BALTIMORE (AP) — Nearly a quarter million passengers set sail from Baltimore on cruises last year.

State officials announced Wednesday that the more than 240,000 passengers were second only to the year before when more than 251,000 passengers set sail from Baltimore. A total of 100 cruises left the port in 2012.

Cruise ships began making year-round stops at the port in 2009. Gov. Martin O’Malley says the total economic value to the state from cruises at the Port of Baltimore is about $90 million, and about 220 direct jobs are generated by cruise activity.

Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International offer year-round cruises from Baltimore. The ships sail to the Bahamas, Bermuda, Caribbean, and New England/Canada.

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)