It doesn't seem so long ago that the sight of a cruise ship on the bay was a surprise and even a shock, turning heads and slowing traffic. But these days, nothing seems more natural and good than a couple of ships gracing the B Street Pier.

Cruising is big, and it's only getting bigger. Nobody anticipated the steep upturn in demand for cruises in the post-9/11 tourism market, but cruise lines have been scrambling to accommodate, launching a new ship on the average of one every 70 days. Cruises offer the charms of a packaged vacation - exotic destinations, accommodations, meals, entertainment and activities included - with the flexibility to handpick local attractions and activities in each port. And better for skittish travelers, a cruise doesn't necessarily involve flying to foreign lands.

San Diego sits in the catbird seat to take advantage of this travel trend. The only trouble is, the area needs more cruise facilities. If you haven't been on a cruise to understand what port facilities are needed, think of an airport terminal. But instead of several hundred passengers arriving at staggered times for various flights, there are thousands who all want on the same ship at the same time. Check-in, baggage handling, security, customs, immigration - the whole shebang right there on the pier.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of the San Diego Unified Port District - not to mention the natural attraction of the San Diego Bay for cruise lines and their passengers - the demand for services threatens to outpace local ability to meet the demand. According to the Port's website, the next six months will see five cruise lines homeport ships 80 times, while another four will make 27 port-of-call visits. The Port's director of marketing, Rita Vandergaw, says this schedule can sometimes create logistical nightmares.

With the outdated facilities at the B Street pier, she says, "we can accommodate one ship well, but there are days when we need to accommodate three homeport ships," and they've had up to four. For instance, the Norwegian Cruise Line's Oosterdam is in every Sunday, the Carnival Spirit every eight days; predictably, their schedules regularly converge, and it's hit-or-miss whether there will be a visiting ship - or even two - competing for berth space. Such a pile-up has occurred, and will again.

For the well-prepared Port, it's a minor scramble. But for passengers, workers and local traffic, it can create a major hassle. A second ship in port means using temporary check-in facilities on the B Street pier - really a very large tent - while third and fourth ships are directed to the Broadway pier, where there are no facilities at all.

"We've had to rent hotels, space at the convention center and other places to check passengers in," explains Vandergaw. "We hire extra traffic officers, bring out more police and more staff. Traffic gets snarled; it impacts businesses, restaurants and hotels. We get some complaints, mostly from people who can't get taxis or buses, or get where they're going on time. We do our best to get the information out."

So why not turn away ships on busy days? "Two million dollars," says Vandergaw. "That's the average local revenue from each homeported ship. Tourism's just a small part of that; the major revenue is generated from ship services — everything from hull repair to piano tuning - over $100 million a year."

That figure is a fraction of the estimated $271 million indirect annual economic impact. Passenger transportation, hotel rooms, dining, crew medical services - the list is long. "A cruise not only needs everything for a ship, but everything for a major hotel as well," Vandergaw summarized.

Those numbers will keep growing. By 2015, look for a probable local impact of $715 million. Jobs supporting the San Diego cruise industry will jump by over half again, from 2,200 to 3,600.

Much of the growth can naturally be attributed to San Diego's own charm. Says Ann Eades of Coronado's All- Ways Travel, "Sure, why would you want to deal with the hassle of L.A. when you could cruise out of San Diego? The Mexican Riviera, Alaska, the Panama Canal to Miami - you have a lot of great choices here."

Eades points out that cruise passengers flying in from other cities have a lot of entertainment options while in San Diego, which plays especially well with the growing number of passengers who book a cruise as a large family event — people who look for more from their cruise package than just the typical floating resort. The San Diego Zoo, Sea World, Coronado - all are obvious attractions for cruise visitors, but even San Diego's relative proximity to Las Vegas and Disneyland can factor in a long-haul visitor's choice to embark here instead of, say, Miami.

Also in San Diego's favor are the relentless marketing efforts of the Port. "Our goal is economic benefit to the region," says Vandergaw. She works with cruise lines to convince them of the benefits of home-porting more ships in San Diego, and was a key player in the return of the cruise industry to the region after a long dry spell.

In the mid-90s, San Diego's cruise industry had only just begun to blossom, making the leap from being an occasional port-of-call to a prodigious home port. But when the state legislature banned gambling on all cruises with stops in any California port, cruise lines quickly felt the loss of gaming revenue. Just as quickly, they diverted the floating cities - and the large economic benefits they carried - to other destinations.

"There was a three-year hiatus where we lost virtually all cruise business," Vandergaw explains. "But along with a coalition of other California ports, we lobbied for a federal law change to override California's rule." The cruise industry came back slowly at first, but now, more comfortable than ever, promises to continue its rapid growth.

Vandergaw hasn't rested; she's been testing new ideas to bring more business to the region, as well as testifying further before Congress to work on changing other laws which have helped stifle the growth of the cruise industry. The Port spends between $50,000 to $100,000 a year to entice new cruise business to San Diego - such as Princess Cruises, beginning new homeport service here in 2007 — and works closely with cruise lines on marketing campaigns to pull in more tourists. San Diego is now the fastest growing cruise port on the west coast, second in traffic only to Seattle.

But to keep up with the demand, there will have to be some changes. "In the short term - our goal is in time for Princess Cruises' arrival - we want to establish a facility that will comfortably accommodate two home port ships." The Port envisions an entirely new look and functionality to Harbor Drive in front of the terminal, as well as improvements on the pier itself.

A new facility would add the tens of thousands of square feet necessary for adequate baggage handling and passenger check-in, while pedestrian overpasses would improve safety and traffic flow. Aesthetic improvements to the terminal itself are in planning stages, something that Coronado's Sandy Gunder says is San Diego's one shortcoming.

At home in Coronado, Gunder owns Kaffeen's, the Ferry Landing's coffee cart. She travels an average of two months a year with husband Hans, a bandmaster for Princess Cruises who is at sea an average of 300 days a year, and has seen over 40 international ports. "San Diego is my favorite U.S. port because of the people; they're the most friendly and accommodating. But the terminal could have a nicer entrance," Sandy says. "The way it is now, you come in the gates, walk alongside this very utilitarian building and come in the side door. There aren't even shops - maybe one - where other ports have T-shirt shops, jewelry, sundries, restaurants right there in the terminal, like an airport." She says that San Diego could, as other port cities do, create a more welcoming atmosphere with an entrance that reflects the beauty of the city.

According to the Port's Justin Kanoya, the warehouse look is on its way out. "The area will look vastly different in 10 years. New traffic flow, more room for passenger check-in, a new hotel, possibly retail space." The Port is even looking into a baggage program, already working in other cities, where cruise passengers who check their luggage in their local airport will next see it, hassle-free, in the stateroom on their cruise ship.

Long-range goals include developing the facilities to handle up to four homeport ships, a project which could cost between $50 and $120 million. Though a large agency, the Port doesn't have that kind of money just sitting around. Operating expenses don't come out of the taxpayers' pockets, but are funded by Port operations. Vandergaw explains, "The Port itself doesn't make a profit from the cruise industry - the cost of the infrastructure is immense. The money we bring in from the cruises goes to cover costs and continues to provide infrastructure."

She says that, to pay for the expansion, "the Port will work with the cruise lines to develop a fee structure," but will plan to finance the project. "It's a critical part of Port business. We'll do our best to put in the improvements needed to keep it here long-term."

Gunder points out the need for Coronado to put its best foot forward. "When you pull into any port, the cruise ship gives passengers a port guide, filled with useful information - language, tipping, government, how to get around - and local attractions. San Diego's is disappointing, almost empty, a tragedy for a place that offers so much. It talks about the bridge, but doesn't even mention Coronado Island. Passengers won't come here unless they already know about it, or take a tour like the bicycle tour or Trolley. We need to work with someone," she says. "The ship? The Port? - to get the word out, to get people on the ferry and over to the island.

"Once they're here - once they've seen the place - they'll thank us."