Princess cruise lines will add 11 sailings from San Francisco to Alaska next year, boosting the total number of cruise passengers out of San Francisco's port to its highest level in years.

The 10-day voyages will begin May 29 and run through Sept. 6, said Princess spokeswoman Denise Seomin. She said the line was responding to customer preferences for cruises based out of the United States in the wake of the East Coast terror attacks.

"People are looking for something a bit closer to home," said Seomin. So her company is repositioning its Regal Princess, which normally sails around Scandinavia and Russia at that time, to San Francisco.

The 11 cruises will bring 35,000 passengers to San Francisco's Pier 35, boosting the annual total to more than 100,000 for the first time in 15 years, said Jerry Roybal, maritime marketing director for the Port of San Francisco. He said San Francisco has averaged 75,000 passengers per year for some time.

Roybal said a similar boost in local cruise ship activity was seen following the 1985 terrorist attack on the cruise ship Achille Lauro off of Egypt.