End of the corny jokes - No more Ketchikan sail-away annoucements!
For years the approach or departure from Ketchikan has always been a fun time to bring the guests outside (weather permitting) and call attention to some of the fun and quirky things about the town. “The only airport in the world where the runway is higher than the control tower.” “Deer Mountain’s barometric accuracy - if you can’t see it, its raining; if you can see it, its going to rain.” I could go on - and I do! - for hours. But no more. As further evidence of the communities in Alaska becoming more and more annoyed with the presence of cruise ships; a notice has now been issued that ships can no longer make non-essential broadcasts on the outside decks when sailing in or out of Ketchikan.
Broadcasts have been banned in Gastineau Channel on approach to Juneau. Now Ketchikan. I am sure Sitka will be next. I understand that sound echoes down the waterways and you can hear ship’s announcements on land. It’s true. But this is not something new; cruise ships have been plying these waters for over forty years. Whether its frustration over the cruise industry in general for the lack of business for local merchants; or the fact that many local businesses have given up in the face of outside companies driving up rents and prices; or maybe its just the damn noise - who knows?
A few summers back I rented an apartment on lower Queen Anne hill in Seattle and from miles away I could hear the broadcasts of cruise ships as they left Elliott Bay. I liked it; to me it was the sound of summer. It was the sound of people going on exciting cruises; the sound of tourism! The most expensive residential real estate in Vancouver B.C. flanks the cruise terminal at Canada Place; yet there have been no complaints.
Millions of people cruise to Alaska every year; tourism is the second largest source of revenue for the state. The cruise industry respects and appreciates every community that comprises the destination. Alaska is their product and they invest millions of dollars in promoting and selling the state. It behooves them to make sure the “product” maintains its natural beauty and integrity. The industry has complied with an ever increasing set of criteria from new environmental guidelines; emission standards; head taxes; prohibition of non-US cruise personnel doing work on-shore; to restriction of outside announcements in wilderness areas; etc. Rather than incrementally pulling the rug out from under the cruise lines it would be good to know what the long term goals are of the local Alaskan communities so that together we can create an industry in which everyone benefits. If cruise lines were treated more like partners than outsiders, I think we could come up with creative ways to satisfy the needs of both the community and the cruise companies.
May 19th, 2009 at 8:42 am
If all commentary from the bridge was of your quality and thoughtfulness, Terry, then I doubt sail-away commentary would be banned anywhere. Sadly, the truth is that most sail-away commentary is simple noise pollution both for passengers and for the residents along the shore forced to listen to it. My last sail-away from Ketchikan on a different cruise line was a blaring, mindless monologue of irrelevant statistics about Alaska that had nothing to do with what we were seeing. Another one was full of inaccuracies and outright misinformation including such classics as Vancouver Island is the biggest island in the world and that tidewater glaciers continue for miles down the fjords UNDER the water. This last “expert” was on the most expensive cruise on a per person basis that we have ever taken. His “qualifications” were that he was a middle school social studies teacher. Cruise lines get what they pay for and if they are not going to invest in high quality presenters such as yourself who are both highly knowledgeable and at the same time sensitive to their surroundings, then there are going to be more and more restrictions.