Princess tours: offering everything from cruises to bus trips to hotel accommodations, Princess sells about 250,000 Alaska vacations a year.

• Author: Friedenauer, Margaret
• Position: Corporate 100 Company - Princess Cruise Lines - Company Profile

From having a single ship cruising to Mexico in 1965, to a starring role in 1977 TV hit The Love Boat," Princess Tours, part of the Carnival Corp., catapulted to include excursions to all seven continents and nearly 260 ports around the world. Princess also led the way in Gulf of Alaska cruising and has maintained a strong presence in Alaska ever since.

But the big white ships and buses that dot the Alaska landscape in the summer have come to represent more for the state than just an invasion of tourists; the company represents a vital source of economic stimuli for the state's economy.

Princess Tours President Charlie Ball said in the cruise industry, Alaska represents 7 percent to 8 percent of all deployments. Princess is more skewed toward Alaska than most cruise companies, dedicating half of its 14 sailing ship fleet to Alaska during the summer months. But cruises are just the beginning of Princess' offerings in Alaska.

"We sell a quarter-million Alaska vacations a summer," Ball said. "From Seattle north, we're the company that operates everything that happens from when the gangplank falls."

Of the 250,000 Alaska vacations Princess sells a summer, one-third of those vacations included a cruise to Alaska waters.

Economic Impact

But as commanding of a presence the Princess name has in the state, the company relies heavily on Alaska businesses in providing services. Ball said while Princess takes care of the logistical coordination for cruisers' shore excursions, it depends on local businesses to facilitate them. "Of the 130 shore excursions we operate, all of them are materially run by private Alaska businesses," Ball said. Additionally, Princess purchases from more than 1,000 vendors across the state, from food and fuel to mechanical and heavy top-engine work for tour buses. Ball said in 2003, Princess spent nearly $80 million in Alaska, including $5 million in services from the Alaska Railroad.

Ball also notes the capital investments of Princess in Alaska. He pointed to the recent renovation of the Denali Princess Lodge in Denali Park-a $25 million investment that was designed, contracted and built by Alaska-owned companies. And, more than 1,800 people find employment with Princess in Alaska.

A Premium Experience

Being the major player in cruise and shore excursions in the state takes critical strategic planning of services and responding to a changing and unpredictable tourism market. Ball said being a successful tour company in Alaska...