This news sounds real good, let us hope it turns out this way. I do miss cruising, the old way, months on end "sailing the seven seas".
I do hope Princess opens their 5 lodges this season. The Copper River Wilderness Princess is only about 100 miles west of where we spend the summers. A great stop for lunch when they are open on our way to/from Anchorage.
Speaking of that, we have been "snow birding" in Florida the last few years, but right now are back in Alaska for two weeks and sort of wish we had stayed put on the Intra-Coastal Waterway. Raging snow storm, looks like it is going to last until next week. Good thing we hired someone to keep the driveway plowed but still I'm going to have to fire up the snow blower soon anyway, meantime, hunkering down with the thermostat wide open.
"Royal Caribbean Vice President of Destination Development Joshua Carroll said the major cruise line is taking more bookings now than at the same time in 2019, adding that demand for Alaska cruises has been “a standout in our bookings,” even as the most recent wave of COVID-19 cases curbed passenger demand on other sailings."
"Industrywide, cruise operators have scheduled sailings with the capacity to carry 1.57 million passengers to Alaska in 2022, according to figures compiled by Juneau-based economics firm Rain Coast Data."
"However, Rain Coast director Meilani Schijvens and other industry observers noted the ongoing uncertainties of the pandemic mean the preseason capacity figure likely won’t be as reliable as in years past."
“We just don’t know if there’s going to be a new variant coming down the line,” said Schijvens."
"Regardless of how many people ultimately cruise to Alaska in 2022, Venables said he believes the communities are ready and eager for more visitors again."
https://www.adn.com/business-economy/2022/02/14/cruise-lines-are-preparing-for-a-potential-record-alaska-season-in-2022/
