Skagway AK Landslide possibility causes itinerary "adjustments"...

[SiliconCruiser]

On 7/28/2022 at 10:12 AM, Cali Viajera said:

Haines is a great port stop instead of Skagway. It’s an authentic Alaskan town with many excursions. It is a tender port that was assigned to us on the Majestic last month when the slide prevented us from going to Skagway.

We has Haines as a scheduled stop it was quite welcoming as it was a lot less touristy.  We took a local excursion and were reasonably pleased with what it had to offer.  We were also able to visit the Bald Eagle Foundation for the price of admission, after a short walk from the pier (as opposed to the far higher priced excursion from Princess.)  After our third party excursion, the operator was able to drop us off at the Sheldon Museum in Haines rather than taking us back to the ship.  We were able to visit there as part of our NARM membership, and it was only a short walk back to the ship.  Nice folks, nice friendly town.  And if you want to go to Skagway for the White Pass train, it was also an option via a high speed ferry.

 

[yourSLCwoman]

1 hour ago, Ockatty said:

We will be on the Majestic NB on Aug 13th. No changes showing up yet, but sounds like it’s time to plan for Sitka. What are the times they are showing for your Sitka stop? 

The app and the travel summary online are both showing 10:30am - 8:00pm for our stop in Sitka this week. 

Edited July 30, 2022 by yourSLCwoman

[azbirdmom]

12 hours ago, stevenr597 said:

I really feel bad for the people who live in Skagway.  Many of them survive based on several months of business from the cruise boats.  It would be a terrible blow, including the people who work on the White Pass Railroad, if the larger Princess ships cannot dock at the Port.

We recently docked at Skagway on the Discovery Princess and had a fantastic time there.  

I do hope that the government of Alaska can provide some assistance to be able for these ships to make their port calls in Skagway. 

 

Me too.  We were on one of the last ships to berth at the forward Railroad dock a week and a half ago and were also there last year on the Majestic.  Both times we stopped at a small book store talking to the owner (as I call it helping the local economy by spending $$).  I said that I bet she was glad that the ships were back in force and she said it helps but the ships aren't full yet so it's nowhere near back to normal.  And now this.  I do feel bad for the local business owners as they haven't had normal business since the summer of 2019.

[Ptroxx]

Word on the street is they are tendering pax to Skagway. 
 

 

[Guest ldtr]

2 hours ago, Ptroxx said:

Word on the street is they are tendering pax to Skagway. 
 

 

Do not know if they are still doing it now, but for part of the time the ship using the rear berth has been tendering passengers from that location, since they could not walk on the pier.  They may have gone back to that process.

 

Not very many spots where they can tender into , if the other berths are filled.

[vmontell26]

I was on the Celebrity Summit years ago and we made a stop in Icy Strait Point. There wasn’t much to do there at that time other than the zip line. We did a whale watching excursion out of there that was great. We saw a lot of whales. So if you are being diverted there, and were planning on whale watching in Juneau, you might choose a different excursion in Juneau and whale watch in ISP. Just an idea. Safe travels everyone!

[Ptroxx]

2 hours ago, ldtr said:

Do not know if they are still doing it now, but for part of the time the ship using the rear berth has been tendering passengers from that location, since they could not walk on the pier.  They may have gone back to that process.

 

Not very many spots where they can tender into , if the other berths are filled.

Guess we’ll see in a few days.  
I board discover in 21 hours.  

[Guest ldtr]

18 minutes ago, Ptroxx said:

Guess we’ll see in a few days.  
I board discover in 21 hours.  

Looking at the port the Grand is certainly not there today  - RRF is empty.  The map appears to show a tender moving from the Carnival Miracle, which is the ship in berth RRA.

[nini]

3 hours ago, vmontell26 said:

I was on the Celebrity Summit years ago and we made a stop in Icy Strait Point. There wasn’t much to do there at that time other than the zip line. We did a whale watching excursion out of there that was great. We saw a lot of whales. So if you are being diverted there, and were planning on whale watching in Juneau, you might choose a different excursion in Juneau and whale watch in ISP. Just an idea. Safe travels everyone!

We can't be diverted. Icy Strait is already a part of our itinerary, as well as Prince Rupert and Sitka.

[capriccio]

20 minutes ago, nini said:

We can't be diverted. Icy Strait is already a part of our itinerary, as well as Prince Rupert and Sitka.

In that case, maybe a diversion to Haines?

[JT1962]

Here is a link to an update from a local radio station. It says the Forward Berth at the Railroad Dock (RRF) will be closed the remainder of 2022. That likely means the itinerary changes will continue for most ships scheduled to use the RRF berth the rest of 2022. 
 

There also could be issues into 2023 / 2024 with the Broadway / Ore Docks with the White Pass Railroad contract for those docks ending soon. It sounds like it is becoming a political issue. Hopefully they can get the issues resolved.
 

https://khns.org/wpyr-closes-half-of-skagways-busiest-cruise-dock-plans-to-disable-other-docks-before-next-spring

[azbirdmom]

1 hour ago, JT1962 said:

Here is a link to an update from a local radio station. It says the Forward Berth at the Railroad Dock (RRF) will be closed the remainder of 2022. That likely means the itinerary changes will continue for most ships scheduled to use the RRF berth the rest of 2022. 
 

There also could be issues into 2023 / 2024 with the Broadway / Ore Docks with the White Pass Railroad contract for those docks ending soon. It sounds like it is becoming a political issue. Hopefully they can get the issues resolved.
 

https://khns.org/wpyr-closes-half-of-skagways-busiest-cruise-dock-plans-to-disable-other-docks-before-next-spring

 

Guessing they will work something out before next season.  Too much $$ involved on both sides of this issue.

[Guest ldtr]

2 hours ago, JT1962 said:

Here is a link to an update from a local radio station. It says the Forward Berth at the Railroad Dock (RRF) will be closed the remainder of 2022. That likely means the itinerary changes will continue for most ships scheduled to use the RRF berth the rest of 2022. 
 

There also could be issues into 2023 / 2024 with the Broadway / Ore Docks with the White Pass Railroad contract for those docks ending soon. It sounds like it is becoming a political issue. Hopefully they can get the issues resolved.
 

https://khns.org/wpyr-closes-half-of-skagways-busiest-cruise-dock-plans-to-disable-other-docks-before-next-spring

Very interesting.  Wonder if the WPR wanted to renew or extend its contract?  This would make sense if they tried to do that and the town said no or they wanted to put the contract out for competition.

 

Could be a very interesting situation since Carnival purchased WPR via Holland America in 2018.

 

There was a study commissioned in 2008 that talking about expanding the ports shipping capacity that mentioned that lease termination in 2023 and that it would provide the city with opportunities to build on what was done previously.

Edited July 31, 2022 by ldtr

[Ptroxx]

3 hours ago, JT1962 said:

Here is a link to an update from a local radio station. It says the Forward Berth at the Railroad Dock (RRF) will be closed the remainder of 2022. That likely means the itinerary changes will continue for most ships scheduled to use the RRF berth the rest of 2022. 
 

There also could be issues into 2023 / 2024 with the Broadway / Ore Docks with the White Pass Railroad contract for those docks ending soon. It sounds like it is becoming a political issue. Hopefully they can get the issues resolved.
 

https://khns.org/wpyr-closes-half-of-skagways-busiest-cruise-dock-plans-to-disable-other-docks-before-next-spring

Fake news. Lolol.   
we are porting in Skagway.  
 

 

[nini]

7 hours ago, capriccio said:

In that case, maybe a diversion to Haines?

That would be fine. We went to Haines on our first Alaska cruise and it is a quaint town.

[caribill]

On 7/29/2022 at 3:28 PM, ldtr said:

With the number of ships going to Alaska and the crowds in many ports it is nice to have one that is  less crowded.

 

 

On 7/29/2022 at 7:23 PM, harryfat1 said:

Yeah, someone from our roll call just alerted me that the Majestic Princess sailing starting next Saturday from Whittier will be visiting ISP on August 9 instead of Skagway.

 

When a ship the size of the Majestic Princess goes there, ISP is no longer uncrowded.

[JT1962]

8 hours ago, Ptroxx said:

Fake news. Lolol.   
we are porting in Skagway.  
 

 

That’s not fake news, as I said likely will change, not definitely. What you posted said they did actually close the forward berth and you will be porting at the rear berth. That is possible for some itineraries if no other ship is scheduled to dock at the rear berth that day.  Passengers now will need to take a tender to / from shore and most in a wheelchair may not be able to go ashore.

 

Glad you are getting to go to Skagway, it’s a great port. If you haven’t booked an excursion, definitely do either the White Pass railway or a tour into the Yukon with Chilkoot Charters. Both are excellent. 

Edited July 31, 2022 by JT1962

[JT1962]

9 hours ago, ldtr said:

Very interesting.  Wonder if the WPR wanted to renew or extend its contract?  This would make sense if they tried to do that and the town said no or they wanted to put the contract out for competition.

I could not find any details other than they had been negotiating for several years trying to extend the contract, but could not come to an agreement. It seems the railroad is backing the city into a corner so they have to extend their contract for the Broadway & Ore docks.

The railroad has a lot to lose as well, as resolving the slide issue will be very expensive, take a lot of time and involves both railroad and city land. With half of the dock closed, the railroad is losing money on berthing fees and fares  missed for the railroad for passengers on ships that are unable to port.

[Ptroxx]

1 hour ago, JT1962 said:

That’s not fake news, as I said likely will change, not definitely. What you posted said they did actually close the forward berth and you will be porting at the rear berth. That is possible for some itineraries if no other ship is scheduled to dock at the rear berth that day.  Passengers now will need to take a tender to / from shore and most in a wheelchair may not be able to go ashore.

 

Glad you are getting to go to Skagway, it’s a great port. If you haven’t booked an excursion, definitely do either the White Pass railway or a tour into the Yukon with Chilkoot Charters. Both are excellent. 

Ya missed the LOL.   Was kinda joking about my comment.  Lol

 

already done the white pass. Yo the Yukon. This year doing the mushers camp to play with some puppies.  And then after maybe walk around town for a bite to eat.   Glad they made some arrangements.  I didnt want to miss the puppies.  Lol.  

[azbirdmom]

11 hours ago, Ptroxx said:

Fake news. Lolol.   
we are porting in Skagway.  
 

 

 

There's two Thursdays in August that only 3 ships happen to be in port and your's is one of them.  On your date specifically there was a ship scheduled to be at RRA but that ship can be moved to the Ore dock and the Discovery moves to RRA.  So you'll be one of the lucky ones on a Princess ship that actually make it to Skagway.

 

[phabric]

From this chart, there are 4 ships in port.  My Cruise shows - 

 

Majestic - August 31 - 6am - 8:30 - RRF

 

Waiting to see where we go?

[memoak]

12 hours ago, Ptroxx said:

Fake news. Lolol.   
we are porting in Skagway.  
 

 

Yours may be one of the few that do make it. The Northbound Royal cruise leaving Vancouver on the 6th is already showing an itinerary change. Waiting to see what happens on out back 2 back cruises starting the 20th

[Guest ldtr]

4 hours ago, JT1962 said:

I could not find any details other than they had been negotiating for several years trying to extend the contract, but could not come to an agreement. It seems the railroad is backing the city into a corner so they have to extend their contract for the Broadway & Ore docks.

The railroad has a lot to lose as well, as resolving the slide issue will be very expensive, take a lot of time and involves both railroad and city land. With half of the dock closed, the railroad is losing money on berthing fees and fares  missed for the railroad for passengers on ships that are unable to port.

Keep in mind that Carnival purchased the railroad through its HAL  subsidiary.   

 

The 2008 study was focused shipping of ore and other resources from the Yukon. In other words diversifying the economy of the port and town. Which is currently very limited due to cruise ship schedules. CCL would clearly prefer the focus on cruise ships as it exists today.

[harryfat1]

12 hours ago, caribill said:

 

 

When a ship the size of the Majestic Princess goes there, ISP is no longer uncrowded.

That's not even counting the other berth with another ship in town.

 

For us, we will be there the same day as the Radiance. In theory between two ships, it could be upwards of 5K+ people in town - depending on how full both sailings will be.

 

 

Especially with our sailing being a late change, many people will have no tours planned given the last minute change to a port they haven't researched.

 

The line for the free gondola ride at ISP could rival Disneyland like wait time.

[stevenr597]

On 7/27/2022 at 2:07 PM, D. B. said:

If Skagway stands to lose a lot of Larger Ship foot traffic, I would think they could figure out how to get the cruise lines to Tender guests ashore? Maybe help with shore-based boats and a little $$ for the cruise lines?

 

 I could be that's not practical because of the space to anchor out would interfere with other ships? 

 Tendering is a slow process and could limit guests time ashore.

 The biggest draw in Skagway is the White Pass Railway so maybe they can help figure out a solution. They own the pier affected by the rockslide danger.

 I have 2 independent Tours for my 2 scheduled stops at Skagway (August 24 & 30th.) that I was looking forward to.

  

One of the problems is that the waters of the fjord run very deep and the ship would not be able to drop anchor.   Would have to constantly use its thrusters which would use much fuel.