By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Companies connected to the cruise industry say the outlook for Sitka “is really positive,” with ships running at less than capacity at the outset but picking up by mid summer.
“Anecdotally, we’ve heard a slower start, with ships’ capacity reduced,” said Chris McGraw, who manages the Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal. “They’re anticipating that as the season progresses capacities will increase.”
The first ship arrives May 2, the 2,466-passenger Radiance of the Seas, operated by Royal Caribbean.
This year is still expected to be the biggest in Sitka’s history, though Holland America has canceled five port calls. The original projection of up to 478,000 cruise visitors has been scaled back to 460,000.
In preparation for the big tour season, the city is ready to limit downtown Lincoln Street to foot traffic only on days when 3,000 or more cruise visitors are in town.
McGraw said he doesn’t have solid numbers from the industry about how full the boats will be, but is hoping they’ll be booked to at least 70 percent capacity. The season got a late start last year, and the few vessels that stopped here had only a fraction of their passenger capacity.
This year will be better than that, but “no one has come out and said the ships are booked,” McGraw said.
Royal Caribbean told reporters in Juneau that they “can and intend to fill the ships this season,” but cautioned that this does not mean the same thing as it did pre-COVID.
“When we say 100 percent occupancy that doesn’t mean every single cabin is full,” a Royal Caribbean spokesman told the Juneau Empire. “There are some cabins that are going to be held back as part of our Healthy Sail program.”
In Sitka, Zak Kirkpatrick, a spokesman for Allen Marine and Alaskan Dream Cruises, said the company is hearing the same thing but expects a good season overall.
“We’ve gotten some indications that it’s looking really positive,” he said. “Everyone has anecdotal information that cruise line numbers are really strong and that would translate into strong excursion sales. What we do know is our small cruise numbers have been really great, especially from June onward.”
In addition to a fleet of high-speed sight-seeing boats for day wildlife tours, the company offers longer cruises of Southeast waters on boats with cabins for 10 to 76 passengers.
“The marketplace continues to have extra capacity in May,” Kirkpatrick said. “That’s often the case in the early season, and particularly this year we have extra space.”
The company frequently offers lower fares to Alaskans in the early season and plans to do the same this year. Capacity will be tighter in June, July and August, when “sales are looking strong.”
Kirkpatrick said the company has purchased smaller boats for cruises of several days to meet the demand of families and groups wanting a small cruising experience. The smallest in the cruise fleet are the Misty Fjord (10 passengers) and Kruzof Explorer (12).
“There’s a stronger demand for 10 and 12 than we’ve had before,” Kirkpatrick commented. “It’s a trend toward those adventure/expedition size travel.”
The Sitka Assembly has adjusted this year’s budget for the additional positions needed to manage the influx of cruise ship visitors. Lincoln Street closures are planned for the 71 days Sitka is expected to have 3,000 or more visitors.
City planning director Amy Ainslie said Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska has agreed to provide numbers on the passengers aboard vessels as they leave Seattle or Canada.
“Having the passenger count will help us avoid the street closure when it’s not needed,” Ainslie said.
