SITKA - With protocols for Coronavirus mitigation and testing, as well as hope for a more expansive vaccine rollout, Sitka-based maritime tourism company Allen Marine plans to return to form this spring and summer, the company said last week.
Bookings on Allen Marine’s subsidiary company, Alaska Dream Cruises, have seen significant demand, Allen Marine’s Zak Kirkpatrick reported in an online press and industry meeting.
The Dream Cruises operate solely in Alaska waters, unaffected by Canada’s decision earlier this month to keep its waters closed to cruise ship traffic.
The company’s vessels in pre-pandemic times called on Wrangell, and the company’s website shows Wrangell on its itineraries for 2021. Dreams Cruises operates four vessels, ranging from 40 to 74 passengers each.
“There is pent-up demand for travel and there is demand for Alaska cruising,” Kirkpatrick said. “We’re starting this season with many guests on the books from 2020 who chose to postpone their cruise travel until this year. This last week has seen an uptick of bookings and we’re expecting that to continue.”
When the small-ship cruise season begins in the late spring, Kirkpatrick noted, a variety of mitigation measures will be in place, ranging from mandatory mask wearing to daily health checks.
“We know about how effective masks are, so they will be required when occupying or transiting all public areas for guests and crew,” Kirkpatrick said. “That, in terms of the onboard experience, means whenever you’re out of your stateroom.”
Passengers must receive a negative COVID-19 test prior to sailing, he said, noting that this rule will apply to passengers coming from out of state and from within Alaska.
Other mitigations will include ultraviolet lights to sterilize ventilation systems and an end to buffet dining.
While he was uncertain about the possibility of requiring a vaccine for passengers or crew, Kirkpatrick said the vaccine rollout is encouraging.
“We’re really heartened by vaccine rollouts underway. … As of (Feb. 10) 24% of Southeast Alaska residents had received their first dose of the COVID vaccine,” he said, citing Rain Coast Data. In Kake, vaccines had already reached more than two-thirds of the town’s 600 residents, he said. Nationwide, the vaccination rate was just past 11%.
In the event of a positive Coronavirus case on one of the company’s small cruise ships, Kirkpatrick said, the company has the means for quarantine and evacuation.
“Upon confirmation of a positive COVID test, the affected guest will be quarantined in their room and upon consultation with shore-based medical the guest will be transferred to either a Sitka or Juneau shore-based hotel,” he said.
Allen Marine’s fleet could also provide support for an ill passenger, Kirkpatrick said.
“We have large infrastructure, another company with high-speed catamarans, so if we were not near a port to be able to disembark a guest like this, we essentially have fast-transport vessels that can,” he said.
While the company prepares for its cruise season, the Canadian government decision earlier this month to keep its waters closed to cruise ship traffic will likely put an end to plans for large ships to call on Southeast ports.
“Some news from Canada last week put our company in a unique position as we look to the 2021 season. … It blocks all large and some small cruise lines from entering Alaska this year,” he said.
Alaska Dream Cruise and other Allen Marine vessels are U.S. flagged and crewed, and as such can sail within U.S. waters without issue.
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