The Bellingham Cruise Terminal is a ferry terminal and transportation hub located in Bellingham, Washington, United States. It is near the Fairhaven neighborhood and was completed in 1989 [1] and provides easy interchange between various modes of transportation. Operated by the Port of Bellingham [2] the facility serves over 200,000 passengers a year. [1]
Ferry services include weekly Friday departures and arrivals on the state-run Alaska Marine Highway System. [3] There is also an additional summer ferry on alternating Saturdays. Alaska-bound ferries also stop in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, providing a direct link between the lower 48 states and northern British Columbia. [4] [5]
The terminal offers regular passenger ferry access to the nearby San Juan Islands, operated by private companies. [6] [ unreliable source? ] [7] [8] [ unreliable source? ] It is home port for small cruise ships, whale watching boats and charter vessels. [9] [10] [ unreliable source? ] Beginning in September 2020, the terminal has also been home to a temporary ferry to Point Roberts, providing alternative access amid the COVID-19 pandemic and closure of the Canadian border. [11]
The cruise ship terminal is located adjacent to the Fairhaven train station, which is served by Amtrak's regional Cascades service. It is the northernmost stop in the United States, with trains continuing to Vancouver, British Columbia, and south to Seattle, Portland, Oregon, and Eugene, Oregon. [12] The building is owned by the Port of Bellingham and also serves as a Greyhound bus terminal. Whatcom Transportation Authority operates local buses between the terminal and other parts of Bellingham. [13] Private airport shuttles offer scheduled service to Bellingham International Airport. [13]
A visitor information center is nearby on Harris Street. The Cruise Terminal includes a restaurant, [1] short and long term parking, and vessel sewer pump-out. [14] [15] The terminal is accessed from Interstate 5 via State Route 11.[ citation needed ]
 | This section needs to be updated.(April 2023) |
The proposed 2019 budget from the Alaskan state government includes $100 million in cuts to the Alaska Marine Highway system, representing a loss of 75% of current funding. With the cuts, the ferry system could be modified into a seasonal, summer-only service, or cut entirely. [16] [17]
Transportation in Puerto Rico includes a system of roads, highways, freeways, airports, ports and harbors, and railway systems, serving a population of approximately 4 million year-round. It is funded primarily with both local and federal government funds.
Bellingham is the most populous city in, and county seat of, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies 21 miles (34 km) south of the U.S.–Canada border and in between Vancouver, British Columbia and Seattle.
A ferry is a watercraft that carries passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water taxi or water bus.
Whatcom County is a county located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington, bordered by the Lower Mainland of British Columbia to the north, Okanogan County to the east, Skagit County to the south, San Juan County across Rosario Strait to the southwest, and the Strait of Georgia to the west. Its county seat and largest population center is the coastal city of Bellingham, comprising the Bellingham, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area, and as of the 2020 census, the county's population was 226,847.
Blaine is a city in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. The city's northern boundary is the Canada–U.S. border; the Peace Arch international monument straddles the border of both countries. The population was 5,884 at the 2020 census. Since Blaine is located right on the border with Canada, it is the northernmost city on Interstate 5.
Fairhaven was a settlement in Washington state founded in 1883 by Dan Harris. In 1903, it became part of the city of Bellingham.
The Alaska Marine Highway (AMH) or the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is a ferry service operated by the U.S. state of Alaska. It has its headquarters in Ketchikan, Alaska.
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Fairhaven Station, also called Bellingham, is a train station serving Amtrak's Cascades route, as well as a bus station serving Greyhound Lines and local Whatcom Transportation Authority buses, in Bellingham, Washington, United States. Built in 1995, the station is located near the Bellingham Cruise Terminal, the southern connection for the Alaska Marine Highway. Water Taxi services and seasonal whale watching excursions also provide connections from the Bellingham Cruise Terminal to the San Juan Islands.
The U.S. state of Washington is home to a number of public and private ferry systems, most notably the state-run Washington State Ferries.
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The Whatcom Chief is a ferry in Washington state, United States. The ferry carries both pedestrians and vehicles to Lummi Island from Gooseberry Point west of Bellingham, Washington.
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MV Tazlina is a ferry operated by the Alaska Marine Highway System. It began serving Southeast Alaska Communities in 2019.