Cruise ships withdraw from Alaska
By: Katrina Archer and Bruce Piper, Cruise Weekly

Cruise lines are sailing out of Alaska - but why?

Alaska has fallen from its position as the third largest cruise market in the world to the fourth behind the Baltic, and it looks like the trend could continue with more cruise lines moving their ships out of the region.

Small ship cruise operator, Cruise West has already pulled three of its planned eight vessels from Alaska for the upcoming season and 2010 will see several other lines reduce their Alaska capacity.

Carnival Cruise Lines (UK) has announced that its Carnival Spirit will no longer operate its one-way Alaska cruises from Vancouver to Whittier, and will instead operate weekly roundtrip cruises from Seattle to the Inside Passage, offering a more convenient drive-to option for travellers, it said.

Holland America Line is also cutting its 2010 Alaska deployment by around ten sailings, or 14,000 passengers, by operating 1380-passenger Amsterdam cruises from Seattle to Alaska.

HAL will still have eight ships cruising Alaska next year however.

Meanwhile Royal Caribbean has announced its Serenade of the Seas won't be returning to Alaska in 2010.

The firm will still operate 37 Alaska cruises onboard two ships during the season on weekly Gulf of Alaska cruises between Vancouver and Seward or roundtrips from Seattle.

And Princess Cruises will reduce its Alaska offering from eight ships to seven in 2010, a reduction of around 16% or 48,000 passengers. The cruise line will still offer seven night cruises on its Gulf of Alaska itinerary between Vancouver and Whittier, plus Seattle and San Francisco roundtrips.

According to the Anchorage Daily News, the cuts by various cruise lines will add up to 100,000 fewer passengers in Alaska in 2010.

So what's the reason for the reductions?

Alaska is an expensive place for cruise lines to operate their ships for two main reasons - the number of taxes and fees, and the high cost of complying with strict environmental rules and the fines that ships incur if they fail to comply.

The high cost of sailing in the region compared to the amount of poeple willing to pay to sail on an Alaskan cruise could be another possible factor.

And Royal Caribbean also cited the 2006 implementation of the US head tax for passengers cruising in Alaska as one of the reasons behind its decision to pull Serenade from the region.

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