Alaska Still a Busy Stop

Despite last month’s tragic Alaska oil spill, none of the nine ships scheduled to sail through the Gulf this summer has changed itineraries.

Only nine of the 19 ships heading north will be sailing in Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska. The other 10 will cruise the Inside Passage between Vancouver and pristine Glacier Bay, more than 400 miles from the spill area and in the opposite direction to the prevailing oil flow.

Prince William Sound

The first cruise ship scheduled to reach the Gulf this season is Regency Cruises’ Regent Sun, sailing from Vancouver on May 14. The Regent Sun and sister ship Regent Sea cross Prince William Sound on northbound seven-day itineraries and call at Valdez on the reverse southbound sailings.

“A few passengers have called and asked how it might affect their cruise,” said marketing vice president Jennifer Urquhart, “but we’ve had no cancellations. They’re worried about the environmental impact, but not afraid it will ruin the cruise. . . . I think they’re concerned whether they’ll see the ecological damage.”

Urquhart said Regency is in constant touch with Valdez. “While we’re very concerned about the ecological damage, it’s not impacting our plans at all,” she said. “We could change and go to other ports, but our commitment to Valdez came about because people want to see the oil pipeline.”

Cunard’s Sagafjord, which pioneered the Gulf of Alaska itinerary five years ago, will see no changes in its 10- and 11-day Route of the Glaciers itineraries that cross Prince William Sound and the Kenai fiords and call at Valdez and Seward.

No Travel Advisory

“The ship won’t be there until the second week in June,” said Cunard spokeswoman Susan Alpert. “There’s been no travel advisory against cruise ships coming into the (Valdez) area. We wouldn’t want to go up there if it were going to damage the ship. And our passengers are not going to be in the water or on shore at any of the islands.”

On the other hand, Jim Sano, general manager of Innerasia Expeditions in San Francisco, says his company’s little 10-passenger boat Discovery, which sails from Cordova in the eastern end of Prince William Sound, has had some cancellations, including a group from the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History who elected to wait for another year for their Alaskan wilderness cruise.

“Prior to the oil spill, our season was completely sold out, but we had some cancellations afterward, due to the media (coverage),” Sano says.

“It’s hard to persuade some passengers that the whole sound is not covered in oil. We usually land on beaches and dig for clams and fish for salmon. The people who canceled were significantly worried that these sorts of experiences would be spoiled.”

But Sano said that Mike Wiedmer of the Alaska Fish and Game Department reported no influence on the wildlife along the Discovery’s itinerary.

Spill Has Drifted

“The spill has drifted southwest out of the sound, and our cruises operate on the eastern end of the sound, so we’re not affected,” Sano said. “Since our ship carries only 10 passengers, we can pretty easily maneuver around and get to places the big ships cannot.”

Discovery captain Chuck Irvine recently flew over the vessel’s normal route, and Stephen Johnson, a 40-year resident of Cordova who works with Innerasia, went ashore to check on the island beaches where the boat usually lands. Neither saw any damage on the eastern side of the sound, Sano said.

“But,” he added, “I think if you were to go up to the west side you’d see considerable environmental impact.”

A spokeswoman at San Francisco-based World Explorer Cruises said its ship Universe will continue to Valdez on all of its sailings.

“We may try to get someone from the Coast Guard or an environmental group to come on board there and speak to the passengers about the effect of the spill on the community,” she said.

“Also, I have a feeling people may be curious to see for themselves what this biggest spill in the United States is like.”

Line Keeps Schedule

After firsthand investigations, a team from Seattle-based Holland America decided not to change any of the scheduled seven-day sailings of its flagship Rotterdam between Vancouver and Seward, all of which call briefly at Valdez.

“We made a trip up there last week to check it out,” said a spokesman. “We flew over the face of Columbia Glacier and up College Fjord. There’s nothing there; (the oil) didn’t go in there. You can’t see anything until Seward, and that should be cleared up by the beginning of the season. But environmentally it’s awful.”

He said Holland America Westours and its employees have contributed $100,000 toward wildlife rescue efforts.

Skinner added that his company has had very few cancellations, probably no more than the normal fallout for any season.

Los Angeles-based Princess Cruises, with three ships scheduled to cruise the Gulf of Alaska and the Columbia Glacier area, will also stay with its published itineraries for the summer.

“There’s no interruption to shipping,” said vice president Max Hall. “We adhere to what the Coast Guard tells us, and we haven’t heard anything from the Coast Guard, pilots or port authorities, even from the port of Valdez, so we assume everything will be normal.”

For last-minute updates on Alaska cruises, call these numbers:

Cunard, toll-free (800) 528-6723; Holland America, (800) 426-0327; Innerasia, (415) 922-0448; Princess, (800) 421-0522; Regency, (800) 457-5566, and World Explorer, (800) 854-3835.

Lines sailing only the Inside Passage are Admiral, (800) 327-0271; Costa, (800) 477-6877; Royal Viking, (800) 422-8000; Special Expeditions, (800) 762-0003, and TravAlaska, (800) 426-7702.

-- -- --

In other cruise news, Aloha Pacific’s Monterey, tied up at at a pier in Honolulu since March 4 in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization filing, began cruising again April 22. The nine-month-old line and its U.S. flagship were bailed out with $1.7 million in operating expenses, mostly from Pacifico Creative Services, a tour wholesale affiliate of Japan Creative Tours (JALPAK) and a subsidiary of Japan Air Lines, and Sequoia Ventures, an affiliate of Bechtel Investments.

The court is reviewing a proposed $12-million reorganization plan that provides for a new company, S. S. Monterey Management Co. Inc., to be the general managing partner. There is also an agreement under negotiation for a U.S. hotel company (Radisson) to take over the hotel management and an affiliated tour company (Carlson Travel Group) to take over marketing for the ship.

Passengers who had booked cruises canceled during the bankruptcy proceedings will be offered special packages.