If the federal centers for disease control and prevention give the green light, Norwegian Cruise Line could resume voyages to Alaska as early as August, two NCL executives said at a meeting with the Juneau Empire this week.
During the in-depth interview in the Empire’s new conference room, executives discussed the future of cruising in Southeast Alaska, the donation the company recently made to communities affected by the pandemic-induced break on cruises, and the trio of Election initiatives that might limit future cruise traffic to Juneau.
Howard Sherman, executive vice president of onboard revenue and target development, and Steve Moeller, senior vice president of commercial development, said this was their first business trip since pandemic-based travel restrictions were put in place.
Steve Moeller, Norwegian Cruise Line’s senior vice president of commercial development, explains NCL’s plans for Southeast Alaska in an interview with the Juneau Empire. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
“We are personally very happy to be here. It’s our first business trip in 15 months, ”said Sherman.
The couple were in town on a swing through Southeast Alaska to announce a $ 10 million donation to local communities hard hit by the cruise suspension caused by the pandemic.
The company offered the city and neighborhood of Juneau $ 2 million of the donation. The city assembly is considering whether to accept the money and, if so, how to spend it.
“When our cruise partners encounter an economic disaster, we feel obliged to intervene. Southeast Alaska is uniquely dependent on the cruise industry. We have to show partnership and when we return our cruise ships we will find a vibrant community, ”said Sherman.
Sherman said the donation had been in the works for several months and was similar to the types of donations the company made to various Caribbean communities after hurricanes and other natural disasters.
Plans to sail
Sherman said the company is keen to resume cruises to Southeast Alaska and can do so as early as August if the CDC gives approval. He said Governor Mike Dunleavy and Alaska’s congressional delegation, all Republicans, were instrumental in working with the federal government to break the blockade of the CDC’s silence on cruise restart guidelines.
“We see demand. We already have sails in the books and want to continue, ”said Sherman.
He stated that the company’s vaccination policy requires that all crew and passengers verify that they are fully vaccinated. He also said that rapid antigen testing would be done for passengers during embarkation.
He said the company is still awaiting guidance from the CDC regarding masking requirements on board.
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Alaska is a top travel destination
Sherman said Alaska is an attractive destination for travelers, but he suspects the passenger load is close to the cap.
“I don’t expect a lot of incremental traffic growth. Mathematically, we are close to the summit based on the number of ports of embarkation, ”he said.
Sherman said that Alaska’s status as a top travel destination has many perks.
“We send our best ships to Alaska. People want to see whales, eagles and bears and enjoy the cool air in the summer, ”said Sherman.
He explained that Alaska’s status as a prime target means that NCL send the newest ships to the area. These ships offer premium prices and attract more well-heeled travelers.
“When you get new ships, people pay more to sail on those ships, and these passengers can get better quality packages when they arrive in town, like the whale watching tours and the helicopter tours to the ice fields,” he said.
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Voting questions
Sherman and Moeller said they recently learned of the three possible election initiatives aimed at reducing cruise traffic to Juneau in the coming seasons. He said the initiatives had caused “tremendous concern” in the community and were “well-intentioned but misguided”.
“Juneau is a well-informed community. It’s a lot of cause for concern, but it’s also an all-inclusive call for local businesses, ”said Sherman.
He said the local government in Juneau is very effective and that the partnership between city officials, parishioners and NCL has made welcome contributions to the company.
“Juneau has the strongest public engagement anywhere in the world. For example, the Visitor Industry Task Force received hundreds of comments and made fantastic recommendations. It’s the best I’ve ever seen, ”said Sherman.
He said the electoral initiative organizers prepared the questions without input from lawyers or economists.
He noted that similar bans in Key West, Florida were recently declared illegal. The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports that the Florida House passed a law in late April banning local electoral initiatives from restricting maritime trade. However, the final decision on this issue is still pending.
“This is very worrying. Can citizens determine what happens to private property or where people travel? “He asked.
Putting the question personally, he said if a Juneau citizen flew to Hawaii and then learned at the airport that they could not get off the plane due to a visitor limit, outrage would ensue.
He said Juneau has been an “integral” destination in Alaska for some time. If the restrictions made visiting too onerous, Juneau would likely be bypassed on future itineraries.
“There is a one-to-one correlation between people who want to visit Alaska and who want to visit Juneau. But it’s not a birthright, ”he said.
Hypothetical effects
When asked to speculate on the impact of the election initiatives, Sherman said that each initiative had different problems and unintended consequences.
Sherman said he understood the sentiment behind the initiative to restrict ships after 7 p.m. and before 7 a.m. However, such a limit would put everyone at a disadvantage, especially downtown bars, restaurants and shops, as passengers would have to return to the ships well before the sailing time.
He said if ships over 100,000 gross tons are banned, cruise lines will send older ships to Juneau and those ships will not be as energy efficient as the new ships.
He said older ships carry a different type of passenger who typically spends less money in the city. He added that older ships generally attract more budget-conscious travelers who are more likely to “get off the boat and buy two beers and a t-shirt”.
Sherman called the idea that independent travelers could fill the void left by cruise ship passengers “Fantasyland”.
“Do you really want 10 new hotels? When you build the hotels, that money doesn’t go to local hoteliers. It goes to Hilton or Marriott. Where will the workers live? With so many people going, you need a new water treatment plan, ”he said.
Dock development
Sherman said NCL continues to seek community input on its plans to build a new cruise ship dock on its waterfront property on Egan Drive.
Sherman said the community’s contributions so far have sparked new ideas, including taking steps to the waterfront to launch canoes and kayaks.
“It’s a very modern need that overlaps with the historical use of the property by the A’akw Kwáan,” he said.
Other ideas were residential and day care centers on the site as well as green spaces at street level for an underground car park.
Electrifying the dock, an idea with a lot of public support, is seen as a priority for the project, Sherman said. However, NCL would be an interruptible customer if the community demanded more electricity while a ship is connected to the grid. Currently only one dock in Juneau is electrified.
Earlier this year, NCL announced that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Alaska Ocean Center to house the proposed center as part of the development.
Sherman admitted the process has been slow and said it will be a few more years before the company can dock the first ship on site.
“We got the dock in September 2019 and then we sat back and got the visitor industry task force together and they were ready to make recommendations, just like the pandemic,” he explained.
He said the company was ready to restart the process but understood that an additional public process was needed.
• Contact reporter Dana Zigmund at dana.zigmund@juneauempire.com or 907-308-4891.
