The Port of Seattle is, you imagine, thrilled that, a few years after Disney picked Vancouver over Seattle as the embarkation point for its Alaska cruises, Disney has decided to give Seattle another chance. Disney will move 14 of the 18 cruises it had planned for 2012 to Seattle, all aboard the Disney Wonder, a 10-deck ship which carries 2,400 passengers, three swimming pools, and no casinos. This is family-friendly Disney, after all.

On their 7-night roundtrip cruise, passengers will stop in Skagway; Juneau; Tracy Arm, a fjord near Juneau; and Ketchikan, for a taste of Alaska. Canada doesn’t miss out on tourist dollars entirely; there’s also a port of call at Victoria, B.C.

Port representative Peter McGraw couldn’t speak for Disney on their choice, but he did mention that it appeared costs were lower in Seattle, and stressed that since the Port ran both the cruise terminals and Sea-Tac International Airport, there were conveniences it could offer passengers who flew in to cruise.

This year’s cruise season begins Friday, April 15, with the arrival of the Crystal Cruise’s Symphony at Bell Street Pier at 9 a.m. In the cruise business, the Port has something to be proud of in tough economic times:

Seattle’s cruise business—currently leading all U.S. cruise homeports on the west coast in passenger volume and number of ship calls—is responsible for more than 4,447 jobs, $425 million in annual business revenue, and nearly $19 million annually in state and local tax revenues. Each vessel call generates almost $2 million for the local economy.

In 2009, Seattle consoled itself at being skipped over with the news that Disney was rapped by Friends of the Earth for the environmental damage the group claimed its cruise ships were causing.

In 2010, FOE rated Disney “Most Improved,” but most importantly, when it comes to sewage, where Seattle’s  current cruise ship crop has sometimes failed, Disney scores an A. The Disney Wonder uses the most advanced sewage treatment available, and by the time it sails from Seattle, will also be outfitted to be able to plug into shore power, so its engines don’t have to power the boat in port.