Anchorage - First Cruise Ship of Season Arrives in Port.

Anchorage - First Cruise Ship of Season Arrives in Port.

The cruise ship season has officially begun in Anchorage with the arrival of the first ship to the Port of Anchorage.

Holland America’s Amsterdam arrived early Friday morning carrying more than 1,300 people.

It’s the first of eight stops the ship will make here this summer spending roughly 16 hours in port each time. Many will head out immediately on excursions, but many will hit the streets of downtown Anchorage where local shopkeepers are waiting for them.

Local Anchorage merchants depend not just on the cruise ships that will visit the Port of Anchorage this, but the dozens of others that dock in Seward and Whittier and bus passengers to Anchorage from there.

Tourism officials say the outlook for next summer is even better with lots to look forward to, including the addition of a Disney cruise. The next ship to dock in Anchorage this year will arrive on May 30.