As the cruise shipping industry gets back on track after 2+ years of zero-to-limited sailing, just one passenger liner call is currently scheduled to visit Anchorage (Alaska, Denali NP) this year, in September.
HAL-Holland America Line downsized its fleet after the COVID crisis started 2 years ago and that limited the number of ships that once brought ~1500 tourists to Anchorage at a time, as part of a 2-week, Alaska-focused trip.
Massive numbers of cruise passengers are expected to disembark at Whittier and Seward this season - the first ship calls in Southcentral Alaska in 2 years - and make their way to Anchorage.
Businesses say they are seeing "promising signs of another strong year of the independent travelers" (not tied to a cruise-backed itinerary).
According to Jim Jager, a spokesman with the Port of Alaska, while most of the ships visiting the port were HAL's boats, a few others also made one-off stops to Anchorage, like Cunard's Queen Elizabeth.
Those ships are not scheduled to return to Anchorage in 2022, Jager said.
Holland America’s ms Nieuw Amsterdam is the only vessel scheduled to stop at the port in 2022 (on September 15th) as part of the 14-day "Great Alaskan Explorer" itinerary. The roundtrip from Vancouver visits in Alaska Kodiak Island, Anchorage, Valdez, Glacier Bay, Skagway, Sitka, Ketchikan as well as Prince Rupert (Kaien Island, BC Canada). Prices start from ~USD 1980 pp with double occupancy.
Erik Elvejord, a spokesman for Holland America, said the reduced visits to Anchorage had come about because the line had sold 4 ships in mid-2020 and now runs 11 ships.
With the reduced fleet, HAL is focused on delivering its core model of 1-week cruises.
The Carnival Corporation-owned company has 2 calls scheduled for Anchorage in 2023 - in May and in September.