The Haines Borough’s tourism department has been receiving waves of good news recently, with new cruise lines committing to visit Haines in 2017 and Freeride World Tour signing on for a third year.
Seabourn Cruise Line, a Seattle-based luxury line, is set to dock in Haines nine times in 2017. The company’s Sojourn, a 650-foot vessel, will bring 450 passengers per visit, said tourism director Leslie Ross.
At a recent assembly meeting, assembly member Diana Lapham said Seabourn’s commitment was a “direct result” of the cruise ship waiver program.
Last summer, the assembly agreed to waive 50 percent of docking fees for every new and existing cruise ship that visits the Port Chilkoot Dock during the 2017-2019 seasons. Proponents of the controversial waiver program claimed it would lure cruise ships to visit Haines; opponents said the waivers amounted to a subsidy.
Ross said she believed the incentive package plus her aggressive marketing of Haines’ arts and culture scene sealed the deal for Seabourn, which hasn’t been to Alaska in about 15 years.
“I just think they are a really perfect fit for Haines. It’s a higher-end ship with less passengers. They are very interested in arts and culture and the quieter communities,” she said.
National Geographic’s Seabird will visit Haines 13 times in 2017, bringing 62 people per visit, Ross said. “They are definitely more of the adventurous expedition, nature-oriented people,” she said.
Ross said she didn’t market the waiver program to National Geographic, because the Seabird is small enough it will likely come in to the Small Boat Harbor or anchor out. “It doesn’t really pertain to them,” she said.
Princess Cruises’ Grand Princess, which docked in Haines once this season and brings 2,600 passengers, will visit three times in 2017, Ross said.
Another “very exciting” addition to the 2017 schedule is Royal Caribbean’s Radiance of the Sea, a 2,500-passenger vessel that will stop in Haines once.
“I am guessing the one stop is the ‘test the waters of Haines’ stop, and that’s kind of what we were hoping the incentive program would do,” she said.
Ross is still putting together the cruise ship schedule for 2017, but next year’s numbers already look like they will exceed this season’s. Without the smaller cruise ship numbers included, next year Ross is already expecting more than 44,000 passengers, as compared to this year’s 38,500.
In addition to arranging next year’s cruise ship schedule, Ross is also working with representatives of Freeride World Tour, who have signed on for a third Haines competition.
Ross is meeting with Freeride representatives this week to solidify the 2017 dates. Freeride is targeting the March 17-24 window, she said.