Almost 70% of Alaska’s summer cruises have been canceled so far

About 68% of Alaska’s cruise ship sailings have been canceled, industry officials said this week.

In a Wednesday meeting of the state board of Marine Pilots, an official with Cruise Lines Industry Association Alaska said ships accounting for just over 800,000 passengers have canceled their visits to Alaska this year.

Mike Tibbles, head of government relations for CLIA Alaska, said Friday that while 68% of sailings have been canceled, those account for about 55% of passenger space, or more than 801,000 people.

The industry had forecast 1.44 million tourists would visit Alaska by cruise ship this year.

The information was first reported by CoastAlaska public radio.

The number of cancellations has been rising weekly: On April 13, industry officials said approximately 378 voyages had been canceled, accounting for approximately 720,801 passengers.

Now, the first ship of the cruise season will be either June 23 or July 2 in Seward.

“We’re working hard on developing new protocols for safe return to service,” Tibbles said.

The cruise ship season normally begins in late April, but the Canadian and American governments have ordered sailings halted through at least July.

In March, Canada ordered a halt to cruise ship sailings through July 1. American law requires foreign-flagged cruise ships to stop in Canada on Alaska voyages.

In April, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a “no-sail” order effective for 100 days or until the public health emergency is canceled.

The Port of Seattle has postponed cruise ship sailings indefinitely and has said that postponement will remain as long as Washington state’s public health emergency continues.

Some cruise lines, including Cunard, Windstar and The Boat Co., have canceled their entire summer season. Others have reassigned some Alaska-bound ships while keeping others in place.

Holland America and Princess cruise lines, both owned by Carnival Corp., have canceled sailings across the Gulf of Alaska and have ordered their remote lodges closed for the season.

Those cancellations are expected to have a significant effect on Alaska’s economy, which in 2019 employed 18,265 more tourism workers in summer than winter.

[Correction: This article has been updated to correct the title of Mike Tibbles and updated with new information about the first scheduled ship of the season.]

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