After about a half century in the business, Carnival Cruise Lines has become one of the industry’s heaviest hitters—its 29 ships are known today for parties and accessible pricing. The five sea days it takes for the Carnival Spirit to get to Hawaii (and the five days back) can be filled with standard big-boat amenities like musical shows, mini golf, and a spa. Once in the islands, day excursions offer a crash course in waterfalls, volcano tours, and snorkel outings. 

The one-night cruise can feel a little, well, ridiculous. Repositioning routes move from Seattle to Vancouver, BC, at the beginning or end of a season, offering super-cheap fares for a single night; think of it as a staycation-plus. This year Windstar will pilot its new 112-room yacht Star Seeker in a May overnight; Holland America will do the same with larger ships the same way in September. Ideal for the cruise-curious, or anyone who wants to test-drive a particular ship before committing to a longer route, they’re a goofy kind of mini voyage. Most operators offer a bus ride back to Seattle the next day.

The University of Washington built the MV Catalyst for oceanographic research in 1932, and the interiors still have the polished-wood doors and wood paneling that make it feel like an Agatha Christie mystery could take place onboard. With just six guest cabins, there are more nooks and crannies than passengers. Loose six-day routes from Pacific Catalyst around the San Juan Islands depart from Bellingham in early fall, with an emphasis on visiting wine, beer, and spirit makers across the archipelago. 

It’s what happens when cruising gets slow and skinny: the river cruise. American Cruise Lines, one of the biggest river cruise operators in the whole world, has routes up and down the Columbia River, most departing from Portland. Six boats operate on the river at a time, with every room including a balcony. Entertainment tends toward the evening lecture sort, not swimming pools or Broadway-style stage shows. But the unique style of cruising also opens up landscapes no megaship could dream of—like the cliffy geology of the upper Columbia, with excursions up Hells Canyon near the port of Clarkston in Eastern Washington.

Though founded in, of course, the Netherlands, Holland America Line is the rare cruise company based in Seattle. With dozens of departures out of local ports all season long, there can be a number of empty rooms on departing ships—and those of us lucky enough to live close can benefit. The company’s Standby Program allows spontaneous types to book a room for $99–129 per day in return for being willing to depart with only two to seven days’ notice. Holland America is even good for a late-October sailing from Seattle to Sydney, which takes 34 days.

Royalty is all over the cruise industry (think of brand names like Princess and Royal Caribbean). Nowhere is it more obvious than the Cunard Line, which dates back almost 200 years and whose vessel Carpathia rescued Titanic’s survivors. Its modern ships, the Queens Mary 2, Elizabeth, Anne, and Victoria, try to evoke a golden-era art deco sheen, though the company (which once carried Charles Dickens aboard) will end its Alaska routes this year. The September repositioning down the Pacific Coast from Seattle, through the Panama Canal to Miami, will be the last of its kind. 

Despite the growth of the company’s seagoing sector, Disney Cruise Lines doesn’t tie up in Seattle. The extremely family-friendly trips do leave from Vancouver, BC, with otherwise standard Alaska routes. A late-season repositioning route heads from Vancouver to San Diego.

There’s a whole lot of wilderness along the Pacific coast between Seattle and Ketchikan, most cruises’ first Alaskan port. National Geographic–Lindblad Expeditions is one of a handful of companies that linger along the coast of the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia. Thick with cedars, the shorelines are also home to hundreds of the famed Kermode bears, called “spirit bears” for their white or cream coats. Technically this route ends, as opposed to begins, in Seattle. But Lindblad’s smaller, science-minded ships are one of the best ways to hit this stretch ideal for wildlife watching.