A surprise cruise ship docking Wednesday morning left Haines Borough employees, tour company operators, and business owners scrambling to accommodate the unexpected influx of visitors.

Holland America’s Statendam, a 719-foot vessel with a passenger capacity of 1,266, pulled into Haines around 8 a.m. Wednesday after its captain deemed high winds in Skagway – the Statendam’s planned destination – would make mooring unsafe.

Haines was not scheduled to see its first large cruise ship until May…