Waterways Cruises Enhances Operations with New HomePort on North Lake Union

Dinner Cruise Company Focuses on Enriched Guest Experience; Executes Major Reuse and Revitalization of North Lake Union Property

SEATTLE, Wash.—(August 22, 2011)—Waterways Cruises and Events (http://www.waterwayscruises.com) has a new Seattle home. In a recently completed move the preeminent dining cruise and private yacht charter company signed a 15-year lease with Seattle Marina for 27,000 square feet of Lake Union waterfront at 2441 N. Northlake Way, transforming a former industrial site into their spacious new HomePort.

A functioning boat yard for 50 years, the property includes four separate buildings and 200 linear feet of waterfront, in addition to almost 500 feet of moorage. The new location offers on-site guest parking, a new commissary, a spacious outdoor patio with a striking view of the Seattle skyline and a covered tent area for guests waiting to board their cruises in inclement weather.

As part of an ecologically friendly refurbishment project, Waterways undertook a thorough clean-up of the site, repaired and repainted the structures and added 300 feet of landscaping along N. Northlake Way, while still honoring the maritime legacy of the Wallingford and Lake Union surroundings.

Founded in 1994 by Hilton Smith, Waterways Cruises began with a single yacht designated for private charters exclusively, and presently operates a fleet of three luxury dining and entertainment yachts (http://www.waterwayscruises.com/pages/waterways_cruises/fleet)—M/V Emerald Star, M/V Olympic Star, and M/V Destiny. Waterways Cruises hosts upwards of 40,000 guests per year for private events, dinner cruises and specialized on-the-water tours.

In 2010, Waterways Cruises launched Lake Washington Dining Cruises, which depart from both the Lake Union HomePort and Southport Pier in Renton, offering new menus, scenic routes and entertainment options. Over 7,000 passengers enjoyed happy hour, dinner, brunch and special event cruises in 2010.

Thanks in large part to the Southport cruise offerings, Waterways more than doubled their dining cruise business in 2010, a highly successful year by any measure. “Bookings for dining cruises in 2011, at the end of June, are again 100 percent ahead of those for the same period in 2010. Private yacht charters have also increased significantly, fueled by the return of the corporate entertainment market from Microsoft, Boeing, Google, Amazon and many other Seattle and Eastside companies. All-in-all our advance bookings for 2011 are 48 percent ahead of 2010,” says Waterways Cruises’ founder and CEO Hilton Smith.

Continuing, Smith said, “We’re very excited about this new location because it reemphasizes what Waterways is all about—an enriched Seattle experience of being out on the water enjoying good food and drink on beautifully appointed yachts. Locating in a former boat yard brings us closer than ever to Seattle’s century old maritime tradition on Lake Union and Lake Washington.”

Waterways Cruises and Events currently maintain a staff of 20 to 25 in the off-season and 50 during peak summer season.

Follow Waterways Cruises and Events Online
Website: http://www.waterwayscruises.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/waterwayscruise
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