Haines-Skagway Fast Ferry will operate beginning July 27 and run through Sept. 22. Due to COVID-19 precautions, they won’t board independent travelers.
“We tried really hard to find a way to accommodate more independent travelers and locals, but unfortunately, it’s really difficult with requirements from cruise lines that passengers be kept separate,” fast ferry president Eli Fierer said in an interview Monday.
He said news of large cruise ships coming to Skagway tipped the economic balance for the company, allowing them to open.
In keeping with cruise ship COVID-19 mitigation policies, on days when two cruise ships are in Skagway, the fast ferry will make multiple trips to keep passengers separate. Other mitigation measures include masking and sanitizing between trips, according to Fierer.
Traffic on the private ferry is hard to predict due to the pandemic, he said.
“Some of the cruise lines are doing lowered capacity, so there will be fewer people on board. A lot of tour operators aren’t operating, which changes the dynamic of purchasing patterns,” Fierer said.
So far, 14 Haines operators have applied for tour permits this summer, tourism director Steven Auch said, roughly half the number that applied in a pre-pandemic year.
Fierer said in a normal year, the fast ferry leases two vessels. This year, it’s leasing one with a maximum capacity of 150. The ship will operate three to four times a week, running one or two departures. This means the maximum number of passengers it could bring to Haines during its eight weeks of operation is roughly 5,000, although the number will likely be significantly lower as Fierer said operators are targeting 75% capacity for trips.
The fast ferry’s decision to operate will benefit Haines companies that sell tours through the cruise lines in Skagway, including Alaska Mountain Guides, Chilkat River Adventures and Alaska Nature Tours, but it means other tour operators and local businesses will miss out on the Skagway cruise ship traffic, according Auch.
“Most of the tours I operate aren’t sold through the ships, therefore, I can’t bring those folks to Haines for my tours, so I won’t be working with the fast ferry,” Rainbow Glacier Adventures owner Joe Ordonez said.
For operators like Ordonez, the bulk of this year’s revenue will come from independent travelers and visits from the American Constellation, the sole cruise ship visiting Haines this summer.
Auch said despite the limitations, the fast ferry’s decision to operate is still good news for the community.
“We won’t have people coming over, wandering the streets of town, but given current circumstances, we’ll take any business we can get,” Auch said, adding, “When any company here gets business, it means more sales tax for the borough.”
The fast ferry will likely run a couple trips for locals and independent travelers around the time of the Southeast Alaska State Fair, Fierer said. But otherwise, these groups will be reliant on the state ferry and Alaska Fjordlines for transportation between Haines and Skagway.
The ferry is running four times a week between Haines, Skagway and Juneau throughout the summer. Fjordlines is offering three to four sailings a week between Haines and Skagway for $35 one way.