Cruise lines are big business. The Maryland Port Administration estimates the 13 cruise ships that docked in Baltimore in 1991 brought over 7,000 tourists here, generating some $2.6 million for the local economy. No wonder Gov. William Donald Schaefer stresses the importance of making Baltimore a more important East Coast cruise center.
The benefits from cruise lines go far beyond what is usually associated with shipping, such as re-fueling, the tugboats and the dockside work crews. Passengers aboard these ocean liners spend an average of $337 during a port stay.
Three years ago, the MPA created a task force, bringing together representatives from the tourist industry, state and local governments and the U.S. Customs Service. The group has had some success. In 1992, 17 ships either departed or docked at the Dundalk Marine Terminal, a 23 percent increase from the prior year. The increase was attributed to the task force's effort to contact cruise lines directly to make their Baltimore pitch, their confidence that the state's ban on gambling on cruise ships would be lifted and the possibility of a new cruise terminal near the Inner Harbor.