Cruise ship season has arrived in Seattle
SEATTLE -- It's a sure sign of spring.
The first cruise ship of the season, the Norwegian Sun, has docked in Seattle. On Thursday, an eager crowd of passengers arrived at Pier 66.
It all thrilled Karen Johnson, who was guiding travelers to their ship.
"I love doing it. I love talking to people. It's my thing," she said.
The Port of Seattle shares her enthusiasm.
"I'm excited," said Michael McLaughlin with the port. "It's always exciting for the first cruise ship to show up."
The port expects this to be the biggest cruise season ever for Seattle. It expects more than 1.1 million passengers. That's about half the population of King County.
The port says each cruise ship that docks here pours $2.7 million into Seattle's economy.
That supports about 4,000 jobs.
The ships will keep coming. The biggest cruise ship of them all, the Norwegian Bliss, is set to arrive in Seattle on May 30.
