More West Coast Passengers Boarding Hawaii Cruises

More than 104,000 travelers arrived in the islands on cruise ships - mostly from the West Coast - in the first 11 months of last year, according to the most recent data available.

That's a 14.5% increase from the same period in 2010. There were 59 cruise liners that pulled into Hawaii ports during that time, an increase of 11.3%.

There are several reasons for the growth, industry experts say, including the presence of more cruise ships in the Pacific - and a fear among some travelers of ongoing drug-cartel related violence in Mexico.

The industry still hasn't recouped a pre-recession peak of about 130,000 passengers reached in 2007, but travel agents say demand for West Coast to Hawaii cruises is strong.

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