Cruise line, ports agency sign deal

The State Ports Authority said Wednesday it has signed a new contract with Norwegian Cruise Line that will bring 36 of the company's ships to the Charleston peninsula this season, nine more than the previous season.

The agreement guarantees 105,000 passengers, many of whom will leave the huge vacation vessels to wander the Market and downtown streets.

All the NCL calls will be for cruises that begin and end in Charleston. Based on the new agreement, the SPA expects a record-breaking business for its new cruise season, which generally runs from fall through spring.

Last year's was the best on record, with 107,030 passengers and 50 vessel calls. In addition to NCL, at least five other cruise lines, including P&O Cruises and Holland America Line, are scheduled to visit Charleston as a port of call. Norwegian is the only line with an SPA contract.

"The NCL count alone will bring us to the total passenger count we had last year," said Byron Miller, SPA spokesman.

While the cruise industry is a small piece of the local tourism pie, it helps feed the region's tourism machine, said Helen Hill, executive director of the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

She said the stopovers give local merchants, tour operators and hospitality officials an opportunity to showcase Charleston to passengers who step ashore, if only for a few hours. The long-term goal is to entice those tourists to return in the future to stay at local hotels and eat in area restaurants, she said.

"That's the prime reason we're excited about the NCL contract," Hill said. "We have to attract new visitors who haven't been here before."

Not everyone is excited about the sight of more cruise ships tying up at the foot of Market Street.

Lance Hiatt, president of the Historic Ansonborough Neighborhood Association, said his group has reservations about increasing the number of vessels that visit the city.

In an August letter to the ports authority, Hiatt said that any moves to expand local cruise operations, such as the addition of a second passenger terminal, "will make living in downtown Charleston almost intolerable."

The SPA said it is now evaluating possible improvements to its existing terminal, but those do not include a second passenger facility.

Hiatt's group said it is primarily concerned about areas of the peninsula being overwhelmed by the volume of cruise visitors and the accompanying traffic issues. He said Wednesday that the association's views have not changed.

Reach Peter Hull at 937-5594 or phull@postandcourier.com.