It’s that time of year again – when wide-eyed strangers in matching jackets come wandering through town, asking for directions.
Petersburg saw its first cruise ship of the year on Saturday, April 27, when the 150-foot Sea Lion tied up to the float at the local drive down dock and disembarked passengers for eight hours. The small National Geographic vessel will make one other stop in town this year, when they return down Southeast Alaska’s Inside Passage on September 15th, near the end of the cruise season.
2023 was a record-breaking year for tourism in Alaska, and the Alaska Travel Industry Association forecasts another boom year for cruises. But the number of port calls in Petersburg is projected to drop a little bit from the last two years. The Harbor Department is anticipating 105 stops this year, compared to 118 in 2022 and 110 in 2022. They’re expecting fewer boats this year partly because one of the community’s former visitors has gone out of business.
American Queen, the company that used to operate the 341-foot Ocean Victory, has folded — dropping six port calls from Petersburg’s list. The cruise line filed for bankruptcy in February and canceled all future voyages, citing its inability to rebound from the pandemic.
Steve Giesbrecht, Petersburg’s Borough Manager, says he’s confident that the Borough’s list of stopovers will fluctuate over the summer. He says the Borough’s yearly estimation is sometimes lower than what actually comes to pass. He says the number of ships doesn’t necessarily translate to the density of the passengers aboard them. Altogether, he says it’s difficult for the Borough to estimate the number of tourists who will actually leave the boat and spend money in town.
Every year, the Borough collects moorage fees from cruise ships and a “head tax” from passengers who stop through. They go into accounts that pay for things that support the local tourism industry, like upkeep at the library and local harbors. Last year, the Borough collected $40,145 in head taxes and $80,483 in moorage fees.
The next ship to arrive in port is the 236-foot Venture, which is scheduled to pull into Petersburg’s dock on May 6 and disembark passengers for 12 hours. The community will see regular cruise ship traffic after May 12.
