The Port of Seattle says the Bell Street Cruise Terminal at Pier 66 is "an easy walk to the famous Pike Place Market, Seattle Aquarium and the Great Wheel". The ferries leave from the same downtown waterfront, which is what makes a before-or-after-the-cruise ferry outing tempting. Our Seattle ferry page lists the Washington State Ferries routes; this guide adds the practical side, and the one long, border-crossing alternative.
1. Two very different ferry services
Washington State Ferries (WSF) is run by the state transportation department, WSDOT. Its Seattle to Bainbridge Island crossing is listed at about 35 minutes ("~ 35 min") and its Seattle to Bremerton crossing at about 60 minutes ("~ 60 min"), on the schedule pages WSDOT titles "Fall 2026 Sailing Schedule". Both schedules cover "Sep 20, 2026 - Dec 26, 2026", so a trip planned for after 26 December needs the next schedule, not this one.
The Victoria Clipper is different. It is operated by a private company, Clipper Vacations, now branded FRS Clipper, which says it has run since 1986 and was acquired in 2016 by FRS, an international ferry operator. It sails between Seattle and Victoria, British Columbia, so it involves a border crossing, a booking and a much longer day.
2. Getting from the ship or the airport
The Port of Seattle lists two cruise terminals in the pages we read: Bell Street at Pier 66 (2225 Alaskan Way) and Smith Cove at Pier 91. From Westlake Station in downtown Seattle, it gives approximate times of "Six minutes by car; 20 minutes by foot" to Pier 66 and "15 minutes by car" to Pier 91. It does not give times from the terminals to the ferry docks, so check that leg yourself before you commit to a tight departure.
For arrivals by air: the Port says there is "no direct mass transit option" from Seattle-Tacoma airport to Pier 66, that Link light rail runs from the airport to Westlake Station, and that a rideshare or taxi can take you on from there. It also lists a cruise-line bus transfer and airport shuttles. If you are still booking flights, see our flights page.
The Clipper terminal is at 2701 Alaskan Way, Pier 69. FRS Clipper's directions page says that Sound Transit's 1 line to Westlake Station, then several King County Metro routes, drop you "just four blocks East of the Pier"; it also lists a parking garage across Alaskan Way.
3. What the schedules say, and for which dates
| Service | What the operator's page said on 30 October 2026 |
|---|---|
| WSF Seattle to Bainbridge Island | Weekday departures from Seattle start at 5:30 (AM) and run through the day; separate Saturday, Sunday and holiday timetables exist. The Seattle to Bainbridge Island route runs a holiday (weekend) schedule on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. The page showed "No alerts at this time". |
| WSF Seattle to Bremerton | Listed at about 60 minutes in the same fall 2026 schedule period. |
| Victoria Clipper, Seattle to Victoria | Six departures listed on the page, all at 8:00 am: 30 and 31 October, 1 and 2 November, 6 and 7 November 2026. Arrival is listed at 11:00 am on 30 and 31 October and 12:00 pm on the others. |
| Victoria Clipper, Victoria to Seattle | Listed returns: 12:00 pm (30 October), 5:00 pm (31 October, 1 and 2 November and 7 November), 1:00 pm (6 November); arrivals in Seattle between 2:45 pm and 7:45 pm. |
The Clipper page says its ship "operates year-round service, round-trip 1 time per day", with a footnote that this "Excludes a winter dry dock period" and that the spring and summer schedule may include two round trips on certain dates. It does not give the dry-dock dates, and the dates it lists on 30 October stop at 7 November. Treat the list as a snapshot, not a pattern.
4. Tickets, fares and what to book
WSDOT's tickets page says vehicle reservations are available "only on our Anacortes/San Juan Islands/Sidney, British Columbia and Port Townsend/Coupeville routes", and its schedule page says reservations are recommended for the Anacortes and San Juan Islands crossing. The San Juan Islands sailings are listed on WSDOT's schedule under Anacortes / San Juan Islands, not under Seattle, so they are a separate trip from the Seattle crossings above. For walk-on fares the tickets page points to WSF's fare calculator, which we did not use, so this guide quotes no WSF fare.
The Victoria Clipper page lists "Fares starting at" amounts for each sailing, between $159 and $189 for Seattle to Victoria and between $144 and $160 for Victoria to Seattle on the dates listed, in dollars. The page does not say whether those are ferry-only fares or define the fare types, so check before you book. Clipper's rules are strict about time: it recommends arriving "at least one hour" before departure, says boarding from Seattle begins 45 minutes before, and warns "If you are not on board the vessel 15 minutes prior to departure, you will forfeit your seat and your entire fare."
If you are thinking of a Victoria day around a cruise, our guide to Victoria and Butchart Gardens sets out the arithmetic, and the guide on separate tickets and the buffer explains why a ship will not wait for a late ferry.
5. Border papers for Victoria
Entry rules come from governments, not from the ferry company. The Canada Border Services Agency's page "Travel and identification documents for entering Canada" (modified 2026-06-05) says that for U.S. citizens "the CBSA recommends travelling with a valid passport" and accepts other documents showing full name, date of birth and citizenship; it says all international travellers "must carry acceptable identification" and that you may need a visa or an eTA depending on your citizenship. FRS Clipper sets its own boarding list: a passport, passport card or NEXUS card, among others, and it says a standard REAL ID is "not a valid travel document for an international border crossing". Meet the stricter of the two. We did not find a U.S. government page to quote for the return crossing, and the Clipper page refers readers to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, so check there.
6. Access, luggage and comfort, and the plan
On the Clipper, the accessibility page says the Vista and Comfort classes are on the upper deck, and each "requires walking up stairs"; the company says it works to "help guests with disabilities navigate terminals and vessels safely and comfortably"; it gives no boarding procedure and does not mention wheelchairs. Its accessibility address is accessibility@clippervacations.com. Luggage: up to two checked bags per passenger, charged per leg, and one carry-on plus one personal item, as the travel information page states. For WSF we did not find an accessibility statement on the pages we read, so ask WSDOT about the terminal and vessel you plan to use.
For a short ferry outing from a cruise stay, WSF's Bainbridge crossing is the simpler choice because it has no border step. For anything longer, build your return time from the ship's all-aboard time backwards, as the guides above explain. If you want a shorter water outing, see our Seattle Water Taxi guide. Back to the Seattle ferry page for the routes.
Checked on 30 October 2026: the WSDOT Seattle to Bainbridge Island and Seattle to Bremerton schedule pages, the WSDOT tickets page, the Victoria Clipper (FRS Clipper) schedule, travel information, directions, accessibility and about pages, the Port of Seattle Bell Street and airport-to-cruise-terminal pages, and the CBSA identification page. Schedules, fares and rules change; check before you book.