Tourism

The first large cruise ship to visit Alaska since 2019 arrived in Ketchikan early on the morning of July 9. The federally mandated test voyage is the symbolic start of the Alaska cruise season.

The 965-foot cruise ship rounded Pennock Island and came into view from Ketchikan shortly after 6 a.m. Longshoreman Andy Jackson watched from his car at the far end of one of Ketchikan’s berths.

“I was just thinking that it’s awesome to see that again. Because we haven’t seen that since…” Jackson says before a pause. It’s been a very long time — 21 months. 640-odd days. One and three-quarters years, if you like.

There have been a number of small cruise ships with 100 or so passengers sailing around the Inside Passage since the spring, and independent tourists have jam-packed flights to and from Southeast Alaska this summer. But the return of the first big ship is a milestone, says visitors bureau head Patti Mackey.

“Looks like things are starting to look a little more normal for Ketchikan,” she said.

The Cape Fox Dancers greeted passengers with some traditional Tlingit dance and song.

But instead of thousands of visitors from around the world, the first ship brought just a few hundred cruise line employees.

John Chambers was the first to disembark — he’s one of roughly 300 fully vaccinated Royal Caribbean employees who arrived on the Serenade. They’re not being paid, but he says that’s not the point.

“I’ve been working for the cruise line for 15 years now. And this is my fourth time to Ketchikan. I was really excited to be the first one back, and I actually got to be the first one back,” Chambers said.

Chambers’ job was to kick back, relax and enjoy the ride as the 800 or so crew did a dry run of the ship’s anti-COVID protocols. Royal Caribbean Vice President of Government Relations Russell Benford says federal health inspectors are aboard, making sure the ship’s procedures are up to snuff.

“We do actually have observers from the CDC that are on the ship, so they’re going to observe all the protocols from start to finish,” Benford explained. “And if we do well and they give us a green light, then the ship can return to service with revenue passengers.”

He says Royal Caribbean ships will start the season running at reduced capacity.

“We’ll start around 40% to 50%, and then we’ll increase our capacity over time until we get back to all of our ships in service, and back to 100% capacity, within the next few months,” he said.

The simulated voyage is an optional step for cruise lines — they can get around the test cruise requirement by mandating that 95% of passengers are vaccinated. Benford says Royal Caribbean is opting for the test cruise because many of its passengers are children under 12 and ineligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. Its sister line Celebrity is skipping a test cruise — Benford says that line appeals mostly to adults.

Dignitaries, industry figures and local officials marked the occasion with a catered reception with speeches and music, both from Ketchikan’s New Path Dancers and a jazz trio.

The Serenade’s arrival is a symbol — with just a few hundred passengers on this test cruise, it doesn’t bring many more than some of the small cruise ships. But Sen. Lisa Murkowski says it sends a powerful message.

“It feels good to just see a big ship back, because we know that today’s visit is just just the beginning,” Murkowski said. “It’s going to be a short season, but we’re going to have a season.”

Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer put it this way:

“This is a celebration. The cruise ships are back, baby,” he said.

Returning ships to Alaska was no small task. Two major barriers stood in the way of a 2021 season — restrictions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and closed ports in Canada. But in April and May, the CDC issued rules for ships to start sailing again, and Alaska’s congressional delegation pushed through a bill waiving a federal requirement for ships to make a foreign stop on Alaska cruises. And now, cruises are set to return.

But it’s not all sunshine and roses from here. The 2021 cruise season will bring just a fraction of the 1.3 million passengers that visited Southeast Alaska in 2019. And that was on the mind of independent tour operator Steve McDonald.

“There is no season,” he said. “I mean, we’re just going to meet a few ships. But hey, it’s always good to see people and get out and get ready. Hopefully, people around town will put a few dollars in their pockets and things should run smoothly.”

He and some other tourism business owners say they think they’ll struggle until at least 2022. Meyer, the lieutenant governor, says the state is readying a grant program for businesses who will need some extra help to make it through to next year.

Haines is known to visitors for many things — white water rafting, fishing, biking, camping and heli-skiing —  but tourism is still widely reduced this summer due to the pandemic.

Haines Tourism Director Steven Auch estimates the activity is at about a quarter of a typical year as the international border remains restricted to non-essential travel.

“With the border closed, that’s cut off a bunch of our normal traffic. And also without cruise ships here, of course, we know that that’s a large impact on our visitor base,” Auch said. “So just off the top of my head, I guess it would be in the range of maybe 20 or 25 percent.”

The most significant crowds are seen via the one cruise ship making port in Haines this summer, the American Constellation. It carries up to 170 passengers that come into town for day trips in Haines or rafting or wildlife viewing on the Chilkat River.

That’s been the focus of business for tour operators like Rainbow Glacier Adventures, says co-owner Joe Ordóñez. He says they only decided to operate after learning cruise passengers are required to be vaccinated, and overall err on the side of caution, and lead separate private tours.

“But really, we’re looking at, if we get 10% of the volume of business we had in 2019, we’ll be happy that that’s where we’re at,” Ordóñez said. “So certainly not some dramatically great year. But we got people working, we’re taking people out. We’re doing what we love to do, which is connect our guests with Alaska. And we’re doing it, so that feels good.”

Ordonez says they hired local guides for one to two tours a week this year, compared to summer workers for five or seven days a week of work.

On Haines’ Main Street, the Rusty Compass Coffeehouse is seeing a steady stream of visitors and locals. Sixteen-year-old barista McKenzie Dryden has worked there for three summers now, and she says business and tips are good.

“Overall, it’s been a steady kind of busy,” Dryden said. “Not like a “can’t keep up with it,” too busy. There are some days we’re really busy and some days we’re slow, and we can catch up on stuff.”

In a typical summer, the huge commercial cruise ships docking in Skagway bring more than a million people each summer, and some ferry over to Haines for the day.

But just a half dozen cruise ships are expected to visit Skagway, and they’re coming later in the summer. The fast ferry to Haines will be operating, but just taking cruise ship passengers to designated tours, not to explore or stay in Haines.

Sockeye Cycles operates guided bike tours around Haines and Skagway. Co-owner Dustin Craney says that because the 2021 cruise season will be curtailed, they’ve been able to adapt to multi-day tours with independent travelers.

“We really focused on that market,” Craney said. “So we’ve met a number of people that have come and taken a tour or rented a bike that have spent some time in Juneau and some time in Haines and some time in Skagway and other places and used either the Alaska marine lines or the Fjordland Ferry to get back and forth and kind of plan their own week or a couple week long adventure of the area and just incorporated us as a small part.”

Craney says it will be a game-changer when the U.S.-Canadian border reopens because some of their most popular trips are into the Yukon, especially biking from Haines to Skagway.

Haines Tourism Director Steven Auch says the state advertising Alaska as a COVID-safe, outdoor-oriented tourist destination has helped. And although remote, the Upper Lynn Canal is connected to the wider pandemic outlook.

“If things continue on this positive trajectory in terms of the pandemic, we’re expecting to see more travelers as a whole. The cruise industry return. Hopefully the border will be open…we’d like it to be open tomorrow if possible,” Auch laughed. “But we don’t expect that for a little while longer.”

Haines tourism operators are optimistic for more activity next year, and hopes for opening the Canadian border are high, but that could be a ways off.

The first large cruise ship to visit Alaska since 2019 arrives Friday morning. Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas cast off from the Port of Seattle Wednesday for a short jaunt up to Ketchikan and back. It’s a test sailing to satisfy requirements from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and it kicks off a cruise season like no other.

When the Serenade of the Seas ties up on Friday, it’ll be the first ship to visit Ketchikan since October 5, 2019 — 21 months ago.

“The fact that big ships are coming back is, really, just so important for the economy of Ketchikan — and I think in the entire Southeast, for that matter,” said Michelle O’Brien, the head of the Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce.

Industry figures say 60% of all the state’s visitors arrive on cruise ships.

And O’Brien said the economic boost the cruise industry brings to Ketchikan goes beyond tour operators and dock vendors. Ketchikan Visitors Bureau President and CEO Patti Mackey said the total loss to Ketchikan’s economy after the cruise season was canceled in 2020 was around $263 million.

“It’s passenger spending, it’s the crew member purchases, it’s the state and local fees, as well as the miscellaneous cruise line purchases, too,” Mackey said. “We have a business here that sells salmon to the ships.”

But before they can welcome tourists aboard again, the CDC is requiring cruise lines to test their COVID-19 protocols with a so-called “simulated voyage,” said Cruise Lines International Association senior vice president Brian Salerno.

“And they go through, basically, all the paces: making sure that all of the procedures are in place, everybody knows their duties, that they know how to handle emergencies,” Salerno said.

A Royal Caribbean representative not authorized to speak to the media said the Serenade of the Seas’ test voyage will carry some 300 passengers — largely Royal Caribbean employees from the company’s Oregon office and their guests, who volunteered to serve as guinea pigs. Another 800 crew will also be aboard.

Cruise lines can get around the simulated voyage requirement by mandating that at least 95% of passengers and crew are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. But Royal Caribbean told Cruise Industry News that it sees itself as a family brand, with kids under 12 making up about 10% of its passengers — and, of course, young children are not yet eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.

So it’s opting for the test voyage. CLIA executive Salerno said there’ll be extra pandemic restrictions on board.

“The mask requirements are going to be in place, and physical distancing will be in place, so there will be some restrictions on the population density in restaurants, casinos and so forth onboard the ship.” he said. “That’s probably the most noticeable difference.”

A Royal Caribbean spokesperson adds that most passengers eligible for the shot will be required to be vaccinated.

The off-ship experience will likely look a little different, too — there will simply be fewer people in port on any given day. In Ketchikan, for example, the first week of August saw nearly 30 port calls in 2019. This year? Just seven — about 75% less.

David Wrightson is co-owner of Hoonah Travel Adventures on Chichagof Island. He said he’s paring back his operation for 2021. With few passengers expected this summer, he said the usual business model doesn’t pencil out.

“We’re not even going to pull the boats out for whale watching this season, just because we’re not we’re not seeing the numbers that would justify the expense of the increased insurance and all those things on these bigger boats,” Wrightson said.

Wrightson said he normally runs his business with 13 employees — right now, he has just one.

The challenges for tourism businesses don’t stop there.

Russell Thomas helps manage several tourism businesses in Ketchikan. He said without the typical passenger volume, it’s difficult and costly to guarantee full-time work for his tour company staff.

And the season is running later than usual — the last port call on the Alaska schedule is Oct. 21. By then, Thomas said the high school and college-age workers that often staff tourism businesses are back in classes.

“We’re just planning on utilizing the people that we have year-round. Our bookkeepers and our managers and our mechanics — and whoever else that we can find that can drive a boat or drive a van or narrate a tour or whatever — is going to be put to work,” Thomas said.

While this summer’s cruise season will be short, weirdly timed and bring few passengers, it’s better than nothing — and everyone’s looking forward to a 2022 cruise season that looks just a bit more normal.

Reborn airline Ravn Alaska has hired several people to study daily, year-round trans-Pacific service that its chief executive said could launch as soon as next summer.

The company, which right now operates solely inside Alaska, would fly between hubs in Asia and destinations in the Lower 48, with stops in Anchorage for passengers to clear customs — and, potentially, to visit some tourist attractions, said Rob McKinney, Ravn’s chief executive.

Ravn’s service would have to compete with companies that offer nonstop flights between Asia and the continental U.S., but McKinney said that by using smaller, “narrow-body” jets — those with a single aisle — seats could be sold for less than existing airlines that use larger planes.

“We also think that the process of clearing customs and immigration in Alaska would be far superior and less painful than some of the more busy airports in the Lower 48,” McKinney said in an interview Tuesday.

McKinney said Ravn has hired three or four people who are working full-time on developing the company’s plans, though they’re far from solid. Ravn is looking at several options to raise the money needed to launch the service, he added, but he declined to release any details.

“We’re definitely shooting for 2022,” he said.

While Ravn’s initial plans would be geared toward travelers between the Lower 48 and cities like Tokyo and Seoul, McKinney said that ultimately, he sees potential in making Anchorage a tourism stopover like Iceland often is for people flying between the U.S. and Europe.

“Instead of connecting across a couple hours, you connect across a couple days, and then you get to go dogsledding or salmon fishing or all these wonderful things you can do here,” he said.

Ravn currently operates 10 planes between Anchorage and rural hub communities, and it’s set to put an 11th into service soon.

Its current majority owner is a family trust of California entrepreneur and Bitcoin investor Josh Jones.

Ravn emerged from bankruptcy last year after COVID-19 hammered its revenue, and McKinney said it returned to profitability this spring. The company says it’s confident it could launch the new service without taking on what McKinney calls “excessive debt,” which sank the previous incarnation of the company.

McKinney said Ravn hopes its new service could fly out of the underused North Terminal at Anchorage’s international airport.

Officials there said they haven’t seen a detailed proposal from Ravn but are eagerly awaiting one.

“We will be here to support those operations when and if they happen,” said Trudy Wassel, the airport’s deputy manager.

All but one of the cruises originally scheduled to stop in Unalaska have already been canceled.

The island was expecting nearly 20 ports of call for the 2021 summer season. But by early May, that number had dropped drastically to about five.

Now, the Oceania Regatta is the only ship that is still planning to make a stop on the island. But Unalaska Visitors Bureau Executive Director Carlin Enlow said the ship, which is scheduled to arrive at Unalaska in October, likely won’t make it, either.

“We assume that one in October will likely cancel as well,” Enlow said. “But they’re still on the books for multiple locations for [their] sailing.”

The majority of the ships canceled because of coronavirus concerns, she said. While there are nearly 25 ships scheduled for next summer, Enlow said another bleak tourist season is going to be rough on the community.

“It’s definitely a big hit compared to a couple years ago, when we had almost 18 vessels in town and the number was supposed to be growing every summer,” she said. “And people were really starting to rely on some of that income from the cruise season — whether it was nonprofit entities or businesses in town. And so to have [the season] completely vacant for two years in a row now is kind of concerning.”

While Unalaska may not see any cruise ship tourism for the second year, the island has three more Tustumena ferry sailings scheduled.

Ravn Alaska’s chief executive said this week that the airline is looking to expand its service beyond Alaska to the Lower 48 and Asia, using Boeing 757 jets.

The new service, Rob McKinney said in a YouTube video, would rely on some 10 new planes and fly to Tokyo, Seoul, Orlando, Newark, Las Vegas, Oakland and Ontario, a Los Angeles suburb.

The operation would be called Northern Pacific Airways and fly from the underused North Terminal at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, McKinney said.

“We are really digging into these numbers and are very certain of the value of what we’re going to be able to bring to the public,” he said.

The unlisted YouTube video was published Monday, then unpublished Tuesday after it was shared on social media by an Alaska aviation reporter, Colleen Mondor.

McKinney, in a brief phone call Tuesday, said the video message was intended for company employees and that Ravn would release more details about its plans soon.

Ravn’s core assets were bought out of bankruptcy last year by a company founded by two California entrepreneurs. It had previously been majority-owned by two East Coast private equity firms and saw its business plummet during the COVID-19 pandemic.

McKinney did not say when Ravn hopes to launch its new service, nor did he say how it would raise the money to buy the Boeing jets, which could cost $10 million apiece, according to industry publications. He did say that Ravn is confident it could launch its operations “without acquiring an excessive amount of debt,” which plagued the company before it went into bankruptcy.

Ravn currently flies Dash-8 propeller planes to roughly a dozen rural Alaska communities, including the Aleutian fishing port of Dutch Harbor, the Kenai Peninsula town of Homer and the Bering Sea island community of St. Paul.

McKinney, in his video, said Ravn’s “commitment to Alaska and our Alaskan communities has never been stronger.”

“We are not going to diminish our commitment to our frequency or the level of service that we’re giving the communities that we have now,” he said.

This is a developing story and will be updated.