By Carla Lucchetta
Contributing writer

When the cruising season ends in September, the city is expected to report its 19th straight year of revenue growth from the industry. Last year, more than a million Alaskan cruise passengers contributed $508 million to the B.C. economy—most of it in Vancouver. The cash infusion included everything from pilot and berthing fees to provisions for the ships and passenger spending on shore.

Already ranked the third most popular cruise destination, the Alaska trip is expected to become even more popular. In fact, Seattle has spent considerable time and expense courting cruise line business in recent years. Last year, Norwegian Cruise Lines’ Norwegian Sky—the vessel recently involved in an accident near Victoria that injured several people—made history by being the first Alaska cruise to call the Port of Seattle home.

With bigger plans in the works in Seattle, Vancouver risks losing ground to its neighbour to the south, which is more determined than ever to claim the title "Gateway to Alaska."

Although Alaska cruising began in the 1950s, the industry didn’t take off until the 1980s, when major international cruise lines such as Holland America and Princess Cruises entered the market. Vancouver has been the home port for Alaska cruises since the beginning, in large part because of a piece of outdated 1886 U.S. legislation. Intended to protect the American shipping industry, the law restricts cruise ships built and registered in Europe from sailing directly from one U.S. port to another without making a foreign stop in between.

Since Alaska and Seattle are both U.S. ports, cruises must either originate from Vancouver or, if they begin in Seattle, stop in Vancouver or Victoria on their way north. Because Vancouver is closer to Alaska, cruise lines that start here are able to offer more Alaskan port stops and land tours, making it the preferred embarkation point.

Tired of being left out of the loop, Seattle port and tourism officials began dreaming up improvements to Bel Pier in 1996, when they had yet to attract even one cruise line. Adopting an "If you build it, they will come." philosophy, the port began renovations in 1998 and subsequently secured a four-year contract with Norwegian Cruise Lines. The work was completed prior to the start of the cruise season in May.

Luring business away from the Port of Vancouver, which has had years to perfect its berthing practices and train employees about the cruise industry, hasn’t been easy. The Port of Vancouver began a major renovation last year, allocating $89 million to build a new and longer berth at Canada Place to house even the largest ships by 2003. Currently, there are two berths at that location and two further east at Ballantyne Pier, although Canada Place is the more attractive embarkation site, closest to five-star hotels, restaurants, shopping and tourist attractions. Once renovations are completed, space for passengers, baggage and truck, bus and taxi access will be expanded. Another challenge for Seattle is a 1995 Canada-U.S. open-skies agreement that allows more direct and frequent flights to Vancouver from American cities, which helps attract passengers for pre- and post-cruise stays.

One factor working in Seattle’s favour, however, is that Americans—who make up the majority of the Alaska cruise market—believe it’s easier to fly to Seattle to begin their cruises. Given the popularity of Alaska cruises, Seattle predicts business will spill over to that city. And although they know they’ll never corner the market, they’re making inroads in roundabout ways.

Before her inaugural voyage to Alaska at the end of May, Royal Caribbean International’s Radiance of the Seas spent most of the month sailing on three- and four-day mini-jaunts, dubbed "pocket cruises" by the industry. Round-trip from Seattle, with stops in Vancouver and Victoria, travellers paid as much as $1,829 (U.S.) and as little as $379 U.S., not including airfare, for the privilege of travelling aboard one of the largest, most extravagant new vessels.

It was the first time Royal Caribbean International had offered pocket cruises—designed to whet the appetites of novice cruisers—although Norwegian Cruise Lines began Pacific Northwest excursions out of Seattle Port last year. Next year they’ll be joined by Holland America’s version.

A passenger survey report commissioned two years ago by an alliance of interested parties in B.C., including Tourism Vancouver, the Vancouver Port Authority and the Vancouver Airport Authority, identified "in-transit" passengers—those who board the ship in a port other than Vancouver, as in the "pocket cruises"—as the biggest growth sector in the Alaska cruise industry. Although Tourism Vancouver officials are quick to point out that these passengers spend money in Vancouver during their day-long port stays, what they neglect to mention is the loss of coveted pre- and post-cruise dollars spent on hotels, restaurants, shopping sprees and sightseeing trips. While "pocket cruises" add length to the cruise season, they also give Seattle a chance to show itself off, and its new Bel Pier digs, to cruise lines and their clients, giving them a taste of what Seattle-based excursions have to offer.

At the same time, after many years of trying to update the U.S. law requiring foreign port stops, Seattle officials are taking a new tack. A U.S. Cruise Vessel Act recently passed will allow foreign-flagged cruise ships into the U.S. port-to-port market, provided they have a contract with a U.S. shipyard to build ships that, in time, could replace those that are foreign-made. Doug Williams, media officer for Port Seattle, says a coalition of ports and travel industry members is working to put the plan into effect. If the U.S. starts building luxury ships, it could result in new itineraries, thereby luring new business.

So why is Seattle going so far to get a piece of the action? The worldwide cruise industry is big business, competitive and innovative. The North American market alone consists of 34 cruise lines operating 130 ships, with 30 new vessels and 48,000 berths due to be added by 2002. There is an embarrassment of itineraries to choose from, all designed to keep companies viable and add market share.

Cruisetours, as they’re called, are available in choose-your-own packages, with every possible scenario for length of trip, ports of call, pre- and post-cruise stop-overs, shore excursions, and land-sea tours. Travellers can go as near as the Inside Passage and Glacier Bay, travel further north to the Fjords, or as far into Alaska—by ship and rail—as Fairbanks, and beyond. Princess Cruises, for example, has built signature lodges to accommodate its land/sea offerings, and in addition to Alaska, has sidetrips to the Canadian Rockies.

Over the course of a couple of decades, the cruise industry has become a vital part of this city’s tourism profit. Reportedly, each cruise ship contributes $1.5 million to the B.C. economy as it passes through the Port of Vancouver from May to September. The ships also employ crew, medical and transportation professionals; cruise line agents; ship chandlers and suppliers; ship services and repair people; stevedores;—not to mention extra staffing by hotels, restaurants and shops near Canada Place.

To stay on top of this wide-reaching industry, marketing representatives from Tourism Vancouver meet with the cruise lines to brainstorm promotional and cruise itinerary ideas, and take part in trade shows. They work closely with organizations like the Pacific Rim Cruise Association to present events like Cruise-a-thon and Cruise Fest, which attract thousands of travel-trade professionals who sell cruise packages, ideally with all the Vancouver extras. Hotel sales and marketers conduct their own meetings to firm up promotional packages. "The U.S. is a large tourism market for us and the only way to be effective is to work with tour operators that already have the reach," says Dayna Lembcke, manager of marketing development and leisure travel for Tourism Vancouver.

Asked if she’s worried about Seattle encroaching on Vancouver’s business, Lembcke says this city has many factors in its favour, besides being closer to Alaska. "We are way ahead of the game because of our many years as home port to the Alaskan cruises. Vancouver scored very high ratings in our 1999 passenger survey," she says, adding, "We don’t take this position for granted."

On a Saturday in May at the Canada Place berth, as many as half the passengers on a pocket-cruise from Seattle to Vancouver and Victoria remain on board. The open area pool on Deck 11, shielded from the outside breeze, is full of swimmers and sunbathers. Some passengers are using the fitness centre, mini-golf and basketball court for kids, while others wander the halls, familiarizing themselves with the nooks and crannies of the enormous ship. The duty-free shops and casino are closed until sailing, but the gift shop, coffee bar, restaurants and lounges are doing brisk business. One couple on their first cruise say they briefly ventured into Vancouver but returned to the ship, reasoning that they’ve already paid for an all-inclusive trip.

Mike Strange, a repeat cruiser who often takes half-price "repositioning tours"—when a ship moves to another part of the world at the end of a tour season—is treating his family to this mini-cruise and has no interest in disembarking. "I don’t care where I am," says Strange, who hails from McMinnville, a small Oregon community. "Vancouver is just another big city."

Doug Williams, spokesman for Port Seattle, says this year’s pocket cruises are booked solid, evidence that efforts to attract the elusive younger market are working—cruising the world has traditionally appealed to older, retired, moneyed folks.

The impact of these mini-trips has yet to be felt. But with the addition of pocket cruises next year by Seattle-based Holland America and Seattle’s ambitious plan to bring cruise-ship building to the United States, Vancouver may well be in the position, in the next few years, of defending its territory and its revenue.

What sounded like good old-fashioned American hype a few years ago is quietly coming to fruition, starting now.

It’s a sunny Saturday afternoon at Vancouver’s waterfront, clear but breezy. The North Shore mountains are visible up to their snowy peaks, and a wind is lightly rippling the water.

Lining the walkways around Canada Place, friends and family wait to wave bon voyage to Alaska-bound passengers boarding two enormous cruise ships tied up on either side of the white sails—Holland America’s Zaandam and Royal Caribbean International’s brand new Radiance of the Seas.

At 962 feet long and more than 90,000 tons, the latter is a veritable floating island that skims under the Lions Gate Bridge. Capable of carrying 2,100 passengers, Radiance offers a Vegas-style casino, opulent atrium lit up to the 13th deck, rock-climbing wall, children’s playground, daycare, miniature golf course, Internet café and library, running track, theatre and cabins with private balconies.

Radiance is one of seven new ships to arrive in Vancouver this year, five of them in their inaugural year. Two, including Radiance of the Seas and Celebrity’s Infinity, are substantially larger than their predecessors, with more space per passenger.