:: Permit holds ships to standard no city could meet
By John Binkley, ACA President
Each year, the nine member lines of the Alaska Cruise Association (ACA) deliver 60 percent of the state's visitors to Alaska. These visitors spend millions of dollars to have a memorable experience in a beautiful, pristine environment.
To make sure our waste water discharges do no harm to the environment we market, the ACA member lines have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in new treatment technology and on-board recycling programs. While there is still progress to be made, we believe the Alaska cruise industry's environmental record is one Alaska should celebrate. And so do our state and federal regulators who say we "have...
Silverseas' Silver Shadow and the Carnival Spirit light up the night in Ketchikan. Photo courtesy of Ketchikan Daily News. Twenty-eight ACA ships made 470 calls on Ketchikan this year.
:: Cruise passenger industry big contributor to Sitka
The seasonal cruise industry injected $15.6 million into the Sitka economy last year, contributed $3 million to local government in taxes and fees and created many jobs in cruise line hotel and tour operations, according to a new economic impact study conducted by the McDowell Group.
Sitka remains the 4th most popular cruise port in Alaska, capturing 23 percent - 233,600 passengers in 2007 - of all Alaska cruise passengers. As the town lacks a deep water dock, all passengers must be lightered from ship to shore. Sitka is well known for its Russian-American history, and unique Outer Coast scenery. Shore excursion activities...
ACA sponsored "Experience Alaska Day" at the Alaska State Fair. The ACA booth drew a crowd as fair goers learned more about the industry and signed up for a cruise for two, courtesy of Holland America. Michael Allen won the cruise.
:: Dog day aboard Shadow
Silverseas' Silver Shadow went to the dogs last month when Dee Dee Jonrowe visited the ship to talk about the partnership between man and dogs.
DeeDee is the foremost female dog musher competing in the world today. She has both the fastest time of any woman in the history of the Iditarod and 13 top 10 finishes in her career.
DeeDee said her onboard presentation also "touched on how my dogs contributed to helping me heal from cancer and many guests came up and talked with me afterwards who were in the process of cancer treatment or were cancer survivors."
The Willow resident found the ship experience...
DeeDee Jonrowe
:: A different kind of marathon
Earlier this month, about 100 runners, walkers and waddlers traveling aboard the cruise ship Westerdam finished the final leg of The Great Alaskan Maritime Marathon - a 26.2-mile event with segments onboard the ship and in Ketchikan, Juneau and Sitka.
:: RCCL names new conservation advocate
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has named conservation advocate Jamie Sweeting as its vice president of Environmental Stewardship.
In his position, which is new to the...
:: Condé Nast Traveler honors NCL
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has been named a finalist in Condé Nast Traveler magazine's 2008 World Savers Awards. The awards honor 38 travel companies from around the world for their leadership in social responsibility in five key areas: poverty alleviation, cultural...
:: 'Heart of Alaska' wins award
Beating out nearly 100 entries, Princess Cruises' short film "The Heart of Alaska" video won the New York Independent Film Festival's award for Best Cinematography. The 26-minute film is a...
:: HAL donates dental equipment
Holland America donated dental equipment from five ships to the Indian Health Services. The agency is responsible for providing federal health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Four ships donated supplies to Loma Linda for its worldwide dental programs for children. One ship donated supplies to an orphanage in Pichilingue, Mexico. Equipment also was donated in Indonesia and Manila.
:: Lunch on us
The whole town was invited to celebrate the close of the 2008 visitor and fishing season - and lunch for everyone was on the ACA.
Part of downtown Sitka was closed to traffic as residents shopped for bargains, participated in the 14th annual Running of the Boots and noshed on hot dogs, hamburgers and fish. ACA teamed with the Sitka Chamber of Commerce to sponsor the event.