All aboard

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The Grandeur of the Seas offers four- and five-night Western Caribbean cruises.

The Port of Tampa is Florida's largest cargo port and it's now the home of Royal Caribbean International's Grandeur of the Seas.

The luxury liner offers four- and five-night Western Caribbean cruises from Tampa through next April.

Granduer of the Seas' inaugural voyage was out of the Port of Tampa Saturday. The cruise ship was originally scheduled to sail from the Port of New Orleans during this winter season, but was redeployed to Tampa because of Hurricane Katrina and the damage caused on the Gulf Coast.

Many passengers from the Bay area said it's great to have the ship in their backyard.

"We like the idea," one passenger said. "It's a half hour to go cruising on a nice ship. Frequently, we go down to Ft. Lauderdale. It's a long ride. This is really very nice."

However, it's not just the convenience; it also makes a huge economic impact. Local businesses said it can only help because so many people visit the area to see the cruise ships.

Restaurant owner Guy Reblle said having the Grandeur ship helps the local economy.

"Anything that the port does, especially regarding cruise ships is great for our business," Reblle said. "All the activity down here. What we're amazed about is how many locals come down here just to see the cruise ship, whether they're docking or taking off."

Port Authority Marketing Director Greg Lovelace said the economic impact to the Tampa Bay area will be significant because of the ripple-down effect.

"Truck drivers delivering goods to the local businesses here that are selling goods to passengers as they come into the airport or driving in from other areas," Lovelace said.

Convention and Visitors Bureau representative Karen Brand said the Grandeur of the Seas can only be good for the Tampa Bay area.

"Cruise is one of the top 10 things we know our visitors come into the market to do, so we're really excited about this additional ship creating more tourists, which in turn creates more economic impact for our community," Brand said.

The ship will make 32 sailings from Tampa between December 3 and April 2006.

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