2003 Cruise Season Underway

More than 100 ship calls, 400,000 passengers will come to Seattle

The Port of Seattle's 2003 cruise season began Friday when passengers boarded Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Sun at the Bell Street Pier Cruise Terminal at Pier 66. The Port will see more than 100 cruise ship calls and approximately 400,000 passengers during the season.

"This cruise season is a real milestone for the Port of Seattle," said Port of Seattle Commission Chair Patricia Davis. "Not only will we reach the threshold of 100 ship calls, but we'll open a second cruise terminal and on Saturdays through most of the season we'll have three cruise ships in Port."

The Port's second cruise facility, located at Terminal 30, will serve Holland America Line and Princess Cruises. The $16.5 million, two-berth facility will host 22 sailings of Holland America's ms Amsterdam and 18 sailings of Princess's Star Princess. Both ships will conduct seven-day cruises to Alaska departing on Saturdays. The new terminal opens May 17.

New to Seattle this year is America West Steamboat's Empress of the North, a replica of a 19th century sternwheeler but with all the conveniences of a modern ship. Smaller than the other cruise ships based in Seattle, The Empress will conduct 11-day cruises to Alaska.

Norwegian Cruise Line, operating out the Port's Bell Street Pier Cruise Terminal, will offer a total of 42 seven-day cruises to Alaska aboard the Norwegian Sun and the Norwegian Sky, with departures on Saturday and Sunday.

The success of the cruise business in Seattle is due to the hard work by the Port, in partnership with community and business leaders, to create an attractive, efficient homeport for the cruise lines. The Alaska cruise market is growing rapidly, and we've captured a major share of that growth, Davis said.

"There's no better place to start a journey to Alaska. Seattle is an exciting, vibrant city with great natural beauty that is very popular with cruise passengers and the cruise lines alike. They particularly like our modern cruise terminals located within walking distance of downtown tourist attractions and easy access to Sea-Tac Airport."

"Each time a cruise ship makes a homeport call in Seattle, it injects a minimum of $750,000 directly into our local economy," said Port of Seattle Chief Executive Officer M. R. Dinsmore. "The cruise business supplements our traditional maritime industry by using tug and fuel barge services, Puget Sound Pilots and longshore workers," Dinsmore said. "But cruise ships also help spread the benefits of the maritime industry to other sectors of the economy, including restaurants, retail stores, hotels, transportation, tourism and entertainment."

The cruise industry generates 1,500 local jobs and $70 million in local business revenues. It also adds $4.5 million to local and state tax revenues. The Port plans to conduct an in-depth study of the cruise industry's economic impact later this year.

All of the cruise ships calling Seattle are among the newest in the industry and employ the most advanced environmental technologies for treating wastes. In addition, all of the lines operating in the Seattle-Alaska market have adopted and adhere to a "Zero-Discharge" policy while in Puget Sound.

"I'm confident that the cruise industry, and the benefits it offers to the local economy, will continue to increase for many years," Dinsmore said.