March 31, 2008
Here Come the Cruise Ships
This will be a Much More Common Sight Starting Tomorrow, Photo Courtesy of Flickr Contributor Tom Glanz
Here come the hordes ascending from the sea. The first of 211 cruise ships that will visit Seattle this season will dock tomorrow at Pier 66. The Celebrity Mercury will be the first ship to usher in an estimated 800,000 visitors to Seattle this season.
The arrival of cruise ships to Seattle is relatively new. Growing up in Seattle, we don't remember the ships arriving until the late 90s and, at that point, it was a handful at a time. The P-I reports that, in 1999, only six cruise ships docked in Seattle, bringing with them 6,600 passengers. That's a huge increase in boats and cruisers, which means big bucks for Seattle businesses. The Port of Seattle estimates that, for every cruise ship that visits the city, there is over a million dollars of business generated.
|
So much for quiet mornings at Pike Place Market! *sob*
Unfortunately, that estimate by the Port of Seattle is largely unsubstantiated. As a "home port" Seattle's main benefactors are charter buses, taxis, and of course, the port itself (airport and other fees) as most passengers, planning for the fixed costs associated with a cruise, choose to arrive just in time to ship out and leave upon their return to the dock.
The market, downtown, space needle, etc. do not see a huge economic benefit from these passengers. What we experience instead, is increased traffic on the highways and the waterfront, and the occasional sewage leak and fuel dump. Yay!
Abercrombie and Niketown rejoice.
Seriously, those are the only two shopping bags those people take back to the boat.
Cruise ships don't mean jack (probably) to local businesses.
Unless hotels and resturants aren't local businesses than I guess you guys are right.
Try looking at the average daily rate for a downtown seattle hotel in the summer compared to before we had cruise business and tell me there is no economic impact.
While the ships may irritate some, they do a TON for area business.
They dont irritate me at all.
I like seeing the streets packed with people. It makes things more lively. Plus the ships look cool parked in the bay.