By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Sitka will see one of its biggest cruise ship days of the season Wednesday, with an estimated 7,000 visitors on three ships expected.
The three cruise liners have accommodations for 9,000 passengers, but the ships aren’t at full capacity, said Chris McGraw, manager of the Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal.
Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas and Holland America’s Eurodam, with a combined total of 6,000 passengers, will dock at the cruise terminal. The Norwegian Cruise Lines’ Norwegian Spirit, with up to 2,018 passengers, will anchor in Jamestown Bay and lighter passengers to town.
McGraw said Wednesday will be the biggest single day thus far in the 2022 cruise season.
“This year’s it’s been a little bit odd,” McGraw said. “Typically ships are full all year. This year it’s been a little lighter. On average we’re seeing about two-thirds of the passengers we’d planned for.”
Royal Caribbean is running at close to capacity while other lines are seeing lower numbers, he said.
In general, cruise traffic is off by about 30 percent from full capacity, McGraw said. The expectation was initially for 478,000 visitors, but as the season drew closer there were cancellations for various reasons, such as weather and mechanical issues. Two ships canceled their Sitka stops because they wouldn’t have been able to dock here until repairs to a damaged dolphin were completed.
McGraw said the 300,000 visitors this season will still be a record for Sitka.
“I think it’s been good,” he said. “The 300,000 is giving people (cruise-related businesses) a chance to ramp up from two years of no ships - or very few. ... We’re handling the loads we’re seeing and it’s giving us a good opportunity to see how to improve for next year.”
While summer 2023 is still a year off, McGraw said the expectations are for full ships and an anticipated increase over the original prediction of 478,000 for 2022.
