By Jerry Vaughn, Travel Talk

Not too many years ago, if you wanted to cruise to Alaska on a big ship, you were required to embark and disembark from Vancouver, B.C.

In 2000, however, all that changed when Norwegian Cruise Lines positioned the Norwegian Sky at the newly constructed Bell Street Cruise Terminal (Pier 66) in downtown Seattle. Since that time, Seattle has become a very popular cruise hub with nine large ships and four small ships plying the waters of Alaska representing five major cruise lines and one local small ship cruise operator.

Holland America has three ships home-ported in Seattle from late April to September. Princess has two ships, Norwegian has two, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity each have one and Cruise West has four. Unconfirmed industry rumors have at least two other cruise lines interested in sailing to Alaska from Seattle, but port space limitations make that difficult.

Indeed, many passengers sailing from Vancouver actually fly in and out of Seattle and are transported to and from Vancouver by motor coach because of lower airfares and the convenience of Sea-Tac airport. While those of us who live in the Seattle area probably don’t view Vancouver as a “foreign destination” in the classical sense, people from other parts of the country do and some feel a certain amount of anxiety with flying in and out of a “foreign” port with all the concerns about security, etc.

In 2003, Seattle added another cruise terminal with Pier 30, and in 2009, Pier 30 will revert to cargo operations and the cruise terminal will move to Pier 99. Seattle will welcome more than 200 cruise ship visits and nearly 754,605 passengers during the upcoming 2008 cruise season. The economic impact of the cruise industry in Seattle is huge generating $233 million in annual business revenue, creating 1,950 jobs and producing $6.2 million in annual state and local taxes. By any standard, Seattle has become a major seasonal cruise port nearly equaling Vancouver. The enormous popularity of Alaska cruise vacations seems to grow each year.

I believe the time has come to actively promote the Port of Tacoma as a home port for Alaska cruises. The economic impact could be substantial, particularly right here in Federal Way with our easy access to Sea-Tac airport and the Port of Tacoma and selection of lodging, shopping and eating facilities.

This is not such a far-fetched idea when you consider the proximity of the Tacoma and Seattle port facilities. It would be very much akin to Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Long Beach and San Pedro in Los Angeles, New York and Cape Liberty New Jersey, to name a few. Ships today are much faster than a decade ago, so the minor difference in distance is largely irrelevant. There is also potential for offering longer itineraries than the typical seven-day Alaska cruise with three ports of call and one major glacier visit. Eight- to 10-day options visiting up to five ports of call and two major glaciers are a logical path to the future growth of the Alaska cruise market so people can experience more and different things on repeat visits.

The Port of Tacoma could be an idyllic destination given its spectacular views of Mt. Rainier, major renovation of downtown Tacoma, the addition of the Chihuly Glass Museum, Ruston and other attractions. New hotels and restaurants are already in place. The potential for pre- and post-cruise packages with multiple-day hotel stays are significant.

Day trips to Mt. Rainier, Mt. Saint Helens, Ocean Shores and other areas all offer terrific potential. Local attractions such as the Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection, the Rhododendron Botanical Garden, Wild Waves and more could experience significant increases in visits by cruise ship passengers on organized excursions.

Federal Way already has a mechanism in place to actively promote itself for tourism with the Chamber of Commerce’s Web site www.federalway.org/.

While most communities regularly seek economic growth opportunities, I believe we are extremely fortunate to have one sitting right here in our own backyard if only we can cultivate it.

Jerry Vaughn is president of World Voyager Vacations in Federal Way and can be reached at jvaughn@worldvoyagervacations.com.