Seattle Locks Cruise
Recommended by 96% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Seattle, USA
- 2 hours (approx.)
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Pass through the renowned Ballard Locks and learn about the complex system on a cruise that transports you between the freshwater of Lake Union and the saltwater of Puget Sound. The one-way cruise can be used as transportation, making it ideal for travelers who want to avoid traffic and enjoy a unique journey from the Seattle waterfront to the AGC Marina on South Lake Union (or vice versa).
- Take a one-way cruise through the Ballard Locks
- Pass by the floating community from the movie Sleepless in Seattle
- Get details about the sights through live onboard commentary
- Take photos of the Seattle skyline from the water
What's Included
- 2-hour sightseeing cruise
- Live narration
- Interior and exterior seating areas
- Restrooms available on board
- Snacks and beverages (available for purchase)
- Gratuities
- Transportation between start and end location (return bus ticket available for purchase seasonally)
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting points
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End points
This activity ends in a different location. See details below:
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Itinerary
Lake Union (Pass By)
Lake Union Drydock Co (Pass By)
Floating Homes Association (Pass By)
Gas Works Park (Pass By)
Fremont Bridge (Pass By)
Ship Canal Trail (Pass By)
Fishermen's Terminal (Pass By)
Hiram M. Chittenden Locks (Pass By)
Discovery Park (Pass By)
Puget Sound (Pass By)
Space Needle (Pass By)
Argosy Cruises - Seattle Waterfront (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- TWO DEPARTURE OPTIONS - This is a one-way tour that starts & ends at two different central Seattle marinas. Choose to depart from Pier 54 on the waterfront or from AGC Marina on Lake Union. The departure location is noted in the subtitle of the tour. If unsure - please call Argosy Cruises
- Check-in 30 minutes prior to tour - Boarding starting 20 minutes prior to departure
- All vessels offer both indoor & outdoor seating
- All vessels have bathrooms
- Wheelchair accessible. PLEASE CALL in advance to secure crew/boarding support.
- Kids (3 and under) ride free but do require a boarding pass
- Gates close 5 minutes prior to tour departure time for boat preparation and safety checks
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 175 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
It was a beautiful day to learn about Seattle on a locks cruise! The weather was great! The staff members were the best! The guide was personable and provided lot of info as we cruised from Lake Union through the locks into Elliott Bay to our destination at Pier 54. Anyone who wants to learn about Seattle and the bodies of fresh and salt water near it should book this two-hour cruise!
Reviews
4.8
based on 446 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Well worth the trip especially on a sunny and clear day. Great narration, just enough and lots of fun facts. Going thru the locks is a cool experience. We’re from here and absolutely loved it. One thing to just be aware of is, it is not round trip!
We had so much fun! The trip was informative, beautiful, and actually getting to go through the locks was a real treat! Highly recommend!
Excellent staff! Great tour guide and knowledgable crew. Covered both the fresh water side and ocean side. Love going through the lock and seeing Seattle from both sides! Highly recommend for small or larger groups. Time of tour was perfect to break up long day in Seattle.
Very good guide on the boat -but directions were not good to get there. Also no phone # Should not have to pay for ride back to parking lot. That should have been included
Wonderful experience, best way to experience the Ballard Locks, with great views of the cityscape, just dress warmly
Customer service was Top notch!! Our flight from Denver, Colorado was delayed by an hour and a half and we did not get to our hotel from the airport until 1:00 pm and the excursion was set tfor 1:30 therefore, causing us to miss our excursion. They were very understanding due to the fact that it was. Dying our control due to delay with airlines. They were kind enough to refund! Thank you SO much !!
Fun and informative! The cruise was the right way to appreciate the Seattle skyline and be introduced to its waterways. The commentary by Jackson was educational & entertaining!
Great views great guide. Boat very clean lots of viewing places
For those from Seattle a different perspective
Great experience! Highly recommend for a view of the lake and trip back into downtown Seattle. Great crew and fun facts along the way.
The tour guide was fantastic! Really interesting throughout. It was great going through the locks, and it was a nice atmosphere. Well worth the money.
It's an amazing tour from beginning to end! The Seattle Waterfront, and the Ballard Locks. Great narration
This cruise was a fantastic experience. From check in to the drop off, very efficient and enjoyable! Joseph tour guide and skipper Sean were top notch in narration and information. We learned so much about Seattle! Do not miss this cruise. Even if you've visited the locks, this cruise takes you through the lock on the water and from south Lake Union to the Puget sound and around to the waterfront. You'll learn so much more about landmarks in and around the neighborhoods along the water. We loved our time on a beautiful goldilocks weather day in Seattle!
Two hour cruise from the waterfront in Seattle through the locks leading to the lake. Nicely narrated with lots of info.
There is so much to learn on this short little cruise! House boats, floating homes, how much water is displaced while traveling thru
Awesome experience!
Diferent way to see Seattle from the water and learn interesting things about the locks.
This is great trip. Very interesting going through the locks. History of the area was a plus. We had a plus, since the Blue Angles were practicing over Lake Union. Also we walked to Dukes Restaruant for great lunch and took the street car back into downtown.
I've lived here for 46 years, and still marvel at the beauty of our area. I also was surprised about how much history I didn't know!
Great cruise. Very friendly staff!! It was very informative and staff ere great. Highly recommend. For all ages
Great day, wonderful commentary from Lars, and a overall great trip. Perfect day on the lake/sound.!
Double-check your ticket, my ticket did not match what I ordered online and customer service was not helpful as they are not given power to resolve issues and have to contact third persons with more power to authorize giving you what you actually paid for. Did it once, nice trip and nice staff onboard, but that's it.
I can’t recommend the boat cruise highly enough! We had perfect sunny, warm weather. It was a wonderful way to see Seattle, Ballard and Lake Union. Elena was great! Highly recommend! We walked from Union Lake to the space needle.
Did not realize we were not being dropped off at our starting point and had a 90 year old with us that could not walk the 2 miles back. Had to take a Lyft that was $$. Less than their return bus fee at $15 per person. Cruise and narrator/host was fantastic. Clear day and saw a complete Mt Ranier.
Great narration. Smooth ride. Do the 2 hour cruise. It will be the highlight of your Seattle experience.
However I fail to see why the Argosy needs to sail the gay pride flag on the bow. I don’t believe it had anything to do with the passengers or the experience.
We had a great time on this tour. Elle our tour guide was so nice and provided us with tons of information about the city and the attractions we were seeing. We would definitely recommend this tour!
Great views of the city from the harbor and the lake. An opportunity to take a boat ride through very active canal locks. Terrific narration.
The best way to see the City from the water! You see so much of Seattle! And the surrounding islands are just breathtaking!
This was a wonderful way to see and get a sense of the many water features in Seattle including spectacular views of Mt. Rainier. As someone who lives in Seattle, I have seen the locks from land many times but going through them was a memorable experience. I would hightly recommend this tour to everyone, locals and visitors alike.
This is my 2nd time on an Argosy cruise, I loved it! I did the 1 hour tour 10 years ago. This time we took the 2 hour cruise from Lake Union to Pier 54. What a great experience! The views were stunning, the bar line was always short and our tour guide Tim was fantastic.
The tour was great, and loved the narration! It may be worth calling to confirm the pier as our tickets listed the wrong pier at Elliott Bay.
This is the best cruise that Seattle offers. The crew was great. The information on the tour was great. Going through the Lock was a great experience . This cruise is a wonderful way to see Seattle
From $63.28
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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