:: Alaska loses ships in 2011
Princess cruises and Holland America announced last month that they would both pull one cruise ship from Alaska in 2011.
Princess, the largest cruise operator in Alaska, said it would pull the 710-passenger Royal Princess in early 2011. Princess had previously said it would reduce its Alaska-bound fleet by one in 2010.
Holland America announced it's transferring the 1,270-passenger Ryndam to Europe for 2011. Both Princess Cruises and Holland America are owned by Carnival Corp.
So far cruise lines have...
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The Alaska Cruise Association helped sponsor the Princess Capital City Classic, a basketball tournament for both boys and girls that provides a high level of sportsmanship and fine entertainment. Fans turned out in large numbers to watch hometown favorite Juneau play Palmer.
:: Alaska faces $200+ million loss
EDITOR'S NOTE: While other destinations will see more ships, more passengers and more economic benefits from cruise tourism in 2010, Alaska is facing a serious downturn which will affect businesses and jobs across the state. Cruise lines are ready to take legal action while Alaskan businesses are looking for their own solutions. Tony Peisley takes the temperature of this land of the glaciers.
By Tony Peisley
Micky Arison has been accused of many things - that goes with the territory of heading up a large, publicly-listed company these...
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:: Meltdown hits local tourism
By Scott Bowlen
Ketchikan's tourism industry felt effects from the national economic meltdown with declines in visitor numbers and most types of spending in 2009. Cruise passenger numbers dropped by about 0.5 percent from 941,910 in 2008 to 937,419 passengers in 2009, according to the Ketchikan Visitors...
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:: 'We really benefit from cruise industry'
Name: Bonnie Quill.
Title: Executive Director, Matanuska-Susitna Convention and Visitors Bureau (Mat-Su CVB)
Briefly describe business: Mat-Su CVB is the destination marketing organization for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. We receive 65 percent of the borough's 5 percent bed tax to finance a marketing plan to bring more visitors...
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Bonnie Quill, Executive Director, Matanuska-Susitna Convention and Visitors Bureau (Mat-Su CVB).
:: 'Today' touts Canada over Alaska
The cost differential between cruising the Northeast coast of the Atlantic versus Alaska was the subject of an exchange on the Jan. 13 edition of the Today Show.
Travel + Leisure features editor Nilous Motamed was a guest of Today host Meredith Vieira, whose parents are avid cruisers. Motamed talked about cruise deals, including the following response to Meredith's query: "A lot of people think of the Caribbean cruises as those...
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:: Quebec sees huge increase
In 2009 the Quebec ports handled 166,000 passengers, up from 124,000 in the previous year. In addition to the increase in transit calls, Quebec City is thriving as a turn around port. In 2008, 10,000 passengers embarked or disembarked, last year that number shot up to 35,000.
...
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Cruise passengers show healthy increase in Quebec.
:: Haines operators call for tax reductions
Haines tour operator Karen Hess told the Chilkat Valley News in a December interview that her company was down 21 percent for 2009 and that she will fight for changes in a voter approved initiative.
Hess said the recent changes to cruise itineraries were a response to taxes and regulation in Alaska. "It's damaging to our industry and damaging to Alaska," she said, adding that she'll cut staff next season. Hess owns Chilkat River Adventures
The ballot measure added a...
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