattleCruiselover]

Thanks for the quick reply. Here is what was posted in the RCI "Ground Transportation" information:

Seattle, Washington

 

Terminal 91 Cruise Facility

2431 East Marginal Way South

Port of Seattle website

 

Directions:

From Seattle-Tacoma International Airport - 14 miles:

Take I-5 North.

Take the Madison exit (also called the Convention Place exit).

Turn left onto Madison, stay on Madison until you come to the waterfront.

Turn right on Alaska Way.

Terminal 30 Cruise Facility entrance is about 1.5 miles South on the right hand side.

 

Yes... I see where it says Pier 91 however if you follow the driving directions the direction takes you to Terminal 30? Am I the only one to catch this error? Tim

 

Tim: Maybe, but it will definitely be Terminal 91. Terminal 30 has already been demolished and turned back to cargo.

[hawgwildterry]

Thanks for the quick reply. Here is what was posted in the RCI "Ground Transportation" information:

Seattle, Washington

 

Terminal 91 Cruise Facility

2431 East Marginal Way South

Port of Seattle website

 

Directions:

From Seattle-Tacoma International Airport - 14 miles:

Take I-5 North.

Take the Madison exit (also called the Convention Place exit).

Turn left onto Madison, stay on Madison until you come to the waterfront.

Turn right on Alaska Way.

Terminal 30 Cruise Facility entrance is about 1.5 miles South on the right hand side.

 

Yes... I see where it says Pier 91 however if you follow the driving directions the direction takes you to Terminal 30? Am I the only one to catch this error? Tim

 

Tim,

 

Their directions are wrong, even for Pier 30. At the bottom of Madison Street you would turn left (southbound) on Alaska Way South.

 

Here are the correct driving directions for Pier 91. Driving distance from SeaTac Airport to Pier 91 is approximately 20 miles give or take depending which route you take.

 

From Interstate 5 North

 

1. Head south on I-5 and follow the signs to the Mercer Street Exit
   
2. Take exit 167 to Mercer Street (right-hand off-ramp)
   
3. Take a right turn on to Fairview Avenue North ( 400 feet)
   
4. Take a left turn on Valley Street (0.18 miles)
   
5. Valley Street bends to the left and becomes Broad Street (0.75 miles)
   
6. Turn right to Denny Way (0.32 miles)
   
7. Bend right to Western Avenue ( 0.22 miles)
   
8. Western joins Elliott Avenue West (1.18 miles)
   
9. Follow signs to Magnolia Bridge
   
10. Turn right at 14th Ave West (signal light intersection) (0.14 miles)
    
11. Stay to the right and follow ramp joining the Magnolia Bridge (West Garfield Street) (0.35 miles)
    
12. Exit right. Follow signs to “Smith Cove Park” (0.55 miles) and Cruise Terminal
    
13. Turn right at bottom of ramp and follow signs for cruise terminal parking or cruise terminal
    

[vivian02]

Once again thanks for the update. You can imagine what I am thinking since I got a quote from the Cruiseline saying "Pier 30". This is going to leave alot of confused cruisers come May and I bet someone will end up at the wrong pier. I have never shown up at the wrong pier before but I certainly have tried. In May of 2004 I told the taxi drive in downtown Barcelona "El Porto" (Port) and before you know it we were heading to the Air Port#?! Once I showed him our cruise documents he got the idea. So I spent an extra 10 euros to see a part of Barceloan I had never seen before.

Anyway on our taxi ride to Pier 91 we will have to pass the area of Pier 30......if I should see a crown and anchor icon I will definitly know what to do. Thanks for all the postings. It looks like one of the cruiselines is giving out bad information. Thanks for all the help. Tim

[SeattleCruiselover]

Once again thanks for the update. You can imagine what I am thinking since I got a quote from the Cruiseline saying "Pier 30". This is going to leave alot of confused cruisers come May and I bet someone will end up at the wrong pier. I have never shown up at the wrong pier before but I certainly have tried. In May of 2004 I told the taxi drive in downtown Barcelona "El Porto" (Port) and before you know it we were heading to the Air Port#?! Once I showed him our cruise documents he got the idea. So I spent an extra 10 euros to see a part of Barceloan I had never seen before.

Anyway on our taxi ride to Pier 91 we will have to pass the area of Pier 30......if I should see a crown and anchor icon I will definitly know what to do. Thanks for all the postings. It looks like one of the cruiselines is giving out bad information. Thanks for all the help. Tim

 

I'm sure Royal is not the only one. I imagine that Princess and Holland are in the midst of a misinformation campaign, as well. If they park the ship down at Terminal 30 from force of habit, they are going to have ginormous problems, because there are no gangways, no buildings, no nothing left there, just the cranes for unloading cargo.......won't their faces be red???

[hawgwildterry]

Anyway on our taxi ride to Pier 91 we will have to pass the area of Pier 30......if I should see a crown and anchor icon I will definitely know what to do. Thanks for all the postings. It looks like one of the cruise lines is giving out bad information. Thanks for all the help. Tim

 

Most likely you will be on I-5 northbound and should be taking the Mercer Street exit. As you are driving past Safeco Field (Mariners) and Qwest Field (Seahawks) which will be on your left....and you see a big white cruise ship with the Crown & Anchor then you will know they are still using Pier 30.

 

Myself and others living in the area will keep everyone up to speed as to what piers are being used for what cruise lines this year.