A cruise ship moored at Skagway’s ore dock. (Emily Files)
Skagway and Haines are preparing for cruise ship season which will bring several new vessels to the area. Skagway will see three new cruise ships this summer season. One of them is part of a new generation of “mega-ships” headed to Alaska.
“We’re going to get the American Constellation. They make 13 calls. We get the Carnival Splendor; they’re only making one call. And then the Norwegian Bliss,” said Cody Jennings, Skagway’s tourism director.
The Norwegian Bliss is the really big boat. It will make 17 port calls in Skagway this year.
The ship holds about 4,000 passengers – 700 more than the next largest boat.
Jennings estimates just under 900,000 cruise ship visitors in Skagway this year. Around 8,000 more people than in 2017.
“Really I think if you extrapolate it out over the season, certainly we’re going to have some busier days,” said Jennings. “If you look at our schedule, the ships have really spread out into the quieter days. So Saturday and Sunday we’re going to see more traffic in town. But really I think that’s the most significant thing is just the weekends are going to be busier.”
The first ship arrives in Skagway on May 1.
Haines will host vessels from two new cruise companies this season.
Two new smaller cruise lines will visit Haines, including Uncruise, which offers small cruises focused on wilderness, wildlife, and culture.
“We’re really very excited because they are a small high-end cruise line, they tend to be a pretty small group of people, they are into [the] outdoors, and I definitely feel like they are a good fit for this community,” said Carolann Wooton the Director of Tourism for the Haines Borough.
Six Uncruise ships are scheduled to stop in Haines this season with 39 port calls starting April 20. The ships will be in port mainly on weekends and hold less than 100 passengers.
The other cruise line coming to Haines for the first time will be Windstar Cruises, a small, luxury cruise line. The vessel, Star Legend, which holds 208 passengers, will dock in Haines six times this season
“When you have these smaller cruise ships, they tend to be much more relaxed. They are looking for a real experience,” said Wooton. “I think that is particularly a place where Haines shines. So, this is going to be really good for us.”
Sixteen different cruise lines are scheduled to visit Haines this season.
You can see the full cruise ship schedules for Skagway at Skagway.com at for Haines at visit Haines dot com.
Abbey Collins contributed to this story.
