While hopes for a bustling 2020 cruise ship season continue to dwindle, prospects for future summers may be looking up. At an assembly meeting Tuesday night, Haines tourism director Steven Auch announced that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has expressed interest in increasing port calls to Haines in future years.

Auch said RCCL executives cited Haines’ authenticity as part of the town’s appeal, but said the company is not interested in increasing port calls unless Haines is also interested.

“It’s up to us to say, ‘yes,’” Auch said. “(RCCL) wants to make sure the community knows they’re interested in being a part of the community, not just some company that brings ships.”

As a gesture to illustrate this desire, yesterday RCCL informed Auch and Mayor Jan Hill that it plans to donate $15,000 to the local Salvation Army food bank. Auch said the details are being finalized this week.

RCCL would like to become the largest cruise line in Haines, Auch said. In 2021, the company is scheduled to make 11 port calls to Haines with some of the largest ships the Port Chilkoot Dock can accommodate.

The ball is in the assembly’s court to let RCCL know whether or not Haines is interested in continuing discussions, Auch said. This could take the form of a resolution indicating support for RCCL to increase calls to Haines. When Auch raised the issue at the assembly meeting, members said they would like input from the Port and Harbor Advisory Committee and harbormaster Shawn Bell.

Residents with questions or comments about the proposal can contact Auch via email or phone.

Auch’s presentation also referenced the impact of COVID-19 on this summer’s sailing schedule.

Last week, the Haines Tourism Department released a new draft cruise ship schedule for 2020 reflecting coronavirus-driven cancellations, including the total elimination of Princess Cruises and Holland America sailings. 

The cancellations mean no ships with passenger capacities above 1,000 will call in Haines this year, Auch said. The new maximum number of passengers who could arrive this summer is 12,373, roughly a third of the number before the pandemic. And this number could decrease as more companies cancel sailings.

On April 9, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended the “no sail” order for cruise ships until mid-July, or until the CDC determines the order is no longer necessary to protect people from COVID-19, whichever comes first.

“At this point, it really doesn’t affect that much for Haines since the port of Seattle is closed indefinitely, and Canadian ports are closed through July 1,” Auch said. “It’s someone else saying you can’t do what you already can’t do.” 

All three restrictions would need to be lifted in order for Haines to begin receiving visits from larger cruise ships, Auch said.

In past weeks, both President Trump and Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy have spoken about reopening sectors of the economy. The president described a three-phase plan that moves businesses from operating under extreme social-distancing and hygiene practices to a place where bars and restaurants are able to operate at relatively normal capacity. The plan states that the phases should be implemented at the discretion of governors. 

Last week, the Dunleavy administration announced the first stage of its plan, allowing most non-essential businesses to reopen beginning last Friday with strict social-distancing measures. Crowded gathering spaces like bars and theaters will not be allowed to open during this phase.

It is impossible to predict when the cruise ship industry will reopen, Auch said. The president’s plan for reopening the economy does not specifically list cruise ships, but it does include guidelines for bars and “large venues” like sit-down restaurants and movie theaters. Auch said it’s helpful to think about a cruise ship as a combination of multiple businesses—a hotel, a restaurant, a movie theater, a form of mass transit. He said it’s likely that restrictions on all those industries would need to lift in order for cruise ships to begin operating.

The new Haines cruise ship schedule is likely to change in the coming weeks, Auch said. Right now, the first cruise ship scheduled to arrive in Haines is Lindblad Expeditions’ 62-passenger Sea Lion on June 8.