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Seattle Locks Cruise with Transportation

Seattle, United States
  • 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
  • Offered in: English
Seattle Tours
All Seattle Tours
Audio Guides
Kid-Friendly
Likely To Sell Out

Overview

Enjoy the sights and sounds of Seattle from the water on this 2.5-hour narrated cruise along Ballard Locks, one of the the city’s most popular tourist attractions. Learn about Seattle’s historic waterfront and take in the view of the city’s skyline with a spectacular panoramic background of the Cascade and Olympic mountain ranges, including majestic Mt Rainier. See the houseboat and waterfront homes of the area’s rich and famous. Food and beverages are available for purchase on board the boat.
  • Cruise along Seattle's famous Ballard Locks
  • Enjoy views of Elliot Bay, Puget Sound, and Lake Union
  • Soak in the stunning city skyline, surrounding mountains and parade of sailboats and yachts
  • Pass the floating houseboat community from Sleepless in Seattle

Why Travelers Choose This Tour

Learn more about Seattle and the locks with another perspective of the city.

What's Included

  • Boat & Bus Round-trip Package - Includes the one-way cruise + a motor coach transfer to/from Pier 55
  • Live Narration on board the Argosy boat only. No guide or commentary on coach transfer
  • Local sales taxes
  • Food and drinks (available for purchase on board)
  • Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase on board)
  • Gratuities
  • Souvenir photos (available to purchase)

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

  • Pier 55
    1101 Alaskan Wy, Seattle, WA 98101, USA

    Argosy Cruises Main Marina Location on the Seattle waterfront Pier 55 - 1101 Alaskan Way Seattle 98101 Phone 206 623-1445

Start time

12:45 PM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Enjoy this entertaining and educational 2.5-hour sightseeing tour of Seattle from Ballard Locks. The locks provide a link for boats between the saltwater of Puget Sound and the freshwater of the Ship Canal, which then connects to Lake Union. Take in the seemingly never-ending view of the city skyline, including the Great Wheel Ferris wheel, the iconic Space Needle, the University of Washington’s Husky Stadium, the Cascade and Olympic mountain ranges and majestic Mt Rainier. Also see the houseboat community that featured prominently in the movie Sleepless in Seattle.

Learn how the locks work as the boat is lifted to the freshwater level of the ship canal. Then while leaving the locks, find out more about Seattle’s fishing communities and the Deadliest Catch boats.

There are food and beverages options available for purchase on board the boat.

This tour also includes a 20-minute motor coach transfer before or after the tour, assuring that the tour starts and ends at the same spot along Seattle’s waterfront.

Lake Union Park (Pass By)

Lake Union

Fremont (Pass By)

Pass under the Fremont Bridge

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Confirmation for this cruise will be received at time of booking
  • This cruise must be booked at least 48 hours in advance of your travel date
  • Limited space based on final motor coach capacity
  • Should you need an ADA accessible motor coach, please advise Argosy Cruises prior to travel date so that they can arrange for appropriate transportation.
  • Kids (3 and under) ride free - But do require a boarding pass
  • All minors must be accompanied by an adult
  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Stroller accessible
  • Near public transportation
  • Transportation is wheelchair accessible
  • Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
  • Most travelers can participate
  • All vessels offer both indoor & outdoor seating
  • All vessels have bathrooms
  • General boarding starts 30 minutes prior to the tour time
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 6 travelers

Cancellation Policy

This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

    about cancellations.

    Traveler Photos

    See more

    Traveler Tips

    The boat serve snacks and drinks for purchase, including some well needed icecream for that hot day!
    One note, the boarding ramp is very steep in the afternoon due to low tide.
    Reviews
    4.5
    310 reviews
    Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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    Reviews by Viator travelers.
    Showing 1-10 of 310 reviews
    Totally worth it
    Parker_T, Feb 2020
    Totally worth it! The tour circum navigates the Seattle waterfront and provides a rich overview of Seattle and surrounding areas.
    Love Argosy
    Daniel_A, Dec 2019
    Love the cruise. Love the narration. Loved Alex. 3rd cruise. Will take another. I appreciate the great personalities that work with Argosy
    Excellent
    Julaine0505, Nov 2019
    Tour was very cool and saw sites we had never seen before. Locks were very cool. Tour guide was amazing
    Locks Cruise
    mmilleranderson, Oct 2019
    The bus ride was a half hour before arriving to the boat. I wish the acutal bus ride was informative about the the town of Seattle as we drove thru the town. Once we got on the boat, the narration was wonderful. Extremely informative and felt worth every dollar.
    Perfect afternoon
    Kira_B, Oct 2019
    We lucked out with a sunny clear day so it made the trip even better. The ship was easy to board and left right on time. The crew were friendly and informative. Billy was the narrator and did an excellent job. The tour was very interesting and gave many opportunities for great photos.
    FANTASTIC
    Wesley_W, Oct 2019
    We took the bus to the boat and boarded. There were plenty of seats - inside and outside. But going through the locks was incredible. The views were close up and nice but I had never gone through a lock. Fantastic.
    Big Boat, lots of people
    Anne_B, Oct 2019
    Enjjoyed the scenery but did not see any salmon ladders or fish jumping and actually the boat was just too large for me. Enjoy smaller group experincees more.
    Wonderful afternoon on the water!
    Rolinda C, Sep 2019
    I thoroughly enjoyed the Sound and Locks cruise - the tour guide was very informative and we lucked out with great sunny weather. And the refreshing huckleberry vodka cocktail was very tasty!
    Highlight of our trip
    Carol G, Sep 2019
    This tour was awesome. We learned so much and enjoyed seeing all the sights. The day was beautiful with tons of sunshine! We are seniors, but I know the kids would enjoy this also.
    Great Tour
    Karen H, Sep 2019
    Great tour guide. He was knowledgeable and passionate. We had a great day and would recommend this tour to others.
    Sunny day an added bonus
    mparker497, Sep 2019
    A great cruise, informative and enjoyable. A good duration, and efficient boarding, disembarking and bus return. Thankyou.
    Great Sail
    Douglas_C, Sep 2019
    The only down side was the bus transfer but it became obvious why, you sail one way. The sights are great but the highlight was the commentary by the crew.
    Nice cruise
    JRees_J, Aug 2019
    Got into Seattle looking for something to do on a Saturday afternoon. Found the Lockes tour and booked for 5 people. Boat was clean, nice bar and snacks, and tour conductors were great. Very informative and friendly. Nice afternoon.
    Enjoyable locks cruise
    Richard_B, Aug 2019
    Fun trip. Samantha, the narrator, was very knowledgeable and talked the whole trip. Knows a lot about Seattle. Skip the bar, tho. Overpriced and the lowest quality.
    Exceptional tour, highly recommend
    Shalini_i, Aug 2019
    My husband and I absolutely LOVED this tour of Lake Union upto Puget Sound. Our tour guide - AJ - was REALLY great - he had so much information about Seattle's history, each of the buildings and neighborhoods we encountered on the banks of the water bodies, the locks themselves, the ships, the industries, trade that related to the port, and dinner recommendations for after the tour! The boat serve snacks and drinks for purchase, including some well needed icecream for that hot day! One thing I wish was possible to control was people moving ahead of others who were seated, and blocking their view, and a little bit later taking the seats that we not theirs - i know there is no reserved seating, but it is important to respect that the seats were "taken" or atleast ask. Nevertheless, we were able to move around, stand, and still take in the view despite those who were being inconsiderate!
    Great excursion
    Shane M, Aug 2019
    Had a great trip. Perfect weather. Host was very knowledgeable and did a great job. Very relaxing 2 hour trip.
    Ok Tour. Bad Tour Guide.
    Deborah B, Aug 2019
    It was really a 3 hr tour because you were at Pike Market for 2 hrs on your own. Should have done the 3 hr tour at half price. It's all about the tour guide and we had Lance from Northwest Tours. It was like being on a fourth grade field trip. Lance said no talking and yelled at an older lady who was talking with her friend. Said turn off phones and constantly quizzed us on the tour. Not fun at all Lance. We had no time at stops either.
    Response from Host, Aug 2019
    Hello Deborah, We appreciate the post. However, I believe that you may have mixed up Argosy Cruises with a tour bus company. Argosy Cruises does not offer any land based guided tours. Nor are we associated with the aforementioned NW Tours. Argosy Cruises offers water-based sightseeing tours - including a Harbor Tour, Lock Cruise, Lake Union or Lake Washington Cruise and our Tillicum Excursion to Blake Island. That said - Seattle is a great city to view from the water, and many of our local tour bus companies will recommend one of our narrated cruises as an add-on option to their own guided city tours - With our Lock Cruise being a fan favorite! Hope that you will have a chance to enjoy one of our many cruises in the future. - Your friend with a boat.
    Worth it
    Tiffany_D, Aug 2019
    We went for my best friends bachelorette get together. Loved all the history, narration and sights. Definitely worth it. You get more than what you pay for!
    Great Relaxing Cruise!
    Douglas_N, Aug 2019
    My family and I had a great time on this cruise. We enjoyed the scenery while sipping cocktails and getting a great history lesson about the surrounding Seattle area. The locks themselves were really cool as well!
    Wonderful tour with one significant suggestion
    Tyler_M, Jul 2019
    Boat tour was terrific, a beautiful day in Seattle with a great harbor and skyline. My only suggestion would be in respect of the narrator. While she was very knowledgeable and full of enthusiasm, she used the words, kind of, sort of to exhaustion. I would strongly suggest that she record one of her narrations and just listen to it. You don’t have to fill every second with speech (let nature do the talking once on awhile) but if you’re going to, please let it specific speech. That said, it was a wonderful experience enjoyed by our five grand children.
    ...

    Questions?

    Product code: 2960LOCKS

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