More news about the new Terminal 91 cruise facility located below the Magnolia Bridge.  The world’s largest cruise line, Carnival Cruises, will begin calling on Seattle’s new Smith Cove Cruise Terminal next year.

The 2,124-passenger Carnival Spirit will dock at Smith Cove beginning on May 11, 2010. The Spirit is the first major cruise ship to call on Seattle regularly during midweek. The ship will leave on Tuesdays for a 7-day Alaska voyage through the end of August.

Carnival joins Norwegian Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Princess Cruises as a Port of Seattle customer.  These cruise lines have called on Seattle on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, leaving the port’s expensive terminals unused during the middle of the week.

Cruise lines generally like to begin and end cruises on the weekends because it allows vacationers to maximize their time away while minimizing their days off work.

The Smith Cove Terminal opens on April 12 at Pier 91.  It replaces a temporary cruise terminal near Safeco Field that served cruise passengers for several years before the port converted it back to cargo use.

The Smith Cove Terminal can accommodate two large cruise ships simultaneously. The Bell Street Pier Cruise Terminal near Pike Place Market downtown can berth an additional large cruise liner.