COMMISSION 
AGENDA MEMORANDUM                        Item No.          11b 
BRIEFING ITEM                            Date of Meeting       June 22, 2021 
DATE:     June 1, 2021 
TO:        Stephen P. Metruck, Executive Director 
FROM:    Stephanie Jones Stebbins, Managing Director Maritime 
Mike McLaughlin, Director Cruise Operations & Maritime Marketing 
Marie Ellingson, Cruise Operations & Business Development Manager 
SUBJECT:  Cruise Update 2021 Seattle Season 
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
Briefing to Commission on projected 2021 Cruise Season. We will be covering four main areas: 
Status of 2021 Cruise Season 
Public Health Precautions and Coordination with State Department of Public Health and
Public Health-Seattle & King County 
Safety enhancements at our Terminals 
Engagement with Community and Stakeholders 
Status of 2021 Cruise Season 
Cruise ships will be returning to our harbor after more than 20 months. Our first revenue Cruise
is expected on July 19 and we expect our last call on October 23. We have 7 Cruise lines and 8
different Vessels intending to homeport out of the Port of Seattle. For context, in 2019, we had
12 homeported vessels. Also note, that these vessels will be sailing at less than full capacity. The
Most of these vessels will be sailing with at least 95 % of both passengers and crew vaccinated.
At this time, we are still working with one line that would require all eligible for vaccinations to
be vaccinated, but would like to allow unvaccinated children to Cruise, allowing families to travel
together.
Previously, we noted that the Port's work focused around four areas: vaccines, port
agreements, the international stop, and enhanced safety measures in our own terminals. 
Since then, public health officials, cruise lines, and federal leaders addressed or reached major
milestones on these topics, including new temporary, federal authority to sail directly from
Seattle to Alaska without a stop in Canada, beginning CDC approval of port agreements for
ships beginning sailing in other states, and the start of crew vaccinations by cruise lines. Locally
we reached a major milestone with our Washington Governor announcing a full re-opening of
our state on June 30.

Template revised April 12, 2018.

COMMISSION AGENDA  Briefing Item No. __11b__                            Page 2 of 3 
Meeting Date: June 22, 2021 

Cruise vessels have been sailing successfully for some time in the Mediterranean and parts of
Asia.  In the US, Cruising is expected to start this month from Port Everglades, and shortly
afterwards form Galveston. We are watching all these locations closely for lessons learned. 

Public Health Precautions 
Throughout the Covid Pandemic, the Port of Seattle has prioritized public health. As we restart
Cruise, we continue to prioritize measures for both the Cruise Lines and our own terminal
operations that will not only prevent Covid from spreading on Cruise vessels, but provide clear
protocols for responding if there are cases of Covid on Cruise vessels. We have been working
with our local public health agencies through this time to make sure that all procedures meet our
high local standards and are consistent with local efforts.  These protocols are documented and
committed to by all parties the "Port Agreements".
These agreements are signed by each Cruise Lines, the Port, the State Department of Public
Health and Public Health-Seattle & King County. They include and cover the following
elements 
Cruise Ship Line protocols for the following 
Embarkation Procedures Restricted Passenger Voyages; 
Procedures for Day of Embarkation Screening; 
Emergency Response Plans; 
Protocols for Contacting Emergency Medical Services (Non COVID-19 Related); 
Protocols that Avoid Medical Evacuations at Sea; 
Disembarkation Procedures in Event of COVID-19 Outbreak; 
Procedures to Avoid Congregation of Embarking and Disembarking Travelers; 
Procedures for Informing Port personnel who interact with travelers of COVID-19 Risks; 
Procedures for Routine Testing and Symptom Monitoring of vessel crew, passengers and
terminal personal who are expected to interact with travelers; 
Procedures for Routine and Outbreak-Level Cleaning for Gathering Areas and
Transportation Vehicles; and 
Reporting Requirements of COVID-19 Cases During Voyages 

Cruise Ship Lines contractual arrangements with: 
lodging facilities, 
medical service providers, and 
medical transportation service providers 
Cruise Ship Vaccinations Strategy 
Approved Ships and Capacity 
Cleaning requirements for Cruise Terminal 

Template revised September 22, 2016.


COMMISSION AGENDA  Briefing Item No. __11b__                            Page 3 of 3 
Meeting Date: June 22, 2021 

Safety Enhancements at our Terminals 
Throughout our cruise terminals, the Port has made improvements to enhance safety of our
passengers and workers. 
We installed touchless fixtures in the restrooms and water bottle filling stations, 
Barriers are installed to limit face-to-face contact and technology implemented to
provide touchless check in and passenger processing in many cases. 
Signage is installed to limit crowding and contact.
We also reviewed and, where needed updated our ventilation systems to MERV 13
filtration. 
Engagement with Community and Stakeholders 
Engagement with community, attractions, retailers, and the many maritime businesses that
serve the cruise sector is particularly essential this season. 
We developed a robust public communications plan, which includes multiple new public
briefings, webinars, and online resources to ensure that community, passengers, and crew
know what to expect during the 2021 cruise season. Highlights of that work include: 
Created a new webpage for Business, Tourism and Community Partners; ship schedules
will be posted here when confirmed. 
Providing a cruise update at two Visit Seattle webinars for hotels and the broader
leisure travel industry 
Hosting a webinar with speakers from NCL, HAL and RCCL and moderated by Tom
Norwalk, Visit Seattle; co-sponsored with DSA, Visit Seattle, Visit Bellevue, and Seattle
Southside Regional Tourism Authority 
Launching a new waterfront-focused email newsletter 

ATTACHMENTS TO THIS BRIEFING 
(1)   Presentation slides 
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS 
None 



Template revised September 22, 2016.