When we talk about cruise ships, big numbers often follow.  Vessels are permanently tagged with displacing water in amounts numbering tens of tons. A large ship can carry thousands of travelers and crew. These and other cruise-related numbers we use to compare ships. One cruise related number they watch really closely in Seattle: total passengers that pass through the port.

Two cruisers on Holland America Line’s ms Eurodam were surprised recently as the Port of Seattle celebrated its one-millionth passenger to pass through Seattle’s cruise terminals during the 2017 season. This is the first year the Port of Seattle reached the million-passenger milestone.  Port of Seattle Commissioner John Creighton and Holland America Line CEO Orlando Ashford greeted the couple and presented a gift basket stuffed with goodies to mark the day.

“Congratulations to our millionth cruise passenger this season.  Passengers like Ted and Linda from Alexandria, Louisiana and points all across our country come here for a unique Pacific Northwest/Alaska experience that drives half a billion dollars in annual business revenue,” said Port of Seattle Commissioner John Creighton.

Perhaps no coincidence: Holland America Line is celebrating 70 years of taking travelers to Alaska. Begining as a land tour offering and now as the cruise industry leader for itineraries that sail from Seattle.  Between Holland America Line and sister cruise line Princess Cruises, they sail more travelers to the land of the midnight sun than all other operators combined.  That 70 year history has distinct advantages too.  Sailing through protected areas of Alaska, Holland America Line has grandfathered first choice of times to pass and a preferred number of passings in any given season.

“Congratulations to our ms Eurodam guests Linda Ellis and Ted Finn for being selected for the port’s one millionth guest celebration on Saturday,” said Orlando Ashford, president, Holland America Line.  “Holland America Line is thrilled that for more than 30 years we have been a partner with the Port of  Seattle in building a robust gateway cruise port and an important contributor to the economic impact in the this region.”

 

Seattle’s cruise business—currently leading all cruise homeports on the U.S. west coast in passenger volume—is responsible for over $500 million in annual business revenue, providing more than 4,000 jobs and $18.9 million in state and local taxes, with each homeported vessel generating $2.7 million to the local economy.

Learn More: visit www.portseattle.org/cruise.

Read: Holland America Alaska Cruise Program: 70th Year Even More Impressive

See: 

Flickr Photo Albums- just photos, no words: over 1500 images we captured, free to share and use as you wish with attribution.

• Travel Day- Making my way from Orlando to Seattle then on to the ship.  Strongly suggested: one of the few non-stop flights available if booked far enough in advance.
• Oprah’s Share The Adventure Guide– a complete overview of new programming introduced on our sailing to already engaging Holland America Line programming.
• The Port of Seattle- The convenient cruise port where we begin and end our voyage. Pier 91 is the farther away from the airport option. Pier 66 is closer. Pier 91 enables more of a view of the city on the way to the ship.
• Seattle Embarkation- getting on the ship in Seattle then going directly to our staterooms, all of which were ready upon our arrival.  A huge factor for those of us who travel with carry on luggage only and refuse to let anyone else handle it.
• America’s Test Kitchen comes to sea on Holland America Line bringing new life to the Culinary Arts Center
• Angela Davis– Fitness Evangelist gets Holland America travelers up out of their seats for an inspiring at sea work out
• Just Breathe- Holland America travelers start the day the right way with meaningful meditations and daily intentions
• Eurodam Open Decks- random photos from around the ship in no apparent order
• Holland America Line Room Service- Simply some of the best in the business and one feature I rarely have enough time to explore.  Kudos for offering a taste of specialty restaurants in a boxed lunch sort of way delivered to your stateroom.
• Stateroom 4158- a nicely-appointed standard Verandah stateroom, typical of others on ms Eurodam and the rest of the Holland America fleet.  Special treat: recently retrofitted to include lots of USB ports
• Holland America Crew– random shots of crew members going about their day
• Seen At Sea- random images of other ships and interesting thing we saw while sailing
• Juneau Alaska– seen with Holland America Line where we got off the ship to hunt for bear
• O’s Book Club- a new feature on Holland America Line ships, an onboard version of Oprah’s book club highlights one of the most common cruise activities that, up until now, had nothing to do with the cruise line.
• Glaciers- We spent a day slow sailing to glaciers then paused at each to examine them further. Oddly, the feeling is much like the experience of going through a full transit of the Panama Canal.
• Hunting For Bear- we went by plane to hunt for bear in remote places where we saw no other humans as far as the eye could see.  We did see a bear though.
• O-Specific Content- flyers, handouts, keepsakes collected during the Oprah’s Share The Adventure Cruise
• Sel de Mer- Chef Rudi Sodamin’s pop-up restaurant appearing once on each 7-day cruise
• Alaska Sunrise- not a big of a deal on an Alaska cruise as they are more difficult to capture
• Ketchikan- The place for totem pole lovers and shoppers
• Adam Glassman shows us trendy cruise wear, available in onboard O-shop
• Tamarind Bento Box– specialty dinner venue delivered to your stateroom
• Oprah On The Menu- one item per day, featured in the buffet area
• Oprah Appears- a conversation with Oprah on the ship’s main stage
• Eurodam- exterior photos