Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

Statewide, prospects for a 2021 cruise ship season are looking up, but in Haines, the hope of port calls from large ships has been almost entirely extinguished.

President Joe Biden Monday signed a bill temporarily exempting foreign flagged cruise ships from mandatory stops in foreign ports when sailing between U.S. ports. The requirement had prevented most large ships from visiting Southeast due to the ongoing Canadian port closure.

Prior to the bill’s passage, Alaska had been bracing for another year without large cruise ships.

In recent days, several major cruise lines have said they intend to visit Alaska beginning in late July or early August including Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Celebrity Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line. All are requiring guests to be vaccinated.

Until this week, Haines had a handful of port calls from 2,100-passenger Royal Caribbean ship Serenade of the Seas still on its schedule, but the vessel’s new itinerary doesn’t include Haines.

A single port call from Silversea Cruises’ 596-passenger Silver Muse is still on the calendar.

Tourism director Steven Auch said he’s heard the ship could make as many as five port calls to Haines this year, but he’s still trying to confirm this.

Silversea, which is owned by Royal Caribbean, said Wednesday morning it’s working to evaluate the feasibility of operating in Alaska this year.

Skagway is scheduled to receive a number of visits from cruise lines including Carnival, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Norwegian.

It’s possible Haines could receive additional visitors as a result of the Skagway port calls, according to Auch. In pre-pandemic years, some cruise ship passengers from Skagway would come to Haines for the day via the Haines-Skagway Fast Ferry.

The company is still deciding whether to operate and waiting to see what happens with large cruise ships according to president Eli Fierer.

“We hope to be able to operate, but everything’s still in flux. If (large cruise ships) do, in fact, come, we will operate,” he said.

If the company opens this year, it will likely operate at reduced capacity--one 150-passenger ferry instead of two, Fierer said, adding that the company hopes to be able to accommodate Haines and Skagway locals in addition to cruise ship passengers, but this will depend, in part, on cruise line COVID-19 mitigation requirements.

“There are a lot of variables that we have to pin down. If two ships come into Skagway on the same day, can we mix customers on the same ferry? Can we allow other people on the ferry?” Fierer said. “Even if the cruise ships come and we have a schedule, we need to pin this down before we can open to online reservations.”

Auch said it’s hard to predict how many will come to Haines via the fast ferry if it decides to operate.

“The high end would be several hundred, the majority on pre-booked tour excursions, not necessarily walking the streets,” Auch said. “It definitely doesn’t have the same impact as a cruise ship docking in Haines.”

Smaller, American-based cruise lines not impacted by the Canadian port closure have said they plan to sail to Alaska, including UnCruise Adventures, Lindblad Expeditions, Alaskan Dream Cruises and American Cruise Lines. Of these, only American Cruise Lines plans to visit Haines, making 12 stops with its 175-passenger American Constellation.

As of Tuesday, the borough had issued 12 tour permits. Auch said he’s not sure whether more operators will apply as a result of large cruise ships in Skagway. Those that have applied for permits had planned to operate based on the promise of American Cruise Lines visits and independent travelers.