The long awaited decision has been made, starting August 2011 ships burning heavy fuel will no longer be allowed in Antarctic waters. This ban will affect most cruise ships in Antarctica; and all cruise ship carrying more than 500 passengers.

Heavy fuel is the sludgy dregs that remain after diesel is refined. It burns less efficiently than pure diesel or gasoline and produces pollutants harmful to the fragile Antarctic ecosystem. Large cruise ships are built to use heavy fuel as it is less expensive than pure diesel or gasoline. Investment in conversion to lighter fuels would be prohibitive due to the high cost and the limited season – some ships call on Antarctica only once a year. The decision to ban ships carrying heavy fuel was made by the International Maritime Organization citing environmental factors. The decision will affect Princess, Holland-America,  and Regent. Small expeditionary ships that burn a mixture of diesel, gasoline and oil will still operate. Steve Wellmeier, Executive Director of the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators said in a statement to the press, “Largely, it will be the large cruise-only vessels that are affected, rather than the smaller expedition ships that most people think of as Antarctic cruising.”

Though the ban will reduce the numbers of visitors arriving by cruise ship from over 15,000 to 6,000, environmentalists are not convinced the White Continent is sufficiently protected. Small ships do burn cleaner fuel but their smaller passenger load requires more departures to move the same amount of people that would arrive on one large ship thereby contributing more pollutants to the environment albeit cleaner pollutants. The other factor of small ships is a double-edged sword — landings. Ships carrying more than 400 passengers have never been allowed to lower boats of any kind, no guests ever went ashore. Small ships do lower landing craft; trips by zodiac including shore landings where guests can walk among thousands of penguins or bath in beach-side thermal pools are a major selling point of these cruises. Biologists do not know what affect this human contact is having on the wildlife and the fragile ecology.

In the end, this ban is all about safety. Were a large ship to spill heavy fuel in Antarctica the effects would be catastrophic. Isolation and climatic extremes would make clean-up equipment hard to find and clean-up efforts even harder to implement. The fact is large cruise ships are more vulnerable, their hulls have been built for the Caribbean not Antarctica. Unlike small ships, they are not ice hardened nor do they carry survival suits, those bright red-orange, insulated and weatherproof jacket/suits seen in photos of Antarctic expeditions. Survival suits are warm and easily detected in case of emergency. As someone who has sailed around South America 37 times, I know that every cruise has passengers who come unprepared for the cold weather including Antarctica.

The Antarctic experience is like no other in the world and I hope everyone who wants to go will get the chance. It looks like the best way to keep that option available will be smaller ships with better prepared guests on ice hardened ships, burning more environmentally friendly fuel while visiting more regulated regions.

Canyon Ranch Spa menu is now available on board all ships of Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Oceania Cruises and Cunard Cruises. I have been anxiously awaiting this addition since Canyon Ranch took over the spa services in December. My best friend works at Canyon Ranch and she has shared with me the holistic approach the company as to wellness. It is not about diet or exercise but rather lifestyle. Well,  knowing that my “lifestyle” on board is not what I would like it to be — not enough time for proper exercise, quality quiet time, spiritual nutrition or healthy food on demand — I was interested in at least trying to eat well ala Canyon Ranch. My diet on board is not that bad but it’s not that good either; I go without food for hours and then eat whatever is in front of me like a hungry dog – potato chips, Skittles, peanuts. So, I started to think, maybe I would try and eat only from the Canyon Ranch menu.

On Regent ships the Canyon Ranch menu is available in the Compass Rose for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is also available through room service and on the buffet in La Veranda. Each day the three meals total no more than 1500 calories; every meal has a complete breakdown of calories/fat/fiber.  Out of curiosity I tried a few selections and found the dishes to very good! Full of flavor – tasty, light and guilt free.

Before committing to what I am calling the Canyon Ranch Challenge, I have had my seasonal dose of Alaskan halibut burgers and berry pies. I am now ready. Because my schedule does not always allow me to “dine” I am going to ask for permission to eat and run. I will try to stick to the menu for at least two weeks.

I asked the Spa Manager what benefits I can hope to see at the end of that time. He said for most people it would be possible weight loss, lowered cholesterol, lowered blood pressure. Combined with exercise those benefits would be accelerated. To truly experience the Canyon Ranch program on board I asked if a guest can receive a personalized exercise plan to follow along with the meal plan. I also wanted to know if one has dietary restrictions or allergies can the menu plan accommodate substitutions. It will be interesting to report back how things go after two weeks. I will give you feedback on the dishes as well as recommendations if you want to try to take the Challenge. Stay tuned!

Finally!!! The updated third edition of the book is now available on lulu.com and kindle,com — coming soon to your iPad! The book is BEAUTIFUL and I am very proud of it!

Due to delays the full-color books will not be ready this season. However, I am doing a limited printing of black and white books which will be ready by the end of July and can be ordered online at cruiserfriendly.com and shophollandamerica.com. I am disappointed that I will not have the full-color books this season - but the black and white books look really good and I am excited to start selling them onboard.

Last month I mentioned that I was meeting with Princess Cruises, the outcome of which is the opportunity to sell the Alaska book on board their ships with the possibility of more titles!

Sources close to Captain Dag say that we may be hearing soon of his next assignment. I am sure all of you who are loyal fans and missing his inimitable style will be eager to join him on with his new company on his new ship.

Last year I reported extensively on the cruise industry’s reaction to Alaska’s cruise head tax. The industry opposed the state’s imposition of a $50 head tax on all arriving cruise passengers as well as strict and costly environmental regulations. They registered their complaint by withdrawing 20% of all ships from the destination. Though it meant a huge amount of lost revenue and jobs, Alaskans did not back down.  When the 2010 schedules came out the cruise lines that promised to reposition their ships had done so. Negotiations took place to modify the law. But it was too late.

This season in Juneau, Skagway, Sitka and Seward, we - the Seven Seas Navigator - are the ONLY ship in port both north and southbound. In previous years we were in with two, three, even four other ships. The Seven Seas Navigator is a small 400 passenger ship. That means that businesses that were used to 10,000 cruise ship customers a day now have to compete for only 400.

Feeling the pinch, most shops, cafes and restaurants are closed on the day when our small ship is in port. Today I walked past store after store that was closed, all merchandise removed from the window. In some cases I could not tell if the store was empty for the day or closed permanently. The streets were empty. I saw our guests walking from door to door looking for some sign of life. It was very sad. Knowing how busy these places usually are the whole scene looked like an episode of the Twilight Zone.

I know next year some ships are coming back and new cruise lines like Disney and Oceania are giving Alaska a try. But I can’t help but wonder what kind of an affect this season will have in the long term. How many people will be turned-off by the empty streets and sour faces? I’ve overheard people say the towns are so depressing they would not come back. Were I to have come up here for the first time and seen what I have seen, I would think the same. It’s grim. It’s useless to say to someone, “it’s not always like this, really!”, especially when this may be their only chance to experience the destination. It’s sad, very sad. I am sure that next year there will be lots of deep discounts and incentives to entice the public back to Alaska.