Tag Archives: Alaska

Noordam Starts Repositioning Cruise to West Coast

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Noordam Starts Repositioning Cruise to West Coast

The Noordam sailed from Australia earlier this month to kick off a 36-night repositioning voyage to the West Coast.

Sailing between Sydney and Seattle, the month-long itinerary started in mid-March and includes destinations in the South Pacific, French Polynesia and Hawaii.

The cruise is highlighted by overnight visits to Honolulu and Tahiti, as well as stops in 15 additional ports of call.

In addition to traditional destinations such as Nouméa, Lautoka and Nawiliwili, the cruise also features stops at less-visited ports, including Vava’u in Tonga, Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, Fakarava in French Polynesia and Kailua-Kona in Hawaii.

Upon completing the repositioning voyage, the Noordam is set to kick off its summer deployment in Alaska.

Part of the company’s six-ship lineup in the region, the vessel will operate a series of seven-night cruises departing from Seattle.

In addition to Alaska, the itineraries of the 2006-built ship sail to the Great Bear Rainforest, with visits to Victoria, Prince Rupert, Nanaimo and Ketchikan.

The vessel’s season also includes a unique 28-night voyage that sails to the Arctic Circle during the summer solstice.

Part of Holland America’s Legendary Voyages schedule, the itinerary features visits to ports in Southwest Alaska and the Far North, including Kodiak, Dutch Harbor and Nome.

Wrapping up its deployment in the region, the Noordam also offers the company’s “Great Alaska Explorer” itinerary in late August.

The 14-night cruise sails roundtrip from Seattle and features visits to Nanaimo, Prince Rupert, Ketchikan, Juneau, Valdez, Anchorage and Kodiak, as well as scenic cruising at Hubbard Glacier.

The Noordam is also scheduled to offer a 28-night itinerary that combines ports of call in Alaska and Hawaii before repositioning back to Australia for the 2026-27 winter.

Starting in mid-November, the ship operates 14- to 35-night cruises in the South Pacific departing from Sydney and Auckland.

Juneau Reaffirms Cruise Passenger Limits Amid New Dock Proposal

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Juneau Reaffirms Cruise Passenger Limits Amid New Dock Proposal

While a proposed new cruise dock could expand the number of cruise berths in Juneau, the city currently has no plans to increase the number of guests arriving.

Speaking with Cruise Industry News, Tourism Director of the City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ), Alexandra Pierce, highlighted the town’s sustainable approach to tourism and said that the development project has not been approved yet.

“We’re one of the communities in the world that has negotiated cruise ship limits, and we don’t have any plans to change those limits,” she said.

Juneau currently holds a voluntary five-ship-a-day limit, which keeps the number of arriving guests steady.

“We’re proud of having these negotiated agreements with the cruise industry,” she said, adding that the deals “were pretty hard fought.”

Pierce noted that the project for additional cruise berths in Juneau, which is being carried out by Goldbelt, is currently pending approval from local authorities.

“They had some preliminary meetings with the city regarding their plans. However, there are very extensive permitting and reviewing processes pending, not just by us, but also by other government agencies that would be impacted,” she explained.

While the proposed port could increase the number of berths available for ships in the town, the actual growth of cruise passengers arriving depends on many other factors, Pierce continued.

“These limits that we have in place allow us to manage for the volume that we have today,” she explained.

Pierce said that such an increase would impact many areas, from transportation to emergency services infrastructure.

“All of that needs to be taken into consideration before adding an additional 500,000 people to a port that already sees 1.7 million visitors a year,” Pierce added.

“To raise those limits, we would need to see some pretty significant infrastructure improvements, which is what our city council is kind of grappling with right now.”

Juneau is soon putting together a visitor industry task force, which will also discuss the matter, she continued.

“One of the things that we’re asking them is under what conditions can Juneau grow? What are our infrastructure needs? What are our criteria for being able to welcome more passengers?”

She noted that the city is working on infrastructure improvements, but these are aimed at better hosting the number of guests that are currently arriving.

“While infrastructure is a great destination management tool, it’s also a very slow destination management tool and very expensive,” Pierce said.

“We want to make sure that we fully recognise and understand the burden on our public facilities of any sort of growth and how we can mitigate that burden going into the future,” she added.

Discovery Princess Arrives in Asia for the First Time

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Discovery Princess Arrives in Asia for the First Time

Sailing in the region for the first time, the Discovery Princess recently arrived in Asia as part of a repositioning cruise.

The ship embarked on a 29-night itinerary between Seattle and Singapore following its summer season in Alaska.

The month-long repositioning voyage departed from North America in late September and included visits to four destinations in Alaska before crossing the Pacific.

For its Asia debut, the Discovery Princess visited ports of call in the Far East and Southeast Asia, such as Shimizu, Kochi, and Kagoshima in Japan; Keelung in Taiwan; and Nha Trang in Vietnam, as well as Hong Kong.

The Royal-class ship is also scheduled to offer a single short cruise in the region before entering drydock in early November.

Sailing roundtrip from Singapore’s Marina Bay Cruise Center, the five-night sailing features visits to three destinations in Malaysia: Port Klang, Langkawi and Penang.

The Discovery Princess is then set to enter drydock before heading south for its inaugural season in Australia and New Zealand.

Starting in late December, the deployment includes a series of three- to 14-night cruises departing from Sydney.

In addition to a series of destinations in New Zealand, the itineraries feature visits to ports of call in Southern Australia, Queensland and the South Pacific.

Highlighted destinations include Mystery Island in Vanuatu, Kangaroo Island in South Australia and the Fiordland National Park in New Zealand.

The season runs through early April, when the vessel is scheduled to return to North America via Hawaii and French Polynesia.

As the sixth and last vessel in a series of ships that started with the Royal Princess in 2013, the Discovery Princess entered service in March 2022.

The 3,600-guest ship was built at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy and spent its maiden season sailing in Alaska, the U.S. West Coast and the Mexican Riviera.