PORT ANGELES — Fast on the heels of the giant cruise ship MS Zaandam that docked here last week, two visits by a small cruise ship are planned this week.
And unlike the 10-deck, ultra-sleek Zaandam, the cruise ship this week will recall America’s 19th century.
The stern paddlewheeler Empress of the North, operated by America West Steam Boat Co., will bring 160 passengers to the Port’s Terminal 3 pier at 7 a.m. today.
The visitors will disembark, and about 140 of them will take a charter cruise on the Port Angeles-based Victoria Express to Victoria, said Lori Gray, marketing assistant for the North Olympic Peninsula Visitor and Convention Bureau.
The remainder will spend the afternoon in Port Angeles.
The passengers will reboard Empress about 5:30 p.m. to return to Seattle.
The same schedule is planned by Empress on Friday in a cruise that has 111 passengers booked, Gray said.