SEATTLE — Cruise ships that had been scheduled to visit Mexico will now head north instead, with some stopping for a visit in Seattle each week starting this Thursday, a move that will provide an unexpected tourism opportunity for the region.
The Port of Seattle issued a warning Friday to businesses, communities and maritime groups, noting it expects both Royal Caribbean and Carnival cruise lines to dock in Seattle each Thursday at least until the end of July.
That will bring an additional 6,000 visitors to Seattle each week, noted Sandy Ward of the Future of Flight Museum and Boeing Tour in Everett. She said she expects many of them to visit the museum and plant tour, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the state.
“The can’t all go watch them toss fish at Pike Place Market,” she said. “We’re excited about getting a piece of that pie.”
The Seattle port noted that the cruise lines have suspended regular Mexico visits that leave from Los Angeles and San Diego because of swine flu. Their new itineraries will take them to Oregon, Washington and British Columbia.
Seattle is a regular beginning and ending point for cruises to Alaska.
Now both Carnival and Royal Caribbean want to make the city a port of call for customers to visit, the port said in its alert.
The vessels expected to visit Seattle are the Mariner of the Seas (Royal Caribbean), set to visit from Thursday through July 30, and Carnival Splendor (Carnival), tentatively scheduled from Thursday though the end of summer.
“Docking in Seattle will be a single-day visit during a seven-day itinerary,” the port wrote.
Astoria, Ore. is also being considered as a port of call, according to the Associated Press.
Officials at the port there expect the Mariner of the Seas to dock May 12, the Daily Astorian newspaper reported, noting the last-minute requests have sent local cruise ship planners into a frenzy.
The Astoria port had 12 cruise ships planned for this year, and Royal Caribbean had initially inquired whether the Mariner of the Seas could make 12 additional calls to Astoria — one every Tuesday through July.
“What we did all day yesterday is we talked about and planned an arrival of a cruise ship with 3,100 passengers,” Bruce Conner of Sundial Travel, who handles cruise ship marketing for the Port of Astoria, told the local newspaper. “They were identifying what ports have the ability to handle these large ships. We felt we could handle it, and we demonstrated it. … We were honored and flattered they’d consider Astoria a port in a storm.”
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