Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. and Royal Caribbean Group both announced initiatives to help the communities of Alaska that are suffering through what may be a second season without large-ship cruising, and even in a best-case scenario will only be a truncated one.
NCLH, parent company to Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas, will provide $10 million in cash support to six Alaska port communities severely impacted by the ongoing cruise suspension. The donation will go directly to the port communities of Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway, Hoonah, Seward and Sitka to provide humanitarian relief, the company said.
"My heart breaks for Alaska and its wonderful people as we face a potential second year of zero cruise operations during the all-important summer tourism season, bringing yet another blow to Alaska's tourism economy," Frank Del Rio, CEO of NCLH, said in a statement. "Alaska is one of our guests' most popular cruise destinations, and we are doing everything in our power to safely resume operations in the U.S., which will provide much needed relief to the families, communities and small businesses who rely on cruise tourism for their livelihoods."
Royal Caribbean Group last week pledged support for the 'Shop Local Alaska' program, which encourages people from afar to help support Alaska small businesses.
The Shop Local Alaska program generates revenue for businesses in port towns by marketing Alaska products to millions of people out of state and was created as a response to the uncertainty of the 2021 cruise season. Royal Caribbean agreed to raise awareness of the initiative, and Alaskan-owned businesses in port towns that are struggling to survive, by marketing Shop Local Alaska to past passengers of Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises, who can browse virtual Alaskan stores.
"We are thrilled to support the Shop Local Alaska campaign," said Wendy Lindskoog, associate vice president of government relations for Royal Caribbean Group. "It is a small way for our cruise lines and guests to stay connected to Alaska until our ships return to sail to the 49th state."
According to CLIA, nearly 1.4 million passengers visited Alaska on 577 cruises in 2019, the last full year of cruise operations. Alaska's government estimates that the cancellation of both the 2020 and 2021 cruise season would result in a devastating $3.3 billion impact, including $2.2 billion of lost revenues for local business.