Windstar cruise line returns to Southeast after 20-year break

As estimates for cruise ship tourists this year seem set to break records in Alaska, a new vessel will be making Wrangell a port of call this summer.

Fresh from a six-month tour of Asian waters, the 212-passenger ship Star Legend will be arriving for the day this Friday. It will be the first of nine passes through Southeast for the vessel this summer, and the first season Seattle-based company Windstar Cruises will have operated in the state since its sailing ship Wind Spirit departed its waters in 1998.

Windstar public relations director Mary Schimmelman explained the company’s return to the Last Frontier reflects a change in its fleet.

“It’s been the addition of these all-suite yachts,” she mentioned. The Star Legend is one of the company’s newer additions, joining the fleet in 2015.

Schimmelman explained the company has been conservative with its deployment since then, but that this year Windstar has decided to branch back out into new areas. The company mainly caters to the small-scale luxury market, focusing on what its clientele would consider to be “authentic destinations.”

“We had a huge amount of feedback from our guests,” she said. “They overwhelmingly said ‘Alaska.’”

During the coming summer, Schimmelman said the vessel will be prioritizing stops into smaller coastal communities like Wrangell, including Metlakatla, Haines and Prince Rupert.

Star Legend’s most recent excursion had been the western Pacific, making three circumnavigations of Japan and traveling the Southeast. It received an upgrade in Singapore’s drydocks that would better suit it to Alaskan exploring, allowing for kayak launching and other recreational activities.

For its first Wrangell stop, the Star Legend will be pulling up tomorrow morning at 9 a.m., taking off again at 5 p.m.

The Cruise Lines International Association Alaska this year expected around 1.16 million visitors to arrive in the state by cruise liner, up from just over a million in 2017. While the majority of these will be making their way to Juneau, the uptick is noticeable in other communities in Southeast.

“We’re getting a few more here and there,” noticed Cyni Crary, Wrangell Chamber of Commerce’s executive director.

Tourism represents a growing share in the local economy each year, with visitors coming on medium and smaller scale cruise lines but also making their way to town independently. While such visitors traditionally have benefited the local charter and outfitting sector, Crary said the Chamber would like to encourage visitors to try more unplanned activities on their visits as well.

“One thing that we’re doing is we’re building a display board that’s going to go out there by the dock,” she said, complete with a map of the town and travel brochures. The Chamber will also post a greeter down by the dock to welcome visitors, answering any questions and providing directions as needed.