Rising Tide

They pour into Seattle by the hundreds of thousands: cruise ship passengers from all over the world, clamoring to board floating cities for slo-mo luxury tours of Puget Sound and points beyond. Seattle has become a major launching spot for cruise ships setting sail to southeast Alaska, home to cavorting whales, calving glaciers and staggeringly beautiful snowy-mountain vistas.

Beginning on May 28, the Disney Wondera 964-foot-long, 83,000-ton temporary home to as many as 2,700 travelerswill launch the first of 14 seven-night cruises from Seattle in 2012, steaming north to the scenic Tracy Arm Fjord and the Alaskan cities of Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan, as well as Victoria, British Columbia.

Thats good news for the local economy. The Port of Seattle reports that each ship sailing from Seattle to Alaska leaves about $1.9 million in its wake, as passengers shop here, eat here and stay at local hotels. Additionally, in 2011, the cruise industry created more than 4,400 jobs and generated $18.9 million in state and local taxes, according to the Port.

The number of Alaska-bound cruise passengers departing from Seattle is expected to pick up this year, according to Port of Seattle spokesman Peter McGraw. The Port experienced a drop in passengers from a record 931,698 in 2010 to last years 885,949.

That was due to the cruise lines decisions to move a couple of homeport ships to other markets, McGraw explains. Holland America moved one seven-day line to Europe and Princess moved its 14-day ship to Europe as well.

For 2012, the Port is estimating a bump up to 880,918 passengers. The final number could be higher, because often the ships run at more than 100 percent capacity, he says.

This bustling cruise business is a critical component of Seattles tourism industry, according to Seattles Convention and Visitors Bureau, and it appears on track to keep growing. Cruise Lines International Association, an industry group that represents nearly all the major lines, says Alaska is the second most popular destination for cruisers. Only the Caribbean is visited more.

Disney becomes the seventh major linejoining Holland America, Princess, Carnival, Norwegian, Celebrity and Royal Caribbeanto dock its behemoth waterborne megahotels in Seattle. Of course, environmentalists are concerned about the impact those ships could have. A typical one-week voyage can produce hundreds of thousands of gallons of sewage, millions of gallons of gray water from sinks, kitchens and laundry facilities, and tons of trash, according to the national environmental advocacy group Friends of the Earth, which tracks the cruise ship industry. The ships also kick out pollutants like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen from their enormous engines.

The dirtiest fuel on the planetbunker fuelis burned on cruise ships, says Marcie Keever, oceans and vessels project director for Friends of the Earth. Bunker fuel is thousands of times dirtier than on-road diesel truck fuel. Its so heavy, its in almost a semisolid state.

The good news is that increasing regulations and voluntary efforts by the cruise lines are improving the environmental picture. The Port of Seattle has installed a shore power infrastructure at Pier 91 that allows cruise ships to plug in instead of running their engines to provide on-board electricity while docked. The power supplied by ports on the West Coast is considerably cleaner [than running engines], with air pollution benefits, says Keever.

Many of the cruise ships have also installed wastewater-treatment plants. That includes Disney, which earned a most improved rating on Friends of the Earths annual cruise line scorecard. Disney is doing the right thing, Keever says, and theyre going in the right direction.

Since federal regulations require ships to discharge treated water outside Puget Sound in the open ocean at least three miles from shore, the direct impact on the Sound is minimal. When in international waterscruising past Canada, for instanceships must be at least 12 miles out to sea. Disney says it goes a lot further, citing voluntary efforts focused on utilizing new technologies, increasing fuel efficiency, minimizing waste and supporting conservation worldwide, says Bert Swets, vice president of marine and technical operations for Disney.

We have dedicated environmental officers aboard each Disney ship responsible for all recycling, waste minimization and environmental compliance, adds Swets. We were also the first in the industry to apply a special eco-friendly hull coating to our ships.

Tom Bancroft, executive director of the environmental advocacy group People for Puget Sound, says Disneys entry into the Seattle cruise market could be an environmental plus. Disney has a great opportunity to raise the bar for the cruise industry here, Bancroft notes. Theyve got an opportunity to provide environmental educational opportunities while on Puget Sound. I think the chance for people … to get that perspective while on a cruise is just fantastic. We want to see people from all over the country come and say, This should be protected.