Cruise ships like the Koningsdam dock at the Port of Astoria.

The Port of Astoria is preparing for the first wave of the cruise ship season, with the first oceangoing vessel of the year set to arrive next week.

The port’s schedule lists 18 cruise ships with reservations to dock in Astoria. The first ship — the Sapphire Princess, holding more than 2,600 passengers — is planning to arrive on Monday.

Bruce Conner, who manages cruise ship marketing for the port, said he was pleased with the number of bookings as the industry continues to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’re just delighted,” he said. “The numbers this year are very, very encouraging.”

The port at one point had more than 40 cruise ships on last season’s schedule, but a number of cruise lines ended up canceling, and only half of the vessels docked in Astoria.

The port has only had one cancellation so far this year. Conner said he views the current schedule as solid and that one more cruise ship may get added. Cruise ships are typically a large source of revenue for the port, and often bring in upward of $1 million a year. Throughout the pandemic, as the cruise industry absorbed significant disruptions, the cash-strapped agency had to explore ways to mitigate the impacts.

“We’ve been able to wade through the challenges post-COVID, but there are still challenges out there for a lot of ports,” Conner said.

Conner pointed to the procurement of supplies and finding drivers to transport cruise ship passengers around as two lingering challenges.

As the Sunset Empire Transportation District and local school districts continue to deal with a bus driver shortage, Conner said the port has had to contract bus drivers from Portland to shuttle cruise ship passengers.

“We would love to use local (drivers) and the local school drivers would love to work for us, but they’re just really struggling with the drivers here locally,” Conner said.