Interesting background piece in today's Inquirer:

     Posted on Sun, Apr. 24, 2005

                        R E L A T E D   L I N K S
                        .  On the Web | CruisePhilly

     Cruise business booms in Philadelphia

     By Tom Belden

     Inquirer Staff Writer

     A record number of people who want a relaxing vacation without
boarding another packed airplane will head south this year - to South
Philadelphia and the city's thriving cruise terminal at the former
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.

     More than 92,000 travelers - 50 percent more than last year - are
expected to board ships at the Cruise Terminal at Pier 1 this year, starting
with the season's first departure today by the Norwegian Crown on a
seven-day voyage to Bermuda.

     "People love it," Arlene Blosch, owner of the Travel Wizards agency in
Bensalem, said of Philadelphia's rising importance as a "home port" where
cruise lines base ships for a season.

     "They don't have to get on an airplane ... dealing with the crowds,
the luggage hassles, where they're treated like cattle."

     Philadelphia is cashing in on a post-9/11 move by cruise lines to base
ships at ports outside Florida, so passengers don't have to fly to a distant
city to start their vacations. The ships that will use Philadelphia as a
home port this season will start cruises from other cities in the Northeast,
including Baltimore, Boston and New York, when they are not here.

     Cruising from Philadelphia has become so popular that there is concern
the terminal at the former Navy Yard will soon run out of room to handle
more passengers.

     The companies that will base ships here for the season - Norwegian
Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International - have
scheduled a record 32 trips from the terminal through late October. Last
year, 65,000 passengers embarked on 22 cruises. Ships operated by three
other cruise lines are scheduled to make port calls at the terminal during
the season.

     Having ships within driving distance of a port "takes air travel out
of the equation, which cuts the time and lowers the cost of the cruise,"
said Adam Goldstein, president of Royal Caribbean, which is based in Miami.
"And the Philadelphia area is within four or five hours of a big percentage
of the country's population."

     Bensalem retiree John Ward sailed with his wife, Joanne, on
Celebrity's Horizon last summer and plans to cruise to Canada from
Philadelphia in August. "We were surprised at how fast we got down to the
ship and how fast we got out when we got back... . And we saved almost $500
on the airfare."

     Last week, the Delaware River Port Authority said it would spend
$145,000 studying ways to continue attracting cruise ships and determine
whether the seven-year-old terminal should be expanded or moved elsewhere on
the Delaware River to help the business grow.

     "We want to stay in the cruise business, and our plan is to keep it
here," port authority chief executive John Matheussen said last week during
a walking tour of the $15 million terminal and cruise ship pier. The
terminal is in a 130-year-old former Navy machine shop at the foot of
tree-lined South Broad Street.

     Matheussen said the facilities, at times, are at capacity, prompting
the agency "to look at all the alternatives," including port facilities on
the New Jersey side of the river.

     This year's lineup of cruises includes the first regular sailings of
one of the industry's larger ships, Royal Caribbean's 2,250-passenger
Enchantment of the Seas.

     The Norwegian Crown will go to Bermuda over the next four weeks and
then return for four more cruises in September and October.

     The Celebrity Horizon, which has been based in Philadelphia for much
of the last two seasons, will make 17 seven-night voyages to Bermuda,
departing Saturdays from July through October.

     Prices for the cruises, which include meals aboard ships but not
alcoholic drinks or shore excursions, range from $599 for an inside cabin on
a five-night trip to more than $2,000 for a suite on a seven-night trip.

     But each arrival of Enchantment of the Seas will create a logistical
problem: how to efficiently move more than 2,000 passengers and their
average of 2.8 pieces of luggage while another group of travelers moves
through the terminal to depart later the same day.

     To solve the problem, the Port of Philadelphia and Camden, the port
authority division that runs the terminal, is building a 4,000-square-foot
temporary facility half a mile away. Arriving passengers and their bags will
be shuttled from the ship to the building, where they will clear U.S.
Customs. The building is next to a parking lot where passengers leave their
cars during the cruise.

     "We have a limited facility here," port director Melissa Grimm said.
"We need a 10-year master plan so we can accommodate larger ships."

     The Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp., the agency that manages
and markets the former Navy Yard, is working with the port authority to find
additional space at the yard to expand, said John Grady, senior vice
president of the development agency.

     Although buildings surrounding the terminal are already leased to
other tenants, "we have plenty of empty buildings at the Navy Yard," Grady
said.

     "Hundreds of thousands of people have been to the Navy Yard because of
cruises, which is great marketing for us," he added. "We think it's great
for tourism."

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     Contact staff writer Tom Belden at 215-854-2454 or
tbelden@phillynews.com.

         email this

***

Good thought food for vacation philosophy.  I have only done one previous
cruise and thought it was OK - 7 day Southern route Royal Caribbean - but
just OK for moi.  The 3 other people with me LOVED it.

I'm not really a cruise kind of guy, but the Mrs. and I'll bet my two
(single) adult offspring will love it.  I know they will.  My personal
indulgence trip this Spring is kayaking/backpacking the Susquehanna in May,
more my speed.

And I'll have fun, too.  Last time I mostly hung in the Karaoke lounge
attempting Bobby Darrin....oops, dating myself.  And trying not to eat too
much....I did try to stay in shape, jogging around the Promenade Deck the
first couple days....but you ever try to exercise in full view of people
lounging about, sunning themselves, eating shrimp and tossing back
Margaritas?...It's pure HELL!!