Affiliate Disclosure

This site compares boat tours in Seattle and earns a commission when a reader books one through a link on these pages. That is the entire arrangement, and this page spells it out plainly.

How This Site Earns

The tour links on these pages carry affiliate tracking. When a reader clicks through and books a harbor cruise, a sunset sail or a private charter on Lake Union, the operator behind the listing pays a commission to this site. The reader's price stays where it was. A one-hour harbor cruise from Pier 55 costs the same whether the link carries a tracking tag or not, and so does every locks cruise, whale watching trip and dinner cruise compared here. Booking straight with the operator, or at the dock, simply means no commission changes hands.

Commissions from bookings are the only money this site takes in. There are no display ads next to the comparisons, no paid placements, and no operator has bought a kind word anywhere on these pages. Whether a tour leaves from Pier 55, Bell Harbor Marina or Lake Union Park, where it sits in a comparison follows its published price, rating and duration, not its marketing spend. If that ever changes, this page will say so before any new arrangement begins.

Booking A Seattle Cruise Without Us

Nobody needs this site to get on the water. Argosy Cruises runs harbor and locks cruises from the downtown piers, and Sailing Seattle sells its BYOB sunset sails directly. Walking up and paying on the spot is a normal way to book a Seattle cruise, and it has worked for decades.

These comparisons exist to cut down research time, not to stand between you and the water. Every operator named here, from Argosy Cruises to Seattle's Tall Ship to Candere Cruising, takes bookings without this site in the middle. If a listing on the live booking page answers everything you need, reserve there and skip the rest of this page entirely.

Money And Fair Ranking

• Reserving through a link here never costs extra. The commission is paid out of the operator's side, never added to your fare.
• Commission terms do not vary between listings, so a per-group charter that costs more earns more only because its price is higher, not because it is favored.
• No captain or cruise company has paid for space on these pages, and none can buy a higher position in any comparison here.
• Omissions come down to fit. A tour that answers a specific question gets the slot; a listing that pays nothing extra never buys its way in.
• Operators here have no way to buy placement. Nobody running a Seattle sailing charter or a locks cruise can pay for a higher rank, a kinder summary, or inclusion in a list. Positioning is worked out from the details published on each listing, and none of the tours compared on these pages are sponsored.

Where Each Figure Comes From

Prices, durations and ratings on this site match each operator's current booking page and can change at any time. A from-price such as $43 per person for a one-hour harbor cruise, or $827.63 per group for a private tiki boat charter, is whatever that listing shows, and nothing gets rounded or adjusted to make a comparison look tidier. Listings change. When a price moves, the newest figure lives on the listing, not here.

Most of the 21 tours compared here are priced per person, but several private charters use a per-group basis, and every price on this site carries that distinction. A charter reading from $605.27 per group, up to 6, is a whole-boat number, not a seat price. The dinner cruise at from $143 per person is a seat price. Confusing the two makes a good deal look expensive or a bad one look cheap, so the basis always sits beside the number.

What Each Booking Page States

The live booking page is the authority on what each tour actually includes. Whether a sailing is BYOB, a charter caps at six guests, or a whale watching trip runs three hours or five, the listing states it, and that page wins any disagreement with a summary here. From-prices shown on this site are starting points, not final totals, and free cancellation terms should be re-read on the listing before payment.

Spotted a price or detail that no longer matches the listing? Flag it here. More about how the catalog is built sits on the about page.