Wrangell has lost three cruise ship stopovers this summer to Klawock, where a partnership of three Native corporations is developing a tourist destination with facilities, shore excursions and other activities for passengers.
The 746-passenger Seven Seas Explorer has crossed Wrangell off its schedule for a May visit, with the 670-passenger Regatta canceling a stop in June and one in September but retaining a Wrangell stop earlier in September, according to the schedule posted by the Wrangell Convention and Visitor Bureau earlier this month.
The loss of the three stops drops the number of potential cruise ship visitors to town this summer to 28,000, down from 30,000, if all the berths on every ship are full.
This summer’s cruise ship season in Wrangell is scheduled to run from the second week of May to the third week of September, according to the visitor bureau’s latest calendar.
The Regatta and Seven Seas Explorer are operated by separate companies owned by Norwegian Cruise Line.
The loss of the three port visits didn’t surprise Kate Thomas, the borough’s economic development director.
“It’s something that I think we’re going to see continue … and we can’t ignore that,” she reported to the assembly earlier this month.
Cruise lines increasingly are looking for all-in-one destinations with shore excursions, shops and other attractions designed for passengers.
“Klawock is poised to take the very ships that Wrangell is trying to retain,” Thomas said in an interview, noting that cruise ships of around 800 passengers or so is a good size for Wrangell.
“What do we do with that,” Thomas said of the new competition from Klawock. “Wrangell’s going to have to figure out what it wants.”
The largest ships that can carry more than 4,000 passengers mostly stick with Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway, which provide more excursions and attractions with enough capacity to better handle such large crowds.
Huna Totem Corp., the village corporation for Hoonah, started developing its Icy Strait Point cruise ship destination in 2004, and has been building up its attractions and facilities since then and growing its visitor traffic, totaling more than 200 cruise ship visits last summer and getting close to 500,000 passengers.
The development is a big employer in Hoonah, a community of about 850 people at the northern end of Chichagof Island, about 160 miles northwest of Wrangell. The Icy Strait Point amenities include a zipline, ATV and Jeep tours, whale watching trips, several food and retail offerings.
Na-Dena, a joint-venture tourism company of Huna Totem Corp. and Fairbanks-based regional Native corporation Doyon, is working with Klawock Heenya Corp. to develop a similar operation in Klawock.
Until the former log dock is ready to handle large cruise ships, expected by next year, the vessels will anchor offshore and lighter their passengers to a waterfront landing.
The first phase for Klawock will include a welcoming center featuring local artists, retail, walking trails, history displays, a bus tour departure area and bathrooms. The development had planned to start operations last year, but work delays pushed the first cruise visits to this summer.
The cruise destination is being developed on 16 acres on Klawock Island, on the west coast of Prince of Wales Island. There is a bridge to connect the port to the island’s extensive road system.
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