For years I have dreamed that one day cruise ships would focus on Southcentral Alaska. Looks like my dreams are coming true.

In 2010, Holland America’s flagship the Amsterdam will begin The Alaskan Adventurer itinerary, 14-day cruises round-trip from Seattle. The cruise will call upon Ketchikan, Tracy Arm, Juneau, Skagway, Sitka, Hubbard Glacier, Anchorage, Homer, Kodiak and Victoria B.C.!

In my opinion this cruise is great; it calls on the two best glaciers in the state - Sawyer and Hubbard; all the traditional ports - Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway and Sitka plus Alaska’s largest city - Anchorage; Alaska’s most popular art’s community - Homer; Alaska’s largest island and home of the largest bears in the world - Kodiak; and Canada’s charming garden city of Victoria. As an added bonus - while cruising up Cook Inlet to Anchorage guests will see the most active chain of volcanoes in the state including Mt. Redoubt which most recently erupted March 2009.

I am very happy to see that Holland America believes there is a market for a 14 day cruise to Alaska. Seven days is not enough. Those travelers who enjoy cruising to new and different places will not be disappointed. By venturing beyond the Inside Passage, the Alaskan Adventurer highlights the “real Alaska”  - a more authentic aspect of the state. And the convenience of on and off in Seattle makes this cruise near perfect. Detractors point out that this cruise does take away from hotels stays and pre and post cruise excursions to places like Denali National Park - but for the sheer delight of cruising to Homer and Kodiak in addition to all the sights of Southeast Alaska - I still think it’s great!

The news came as a shock to many - in 2010 four cruise lines will either pullout or change their programs in Alaska.

According to the Alaska travel Industry Association, ships pulling out of Alaska next year include; Star Princess, Serenade of the Sea, Norwegian Sun, and the Spirit of Oceanus. Holland America is cutting the sailing of the Amsterdam by ten cruises. Cruise West will take three of its eights ships out of Alaska; the remaining five will operate only from Juneau south. Princess is also taking one of its ships off the Gulf of Alaska in favor of Seattle - Seattle run.

Rumors have been afloat that after announcing Seattle’s new Terminal 91 as its northern homeport, Carnival may also be reconsidering its commitment to Alaska.

These current estimated passenger loss for 2010 is 140,000 which reflect a 10% drop in total passenger arrivals to Southeast Alaska with as high as a 25% reductions for some small towns. The economic effects on Southeast Alaska will be devastating. In edition to the economic slump felt throughout the country, Southeast Alaska has been acutely suffering for decades. In the 1990’s communities watched as mills closed in light of increasing EPA restrictions; commercial fishing plummeted over claims of Canadian overfishing. No new jobs were created to replace the loss in fishing and timber. With most communities located on islands options for new industry are limited. Tourism via cruise ships became the much welcomed infusion of much needed cash, albeit seasonal.

As more and more ships started to call on Alaska, especially accelerated after 9/11, when cruising to Alaska was seem as a safe domestic destination; environmental abuses occurred. Stiff fines were levied on the guilty cruise lines. In response, the state legislated more restrictive environmental regulations and a per passenger head tax. In light of the recent economic downturn and the subsequent fall of cruise bookings, the added expense of doing business in Alaska is cause for some cruise lines to head south of the border where fewer restrictions exist.

Carnival Corporation Chairman Mickey Arison said to USA Today, “I would venture to guess that the economic losses, including job losses in Alaska, will be greater than the revenue generated from the taxes imposed. The saddest thing is we have been unable to find anyone willing to deal with the unintended consequences of this ill-conceived initiative and the impact on the Alaska economy.”

Hundreds of businesses and thousands of jobs in Southeast Alaska depend on summer cruise ship traffic. Companies, including Native corporations, have invested their family fortunes betting on handsome returns from tourism. According to Tim Bradner of the Alaska Journal of Commerce, cruise related job losses in 2010 could reach 1,800 statewide with 300 of the usual 3,000 jobs lost in Southeast Alaska alone.

It will be interesting to see what happens. Will there be a compromise? Personally, knowing that Alaskans are protectionists when it comes to their state - I don’t envision anyone backing down.  As much as cruise ships bring in much needed revenue they are seen by many locals as a necessary evil during the summer months. On the bright side, one possible scenario might be that dwindling profits may force multi-national companies operating in Alaska as well as Mexico and the Caribbean to pull out or reduce their presence. This may allow local companies to re-establish new year round businesses creating more of a community friendly atmosphere and that keeping cash in town.

Ballot author calls Holland veep’s attack ‘Chicken Little politics’
by Kim Marquis

Reprinted from The Juneau Empire, July 31, 2009

A cruise line executive attacked the cruise ship initiative Thursday that imposes fees and environmental regulations on the industry.

Ralph Samuels, vice president of government and community relations for Holland America, said the costs of Ballot Measure 2 exacerbate declining revenues for cruise lines operating in Alaska.

The measure was approved in 2006.

Dropping revenue margins will cause cruise lines to pull out of the state, Samuels said during his presentation at  Juneau Chamber of Commerce luncheon. And they’ll take their marketing dollars with them, he added.

“Instead of pictures going out of a bear and a glacier, it’s a piña colada and a beach,” he said.

Alaska’s passenger berths sold this spring at 30 to 40 percent discounts while prices in the Caribbean took only a 12 to 15 percent hit, he said. To fill berths, he said princess sold some seven day trips for $299.

“You can see the revenue dropping and you can see why the ships are heading out,” he said.

Joe Geldhof, a Juneau lawyer and author of the ballot initiative language, called presentations like Samuel’s “Chicken Little politics.”

“People run around saying, “The sky is falling,” and after the chamber lunch, people say, “The sky is falling we have to get something done.” Geldhof said. “Ralph is trying to create hysteria, to stampede legislators over the cliff and repeal the tax.”

Samuels, a former state representative, acknowledged that a repeal of the initiative would be politically challenging but hoped to engage the governor’s office and Legislature to find a compromise.

Voters approved ballot Measure 2 in 2006. It imposed the head tax, added income and gambling taxes, and put regulations on ship wastewater discharges.

Cruise lines have complained the environmental regulations are too strict, and Samuels said Thursday the cost of compliance is too high and not part of doing business in other markets.

Four cruise lines operating in Alaska announced they would redeploy ships or change itineraries in 2010. The effect will be about 140,000 fewer passengers in Juneau next year, but impacts will be greater in Southcentral and the Railbelt, Samuels said.

With many business owners feeling the pinch of the economic downtown, Samuels’ comments could hit a nerve.

Chamber member Murray Walsh recognized the recession is causing most of the hurt, but he said it is exacerbated by Ballot Measure 2.

Walsh said given another chance, voters might say, “Oh my God, we’ve screwed ourselves,” and vote to repeal it.

(Reporter Kim Marquis at kim.marquis@juneauempire.com)

For almost one hundred years explorers searched in vain for the Northwest Passage - an all sea route between the Atlantic and the Pacific. Once it was confirmed that the only Passage was by way of the Arctic all hope was dashed for a commercial trade route. For more than half the year the Arctic is choked by frozen sea ice — at least until now.

Arctic ice is melting. As it melts it is opening up new sea lanes. Along with new commercial traffic will be cruise ships. Currently several companies offer small expeditionary ships in Eastern Canada, Greenland, Scandinavia and Russia. For the first time last year a cruise ship sailed from Eastern Canada to Alaska. It is just a matter of time before cruise ships will be a common site in Alaska’s Arctic.

Unlike Antarctica, man has lived in the Arctic for thousands of years. Even so, there are no cities or large towns. Traditional people have developed an ingenious lifestyle living lightly on the land in small villages. As interesting as that may be there are no real ports suitable for cruise ships in Alaska’s Arctic. Nome? Purdhoe Bay? Cruising the Arctic will not be for the mainstream cruiser but rather an adventurer who appreciates the vast and wild.

Would this cruise appeal to you? If so, please tell me why. I am in discussions with environmental groups looking into feasibility studies and your input would be of great help.