Over seven million passengers embark from US ports each year for cruise ship holidays. The direct economic impact of these operations is over $13 billion annually. Despite the large numbers, the US cruise ship industry is in its economic infancy with only an estimated 12%-13% of the potential market having taken a cruise. The upside for a port is tremendous. The trick is how to attract and retain cruise ship business. By George Lauriat, Editor-in-Chief, AJOTWith snow falling, the thermometer unwilling to inch above freezing, shoveling an imminent reality, and unrelenting gray skies, what sounds better than a cruise to the Caribbean? The entire notion of boarding a palatial cruise ship and sailing off into the setting sun is the sirens’ call to escape winter’s chill. And not a bad idea for the summer either. The initial question for a prospective cruise customer may be the itinerary, but the real question is what port will the ship embark from? For port authorities and city and county executives, attracting a cruise ship to either homeport or include their port on a cruise ship lines’ itinerary, is big business. The economic trickle down effect is simply enormous. According to a recent study by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA), cruise lines and their passengers directly spent $11.8 billion in 2003. Of this total, cruise lines spent a whopping $9.5 billion on support and services. Spending by cruise lines and their passengers has been increasing by close to nine percent annually, in the US. Attracting a cruise line to either homeport or base their ship at a port, or to include the port with a schedule, requires a convergence of very diverse economic interests. It is key for the port authority or city executive to understand the local or regional draw, and sell that potential to cruise lines. Sometimes the draw is pretty obvious. Four of the top seven US cruise ship ports are in Florida, with Miami topping the list. However, there are many cruise ports in North America that cater to a specific niche customer that is not quite as obvious as attracting snow birds. MS Marcia Duffy, Director, Cruise Marketing, for MASSPORT (Massachusetts Port Authority), based in the Port of Boston, had the job of trying to attract a seasonal cruise ship business. This process began in earnest almost exactly twenty years ago. “We started with the Boston-Bermuda route,” she explained. Advantages were the City of Boston’s own attractions, coupled with an infrastructure that, besides local travel agents to help with the promotion, included nearby Logan Airport and a large re-developed pier later re-named “Black Falcon Terminal.” After a fairly modest start, in 1991 an unexpected opportunity presented itself to build the business. “There were a number of cruise ships being re-deployed out of the Mediterranean because of the Gulf War which presented Massport with an opportunity.” In 1991, Seabourne Cruises not only came aboard with a New England-Canada itinerary, but also chose to homeport in Boston. In 1995, Majesty Cruise Lines (later acquired by Norwegian Cruise Lines) with the sailing of the “Royal Majesty” began regular cruises to Bermuda. Majesty Cruise Lines decided to homeport in Boston as well, which Duffy says, “put us on the map.” A great deal of the job was to bring “market awareness” to the local travel agents and everybody in the chain. From that point, Duffy says that business grew steadily through the mid-90s and has blossomed with the new century. “This is a market of 11 million people. With the third harbor tunnel [which connects Massport’s Logan Airport to South Boston near the Black Falcon Terminal] we have a unique situation of owning both sides…portal to portal. The close proximity of the airport provides airlift capability, while we have road and rail (AMTRAK at South Station) and now the Silver Line subway close at hand. The infrastructure and the fact that Boston is a city for all ages, and is family friendly, has all helped with the ports success.” One measure