Another port of call for cruises on the Columbia and Snake rivers will be welcoming passengers in the coming years.

Port of Wall Walla commissioners recently authorized port staff to finalize a lease agreement with American Cruise Lines Inc. for the port’s high dock and about two acres of surrounding land in Burbank.

The first cruise, a 16-night roundtrip excursion from the cruise line’s regional base in Portland, is scheduled to stop at the dock in May 2027.

That brings the port close to the finish line after years working with the river cruise operator to secure a new source of tourism dollars for the region.

“It’s an important area for us and also a very popular area for people around the country for a variety of reasons,” Mark Freeman, the cruise line’s government affairs manager, recently told commissioners. “For many, this is a scouting expedition for visitors for future trips.”

American Cruise Lines operates 28 small cruise ships on more than 50 itineraries on rivers across the U.S. It currently offers three itineraries in the region, two of them calling at Richland’s Howard Amon Park dock.

The port has worked with American Cruise Lines since late 2024 to formalize long-term land and dock use to support expanded and year-round tourism activity at the port’s Burbank Marine Terminal.

Last year, the port began working with engineers to make improvements at the facility, both to the dock and road access from Second Street, specifically a drop-off loop near the dock. Port officials told commissioners that work is currently estimated to cost about $1 million to complete.

The current draft of the lease agreement, which is still being finalized, calls for a 20-year lease, with American Cruise Lines paying $58,141 to lease the land and dock in 2026, with escalation built in each year so that the final year of the agreement would cost $84,700.

The agreement also would give the cruise line a 25% share of any dock fees paid by any third parties who also use the facility.

American Cruise Lines announced the future Grand Columbia & Snake Rivers Cruise in early March. That excursion, which will use one of the line’s newest ships, will stop at Richland on its way upriver before turning around at Lewiston. The ship would call at Burbank on the way back to Portland and offer excursions to Walla Walla.

Freeman said the company is eager to work with the port on filling out itineraries for passengers when they can get off the boat in Burbank.

“There are discoveries to be had by all these passengers who come from around the country, and in some cases from around the world, to come here to Walla Walla and discover what the area has to offer,” he said.