Alaska sees record cruise numbers this summer.

• Author: Clampett, Bob
• Position: Tourism - Brief Article

More ships. More sailings. More passengers. More spending. It all adds up to the largest cruise ship season in Alaska history.

Led by Princess Cruises' 21 percent increase in passenger capacity, the 2002 season will see an estimated 728,000 passengers, up four percent overall from 2001, according to John Hansen, executive director of the North West Cruise Ships Association.

"Cruise passengers and crew in 1999 spent $159 million in Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka and Haines alone," he said, citing a 2000 economic impact study conducted by the McDowell Group. "Add additional spending in Skagway, Seward and Anchorage, all omitted from the study, and the number grows ever larger."

He pointed to a study released by the International Council of Cruise Lines, which documented $282 million in direct spending statewide in 1999 by the overall cruise ship industry.

Highlighting the 2002 season has been the addition of the 109,000-ton, 2,600 passenger, 1,100 crew Star Princess, the largest cruise ship ever to sail Alaska waters. Newest in...