Royal Caribbean shifts ship out of Alaska

Tourism officials warned Tuesday that the state must take steps to protect its share of the cruise ship market after a major line announced it will move a ship out of Alaska waters next year.

John Binkley, president of the Alaska Cruise Association, said the state should modify the 2006 cruise ship initiative that created a $50 per head passenger fee and wastewater dumping regulations that industry officials say are too stringent.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. confirmed it will redeploy the Serenade of the Seas to another market in 2010.

The ship is scheduled for 20 Alaska trips this year. It can carry up to 2,100 passengers and a crew of 870, Binkley said.

Don Habeger, a Royal Caribbean regional vice president in Juneau, said the company decided the economics for the vessel were better elsewhere. The company also wants to move into a global direction, he said, and not just a North American direction.

"Certainly the 2006 ballot measure exacerbated this whole issue," Habeger said. "It was a determining factor in our decision to redeploy."

Gershon Cohen, a sponsor of the 2006 initiative, called the timing of the announcement "pure politics." Cruise lines usually announce changes in April and this one, Cohen said, is aimed at the Alaska Legislature.

"This is purely grandstanding to try to influence the actions of the Legislature," he said.

Cruise companies earn billions off charges unrelated to ticket prices, such as liquor, gambling and shopping, Cohen said. He called ticket prices "a loss leader to get those people on the boats," he said.

"When they cry that they can't make a living coming to Alaska because of this $50 head tax, it falls on deaf ears," he said.

Dave Kasser of the Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau said the move could be a harbinger of future decisions by other lines. He called cruises "the Alaska starter kit" because first-time visitors on ships often extend stays or return with family and friends in tow.

"We need to make a concerted effort to make our destination as attractive as possible," Kasser said.

Cruise companies have expressed concern about stringent discharge standards required by the 2006 initiative, especially for metals such as copper.

"If you go to Juneau and you take water out of the tap from a Juneau business right downtown and pour it off the dock into the water in the bay, you would be breaking the law, essentially, according to those standards," Kasser said. "They have to be realistic."

The $50 passenger fee adds to the total cost of doing business in Alaska, he said, and could sway passengers looking for a bargain. The money must be used on services to visitors or ships, Binkley said, and the state is having trouble finding projects to spend the money on.

"I think it's reasonable to go back and look at that after two years and make some adjustments."

Cohen, the initiative sponsor, said the industry is merely paying costs for dockside improvements that otherwise would have to be borne by Alaska taxpayers.

Cohen said the cruise ship industry has poured money into changing environmental standards rather than taking action to meet them. A technology conference in Juneau next month will bring together scientists and vendors who could provide solutions to closing the final gap in discharge violations, he said.

"To change the law this session before we've even heard from these people is absolutely premature," he said.