If you're hoping to get out on the water on one of the ships during the festival, you should buy your tickets soon. Last I checked, the ships were booking up fast.

There are still prime time sailings available during the Parade of Sail from Quartermaster Harbor to the Foss Waterway on July 3 and during Commencement Bay fireworks on July 4. Those once-in-a-lifetime excursions are going to cost you – as much as $200 a pop to sail on the Kaisei or Nina. On the other hand, there are an assortment of tickets left during other days of festival in the $40 to $100 neighborhood.

You can also go online to buy boarding passes - tickets to get on the ships along the Foss Waterway. A $10 daily general boarding pass will get you on the class "B" and "C" vessels. A $20 premium pass will also get you on the Class "A" ships - Niña, HMS Bounty and Kaisei. You can get a four-day all-vessel pass for $60. (The Coast Guard Eagle doesn't charge admission.)

You'll be able to buy boarding passes during the festival, but you might want to take advantage of the advanced sales, says Matthew Erlich, media director for Tall Ships Tacoma. "Generally, our goal would be to sell as many boarding passes as possible in advance – it would save on the lines people may face at the event and get them in line more quickly to actually board the ships," he says.

To buy tickets or boarding passes, go to the Tall Ships Web site.