PHILADELPHIA -- With more cruise lines pushing to base ships at ports outside of Florida, an increasing number of passengers are starting their voyages out of the former Navy yard in South Philadelphia.

More than 92,000 travelers -- a 50-percent increase over last year -- are expected to board ships at the Cruise Terminal at Pier 1 this year, beginning with a Norwegian Crown ship slated to depart Sunday on a seven-day trip to Bermuda.

Travel experts say Philadelphia is cashing in on a post-9/11 move by cruise lines to make it so fewer passengers have to fly to distant cities to start their trips.

"People love it," Arlene Blosch, owner of the Travel Wizards agency in the Philadelphia suburb of Bensalem, said of Philadelphia's rising importance as a "home port" where cruise lines base ships for a season. "They don't have to get on an airplane ... dealing with the crowds, the luggage hassles, where they're treated like cattle."

The companies that will base ships in Philadelphia for the season -- Norwegian Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International -- have scheduled 32 trips from the terminal through late October. Last year, 65,000 passengers embarked on 22 cruises.

Ships operated by three other cruise lines are also scheduled to make port calls at the terminal during the season, officials said.

Having ships within driving distance of a port "takes air travel out of the equation, which cuts the time and lowers the cost of the cruise," said Adam Goldstein, president of Miami-based Royal Caribbean. "And the Philadelphia area is within four or five hours of a big percentage of the country's population."

Bensalem retiree John Ward sailed with his wife, Joanne, on Celebrity's Horizon last summer and plans to cruise to Canada from Philadelphia in August.

"We were surprised at how fast we got down to the ship and how fast we got out when we got back. ... And we saved almost $500 on the airfare," he said.

The Delaware River Port Authority said last week that it would spend $145,000 studying ways to keep attracting cruise ships and determine whether the seven-year-old terminal should be expanded or moved elsewhere on the Delaware River to help the business grow.

"We want to stay in the cruise business, and our plan is to keep it here," said John Matheussen, the port authority's chief executive.

But the growth is presenting some challenges.

The facilities, at times, are at capacity and the agency is looking at alternatives such as port facilities on the New Jersey side of the river, Matheussen said.

With the arrival of some large ships, there have also been some logistical problems with moving thousands of passengers and their luggage.

To try to address the problem, the Port of Philadelphia and Camden, which runs the terminal, is building a 4,000-square-foot temporary facility half a mile away.

"We have a limited facility here," port director Melissa Grimm said. "We need a 10-year master plan so we can accommodate larger ships."