The Port of Seattle has announced that it welcomed 1,114,888 revenue passengers through its cruise terminals in 2018, the second year in a row the port exceeded the one-million passenger mark.

While celebrating 20 years serving the cruise industry, more growth is expected next year with the arrival of the Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas – a 4,180 passenger vessel that will be the largest on the West Coast in 2019 – and the addition of the Norwegian Joy, sister ship of the Norwegian Bliss, a 4,000-passenger vessel.

“This year, Port of Seattle is proud to celebrate our 20 years of serving the cruise industry, while also handling over one-million passengers for the second year in a row,” said Commission President Courtney Gregoire. “This continued growth points to a bright future for cruise in Seattle, and we are proud that each homeported cruise vessel brings approximately $2.7 million for our local economy. Through innovation and collaboration, we continue to work with our partners to make this the greenest port in the nation.”

The Port saw a 4-percent increase in cruise passengers over 2017, which brought 1,071,594 revenue passengers. Seattle’s cruise business – currently said to be leading all cruise homeports on the West Coast in passenger volume – is responsible for over 4,000 jobs, $501 million in annual business revenue, and $18.9 million annually in state and local tax revenues.

In 2019, the Port of Seattle will host 11 homeported ships for Carnival, Celebrity, Holland America, Norwegian, Oceania, Princess and Royal Caribbean.