The cruise industry #ArrivalRevival is real over in the U.S., and this weekend two of the biggest cruise companies marked their return to service with celebrations at the Port of Seattle.
To kick off their return to service in the U.S., Princess Cruises and Holland America Line held a celebration at the Port of Seattle over the weekend.
Holland America Line kicked off its Alaska season with Nieuw Amsterdam sailing on July 24, and Princess Cruises following with Majestic Princess on July 25.
At the celebration, Jan Swartz, President of Princess Cruises, and Gus Antorcha, President of Holland America Line, spoke to what the positive multidimensional impact the resumption of cruising means to Seattle, the local community, and Alaska.
Each line will operate ten cruises sailing out of Seattle through September. This marks the return to cruising and Alaska for both lines, which combined have more than 125 years of experience bringing cruisers to The Great Land. Historically, one in two guests who cruise to Alaska sail on Princess or Holland America.
Both cruise lines have been homeporting out of the Port of Seattle for more than 20 years. Operationally, each ship visit directly contributes more than $364,000 to the local economy in provisioning (fuel, food, flowers, piano tuning, supplies), port taxes, and spending during a full season.
Back in Australia, where the return to cruising pathway is unclear, both P&O and Princess have extended their pause in cruise operations by a further three months until mid-December 2021.
Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) Managing Director Australasia Joel Katz says governments need to include carefully managed domestic cruise operations within the early stages of their plans.
“We now need governments at the state and federal levels to agree on a framework that sets out the pathway forward for cruising as part of their wider plans for travel.”