The Tourism Advisory Board is unanimously recommending that the Haines Borough Assembly pass a resolution in favor of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. increasing its number of port calls to Haines in future years.

The board met for the first time in roughly a month and a half to discuss RCCL prospects with Haines tourism director Steven Auch. Auch, Mayor Jan Hill and Eli Fierer, co-owner of Alaska Mountain Guides (AMG), met with Royal Caribbean executives during the winter to pitch Haines as a destination.

RCCL has 11 port calls scheduled for Haines in 2021. Auch said the company expressed interested in increasing port calls in future years, but only if the community supports the growth. As a gesture of its good will, RCCL is donating $15,000 to the local Salvation Army food bank, he said.

The company is currently working on its sailing schedule for 2022, Auch said. If Haines would like to receive more calls from RCCL in 2022, it needs to let the company know soon. He said an assembly-issued resolution would be a good way to open the door for future discussions.

“I think that there is enough support for (increased RCCL visits) in the community that the assembly should be confident in writing that (resolution),” Auch said.

Members of the board concurred with that assessment.

“Why are we overthinking this?” board member Diana Lapham said. “They are filling the void that Holland America has left… for me it’s a pretty easy one for one.”

Last year, Holland America announced that it was cutting sailings to Haines, reducing the maximum number of passengers expected in town in 2020 by roughly 40% and causing concern in the local business community.

Board member and co-owner of AMG Sean Gaffney said he thinks RCCL has traditionally been a good partner to the Haines community, dating back to the ‘90s when the cruise line made a significant contribution to the Haines softball fields.

When Auch raised the idea of a resolution in support of increased RCCL visits at the April 28 assembly meeting, members did not take up the resolution, citing the need to seek input from the harbormaster and Port and Harbor Advisory Committee.

During public comment at the TAB meeting, Haines resident Sue Waterhouse said she was happy the assembly did not take action on the resolution at its meeting. She said the assembly should defer a decision until community outreach can be conducted to get a sense of what the public wants. She said she worries many in the community are not aware that an increase in calls from Royal Caribbean is being considered.

“We know Panamax ships are a boon to the community,” but there are other costs to consider including environmental issues and RCCL’s history, Waterhouse said.

In the late ‘90s, RCCL pleaded guilty to federal felony crimes for dumping dry-cleaning and photo-processing chemicals in the upper Lynn Canal. Haines residents held protests in response, handing out leaflets and tiny, paper fish to arriving RCCL passengers.

In 2000, Royal Caribbean announced it would stop sailing to Haines. At the time, the company had been making roughly 50 port calls a year. RCCL hasn’t had regular sailings to Haines since then.

Auch said he expects the RCCL resolution will be on the agenda at the next assembly meeting on May 12.